December gathering--Wed. 12/13

The Baltimore Emergent Village cohort will next gather on Wednesday 12/13 at Bare Bones Grill from 7-9pm for an evening of discussion. After our busy Fall with Tony Jones, John Franke, and Pete Rollins, we'll take some time to catch our breath, ask one another what we thought about these presentation and look ahead to the Spring. Come share what these speakers caused you to think about or to learn what is on the minds of others. Hope to see you. Tim

Monday with Pete Rollins--11/20

This Monday we are honored to have Pete Rollins with us at the cohort at Bare Bones Grill from 7-9pm. Pete's is part of the Ikon community in Belfast, Ireland, is the author of the recent book How (Not) to Speak of God, and blogs here. It should be a time of stimulating conversation about Ikon--which is: "Thoughts, writings and spiritual explorations of a group of individuals on the edge of, or completely outside, the traditional church". and his book. Hope to see you there, Tim

Jim Wallis in Baltimore--Tomorrow 10/19

Tomorrow, Oct. 19, 2006 at 6:30pm, Jim Wallis of Sojourners/Call to Renewal with be in Baltimore at Enoch Pratt Free Library on 400 Cathedral Street 21201 speaking about his book God's Politics: Why the Right gets it wrong and the Left doesn't get it which presents a new vision for faith and politics in America. Some in the cohort suggested that this be posted for all to know about. Enjoy!

John Franke--Wed. 10/18

After a great start to our cohort year with Tony Jones in September, we have the privilege of having John Franke with us in October. We'll gather at Bare Bones Grill in their back room (across from the bathrooms) on Wednesday October 18th from 7-9pm to be together and to hear from John. Here is John official bio. from the Biblical Seminary website: John R. Franke, DPhil Professor of Theology BA, Nyack College; MA, Biblical Theological Seminary; DPhil, University of Oxford Dr. Franke is particularly interested in engaging postmodern thought and culture from the perspective of Christian faith in order to explore the opportunities and challenges they present for the witness and ministry of the gospel. In addition to teaching at Biblical, he has lectured and taught on the relationships between theology, ministry, and postmodernity in the United States, Canada, England, and New Zealand and is actively involved in research and writing. In addition to publishing numerous articles and reviews, he is the coauthor of Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context and the author of The Character of Theology and Barth for Armchair Theologians. John serves on the coordinating group for Emergent US and is a representative of Emergent US to the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches, as well as chair of the Evangelical Theology and Postmodernity study group of the Evangelical Theological Society and chair of the Evangelical Theology Group of the American Academy of Religion. He enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and following his favorite sports teams--the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Reds, and Arsenal Football Club (English Premiership). John lives in Hatfield, PA with his wife Debra and their son J.J. So while John is a talented academic and theologian, I have also heard him communicate complicated theology in straightforward manner. It should be a great evening. Don't forget to mark your calendars for our cohort gatherings in November (Monday the 20th with Pete Rollins) and December (Wednesday the 13th). Hope to see you soon, Tim

Tony Jones on Tuesday September 19th!!!

We've had a change in plans and Tony Jones -- the National Coordinator for Emergent Village -- will be with us for our cohort gathering on Tuesday September 19th, 7-9pm at Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. Here's Tony's bio from the Emergent Village website: As the national coordinator of Emergent Village, Tony connects people within the network, helps to organize events and initiatives, and is responsible for things like maintaining this website. Tony is in the process of getting a Ph.D. in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Previously, he was the Minister to Youth & Young Adults at the Colonial Church of Edina in Minnesota, the church where he grew up. Educated at Dartmouth College and Fuller Seminary, Tony is the author of Postmodern Youth Ministry (YS/Zondervan, 2001), Soul Shaper (YS/Zondervan, 2003), Read, Think, Pray, Live (NavPress, 2003) Pray (NavPress, 2003), The Sacred Way (Zondervan, 2005), and the editor of several books. Tony serves on several boards, and he is a regular columnist in The Journal of Student Ministries. Tony lives in Minnesota with his wife, Julie, and their three young children. He also blogs at Theoblogy. So come and ask Tony everything you have ever wanted to know about Emergent Village..it should be a great time!!! See you then, Tim P.S. -- If anyone can give Tony a ride to downtown DC (or to Dulles airport) after the cohort on Tuesday 9/19. Please email me. UPDATE: We found Tony a ride. Thanks, Ben.

