Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Baltimore Emergent Cohort Meeting - 1 June 2010

Greetings all! Our next meeting will be Tuesday, 1 June 2010 at 7:00 PM. Remember that we've permanently moved things up a half hour to give us all a bit more time to chat, and just maybe get us home a little earlier as well. Even so, it's never a problem if you have to arrive a late. We're an easy bunch and generally spend the first several minutes catching up on each other's lives. Which, I would assert, is just as it should be.

Also, over the past several months we've tried to change our monthly venue to Teavolve Cafe & Lounge, which is a terrific place to do this kind of thing, but Teavolve usually winds up hosting bands every Tuesday. Now, that's hardly a bad thing, but the music, as good as it may be, doesn't really allow for the sort of conversations we tend to have. Maybe one day we'll make it work but for now we'll hopefully continue to have great success meeting around the outside tables at Pasticcio Restaurant in the Can Company on Boston St. The weather has been dazzling the last couple of meetings and our waiter--who really does look like Harvey Keitel--keeps the food and drinks coming.

We're starting a new series this month that will be running over the two meetings. Given that we are having an ongoing discussion on all things Emergent, it's only appropriate that we'll be reviewing and discussing Brian McLaren's newest book, A New Kind of Christianity. The book is subtitled, Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith. Specifically, we'll be looking at Questions 1 - 5, but the truth is, we could spend the entire evening on just one or two of these, which include topics on sexuality, and one of my favorite subjects, plurality. Brian's book, perhaps more than his last several books, is topical, fairly direct, and, of course, always provocative. Lots more to say, but I think I'll save any further comments for our meeting.

So, grab a copy of A New Kind of Christianity, mark your calendar for the first Tuesday in June, and become part of the discussion. It should be a fabulous gathering, and of course, the best thing will be the pleasure of your company!

Look very forward to seeing you all!