Brennan Manning In Ogden, UT Sept. 26 and 27

Brennan Manning, a well-known author and speaker, will present a seminar at Washington Heights Baptist Church, 1770 E. 6200 South, Ogden, on Sept. 26 and 27.

Click Here for an article in the local paper and more details.

Theological Seminary free public lecture

Notice from the Deseret News:

A free public lecture, Israel's Extermination of Canaanites, Globalization and Religious Pluralism in a Post 9/11 World, will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Salt Lake Theological Seminary, 699 E. South Temple.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Glen Taylor, Old Testament professor of the Theological College of Tajikistan, who studied at Jerusalem University College and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom.

For more information, call 581-1900.

From the Salt Lake Theological Seminary:

After the events of 9/11, Christians struggle more than ever with the harshness of herem: the treatment of Canaanites by Israel prescribed by God in the Old Testament. It raises issues of relationship between religious conviction and tolerance, unity and diversity, politics and morals. How does this holy ban speak to us theologically and ethically in the modern context? A close reading of herem texts reveals an interplay that gives coherence to the development of the biblical vision of the ideal community, the Kingdom of God.

Phyllis Tickle: "It won’t be 10 percent right now, but I would be floored if its not 20 percent next year."

Phyllis Tickle, editor of the religion department at Publishers Weekly, and author of several books on fixed hour prayer, has a new book coming out later this month, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why. To get a whiff of what the book is about I recommend you read a couple articles out in a recent addition of Sojourners (available here and here, after you fill out their free registration).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an interesting article out the other day related to the book’s upcoming release, and quoted Tickle several times. I thought I’d post a few extended excerpts here that I thought were interesting, and prophetic, from the article to see what any of you might think about what she’s saying.

The revolution has begun.

Quietly, maybe, but symptoms are bubbling up.

They include Bible studies in bars, friends starting their own churches in houses, or congregations trying a smattering of everything —- music of the Middle Ages and the latest rock anthems, Saturday morning and Thursday night meetings. Pentecostals are adopting liturgy and Episcopalians are speaking in tongues.

“[The changes are] led by all those who wish to remain faithful, but feel something is not quite right in the church,” said Tickle,

This new movement, which she refers to as emerging or emergent Christianity, will have as big an impact as the Reformation, Tickle predicts.

How many churchgoers know about what she is talking about?

“It won’t be 10 percent right now,” she said. “But I would be floored if its not 20 percent next year. The restlessness now is almost palpable.”

The movement is loosely organized, and often quiet. It is made up of people who have gotten to know each other through word-of-mouth, on Internet sites or at conferences where writer-pastors such as Brian McLaren and Tony Jones speak.

The movement’s members are passionate and experimental, socially conscious and ecumenical, deeply devoted to early church disciplines, such a prayer, but they feel free to question and reinterpret long-held beliefs, [Steve Hayner, a professor of church growth at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur] said.

Troy Bronsink, a former Presbyterian pastor who leads a strand of the Atlanta movement, describes some involved as “refugees from ecclesiological abuse.”

Discussion groups and the participants’ relationships create a safe space for those willing to question the religion they grew up with and think and talk about new ways to live out their faith, he said.

Tickle said, “When somebody says they are relativists, I want to smack them upside their heads.”

One has to take belief seriously to question and reposition a faith so that it is meaningful in current culture, she said. And the critics should get used to these faithful who look back to the roots of the faith as well as lean into the future with it.

“Before it’s over, it’s going to be 60 percent of Christianity,” she predicted.

Next emergent cohort meeting is September 24th

The usual time: 7pm, September 24th
The usual location: High Point Coffee, at 1735 West 7800 South, in West Jordan

We’ll be reviewing the book The Lost Letters of Pergamum, by Bruce W. Longenecker

Our next meeting on August 20

We’re changing things up a little and meeting a week earlier than we normally have the last few months. It will be Wednesday, August 20th, at 7pm, over at High Point Coffee, at 1735 West 7800 South, in West Jordan.

We’ll be discussing the article “Crucified Lord or Conquering Saviour: Whose Story of Salvation” by Sylvia C. Keesmaat, as well as both the epistles of Philippians and Romans. So you’ll want to spend sometime reading (the article is short) and preparing. (But if for whatever reason you can’t read the above, come anyway. I’m sure you will still be able to participate.)

