Yee Haw
Geschreven door Mark Van Steenwyk: 19 mei, 2005
Ik blogging van Nashville. Mijn vriend Jeff en ik ben bij de Optredende Overeenkomst. Ja, weet ik… waarom ik de EG zou bedragen, wanneer I gripe zo veel over Optredend? Goed, drie redenen: 1) Jeff heeft me voortdurend om met hem afgeluisterd te gaan. 2) Ik realiseerde dat ik meer open gelet op en converstant met Optredend moest zijn aangezien ik enkele problemen binnen Optredend uitdaag. 3) Jeff en ik wil de conferentie van het Consumentisme bevorderen een beetje.
Ik ben vrij geïmponeerd met hoe open geweest en de leiding van Optredend ben geweest verwarmd. Het idee dat zij slechts een bos zijn van pissed van mensen die Evangelicalism niet meer haten van toepassing zijn (als het werkelijk ooit heeft).
Nochtans, heb ik opgemerkt dat er een duidelijke binnencirkel… daar is hoge priesters van de beweging… als u geen insider bent is, dan is uw kansen om te worden moeilijk. Dit is een probleem. Het is moeilijk om geen binnencirkel te hebben… maar hebben van één schijnt het oneens met Optredende ethos te zijn.
Ik werd indruk gemaakt op door het aantal vrouwen (misschien 30%). Terwijl dat niet zou kunnen indrukwekkend klinken, is het boven het aantal vrouwen die bij kerkleiding statistisch betrokken zijn. Optredend nuttig globaal in het machtigen van evangelische vrouwen voor leiding is geweest. Veel meer kan worden gedaan, maar de vooruitgang gebeurt.
Nochtans, bijna was iedereen wit. Dit is een duidelijk probleem. Ik beschuldig Optredend niet van het maken van tot dingen die manier, maar het is zittend op hen om verandering te bewerkstelligen. De algemene Optredende stijl en de benadering hebben naar ecclesiology en het ministerie is toegankelijker voor middenklassewit. If I were part of the leadership of Emergent, I would work hard to build bridges in various ethnic religious communities and ask them to join the conversation…to the point of getting on my knees and begging them.
Just a few thoughts from Nashville.
for further reading . . .
- None Found
Going to a convention you’re not interested in so you can plug your own convention sounds a lot like “networking” in the business-model/consumerism sense of the word. [wink]
How’s the food with the emergers? Do the high priests eat like kings? I hope they’re not serving White Castle a la carte…
Mark, I was thinking about the confrences (both emergent and consumer culture confrence). Two thoughts came to mind:
#1 It seems that a good confrence must embody much more than good speakers. It seems that in order to make a confrence worth the 300 dollars + travel expenses and time, it must offer something that one could not get through reading a book or listening to a recorded talk. I have been to conferences where I would have been better off reading books by the speakers rather than wasting my money to hear the same thing from authors behind a podium. I am wondering what ways Emergent may or may not move beyound good lectures that one could absorb through books and tapes, and into the territory of a confrence where people are truely confering with once another. In reguards to the consumer culture comfrence it would seem to your advantage that the important confering aspect of a gathering should happen more naturally in a smaller setting.
#2 The second thought I had while at work today while thinking about your statement on American mega churches as the was a question about consumer culture and cultural communication style. This might not make sense, but I am wondering what aspects of consumer culture functions as our language in the sense that consumer culture forms a canvas for our interpersonal/cultural interchanges. An anthem of the seeker movement was to “speak the language of the people who we are reaching out to”, in what ways might the mega church be meary communicating its message more effectivly than earlier evangelicals by better understanding the cultural meta-language. While some might say that the consumerist language needs to be redeemed, On my more heretic prone days, I might be so bold as to suggest there is something foundationaly wrong with the message itself. Today, is seems true, the media is the message, but I’m not sure I’m evangelical enought to think that the Christian mission is either message or media. Sorry, that veered off topic, The original question: Is consumerism a cultural meta-language that can be used for both good and evil?
Hello,
I have been hearing some good things about the conference. I have to admit though I do struggle with the ethnic diversity issue. But it seems that there are more people coming to the table. I hope to be able to go to one of these conferences in the near future. I may be the only spot in the room but I think I’ll be ok.
Thanks for the report.
Ant
Ant…I am hopeful. I think Emergent and other folks are desiring diversity more and more. People are begining to realize that we have so much to learn about our faith and to try to see it through one lens is foolish and anemic.
To the anonymous question-asker: We should be careful about using the language of consumption. I think it could have some uses, but only if we are able to consitently challenge and confront some of its darker shades. I would be open to “redeeming” the language of consumption, but currently we are utilizing it without much critique, and it is taking the “good” out of the “good news.”
becoming a multiracial church, part 5
Last weekend at The Vine, I was part of a panel discussion on racial reconciliation. I read excerpts from my blog posts on becoming a multiracial church. It was a good mix of presentations with personal stories, offenses, forgiveness, and (occasional)…