I am going to preach this morning. Actually, in all probability I will be preaching by the time you read this. I will not be away from home in some alien pulpit, though, but at home in my own parish and among those whom I love. I won't preach, of course, because I can't. What I will do is just talk. And what I will talk about is where I was last week.

Last week, I was in Seattle at Fremont Abbey, which is the home structure or base for The Church of the Apostles, where an African-American female friend and colleague of mine, Karen Ward, is abbess and where a significant portion of the Fremont area of Seattle seems to gather to do its worship or to do its socializing or maybe just to lick its wounds, re-group, and go forth into the world renewed. None of those exercises is a bad thing for a church or parish to be engaged in, and most assuredly none is a bad thing for the folk who are the beating heart of Fremont Abbey.

Fremont Abbey is an Anglimergent church. That is to say that what you and I and all our kind are living through right now is referred to as The Great Emergence. Like The Great Reformation of the 16th century, The Great Schism of the 11th century, the time of Gregory the Great in the sixth century, or The Great Transformation that happened at the change of the eras, this one of ours also marks a seismic shift in human affairs, both religious and secular. When scholars call this one The Great Emergence, they do not exaggerate; for as was true with all its predecessors, out of it is coming a whole new definition of what it means to be human, of how society should be structured, of what constitutes the good life -- even of what human life itself is and how it may be defined.

In this "Great Emergence" there are churches, movements, and congregations that are frankly "emergent." That is, they are completely new conceptualizations of what "church" is to be. There are, in other words, many congregations and gatherings that frankly are emergent away from, or emerging up out of, the traditional flow of "church' as we normally think of it, and they are a legitimate new form of Christianity as surely as, 500 years ago, bodies protesting the dominance of Latin Catholicism were emerging and protesting and forming new bodies of the faithful and were legitimately Christian.

In all of this reshuffling and reconstituting, there are also other parishes, however, other churches and congregations that are moving to embrace emergent Christian thought while melding it with extant and/or historic expressions of the faith. They are known as the hyphenateds. They are the presbymergents and methomergents, the luthermergents, and the baptimergents, the submergents and the anglimergents, etc. They fascinate me more even than do completely emergent congregations, because they seem to me to be engaged in the more difficult task of bringing to the party the best of two worlds, the ancient and the future. They are hyphenated, in other words, because they seek to meld the DNA and passion and post-modern theology of a new form of Christianity with the extant body and operative history of an established tradition. Among them all, none is so absorbing or compelling to me as are the anglimergents, of whom there is no better example than the Church of the Apostles in Seattle.

Part of my joy in this and my sensitivity to it, undoubtedly, is that I am, for lo these many decades now, an Anglican through and through. Standing in the nave of the Church of the Apostles last Saturday night, I was reminded again of the richness and the glory of that singular and never-quite-domesticated or tamed position, especially as it is being translated into postmodern Christianity. I watched people of all classes and strata, abilities and dress styles, and all kinds of sexual or gender persuasions come together in a worship that used much of the order of service laid out in the Book of Common Prayer, but somehow remained innocent of preconceptions while revealing itself as long on mercy, compassion, and adamant belief. The worship at COTA was blatantly dedicated to the premise that the Bible is one narrative, not two narratives in one set of covers, and to the even more radical premise that Jesus, the Nazarene, actually meant what he said in everything that he said, including the fact that the promises of Holy Writ are fulfilled in him and had better be acted upon by us.

What will I preach this morning? I won't. I'll simply say to those of us gathered in our Tennessee nave that the time has come to take heart. Now, in this time of re-formation culturally and sociologically as well as religiously, our brothers and sisters in Christ all over this country and the globe are finding generous and merciful and grace-filled ways to exercise their faith and to include all peoples, and we can do no less. That is what I shall say, and I will begin the saying of it this morning by reading aloud a collection of words that I have heard many times before but never received until last week when I heard them proclaimed in the mixed beauty and aberrant, warm, but not quite familiar hospitality of anglimergence at its most powerful. The words are those of Isaiah, the prophet, who foretold Messiah's coming. They go like this:

Thus says the Lord, Keep right judgment and do justice; for my salvation is near and soon to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.

Blessed is the one who does this, and blessed is the one who lays hold of it, who observes the Sabbath and does not pollute it, and who keeps his or her hand from doing evil.

Neither let the son or daughter of a stranger who has joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, "The Lord has utterly separated me from His people." Neither let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree."

For thus says the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep My Sabbath and choose the things that please Me and take hold of My covenant;

Even unto them will I give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Also the sons and daughters of the strangers that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord and to be His servants, and everyone that keeps My Sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of My covenant,

Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their offerings and sacrifices shall be accepted on My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.

Isaiah 56:1-7

May it soon be so everywhere and in all places. Amen.

