some of us had the pleasure of meeting with brian a couple of weeks ago when he was visiting Asbury Seminary. we were limited to just a few hours together, not nearly long enought to get to the 'nitty gritty' - but it was a rich blessing and we hope to keep talking about how our community can serve the wider emergent conversation. anyway, along with the feature aticle in the recent Christian Century is this interview/review. whether you were able to join us or not, it's a great primer on where brian sees the emerging church headed.
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the article in Christianity Today was a bit disappointing (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/011/12.36.html). It lacked depth. The couple of Christian Century articles I posted are more engaging and deal with some of the deeper questions of ecclesiology and missiology. As for the conference….it has undergone a ‘make-over’ and, from what I understand, will pioneer some new ways for large groups to meet in a conference setting (see http://www.emergentconvention.com/planningblog/) when it happens again in the summer.
“Which Jesus does Communality follow?” Well, I think the point Brian is making in his book (a Generous Orthodoxy) is that Jesus doesn’t change, we change. That is, there is one Jesus but we are always being transformed by following him. Our life together in community - world history (war, globalization), the culture we breath (conspicuous consumerism, privilege, education, choices), the issues we face (gay rights, homelessness, women in ministry, abortion), the information we take in (TV, movies, music, the bible), and the people we love and know (homeless folk, refugees, each other!) – makes us different and therefore we see the world differently. This change in the way we see also alters our perspective on Jesus – what he would call us to, how he challenges us, how he comforts us. Does that make sense?
So the answer to your question is, “We follow the Jesus we see!” Which Jesus do you see?….hopefully we can learn from each other and more fully see Jesus.
by the way, i have a copy of brian's latest book so if anyone is interested in reading it let me know.
no worries mate, it's coming your way. also, it's nice to know we are not alone in these kinds of conversations. many communities are trying to work through these things...eg. http://theoblogy.blogspot.com/
thanks for your involvement at the ashram, scott.
peace to you.
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