Interesting event coming up

I saw this in the weekly bulletin of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, which I visited a couple of Sundays ago. This sounds like it would be interesting to go see:

Have you ever been confused or frustrated with the way Christians use the Bible to fight with each other? Tired of Christians using portions of the Bible to prove other Christians wrong? Then join us at the Open Book Store (ECCU) September 20, 10:00 am -1:30 pm. Author, Dean, & President of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Dr. Donn Morgan, Ph.D will address these issues, and more. Participants will have an opportunity to test out constructive ways to use the Bible and its very different teachings in parish and other contexts. Copies of his book Fighting with the Bible will be on sale. Register now by e-mail with name(s) and phone number to mnestler@episcopal-ut.org. Cost $15.00 per person, including lunch, payable at the door.

And that does appear to be a new Christian bookstore located in downtown, at the new the Episcopal Church Center of Utah, 75 South 200 East, Salt Lake City, UT. I haven’t checked that bookstore out yet to see what it’s made of, but I hope to soon.

Some additional information from their weekly bulletin:

The new diocesan bookstore, The Open Book, is now open! We carry a wide assortment of books and gifts for progressive Christians, including Bibles, the Book of Common Prayer, works in classical and contemporary spirituality, history and theology, and children’s books. We are happy to recommend books for special occasions or gifts. And, we are happy to place special orders and mail your purchase to you if you live outside the Salt Lake metro area. Come visit us. Our hours are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. until noon on Fridays. We are located on the Commons at the Episcopal Church Center of Utah, 75 S. 200 E., in Salt Lake City. Contact either Jessica Hatch or Barbara Losse for information, questions or to place an order: 801-595-5362, or send an email to bookstore@episcopal-ut.org

Christian Unity

I had an interesting thing happen to me a few weeks ago that I thought I might share:
On Friday nights I play in the Christian softball league here in town. I have been playing in this league for as long as I have lived here (13 years). There are 16 teams in this league representing 14 different Christian churches in the valley. It has always been the custom for the two teams to form a circle and pray together after the post-game handshakes. For 13 years I have seen every team adhere to this custom - until this season. We have a church in the league this year with 2 teams entered and they refuse to pray with their opponents after the games. Recently, after playing 3 games this season against these guys I confronted them about not praying with us or any other teams in the league. I was told that they are not sure we are TRULY Christians and, since they take worship very seriously, they don’t want to pray with us, just in case.
Exclusiveness… superiority… arrogance…? I don’t know; these ARE attitudes that some Christians somehow extract from the gospel. They are all too eager to judge each other by their positions on controversial issues like evolution, stem cell research, abortion, gay rights, capital punishment, political party affiliation, etc., as well as theological stances. Like the guys from those softball teams, too many Christians jump to reckless assumptions about other Christians until they can run them through their “Christian standards” checklist to approve of them or not. And, almost always, the standards are based on arguable interpretations of Bible text or some distortion in its practical application. There is a disturbing pride that many Christians seem to derive when upholding their viewpoints, becoming vocal, even angry, with those who disagree. They forget that their salvation is a gift that they should not boast. Many of them have erroneously drawn the conclusion, from somewhere other than their Bibles, that anything less than THEIR church’s/denomination’s interpretation of certain sections of the Bible (particularly Genesis and Revelation) puts one in only a “maybe” relationship w/ God. There are many people with an education in science, philosophy, or social/behavioral sciences who are Believers but will not set foot in a church because they want to avoid legalist Christians like the plague. One’s relationship with God is its own reality and whatever anyone else thinks about it is, at its most basic level (between God and the individual), irrelevant. But there are larger implications for the universal church body.
To be sure, there ARE essential doctrines inherent to Christianity, without which it would cease to be Christianity. The duties of elders and ministers are to shepherd the flock and uphold the doctrine of the church. We DO have to be on guard against counterfeit christian organizations in the world. Meanwhile, it must be recognized that there are non-essential doctrines to our faith, also. For example, even though the majority of people in my congregation may adhere to a literalist view of creation, we agree that specifics on origins and specifics on eschatology are non-essentials for salvation or fellowship.
If it’s not hard enough for Christians to agree on what the essentials are, so many Christians are deeply embedded in an “either/or” rationale. In other words, they put issues into a dichotomy: either x is true, OR y is true, and then assume they are mutually exclusive. They don’t consider the possibility that x and y may BOTH be true... or false. Moreover, there may even be a z that is true! For example:
1) The Bible is God’s word, or The Bible is not God’s word.
2) Literal Bible interpretation is true, or Metaphorical Bible interpretation is true.
3) The Bible gives an account of origins, or Science gives an account of origins.
In philosophical lingo these are examples of a false dichotomy. In other words, you are trying to force your opponent into an extreme position because you offer only two possible choices. Does this sound familiar? Either “You believe the Bible literally,” or “You are calling God a liar.” Metaphysical materialists also use false dichotomy when arguing with theistic evolutionists. They are notorious for this. Examples:
1) “You believe your science textbook,” or “You believe your Bible.”
2) “You are an accomplished scientist,” or “You believe in God.”

