Recently in Travels Category

This week, I'll be consumed by the 2009 Emergent Village Theological Conversation with Jurgen Moltmann, an event that my company, JoPa Productions, is producing.  Here's the Twitter feed of the event, so you can look on with us.

Probably the most anticipated element of Cornerstone that I was involved with was a panel discussion entitled, "Gay Rights or Wrongs," which was a conversation about how the church should approach the issue of GLBT persons. (I wrote about other aspects of Cornerstone last week.)

This was an exceptional moment in the 26-year history of Cornerstone since they had never before had a pro-GLBT-inclusion advocate as a speaker. In fact, as I noted last week, even as recently as five years ago, the seminars mainly had to do with the merits of creationism, pro-life strategy sessions, and evidential apologetics. The fact that I was there, and that recent speakers have included the likes of Phyllis Tickle, Chris Heuertz, Richard Twiss, Brian McLaren, Jay Bakker, and Shane Claiborne will, to some, show the slippery slope slide of Cstone into rampant, anything-goes liberalism. But to those of us who are a bit more rational about such things, it is evidence of the overall shift (dare I say, emergence) of evangelicalism.

I didn't see much music while at Cornerstone last week. Occasionally I could hear, or feel, the thumping of a bass while I was giving a talk. Someone told me that there were about 500 bands there, which is an amazing number, to be sure.  So it's probably a shame that I didn't see more than I did.  But, the fact is, I have a strong aversion to Christian music in general, so I didn't have a great interest to begin with.

But I did see one group, whom I loved.

My primary role at Cornerstone was co-presenting a three-part seminar with Phyllis Tickle, long-time friend and author of many books.

We did a dog-and-pony show on the emergent/-ing/-ence movement that we've done before. IMHO, we work pretty well together, due to the fact that we're pretty much in accord, but we do disagree on enough things to make it interesting to those gathered.

For the rest of the week, I'm going to look back on my experience of the legendary Cornerstone Festival. What many are going to want to hear are my thoughts on the panel on which I sat which dealt with...

All I had today at Cstone was the second of a three-part series with Phyllis Tickle.  We had a great and engaged crowd, and it seems that people are intrigued by the emergence of Christianity. For those of you who...

I'm about to run out the door for Day Two of the Cornerstone Festival, so this will be a quick post. Yesterday was good fun, for sure. Unfortunately, there's no public wireless on the grounds, so liveblogging is out.  And...

I'm diving back into the blogosphere after a needed break (ever feel overwhelmed when you open your Google Reader after a few days away and see that Andrew Sullivan has written 343 posts?!?). I'm at the Cornerstone Festival, a legendary...

Next week, I'm speaking at the legendary Cornerstone Festival. I've never been.Have you?  What are your tips and hacks for my time at Cornerstone?...

For the third year in a row, I've spent the past few days in Waco, TX at Baylor University.  As a yankee, I hear all sorts of stereotypes about things and places Southern.  But, with the exception of some rather...

I'll be on Think with Krys Boyd on KERA in Dallas, and available online.  You can call in with questions, too.1pm: How is religion changing in America and how does the new Christian practice differ from the traditional church? We'll...

If you're a PC user and have Real Player, you should be able to see it here.In any case, I really like Baylor.  It's continued to be a moderate place, and the people I know there are genuine and hospitable. ...

Last week at the Transforming Theology confab, these terms came up again and again.  And, as usual, much frustration was expressed about the lack of meaning in these words.One debate was over the words "liberal" and "progressive." Some in the...

Here's part two of the video conversation between theologian/philosopher of science, Phillip Clayton, and me....

Well, my time here at Claremont is just about up. I'm sitting in Mudd Auditorium, listening to the second of two public panels.  Here are my reflections, looking back on the last three days.First, I have to note that...

Starting Day 3 here at Claremont School of Theology, we're having panels about whether progressive theology can transform society.9:26am - Jack Fitzmier, who leads the American Academy of Religion, is intense and challenging.  He says that the right people...

I'm at the inaugural Transforming Theology gathering: Rekindling Theological Imagination: Transformative Thought for Progressive Action.  Today we're talking about the church.9:16am - Harvey Cox, of Harvard, is giving his 5-minute statement.  He thinks there is an epochal shift coming in...

This week has been a light blogging week.  I even removed a post that I wrote yesterday about this because an emailer told me it was too inflammatory and mean-spirited.But, I'm flying off to SoCal today to participate in the...

I'm in Louisville today, meeting with others who've won grants this year from the Louisville Institute (mine is to allow me to finish my dissertation, ahem).  Relfections to be written on the flight home tonight....

Back when Patton Dodd asked initially asked me to consider blogging for Bnet, he wanted to play on the "Dispatches" subtitle of my book.  That is, he wanted to take advantage of my frequent travels to write about how the...

I'm sitting in an airport, reading in the USA Today that it's now been two years since a commercial airline crash, the longest crash-free period in aviation history, and I'm watching on TV as rescuers fish passengers of a downed...

I've arrived on the shores of the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri, where I'll be addressing a couple hundred Methodist ministers over the next three days.  Updates forthcoming......

Friday and Saturday of last week marked the inaugural event of JoPa Productions, a partnership between Doug Pagitt and me.  Doug and I are involved in the publishing industry both as authors and as editors/consultants/gadflies.  And just when it seems...

Here are the assembled Tweets from The Great Emergence National Event:...

As I wrote this summer on the Church Basement Roadshow, every place south of the Mason-Dixon line seems to think that they have the best BBQ.  IMHO, Kansas City and Memphis lead the pack (although Texas Brisket deserves a spot...

I leave Minneapolis today for Memphis, Tennessee, in advance of The Great Emergence National Event with Phyllis Tickle.  My posts in the next few days will likely be focused on bar-b-que.  And, I suppose, on the content of the event...

Having written yesterday's essay on my childhood Thanksgivings in Gaylord, my spirit was tugged to drive out to the little town on the plains before all of the holiday festivities got underway.  So I climbed in my vehicle and drove...

Last Saturday night, rain and general fatigue scuttled my plans to head into Manhattan, so my hosts and I went to see the film, Rachel Getting Married at the wonderfully quirky and historic Avon Theater in downtown Greenwich, Connecticut. Several little...

That's the best phrase I can come up with to describe Trinity Church, the folks with whom I spent the last three days.  Trinity is a funny place -- I should say, they are an unlikely church in a strange...

The other night in Greenwich, Pete Rollins and I were asked to introduce one another.  Pete said some gracious things about me, and I did my best to express my love for him:...

I'm in Greenwich, Connecticut for the next few days, speaking at various events at Trinity Church.  Trinity is an exceptional church -- emergent by any measure -- in an area not exactly known for innovative churches.  I've known a couple...