Phyllis Tickle (www.phyllistickle.com) is the founding editor of the religion department of Publishers Weekly and author of The Words of Jesus: A Gospel of the Sayings of Our Lord and the forthcoming fall release, The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why.

I've remarked to a number of friends lately that there seem to be three main kinds of religious people in the world.

First, there are the fearsome -- those who like to make others afraid.
Second, there are the fearless -- those who refuse to be intimidated by the fearsome.
Then in the middle are the fearful -- those who are afraid to associate with the fearless because they might incur the ire of the fearsome.

I've noticed over the years that a favorite tactic of the fearsome is "guilt by association." A small group of the fearsome is using this tactic this week to attack Kay Warren for her participation in the upcoming Envision 08 gathering at Princeton University, June 9-11.

One of their blogs recently began like this:

Kay Warren Joins Heavy-Weight Emergents at Envision 08

Kay Warren, wife of Purpose Driven pastor Rick Warren, will join several heavy-weight emergent leaders at the upcoming Envision 08 event this June. Kay Warren will share a platform with Brian McLaren, Jim Wallis (Sojourners magazine), Shane Claiborne, Jay Bakker (son of PTL Jim Bakker), Doug Pagitt, and several other speakers who share emerging church proclivities.

In my opinion, Kay Warren is a hero. I doubt she would even be aware of "emergent heavyweights," much less wish to be associated with them. She is busy helping influence thousands of Christians to care in unprecedented ways for people in need around the world -- especially for those suffering from HIV/AIDS. The fearsome critics choose to ignore the amazing good Kay and Rick Warren have done and are doing, and instead they attack Kay for attending an event that includes people like (shudder) Shane Claiborne, Jim Wallis, Jay Bakker, Doug Pagitt, and (shudder again) me.

Ironically, today's fearsome were probably yesterday's fearful who became co-opted by a mindset of fear. One can hope that more and more of today's fearful will refuse to be intimidated or play into the old politics of fear. After all, recalling Paul's words (2 Timothy 1:7), God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

When people tell me about the latest statements of these well-intentioned but less-than-fully-informed people, I feel like Nehemiah: I have important work to do and I don't want to get involved in their debates (6:3-13). Nor do I want to waste my and others' time in the kind of arguments Paul warned Timothy about (2 Timothy 2:14). So, may God bless the fearsome with a good night's sleep and a better attitude tomorrow, and may God bless Kay and Rick Warren for their good work -- fighting HIV/AIDS and helping the poor around the world (Galatians 2:10). And may God bless all who will make Envision 08 a remarkable, positive, Christ-honoring event. May few be intimidated or discouraged by the attacks of the fearsome, but instead, may many be strengthened in their resolve to do what's right and good -- fearlessly. And may we all manifest the fruit of the Spirit through all these controversies ... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Brian McLaren also blogs at (brianmclaren.net) and serves as board chair for Sojourners. He is an author and speaker (deepshift.org). His most recent books include Everything Must Change (2007) and Finding Our Way Again (2008).

God is doing something new through a new generation of conspirators. They are comprised by at least four streams: emerging, missional, multicultural, and monastic. You can read about what God is doing through a new generation of innovators in The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time.

The emerging stream had its beginnings with young leaders in Britain who wanted to create new ways to engage a postmodern generation. They have fashioned a range of imaginative new expressions - from cafes to art centers - that engage those that would never come to a traditional church. You can find a large number of emerging leaders all over the U.S. struggling to create new forms of church. They are connected to groups like Emergent Village, Soularize, and Youth Specialities.

There are a few theologians who question the biblical orthodoxy of some of these leaders. The emerging leaders I have had an opportunity to work with have a very high view of scripture. But they tend to approach scripture more as narrative - story and mystery with a welcome humility.

There are three major characteristics that impress me about the emerging stream that come directly out of their commitment to scripture:

First, they are not only concerned about orthodoxy but orthopraxy. They are interested in seeing a more authentic whole life faith than is often found in established. They are keen to see a faith that impacts every aspect of their lives and lifestyles.

Second, they want to be involved in expressions of church in which word and deed mission is central, not marginal. As a consequence, many emerging churches are often more outwardly focused on the lives and communities in which they serve.

Third, even though many of these young leaders come from evangelical roots, they have left the ideologies of the religious right and political right behind and have started doing their own thinking. As a consequence, they tend to embrace views that transcend right and left. They value family integrity and care for the vulnerable, but also are typically strong advocates of social justice and care of creation.

Next week: the missional stream.

Tom Sine founded Mustard Seed Associates in 1989. He has worked as a consultant in futures research and planning for numerous nonprofit organizations and speaks at gatherings all over the world with his wife, Christine. His newest book, The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time, comes out next month. Join the New Conspirators, Feb. 28-29 and Mar. 1 at Bethany Community Church in Seattle and discover what God is doing through a new generation of risk takers. Join this festival of imagination and create new ways to be a difference in uncertain times: www.thenewconspirators.wordpress.com