The great thinkers of the church and early shapers of Christian doctrine - Paul, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas – probably roll over in their graves at the lack of critical thinking sometimes demonstrated in the church. For instance, I am sure Paul believed the literal 6 days of creation, Adam and Eve story, sin causing corporal death, etc. It is evident in Romans that he did and there is a rationale for it (receiving inspiration while living in a Jewish culture in a pre-scientific age). But if he were somehow to show up on the scene today and be exposed to the scientific data with which we now have access, I am confident his divinely inspired message would be more in a context of what we believe about the world today. He would be true to his strategy of being all things to all people to the glory of Christ. But here’s the point: Paul would deliver exactly the same SPIRITUAL message. Many Christians appear to be unable to make the distinction between content and method – the deeper message is the same whether it is written in a pre-scientific context or 21st century context. In addition, such legalistic Christians seem to be completely unaware that the doctrine they adhere to today (the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Christ, baptism, etc.) was not all processed into systematic theology in the days of the writing of the NT. It took decades, even centuries, to address different points of theology AS THE NEED AROSE (heresies, persecution, reformation, counter-reformation). Today there IS a need for the church to address certain theological and political issues as they affect the life of the church as well as individual Christians. But this must be carried out by looking for the deeper message of the Scriptures as seen through a context of what we know about the world today. And it must be done without erroneously transforming political issues into theological ones.
Now, I have no idea exactly what kinds of heresies the “softball guys” are on the lookout for. But what struck me the most is that the strongest emotion I detected from them was: FEAR. Thankfully, I cannot comprehend what that is like – Fear in a God so harsh that an attempt at genuine fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ should be forsaken “just in case” their theological standards are not perfectly aligned. And, of course, they are CERTAIN their standards are God’s standards. Christians should be the most secure people on the planet! Yet these guys seem to be almost paralyzed with fear of … something!
What the Emergent Cohort in Salt Lake City has been for me is for Christians from different backgrounds to enjoy each others’ company and discuss topics without being judged or ridiculed – just sharing ideas, knowing and accepting from the start that it’s unavoidable to have differences in opinion, but still able to embrace a friendship that is rooted in Christ.

Our next meeting July 23rd

Since we don’t have any specific topic picked out for this meeting, how about we spend some time discussing just what we each think Emergent is.

Also, we had talked about following along with the upcoming Reclaiming Paul conference, discussing the reading material, and follow-up stuff generated after the conference. That begins in August, so you will want to start preparing now. Make sure you can get access to the books we’ll be discussing (here is the previous post with links).

A blog has been set up associated with the conference that you may want to check out, and here are a couple of YouTube videos discussing it:

Jesus in China

There has been a lot of reporting on the church in China the past couple of months. The cover page article in Christianity Today, May 2008, and as well the main theme of Christian History & Biography, Spring 2008, currently available on news stands in most local B&N and Borders. And I just found out that FRONTLINE/World, on PBS, this Tuesday at 8pm, will have a feature Jesus in China. With the Olympics coming up, and with all the focus on China, as well as China’s rapid economic growth, and the surprising growing affluence and influence of the church there, it will be interesting to watch developments there.

Our next meeting June 25th

We don’t have any specific topic set up, but I thought we might discuss theology, spiritual, and philosophical books… what we’re reading now, what we’ve read, our favorites, recommended, and what we want to read and why. So of course we will probably whined up talking about all sorts of things.