Fall Schedule & new Emergent Village website!

Hope everyone is having a good summer in the heat! Emergent Village has just launched a new website at emergentvillage.org When you go there to check it out, sign-up to subscribe to the Emergent/C e-newsletter which is sent out each Thursday. It is a great way to keep up-to-date with all things related to Emergent Village. Yes, Emergent has changed its name (slightly) to Emergent Village to differentiate itself as an organization in the midst of the wider Emerging Church discussions. We have a good plan for the Fall with our Emergent Cohort in Baltimore! We'll have special guest presenters/participants in September, October, and November, who should be fantastic. We will gather from 7-9pm in the back room at the Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. So add these dates to your calendar and we'll see you then... Tuesday September 19th -- Tim Keel Tim pastor of Jacob's Well in Kansas City and a member of the board of directors of Emergent Village. He is passionate about creating spaces for people to connect to God, themselves and others. Tim was part of the early days of Emergent and helped get everything started. Wednesday October 18th -- John Franke John is a professor of Theology at Biblical Seminary in Hatfield, PA and is particularly interested in engaging postmodern thought and culture from the perspective of Christian faith in order to explore the opportunities and challenges they present for the witness and ministry of the gospel. He is the coauthor (with the late Stan Grenz) of Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context and the author of The Character of Theology and Barth for Armchair Theologians. He also wrote the forward to Brian McLaren's Generous Orthodoxy. Monday November 20th -- Peter Rollins Pete has recently published a book entitled How (Not) To Speak of God (Amazon link here). Brian McLaren is "a raving fan" of this book has described it as the result one who has mined postmodern philosophy and come back with something worthwhile. Pete has a BA in Scholastic philosophy, an MA in political theory and criticism, and a Ph.D. in postmodern theory. He is the founder of the Ikon community in Northern Ireland (a group which describes itself as iconic, apocalyptic, heretical, emerging and failing) and a working philosopher who believes that the emerging church presents a singular, unprecedented opportunity to transform the theological architecture of the Christian community. You can read his blog here. Wednesday December 13th a time of discussion and conversation to regroup from the Fall and plan for the Spring Hopefully the mix of days of the week with be a help, not a hindrance, allowing as many people to participate as possible. Also, don't forget the upcoming conference, The Story We Find Ourselves In, September 18-21 at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, MD. For more info. Looking forward to seeing you this Fall, Tim

Have a great summer!! & possible BBQ

We won't be (formally) gathering during the months of June, July, or August. We'll see you in September. If you are interested in a cohort summer BBQ, contact Jason. It'll be a good time to gather together and bring families--probably on a Saturday afternoon. If you have questions about the cohort, e-mail emergentbaltimore@gmail.com Until fall, Tim

The Story We Find Ourselves In--conference

In September, mark your calendars for The Story We Find Ourselves In conference, September 18-21 at Cedar Ridge Community Church. It looks to be a great event and is co-sponsored by Emergent, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Cedar Ridge. Here's a brief description: An institute on Christian heritage for mainline and emergent churches co-sponsored by Wesley Theological Seminary, Cedar Ridge, and Emergent. The institute will be hosted by Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, MD September 18 - 21, 2006. Tuesday evening will feature a 19th century style camp meeting in a historic outdoor Tabernacle on the grounds of Peach Orchard Christian Retreat and Campground located across the street from Cedar Ridge. Speakers will include Brian McLaren, Estrelda Alexander, Tim Keel, Donald W. Dayton, John Franke, and Scott Kisker. To register go here.

Last cohort until September--Wednesday 5/24

Come next week to the last (formal--as if we are ever that formal!) gathering of the Baltimore Emergent cohort before the summer. We will have a variety of discussion topics inculding inovative approaches to worship, great books to read over the summer, thoughts on the DaVinci code, and more. Bring your own thoughts, ideas, and questions to contribute. We will also look ahead to how we ant to shape our plans for the fall (when and where to meet, who to invite to present to us, etc.) As usual we will meet from 7-9pm in the back room at the Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. All are invited. Hope to see you next Wednesday, Tim

April 26th & Upcoming Gathering--May 24th

Next Wednesday April 26th is our next cohort gathering. At Bare Bones Grill at 7pm come to gather and discuss with others who are seeking to live in the way of Jesus. Bring you own ideas, thoughts, and questions about Emergent. In addition, we will discuss the book The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman and its implications for ministry and theology today. Having read the book is recommended, but certainly not required. Look for a description here. Our next gathering will be at Bare Bones Grill on: May 24th See you soon.

