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. . .

Great gathering last night (without Brian)

We had a great time of conversation together last night. Brian McLaren was part of the Sojourners protest in DC (see the Washington Post) and was unable to join us. We are working to find another time for him to come join us. In January, we will be discussing Brian's article, "Church Emerging." For a copy of the article e-mail: emergentbaltimore@gmail.com One suggestion last night was to post a report on the previous gathering so that discussion could happen in the comments. Here's the report, so comment away...

Brian McLaren coming on Wednesday

Who would have thought that Brian McLaren would be found in the back room of the Bare Bones Grill on a Wednesday night in December? Well, it's true. Come join us at 7pm on this Wednesday night (12/14) for conversation with Brian. 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

November 30th at Bare Bones Grill

For our gathering on November 30th at Bare Bones Grill at 7pm, we will discuss the writings of Brian McLaren. Please bring any books of Brian's that you have as well as any questions/reflections that you would like to discuss. See you then, Tim

Emergent in the News

In today's Carroll County Times, there is a front-page article on Emergent. There is also a long article on The Journey in Eldersburg. It's worth checking out the links. The Cohort and its web address were even mentioned in the print edition. If you want more info. after reading through our blog, contact Tim at: emergentbaltimore@gmail.com

Benefit Concert for Habitat

On Saturday night November 19th at 8pm, the ministry that my wife and I lead is hosting a benefit concert to support the work of Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore and in Hurricane Relief. Two musicians will be performing. The main act is Christopher Williams who has been a friend for years and has a folk/rock style. Christopher opened for Jars of Clay this Spring and played with them at Live 8 in Philadelphia this summer. The opening act is The Cobalt Season featuring Ryan Sharp. We met Ryan and his wife Holly through Emergent and are excited that they will be in the area on their cross-country trip. The concert will take place at the Luigi Petti Restaurant on the 2nd floor. There is no cover charge, but donations to Habitat are suggested. I hope you can make it!!

McLaren's work and then McLaren himself

For our gathering on November 30th at Bare Bones Grill at 7pm, we will discuss the writings of Brian McLaren. Brian is one of the founders of Emergent and currently serves as the President of Emergent's board. Come with your thoughts, ideas, reflections, and comments about Brian's books. If you haven't read any, I'd recommend A New Kind of Christian and the 2 other books in that triology as well as A Generous Orthodoxy and More Ready Than You Realize. For more info. on Brian, check our his website and this interview with the Dallas Morning News. On December 14th, Brian will join us for discussion. Again at the Bare Bones Grill at 7pm. All are welcome on both nights.

McLaren coming on December 14th

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone on October 26th (see post), but wanted to let you know that Brian McLaren will be coimg to our cohort at the Bare Bones Grill on Wednesday December 14th at 7pm. It will be a great time to be with Brian, learn more about Emergent, and to have some discussion around our questions. See you soon, Tim

October gathering

We will gather on October 26th at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. We meet in the back room (which is past the bar), reserved under the name: Baltimore Emergent Cohort. Please RSVP below to make sure we can meet the minimum gratuity. See you then! Special thanks to Rick for hosting the cohort in his home last month!

September, October, November, and December

It has been great to see the response and participation in our Baltimore Emergent Cohort. I have been able to identify gathering dates for the rest of 2005. Wednesdays September 28, October 26, November 30, and December 14. The Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City is booked for next week but we have it reserved for the future dates. So for next week we will gather at the home of Rick Laribee, 11646 Sun CIrcle Way, Columbia MD 21044 at 7pm. Since we won't be meeting at a restaurant, plan to eat elsewhere and you may want to bring a beverage to share. Looking forward to seeing you, Tim

Next Gathering--August 31st!!!

Our next gathering will take place on Wednesday night August 31st again at the Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott city. Look for directions in a previous post. We have the back room reserved so make sure to RSVP in the cooments section. See you then!

July Gathering

Our July Gathering will take place on Wednesday July 27th at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill in Ellicott City. The group who was present last month enjoyed the conversations in a private room so chose to return to the same location. There is one small catch: though there is no charge to use the room, we must leave at least a $45 gratuity. So PLEASE use the comments section of the blog to indicate if you are going to be able to join us or not. We know this is cumbersome, but that way 2 or 3 people are not splitting the $45. So far we have had 10-15 people each time so it should not be a problem. Obviously, you can always come even if you did not say so first. [Some of you may have heard that we were going to meet on the 20th--well the room was booked on the 20th, but not on the 27th.] Dylan will be facilitating the discussion as I (Tim) will be at home with my wife and our soon-to-be-arriving baby.

