I write this from the front row of Jay Bakker’s talk, “Faith, Doubt, and other Conundrums,” at the Wild Goose Festival. The first 24 hours of this event have been spectacular. I’ve heard Richard Rohr, introduced Phyllis Tickle, and hugged more old friends than I can name. What is clear to me is that this event needed to happen. People were hungry for it. We needed a reason to get together. Who is “we”? Well, that is evolving and emerging.... Read more
Today will see the birth of a gathering that has been gestating for many years. The Wild Goose Festival in Shakori Hills, NC begins at 6pm EDT tonight, and I’ll be in the crowd, cheering on those who midwifed it, among them Mike King and Gareth Higgins. In Mike’s post yesterday, he wrote, “Seven years in the making,” and he’s right. In 2005, the group who had inaugurated and planned the Emergent/YS Conventions in 2003, 2004, and 2005 decided to... Read more
There’s a new survey out from Pew today in which they report on the views of evangelical leaders around the world. As you can see in the graphic above, there’s consensus on some items of faith, and dissensus on others. The most notable finding seems to be that leaders in the Global North have a very different perspective on Christianity than those in the Global South. The former think that the faith is on the wane, and the latter think... Read more
Just serving notice here that I’ll be looking for the most rare of geese at the Wild Goose Festival this weekend: (more…) Read more
Just an FYI to my long-time readers, Patheos has a technology in place that puts your first-ever comment in the moderation queue. Once I approve that, your future comments appear automatically. So if you don’t see your comment right away, fret not. And please be patient when I’m on the road — as I will be at Wild Goose this weekend — for it may take me a bit to get on and approve comments. Read more
I don’t know if it’s what bell hooks had in mind when she wrote Teaching to Transgress, but Lauren Winner and I engaged in a bit of pedagogical usurpation at Fuller Seminary. With no introduction other than saying that we were showing a film, we sat down after lunch on Friday and pushed play on Into Great Silence. Filmed at the motherhouse of the Carthusian Order, Into Great Silence follows a group of monks who practice silence except for singing... Read more
Below the fold, find the video referred to in my last post. (more…) Read more
While at Fuller Seminary earlier this month, Lauren Winner, Phyllis Tickle, and I spoke at a public event in Fuller’s Travis Auditorium, put on by Fuller’s The Burner Blog. The topic was, “Emerging Spiritualities in the American Church,” and it began with each of us giving a few minutes of monologue. Then I was charged with hosting a bit of a panel discussion. In her response to my question, Phyllis played to the crowd, mentioning the late Fuller theologian Ray... Read more
It’s a crummy weekend here in Minnesota. Overcast and humid, one feels as though one might wilt, if one is not first carried off by mosquitoes. Nevertheless, I walked to my garden out back first thing this morning, and spent about half-an-hour weeding. The first fruits of tomatoes and peas are showing, and the green beans are just starting to climb the fence. The lettuce will be ready next week. For those of us who love God and love getting... Read more
Earlier this week, while teaching a Doctor of Ministry course at Fuller Theological Seminary with Lauren Winner, my class joined with a class taught by Dallas Willard and Keith Matthews for an evening discussion. One of their students asked me, “What’s the difference between ’emergent’ and ‘missional’?” He continued, “When I’m asked by my congregation, I tell them that missional is primarily a theological corrective to the church, and emergent is primarily an ecclesiological corrective. Is that right?” I was... Read more
Theoblogy
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