Midwest Emergent Gathering

I returned yesterday from Chicago after attending the Midwest Emergent Gathering. What a great time my wife and I had as we heard from and shared with so many people who are exploring what it genuinely means to follow in the path of Jesus. Kudos goes to Mike Clawson and his wife Julie of up/rooted (Chicago Cohort) and their team, which included the Indianapolis Emergent Cohort led by Ryan and Sarah Notton, for putting this event together.

I enjoyed meeting and hearing directly from several people whose books I've been reading lately, like Doug Pagitt, Tony Jones, and Spencer Burke. I especially enjoyed hearing about The Emmaus Community in Chicago from Pastors James King and Alise Barrymore and I learned so much from Denise VanEck, a founding partner in ILS Coaching and Consulting and currently serving as Mars Hill Bible Church's Community Life Pastor,during her keynote sharing and follow-up dialogue. I also appreciated the dialogue with Hemant Mehta who is known as the Ebay Atheist. What a valid challenge he presents to us Christians as we seek to be more engaged in the world outside of our little created boxes. It is inspirational to hear from these folks who are not only dialoguing about issues related to the emerging and missional church, but who are also taking the risk of being practitioners. I thank all who led and participated in this event for welcoming me and my small beginnings into these conversations. It is truly exciting to feel the momentum of this conversation and the change that it can encourage and produce along the way. I look forward to sharing with my friends, colleagues, and current congregation much of what I'm learning so that we can also be an incarnational presence in the Muncie community.

I want to encourage others who might visit my blog to connect with the above links to get an even deeper understanding of the emerging and missional conversations going on all around the Christian community. It is an exciting time and the more I learn and share in this conversation, the more humble I become - recognizing my own limited knowledge and ability to genuinely live in the way of Jesus in my own family, community, and congregation.