Good news. . .

Thanks to Jason, we will NOT have to change locations mid-gathering this month! We will gather on this Wednesday, the 22nd at 7pm at Bare Bones Grill, in Ellicott City. The phone number there is: 410-461-0770 and directions are: Bare Bones is located at 9150 Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City on Route 40 West, one quarter mile west of Route 29. We have a room reserved for us under the name: "Emergent Cohort". Our topic will be: "What is Emergent?" We will discuss various definitions of what it means to be 'Emergent' or 'Emerging' as well as how you see your faith community in relation to those definitions. If you are interested in some pre-cohort reading, check out the Emergent Village website and in particular: the Emergent Order. See you on Wednesday for some great ribs and conversation . . .

WORSHIP IN THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE------5 weeks of outdoor worship for Darfur, Africa. June 12-July 10, 2005

As I mentioned on Wednesday night, some folks at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville had a dream to worship at 5 public sites in Washington, DC for the sake of justice in the Sudan. Check out their website: http://www.crcc.org/ for more info. They'll be at the Lincoln Memorial, Capitol Reflecting Pool--Congress, Freedom Plaza--Press Club, Sheridan Circle--Sudanese Embassy, and LaFayette Park--White House in the coming weeks. Anyone want to go together one (or more) weeks? We could bring people from our communities with us as well.

Recap of 5/25

A dozen of us gathered for more food, friendship, and conversation on Wednsday night. In addition to many informal conversations around the tables, we shared some ideas of possible future discussion topics. In no particular order, they were: What is "Emergent"? How to kindle spiritual hunger and assist people in integrating their faith and life? How to connect with postmoderns and maintain Christian distinctives? What is postmodern? Liturgy and modern for and with non-churched people Read a book and discuss it together How are we each doing as "emergent" Where do we seen ourselves being in 5 years with the Emergent conversation? How do we fight spiritual consumerism? The benefits and perils of on-line community Ministry preparation in the local church What kind of common mission(s) could we be about in Baltimore? Sharing what God is doing in each of our ministries Tim volunteered to select a topic for next month and Jason volunteered to find us a better location. NEXT GATHERING: Wednesday June 22nd, 7pm -- Columbia, MD check back for the precise location

Topics for Wednesday night

If you have any ideas for a discussion topic for Wednesday night's cohort gathering. . . and for future gatherings, leave a comment and/or bring them on Wednesday . . . or use the bulletin board that Daniel set-up. See you at 7pm at Donna's. (For directions, see Daniel's comment on the previous post.)

Great to get together

We had our first meeting and it was great to be together. The people were wonderful but we'll have to find a better meeting place. We decided that we would try meeting once a month on the 4th Wednesday of the month. So our next two gatherings will be on May 25th and June 22nd. We'll meet next time at 7pm at Donna's in Columbia. Donna's - Snowden River Parkway 5850 Waterloo Road, Suite 100 Columbia, MD 21045 410-465-2399 Directions: 95 to 100 West toward Ellicott City. Exit Snowden River Parkway. Turn left onto 108. Make the first right and on the right.

Our First gathering

The Baltimore Emergent Cohort will gather--for the very first time--Tuesday night (tomorrow) at 7pm at Champps Restaurant & Bar at the Mall in Columbia. Apologies to all the non-sports fans. My hope is that on a Tuesday night they will have plenty of space for us and then we can find an alternative meeting spot next month. Champps is next to P.F. Changs and near L.L. Bean. The phone number there is: 443-367-0333. See you at 7pm.

Save the Date!!!

The first gathering of the Baltimore Emergent Cohort will take place on Tuesday April 26th at 7pm in Columbia, MD The exact location is TBD so check back for an update. The first gathering will be a time for everyone to get acquainted and for us to shape what the cohort will be like. It will be a place of discussion and discovery focusing on issues of faith, culture, and ministry. Bring your ideas for discussion topics at future cohort gatherings.

Coming soon . . .

Soon the Baltimore Emergent Cohort will have its first gathering. If you are interested in participating or want more information, e-mail us at: emergentbaltimore@gmail.com Check back for an update with a specific time and place for our first gathering.