Six intrepid souls braved the cold wind to join our discussion about "when should the kingdom resist the empire?" Opinions varied from "always" (due to the natural tension between kingdom and empire) to "whenever we see the empire acting unjustly." An interesting thread centered on what to do when the church starts acting more like the empire than the kingdom...
This was Beth's first time to visit. Welcome, Beth!
Joseph took 14 minutes to discuss some of his latest thinking on theology and Larry shared the news from Casey that he and Kasey are moving to Abilene, so Casey can take a new position with Abilene Christian University. Casey and Kasey, we'll miss you. Vaya con Dios!
J.D. stepped up and volunteered to help maintain this blog. You should see his input as soon as I get him authoring rights.
We'll meet again on January 29. The group suggested we spend some time reading and blogging about what we read between now and then, then we'll talk about our holiday reading at our next meeting.
To inspire you, J.D. says he is going to finish the 3 or 4 books he started this year but never finished. Sounds like a great place to start! (That means I should finish the Shack and The Blue Parakeet...)
So leave a comment and tell us what you're reading.
Maranatha!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Kingdom versus Empire
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, November 20 - due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will discuss the question "when is it appropriate for the Kingdom to resist the Empire?"
Hope to see you at 7:00 PM at It's a Grind, 4152 W. Spring Creek Pkwy in Plano.
Hope to see you at 7:00 PM at It's a Grind, 4152 W. Spring Creek Pkwy in Plano.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Jesus for President Part II Recap
The October 30th North Dallas Cohort (NDC) meeting was thought provoking and enjoyable highlighted by a great crowd and stimulating discussion. Jimmy Cramer, a friend of the Brummet's, joined us for the first time. As always, there was no shortage of interesting discussion and unique perspectives!
Due to the upcoming holidays, we decided that we would meet one more time this year - Thursday, November 20th. The first meeting in 2009 will be Thursday, January 29th. Both meetings will be at our usual gathering place.
We began by discussing and contrasting two of the leading emergent writers and thinkers - Brian McLaren and Shane Claiborne. Their books and contributions have had a major impact on the development of emergent thought and for many of the North Dallas Cohort. Their messages are very similar and kingdom focused. Brian was seen as a more eloquent, persuasive, almost academic contributor with a very moving and inspirational approach. Shane's writings and message are equally motivating, stimulating and thought provoking, however; his style was viewed as more of a social activist.
The NDC also discussed the challenges facing today's the traditional church. We agreed that the reference to 'church' carried with it a certain amount of negative baggage. To some this implies an institution, a specific dogma or doctrine, uniformity, a building, and the primary place of worship. Unfortunately, a location, where we spend only 1-2 hours each week (at best). We also discussed how the traditional church at times appears to be incorporating Christian and American democratic principles as a unified theology that lures people into a political correct view of church. In some cases, placing more emphasis on politics and national interests than Christ's teachings. Consumerism was also cited as a key contributing factor to this co-mingling of religion and politics. Racism was also noted as a subliminal, almost unconscious factor also shaping our church views and practices. We agreed that we needed new language, new rituals, inclusion, and emergent practices to realize Christ's kingdom message.
As we adjourned, we agreed that the key topic for the November 20th meeting would be ..."when it is appropriate to resist the Empire".
Peace,
Due to the upcoming holidays, we decided that we would meet one more time this year - Thursday, November 20th. The first meeting in 2009 will be Thursday, January 29th. Both meetings will be at our usual gathering place.
We began by discussing and contrasting two of the leading emergent writers and thinkers - Brian McLaren and Shane Claiborne. Their books and contributions have had a major impact on the development of emergent thought and for many of the North Dallas Cohort. Their messages are very similar and kingdom focused. Brian was seen as a more eloquent, persuasive, almost academic contributor with a very moving and inspirational approach. Shane's writings and message are equally motivating, stimulating and thought provoking, however; his style was viewed as more of a social activist.
The NDC also discussed the challenges facing today's the traditional church. We agreed that the reference to 'church' carried with it a certain amount of negative baggage. To some this implies an institution, a specific dogma or doctrine, uniformity, a building, and the primary place of worship. Unfortunately, a location, where we spend only 1-2 hours each week (at best). We also discussed how the traditional church at times appears to be incorporating Christian and American democratic principles as a unified theology that lures people into a political correct view of church. In some cases, placing more emphasis on politics and national interests than Christ's teachings. Consumerism was also cited as a key contributing factor to this co-mingling of religion and politics. Racism was also noted as a subliminal, almost unconscious factor also shaping our church views and practices. We agreed that we needed new language, new rituals, inclusion, and emergent practices to realize Christ's kingdom message.
As we adjourned, we agreed that the key topic for the November 20th meeting would be ..."when it is appropriate to resist the Empire".
Peace,
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