I’m off for Nashville very early in the morning. I’ll be checking out the Emergent Convention with the rest of our staff. I haven’t been to an “Emerging Church” type gathering in a few years. Back in 1999 I was at the Young Leaders gathering in Seattle. I got to hang with Brian McLaren before he was “Brian McLaren.” Then a couple of years later I was at Soularize (again in Seattle). I got to hear Mark Driscoll cuss at both events. He no longer speaks at emergent gatherings, but I hear he still cusses.
I’m looking forward to seeing how much the conversation and the attitudes have changed. I remember at the first gathering we were doing breakout groups and discussing some pretty challenging issues. There was lots of self-congratulation in the room because we were so open to so many different points of view. Then some poor guy opened his mouth and started arguing from a “modern” point of view. He was beaten, dipped in hot coffee (Starbucks), sprinkled with brown sugar, and abandoned on a pier where he was pecked unrecognizable by a flock of Foucaultian seagulls. That’s what happened to foundationalists who dared to show their faces and make their Cartesian cases in Seattle back in ’99.
I’m sure a lot has changed since then.
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
Stinkin’ Descartes! :-0
have a great time, wayne
did we meet at seattle in 1999?
I’d love to go but there’s too much going on here in Knoxville, just down the road. I don’t think anyone here has heard of emergent. It has got this recovering modernist excited and has provided a kind of hope I hadn’t felt for long long time.
My MY , what compassion and concern for your fellow travelers.
If allowed, I shall live vicariously through you for the next few days. For even though I work a few blocks from the convention center, I don’t think telesales would benefit from my hanging out with emerging people.
Wade, who else is going from our “tribe” to the convention? Any bloggers from the CoC’s?
Hilarious stuff abour Driscoll – well put.
I know John Mark Hicks is there. He’s got a blog. And Matt Elliott, too.
Damn is coffee the holy water of the emergent generation. Give me my religion with decaf. Mark “the cussing preacher” as he is called by Don Miller is preaching a great series on Genesis right now. Especially explaining the Leah, Jacob, Rachel Triangle.
Have fun….