EVERYTHING MUST CHANGE - CHARLOTTE

Carolina Cohort Gathering?

Zach Roberts is proposing a gathering of the Carolina cohorts at the Franciscan Prayer Center in Stoneville, NC, in the fall. What do you think? Post a comment over on the Triad Emergent cohort blog.

Mainline Emergent/s

Speaking of Presbymergents, the Mainline Emergent/s event is happening next week (Jan. 30-Feb. 1) at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. I'm not planning to go, but hopefully there will be some good blog reports to point to in the coming days.

Presbymergent?

Adam Walker Cleaveland has launched a new community site for folks in the Presbyterian (PCUSA) world and the Emergent/emerging church world. It's called Presbymergent.org. One of the first churches listed on the site is Charlotte's Portico Church.

Tony Jones in Charlotte

Hey ya'll,

I just wanted to give a "heads up" that Tony Jones, National Coordinator of Emergent Village, is going to be in Charlotte at the end of this month, and we're planning a "Learning Party" to just hang out with Tony, ask questions, discuss topics, and generally have fun with others who are engaging with the whole emerging church movement here in the Southeast.

Here's the link with all the details:
http://indieallies.meetup.com/27/calendar/5229718/

If you want to help promote this event (and I sure hope you will!), there's a full-page poster and a half-page flyer you can download (as PDF) and print off here:
http://indieallies.meetup.com/27/files/

I hope to see you on Saturday, December 2, in Charlotte! Give me a shout at knightopia[at]gmail.com if you're planning to come out (or just RSVP on the Meetup site). Definitely let me know if you have any questions.

we can help

the aleutian & pribilof peoples of alaska have decided not to take citgo' offer of free, or reduced heating oil. these people, because of where they are located, pay between $5 and $7 a gallon for heating oil, their average bill could run hundreds of dollars a month, and in a culture that does not have much this is hard.

i am not interested in the politics, but i care about the people - we should all care about the people. they need our help - and you can give directly to them, and go through no middle-man.

to help, visit this site - they truly need us to help as we can. please share this with your community of faith and see how they can also help.

up coming stuff

our bud steve k, the co-organizer for the charlotte emerging cohort, sent out this very impressive list of this happening in and around our area - some of these might be worth attending.


date: Saturday, September 9
what: 9/11 Memorial Service As the promotional flyer for the event states, ?Come be with the Gaston community as we remember the tragedy of 9/11/01, and pray for a better and peaceful world. The hope for a brighter future begins with us?please join us, and help us make it happen!?
where: New Hope Baptist Church, 2024 Redbud Drive, Gastonia, NC, starting at 10 a.m.


date: Tuesday, September 12
what: Emerging Church Discussion Group Meetup for September I think we're going to have a new conversation partner with us (Rev. Sean LaBat from St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Columbia, SC) so don't miss it!
get info: [click]


date: Sunday-Tuesday, October 1-3
what: Emerging Women's East Coast Gathering: "A Seat at the Table" Becky and I are tentatively planning to attend (with our kids), so if you're interested in going, ladies (and gentlemen), give us a shout!
where: Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort, Virginia Beach, VA ($49/night conference rate)
cost: $50 ($25 for students)
get info: [click]


date: Tuesday, October 10
what: Emerging Church Discussion Group Meetup for October Come out and talk about what you've been reading/thinking/feeling, ask questions, engage in this dialogue and develop friendships!
get info: [click]


date: Saturday, October 14
what: ConvergeSouth Blog Conference FREE conference on blogging in Greensboro. I wish I could go this year (I missed it last year), but I'll be out of town. Somebody please go and rub shoulders with the glitterati of the blogosphere and bring back lots of cool ideas for blogging and communication, OK?? Please!?
get info: [click]


date: Tuesday, October 24
what: "Emerging Church Conference" with Brian McLaren This day-long conference will be a fantastic opportunity to hear "the Godfather of the emerging church" speak on "the historical, philosophical, and theological background to the concepts of paradigm shift and postmodern transition." If you haven't heard McLaren speak on this before, I highly encourage you to take the day off and drive up there with me to attend this! I've heard it before, but I'm looking forward to a refresher course. Even if you can't go for the whole day, Brian is speaking in a FREE session in the evening as well (starting at 7 p.m.).
where: Wake Forest Divinity School, Winston-Salem, NC
cost: Registration for Full Conference: $50 (includes lunch)
get info: [click]of for the ["FREE" Evening Session"]


date: Tuesday-Thursday, January 30-February 1, 2007
what: Mainline Emergent/s: Conversations in Theology, Hope, and Practice Diana Butler Bass, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, Nanette Sawyer, Karen Ward, Tony Jones, and Troy Bronsink will team with Columbia Seminary and the Atlanta Emergent Cohort to provide three days of stimulating conversation and dreaming about the nexus of emerging church life and the mainline Protestant church in America.
where: Columbia Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia
cost: $275 (online registration begins mid-September)
get info: [click]


also, steve added this: FYI -- I'm talking to Tim Conder about coming down to Charlotte (from Durham) to meet with us again sometime (possibly in November/December) and talk about his new book "The Church in Transition"!

The World I Dream

On the way to the Mt. Juliet Panera Bread, where I sit now, I was reflecting on an interesting conversation I had with some friends of mine on Wednesday evening at the Panera in Hermitage. (I work from these two Panera's alot) As soon as I got here, I brought the notebook out of hibernation and got on Merriam-Webster online and this is what I found:

In searching for "reality", the number one definition is, "the quality or state of being real." So, logically, I search for "real", who's number one entry is the adjective (most commonly used) form of the word, who's number one definition is, "of or relating to fixed, permanent, or immovable things."

This begs the question that was among the conversation this past week. What things are permanent? Let me say what things are not. In the metaphysical sense, human bodies, buildings, trees, cars, coffee, computers, etc, etc, etc. ANYTHING that has a beginning and an end is not permanent, hence is not real. Only that which exists in the spiritual realm are eternal, hence, real. It's fascinating how many things we feel exist in the spiritual realm, but really, do not. Take evil, for example. Evil has a beginning an and end. It has not always been and will not always be, therefore, it isn't real. Though evil isn't real, guess what IS...Love. Hmm, fancy that.

Does anyone else feel a little bit like we're in the Matrix?

Tags: real, reality, love, evil, the matrix