Connections Old and New

I somehow thought that I'd have a chance to do some blogging during the Emergent conversation this week - what a mistaken plan! It's been a busy week. My family is visiting my in-laws this week, so I'm on my own until Saturday. And this was a great week for it, as I'm basically exhausted after a very full five days. I began the weekend by heading to a friend's place on Saturday to get in some gaming. I'm a gamer at heart, but I haven't had much opportunity to play anything of late as all of my gaming buddies are in other parts of the globe at the moment. To have a full weekend with nothing but gaming on the agenda was fantastic. My new favorite is War of the Ring - it's an intense wargame based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And intense is not an understatement - I think the shortest game we played took three hours. The strategy in this game is dizzying - there are so many options and choices that it wasn't uncommon to take fifteen minutes to play out one turn. Absolutely fantastic - if you like wargames, this one is definitely worth the cash. The expansion is high on my list now. I also had a chance to try Settlers of Catan for the first time. It was quite a bit different from what I'm used to playing - I couldn't figure out what to do at first, since there weren't any armies to crush. But it's an amazingly simple game to learn that is just a ton of fun - I can see why it's a game that nongamers typically enjoy as well. We were playing with Cities and Knights, which seems to be a good investment for the serious gamer as it gives the game more depth and complexity. Still, the basic is a lot of fun on its own, and may be the better choice for nongamers.

In all, I think we got in about 15 hours of gaming between Saturday and Sunday. I arrived home Sunday evening and decided to try to get in touch with Jared, who I knew was coming in for the Emergent event. A few hours later, and Jared and his friend Tony were camped out at my place, sharing a meal and, yes, some more Settlers. It was great to meet them in person - Jared is a longtime friend in the blogosphere, so I was privileged to be able to offer some small amount of hospitality to them, even if I got my tail kicked at Settlers. Later that evening, my friend Kevin arrived; Kevin was a part of my cohort at Biblical but has since moved to North Dakota, so we haven't seen each other since we graduated. It was fantastic to be able to spend a few days getting caught up and attending the Philosophical gathering together.

The Conversation itself was pretty good - I feel like I was stretched mentally, even if I wouldn't necessarily embrace everything that was discussed. I'll offer a few thoughts specifically on the event itself in the next day or so. Overall, it was a fantastic week on the basis of the relationships and connections alone - even if the event itself had been a bust, it would have been time well spent.

Good News

Radio Rebellion is back. Glad to see you blogging again, Chris!

Great Conversations

I looked at my site yesterday and realized that I haven't posted anything this week. That feels odd, because I've written more than I have in a long time. But most of it is hidden in the comments of some of my earlier posts - I've been having a great conversation with Grace on my thoughts about power and structure in communities. Grace is an excellent thinker and writer, and my thoughts are more clear thanks to her questions and (gracefully spoken) corrections. So in lieu of a full post, take a read through the comments here and here - I think there are thoughts in there worth reading.

On another note, I had an opportunity to attend the Philly Emergent cohort again this week. John Franke came to discuss thoughts about mission and its origins in God's very being. What a great conversation - I won't get into the details here because it deserves a full post of its own, but you can check out the overview here if you're interested. It also, coincidentally, meshes quite well with my thoughts on image, so I certainly want to pull some of those insights into my current reflections on that subject.

One more note - this is a bit late, but I did want to post a link to an upcoming conference that I think sounds fantastic. Off the Map is hosting the Revolution conference in Seattle Nov 3-4. Sounds like a great lineup, including Barna, McLaren, and a host of other great folks. I attended an Off the Map event last year and was impressed. A few of us were able to hang out with the Off the Map folks after one of the evening sessions, and they're wonderful people. (And I don't just say that because Jim Henderson picked up the tab. ;) If I could make this event, I would definitely be there - Seattle is a bit of a hike for me, so I'll be reading about it and envying thinking of those who will be attending. You can get more info here; the blog is here with some interesting content, including an interview with Spencer Burke who is the nicest guy I've ever disagreed with. ;)

Technorati Tags: emergent, Off the Map, John Franke

Philly Cohort Gathering for July

One of the things I've been missing over this past year is the opportunity to be a part of the Philadelphia Emergent cohort.  I was able to attend several gatherings last summer before my fall semester began, and I was really impressed with the group.  I wrote about my first meeting here - Dr Joseph Mangina from Wycliffe College in Toronto spoke for nearly an hour on the book of Revelation.  It was phenomenal - and I found myself really impressed with a group of folks that were packed into Scott and Fairlight's living room, completely engaged and immersed in what was being discussed.

My first gathering in almost a year was interesting.  We talked for a bit about what we wanted to see happen in the cohort.  Personally, I didn't have a lot of stake in the conversation - I felt a bit out of my element given that I haven't attended for so long.  But it did prod my thinking for a bit - what is it that I enjoy so much about getting together with this group?  There are lots of things, really - everyone has always been incredibly hospitable and welcoming, which makes it easy for an introvert like myself to plug in.  And there's substantive discussion taking place.  Several of the folks present mentioned that they loved having a place to get together with other folks and talk theology.  Let's face it - we theology junkies don't have that many outlets, you know?  But Scott said something that has stuck with me, that I've been pondering all weekend.  He mentioned that the group is really fairly diverse, as far as cohorts go.  And I think that's true - it's not a group full of "angry young men", as I've often heard these things described.  So far, we haven't gotten together to sit around and rail against everything "modern" or "traditional" or any of the other descriptors that are commonly used to label things we don't like.  It's a group from many different traditions and denominations, some practitioners, some academics, and some (like myself) who are still searching for a niche.  But if you're interested in what God is doing in the Philadelphia area, and you want to get together with other folks who are likewise interested and engaged, then I have no doubt that you'd find yourself welcomed warmly.

Technorati Tags: emerging church, philly cohort

Tales from the Road

Jeff - who blogs over at So I Go - has a book on the way. It's a compilation of his first batch of blog entries, which are a fantastic read. I'm extraordinarily excited for him - Jeff has a great way with words, and these are stories that more folks should have a chance to read. Congrats Jeff!