Sunday, April 25, 2010

Baltimore Emergent Cohort Meeting - 4 May 2010

A friendly reminder that our next Baltimore Emergent Cohort meeting will be Tuesday, 4 May 2010 at 7:00 PM. In fact, from this point forward we'll be meeting 30 minutes earlier at 7:00 PM, which will hopefully give us a bit more time to talk and get home a little earlier to boot. Please don't worry if you have to arrive a bit late--that's never a problem and we usually talk a while before we get started anyway.

Also, while we were planning to meet at Teavolve Cafe & Lounge this month, to date we haven't received their Tuesday night schedule for May, so we're planning to meet at Pasticcio Restaurant in the Can Company, which just a few doors down from Austin Grill where we used to meet. During April's meeting we sat outside at Pasticcio, under a beautiful spring sky. We're still hoping to eventually migrate to Teavolve, however, in the coming months, so we'll keep you posted.

Last month we took a brief look at an article by Sara Miles, who gave her fascinating, and somewhat provocative, viewpoint on what living within diverse communities should be. Given that we have a rather diverse group, however, the meeting highlights seemed to flow from the lively, yet always respectful give and take we had regarding some fairly candid discussions on the nature of God, and how we can know if God is actually working in our lives. And I think it's fair to say that each of us had our own take on what this means, and for some of us, whether it's even possible.

This month we'll take a look at one of my favorite books from a uniquely relational author, Jim Palmer, a friend my wife originally met on THE OOZE, and whose. Divine Nobodies, subtitled, Shedding Religion to Find God (and the unlikely people who help you), isn't so much interested in developing a new emergent-based understanding of theology as it is in simply trying to understand God's work in his life, which Jim learns can be fathomed through his relationships with, well, some very unlikely people. Jim has fashioned a deeply personal series of essays that I believe both traditional and emergent perspectives can read and draw meaning from, and which have certainly had a very positive impact on my life through the years.

Highly recommended! As always, we look forward to seeing you!

Maryland Cohort Meeting - 20 May 2010

Here's the latest meeting notice from our good friends at the Maryland Cohort, who meet south of us in Columbia:

Hello Maryland Cohort,

As the season is definitely changing, and emergence is all around us, I would like to invite us to come together on Thursday, May 20 for an emergent cohort gathering, connection and discussion. Some of us heard Brian McLaren last month and we see that he has a new book out (how does he keep turning them out so fast?) I suggest that we take a look together at: A New Kind of Christianity: 10 Questions that are Transforming the Faith. If you aren’t able to get the book, take a look at the synopsis or first pages on Amazon. This book is getting some strong reactions from folks. I would like to hear what you have to say. Is this the forefront of a new kind of Christianity or is he completely in left field?

We will be meeting at Donna’s Restaurant in Columbia at the intersection of Snowden River Parkway and rte. 108 just off of rte. 100. Here is the information:

Donna's on Snowden River Pkwy. in Columbia. Address is 5850 Waterloo Rd., Ste. 100, 21045; website is www.donnas.com. We'll be discussing Brian McLaren's latest book, A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith

http://www.amazon.com/New-Kind-Christianity-Questions-Transforming/dp/0061853984/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267027735&sr=8-1

I look forward to seeing you then – and bring a friend who would like to explore their faith,

Happy Earth Day,

Rod