October Meeting

For the September meeting, we'll be discussing "What Is Salvation in a Postmodern Context?" No readings this month: just come and bring your own ideas as we struggle with this concept.

We'll be meeting on Tuesday, October 6 at the Austin Grill in Canton (2400 Boston St # 108, Baltimore, MD 21224) at 7:30 pm.

September Meeting: What Is Church?

For the September meeting, we'll be discussing "What Is Church?" To prepare take a look at Some Thoughts on Church by Mike Todd, or you can just come and bring your own ideas as we struggle with this concept.

We'll be meeting on Tuesday, September 1 at the Austin Grill in Canton (2400 Boston St # 108, Baltimore, MD 21224) at 7:30 pm.

Christianity 21: October 9-11 in Minneapolis

This October, 21 women who serve as pastors, writers, and theologians, will be speaking about the future of Christianity at Christianity 21 in October in Minneapolis. Speakers include a wide range of emergent authors, including Diana Butler-Bass, Phyllis Tickle, Nadia Bolz-Webber, and Julie Clawson.

July Meeting

Just a reminder: our next meeting is this Tuesday, July 7 at the Austin Grill in Canton (2400 Boston St # 108, Baltimore, MD 21224) at 7:30 pm. We live in an age of Wikipedia, open-source software, and crowdsourcing, when the assumption is that too many cooks will make the broth better, where texts, images, and songs are increasingly simple to remix and reproduce. Should the church build a broader, more inclusive structure for leadership? Is it better to have a church with a few highly trained leaders who finds its authority in the careful deliberations of the few, or with an open leadership that trusts that mistakes will be made, corrected, and fixed quickly? What does an "open-source church" require in terms of community, commitment, and humility? For this meeting, we'll be discussing Sam Kean's article Open to Revisions from the May/June issue of Search Magazine.

Meeting Info

Hi all! Just a reminder that we are now meeting every first Tuesday of the month at 7:30 at Austin Grill (2400 Boston St # 108, Baltimore, MD 21224). Our July meeting will be discussing the topic of Open Source Theology; if you were not at the last meeting to get the article, just come anyway! The August book is Why We Are Not Emergent by DeYoung and Kluck. Please join us for what will prove to be a challenging discussion!

Tuesday June 2nd

The next Baltimore Emergent Cohort meeting will be Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 pm at the Austin Grill (right next door to where we used to meet at the Chesapeake Wine Co.) We will have a table in the back dining room -- and the food is quite tasty! Our usual lively discussion will center around "The Dirty Word: The Vulgar, Offensive Language of the Kingdom of God" (ISBN 13:978-0-88177-539-6) by Jim Walker. Please plan to join us at our new location and time! Joan

Baltimore cohort is multiplying!!!!

Hello all! I have some exciting news to share with everyone. The Baltimore Emergent Cohort is about to multiply. The cohort has met in two main places over the last 4 years: first, at the Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City and most recently at Chesapeake Wine Co. in Baltimore City. Now there are people who are interested in facilitating these conversations both in the Ellicott city-area and in Baltimore city. Personally, I will be moving at the end of May to Charlottesville, Virginia to pursue a Ph.D in Theology, Ethics, & Culture. I will miss the monthly opportunities to facilitate these conversations with you all and the many discussions we had. I am excited for these new options believe that these two cohorts will offer distinct opportunities for people seeking to converse about the church that is emerging in the Baltimore-area. The two 'new' cohorts will both be meeting during the last week in April: Maryland Cohort of the Emergent Church This branch of the former Baltimore Cohort will meet to discuss and engage in action around what is emerging in both theory and practice in the church today. It will be a monthly gathering to hear and learn from each other and from what is coming into view through the conversation of the church and the world. This will be an opportunity to create a laboratory of learning and practice for what church can be today. Rod Miller is serving as the convener. You may reach him at: Roderick (dot) miller (at) verizon (dot) net The Maryland Cohort of the Emergent Church will meet on Monday, April 27 @ 7 pm at Bare Bones Grill: 9150 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, MD 21042, Phone: 410/461-0770. Future meeting dates are: June 1st and June 29th, also at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill. Baltimore City Emergent Cohort This cohort will focus on issues of life, faith, and theology that are emerging both within and outside conventional church structures and will (by virtue of its location) have more of an urban feel and approach. The Baltimore City Emergent Cohort will meet on Thursday, April 30th @ 7:30pm at the Chesapeake Wine Co. (2400 Boston St., Baltimore 21224). Joan Stiles is going to organize this cohort. If you know you want to learn more about either cohort, I encourage you to e-mail Rod and/or Joan. If you do not want to hear any more about cohorts in Baltimore, just reply to this e-mail with 'unsubscribe'. Thanks everyone, it's been a pleasure. Tim

A "Burgeoning" vision for faith, church, and the Baltimore cohort too?

Our next cohort gathering will be on Thursday night March 26th from 8-10pm at the Chesapeake Wine Co. (2400 Boston St. Baltimore 21224). Our topic will be a short article (email me for the article) by Rod Miller entitled, "Burgeoning 2009 > A WAY OF LIFE! ". Rod will join us for the discussion of this passionate and thought-provoking piece. It should be a lively discussion about life, church, faith, and a next steps for the Baltimore cohort. I hope you can make it! Tim

January gathering 1/29--Organic Community"

Happy New Year everyone! The cohort with next gather on Thursday January 29th at 8pm at the Chesapeake Wine Co. (2400 Boston St. 21224) in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore city. We will be discussing: Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect by Joe Myers. This book has a lot to say about the nature of faith communities today, how they best function, and how we as participants and leaders in a faith community can help it to be more organic. It is a good read and will be a good jumping off point for a great discussion. The amazon link is here. Even if you don't get to read the book, bring your thoughts on community, organic growth, and the relationship of the gospel to this notion of being organic. Hope to see you on the 29th! Tim