Also, I’ve decided to go back to school. I plan to audit a course at our local Salt Lake Theological Seminary, the class The Message of the Psalms: God’s Rule in a World of Trouble, I’ve already anteed up the class fees and ordered the books. [Unfortunately, my class was just cancelled] (Check out there summer course schedule for classes if you’re interested.)

Be prepared to go on a book buying apocalypse after this get together. :^)

The Hope That You Have

I had some more thoughts on hope and why I feel it may be more useful than beliefs.

Peter said:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

I believe Peter was very specific with his choice of words. Notice he did not ask us to be prepared to give reasons for our beliefs.

One reason hope tends to be more useful is because it is not a matter of right or wrong. I could believe with my whole heart that something is true... then find out it isn't. How often has this happened to us?

Hope speaks to our desires and where our heart is going. I think scripture shows that God tends to focus on our hearts.

Hope allows me to fellowship. I just had a great walk and conversation with a good friend of mine. He is LDS and I am not. Many people find it difficult to fellowship with someone of a different faith. My friend and I do not have this problem and I think it is due to Hope. We have beliefs that are very different and we often candidly discuss them. However, above our beliefs we find that we share a common Hope - That God is a loving God who wants us to grow in Him. That Goodness will triumph. That this will all end in a way better than either of us can imagine.

Some upcoming plans

Emergent Village will be having their theological conversation event, Reclaiming Paul: The Apostle in the Emerging World, in late October. If any of us can go, great. But I know I can’t go, and I would still like to participate in some way. So we had discussed reading the books the conversation will be going over and doing some of our own conversing over them, and then participate in some of the blogging and the podcasts that will probably be periodically made available on Emergent Village after the conversation.

Here’s a possible itinerary we could do, following along with the reading material that goes with this theological conversation:

For our August meeting we can read and discuss the article “Crucified Lord or Conquering Saviour: Whose Story of Salvation” by Sylvia C. Keesmaat, and Philippians & Romans in the Net Bible Translation.

For September, we can discuss The Lost Letters of Pergamum, by Bruce W. Longenecker.

The conversation is set to start on the same day our get together is scheduled (fourth Wednesday), so we can discuss the book by one of the events main speakers, Reading Paul, by Michael Gorman.

What do you guys think? If this is a go then you’ll want to order the books now and have the book read before the meeting for that book so we can discuss.

Reminder

Our discussion get together is this Wednesday, 7pm, over at High Point Coffee, at 1735 West 7800 South, in West Jordan.

Also, I thought I’d mention that the emerging church and Brian McLaren (not the Salt Lake Emergent Cohort) were in today’s Religion/Ethics section of the Deseret News. It’s a reprint of an earlier AP interview with Brian McLaren that’s been circulating for a few weeks now. It’s good to see our local paper pick it up.

In the same section of the paper they also mention a film/presentation that will be showing down at the main library this Tuesday. The documentary film Conviction, at 7pm, Tuesday, free; one of the nuns in the film, Sister Jackie Hudson, who went to prison for her protest, will be speaking there and taking questions as well. I plan to go, so if anyone wants to join me.

Great Brueggemann Quote

"When serious people of good faith disagree, they've got to go back into the narratives and come at it again. One of the problems in the church is that people are not willing to do that. People have arrived at a place where they think they have got the answer." ~ Walter Brueggemann

From a talk on Leviticus, given at First Presbyterian Church of Knoxville. Click here to listen.

Believe or Hope?

My beliefs, due to various circumstances, have been under the microscope lately. This causes me to turn them in the light and try to view them from different angles.

I notice I have few solid beliefs. I see many things with a kind of dual vision. I hear opposing persons speak, and I see validity in both opinions. I read apparently contradicting scripture and am comfortable maintaining both views. This does not always go over well in Christian circles. I end up making one side or the other uncomfortable.

I came across a response I had given to a friend who had recently de-converted. He posted this question on his blog, "How do you, as a christian, maintain faith in a belief where there is no concrete proof?" My response to him is below and I think it articulates why, though I love theology, I don't put much stock in having "the right beliefs".
_____________________________________________________

I can only speak for me, but I don't feel a need to get around a lack of proof. Maybe because, technically, I don't really have beliefs. Probably what I have could be more accurately described as a conglomeration of hopes.