Cohort starting in DC

On April 27th, a new Emergent cohort will be starting in Washington, DC. For more information, contact Jason Mack. Let's help them get a great start!!

March 22nd--Justice: Global Poverty

On March 22nd at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City, our cohort will gather to consider issues of Justice. Specifically, global poverty and how we, and the faith communities we participate in, can be active in the fight against global poverty. We will discuss the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), the Micah Challenge, The ONE campaign, Bread for the World, and others. Bring your comments, questions, and ideas. See you then, Tim

Next Gathering--WEDNESDAY (2/22)

Happy President's Day to all--working or with a day off! Our next gathering of the Baltimore Emergent Cohort will take place on this WEDNESDAY, 2/22, at 7pm at the usual spot: Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. Our discussion will focus on processing what we heard from Brian McLaren last month (particularly his point on the negative connoation of the word Christian as a "brand" and his question of what we would what the connotation of "Christian" to be 50 years from now) as well as further discuss of Brian's article "Church Emerging" and his understanding of the 'Kingdom of God.' So bring you thoughts, comments, and questions. If you missed last month, don't worry we'll bring you up-to-speed and are eager to hear your input. Also, we'll hear from some folks who attended the Emergent Theological Conversation with Miroslav Volf at Yale as well. Looks to be a great night. Hope to see you there. Tim

Great night with Brian McLaren

Last night about 40 people gather to talk with Brian about Emergent, his upcoming book on the Kingdom of God, his international travels, and a variety of other topics. Feel free to comment below about what you heard. Next Gathering is Feb. 22nd at the Bare Bones Grill, 7pm.

Watching the State of the Union???

A number of churches are hosting opportunities for people to gather to watch the President's State of the Union address on Tuesday (1/31). They are being called "The State of Our Values" and are being coordinated by Sojourners. For more info. on an event in your area or to host an event, visit sojo.net. One church in the Baltimore-area that is hosting a Watch is Kittamaqundi Community Church in Columbia (5410 Leaf Treader Way). The pastor there is Heather Kirk-Davidoff who has been active in Emergent. Check it out! (and see you on Monday, of course, for our discussion with Brian McLaren)

Gatherings--February through June

We have secured the back room at the Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City for the 4th Wednesday of the month for the months February through June. So at 7pm on the dates below, the Baltimore Emergent cohort will gather at Bare Bones. Mark your calendars! February 22nd March 22nd April 26th May 24th June 28th Of course, we could choose to change locations or to rotate locations. At least we have these dates reserved . . .

January 30th--with Brian McLaren

We are going to meet on a Monday this month in order to accomodate Brian's international travel schedule. So January 30th at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill is our next gathering. Spread the word and invite others who are interested to join us for conversation with Brian McLaren. Reading Brian's draft article "Church Emerging" ahead of time would be good preparation for Brian's current thinking. For a copy of the article, send an e-mail to emergentbaltimore@gmail.com Head back through the bar towards the bathrooms. Across from the bathrooms there is a door on the right. Inside will be the Baltimore Emergent Cohort. See you then, Tim

Of possible interest

Cohort participant, Rick Laribee, offering a seminar on Emergent for Episcopal groups which he is presenting next Saturday at St. Mark's in Highland (near Columbia) where he is the rector. Here's the info.: “Emerging Church” Seminar Taking a Peek: Looking into the Emerging, Postmodern church from the perspective of the Established, Modern church Saturday, January 14 9:30 AM – 2 PM Presenter: The Rev. Dr. Richard Laribee Lunch: $5, RSVP to Kathy 301-490-5078 or email kathyjoboyer@yahoo.com www.stmarkshighland.com/emergent Also, our January gathering will take place on either January 18th or 30th. I'm waiting for confirmation. . .