• The thought that death would simply bring on my non-existence depresses me. A hundred years or so from now, no one would really even know I ever existed. It would be as if I were never here.
• When I look at my son or daughter sleeping at night, the thought that they too will go into the void is even worse. My heart sinks at the thought.
• When I see art, music, technology, stories and life... my heart overflows. It brings me to despair to think that could ALL be snuffed out by one poorly timed comet.
  

I HOPE the God I knew as a child does not exist. This god seems to see most of humanity in torture for eternity an acceptable response to their not believing He was standing behind the curtain.

I HOPE the God of 1 Cor 13 exists, one who always trusts, always perseveres, never keeps records of wrongs, and never fails.

I HOPE God is a cross between Aslan and Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder version). One who has all the bases covered, even if we aren't aware of it yet. Who really wants you to do what is right, but will let you chew the gum if you are bound, set, and determined.

I HOPE when this story comes to a close, everyone lives happily ever after (even if the start of their story was fairly shitty).

I HOPE there is a God out there who feels about us the way I do about my son and daughter.

I HOPE the source of my love is a God who shares that love.

I am aware that this may be an empty hope in the end, but it is the one I cling to.
________________________________________________________

I am finding hope to be a much more satisfying thing to cling to than belief.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. ~ Romans 8:24-25

A couple of movies to make you thirsty

The SLC Film Center will be showing a couple of interesting films this week on the commoditization of water. The price is right (they’re free), so I plan to go to both. If you’re interested in joining me, let me know, email me or comment below.

Sed (Thirst) - Monday, May 05 2008 - 7:00PM
Salt Lake City Main Public Library - in the Auditorium

Flow: For Love Of Water - Thursday, May 08 2008 - 7:00PM
The Post Theatre, 110 S. Fort Douglas Blvd, University of Utah Campus

We had our first get together, and here’s a little on what we’re going to do next

Well, it was a great start, the three of us who came had a great conversation, learned more about one another, and became friends. I had brought a camera to get some pictures, but I forgot to take it out.

We have adjusted our meeting times so as to try to accommodate more who want to come, we plan to meet on the fourth Wednesday of every month over at High Point Coffee, at 1735 West 7800 South, in West Jordan. That will make our next meeting on May 28th, at 7pm.

Of course not everyone still can make that time, so we plan to use this blog and the facebook group to coordinate some of the other things we’ll do.

First, we plan to use this blog to announce events we learn of that might be of interest for the rest of the group, and coordinate rides, meet-ups, whatever for those of us who might like to make it. Events like the “An Evangelical and a Mormon in Conversation” event that Standing Together occasionally puts on, going and seeing the head of the Episcopal Church, Bishop Jefferts Schori, who was out here last week, or going to our local Beer Festival.

Brent and I are planning on using the facebook group’s discussion forum for some of the early church writings we hope to read and discuss here soon.

Also, I plan to start blogging through a few books on my personal blog, I figure it will help me retain the stuff I’m reading better, and, who knows, it may generate a good conversation or two. So I’ll post a link to them here when I start them up. First up will be Post-Modernism 101, by Heath White.

What is an Emergent Cohort?

Emergent Village has just posted a YouTube video that captures a little bit of what we are trying to do.

Our First Meeting

Our first meeting will be Thursday evening, April 24th, 7:00 pm, at High Point Coffee, located at 1735 West 7800 South, West Jordan, UT 84088

You don’t have to bring anything except maybe a little money to buy a coffee, and an appetite for theological conversation. Since it’s our first meeting I’m sure we will spend some of the time figuring out what we will want to do in future meetings and where we’ll want to take things.

Starting up an Emergent Cohort in Utah

I’d like to announce that a few friends and I have decided to start up one of these here Emergent Cohort thingies. We figured it’s about time Salt Lake had one so we’re putting one together. So far it looks like we might have five, there is Andrew and a couple of his friends from over at K2, and then there is Michael and I from over at Southeast Christian Church.

We are also interested in knowing what other emergent things are going on up and down the Wasatch Front. So if you know what the heck we are talking about when we use the word “emergent”, and you’re doing something related to it (or would like to), well, let us know, because we’d like to know.

BTW, we are still working out a date for our first meeting, so if you’re interested do let us know now and we maybe able to work out a time to help meet your schedule.

Now what was the name of that movie… Field of Dreams? …build it and they will come. Hmm… let’s see what happens.