On tour…
Dear Friends,
What an exciting time to be alive! In our political world, there’s talk of change, and in our religious communities, change is afoot as well. Of course, not all change is for the better, and change scares a lot of people. But the fact is, life is change, and as Paul said in Romans (8:28-29), we believe that God is at work for the good “in everything.” In other words, God is an unseen change-agent, always working to foment good out of evil, better out of good, and the best out of better. Our great privilege and calling is to learn to harmonize with God’s Spirit and join God in plotting goodness.
We’ve completed the first two stops on our eleven-city “Everything Must Change” tour. Each was wonderful – and each was unique. In Charlotte, we gathered in a funky, fun, creative space – and even though we were so crowded that we had to adjust some elements of our program, the close quarters were cozy and warm. In Boise, we had a spacious state-of-the-art environment, great sound, and gracious hospitality – which created a different kind of warmth and charm with plenty of room for our full program. In both cities people thanked us for encouragement, inspiration, and invitation to “deep shift.”
If you haven’t signed up yet, we hope you will right now. We’ll be in Dallas next (Feb. 22-23), then Tampa/St. Pete (Feb 29-Mar 1), and then Vienna, Virginia (near DC – Feb 7-8). Then will come San Diego (Mar 28-29), Chicago (Apr 4-5), and Seattle (Apr 11-12), and finally Kansas City (Apr 25-26), New York (May 2-3), and Goshen (May 9-10).
If you can’t come, or if you’ve already come, would you think of friends in these cities to whom you could forward this email right now? We still have room in all our locations. And if you really want to come but can’t afford the regular registration fee, we have some partial and full scholarships available in each city, so email us at EMCscholarship@gmail.com.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most so far is just having time to hang out and meet people. During all the breaks and meals, I enjoy being available for Q & A and interaction. In Charlotte and Boise, I’ve been so intrigued by the stories people have shared with me – Evangelicals, Mainline Protestants, Catholics, de-churched, pre-churched – all on unique journeys to discover or rediscover what it means to be agents of God’s love, peace, justice, and grace in our world. As well, we’ve been having a special breakfast for church planters and participants in emergent cohorts – with great discussion and networking going on.
Here are some links you may be interested in this week:
About our upcoming Dallas event
An interview with Melvin Bray, who was with us in Charlotte
You can hear the NPR interview from WFAE in Charlotte (Scroll down to February 1st, 2008).
For all who care about poverty, nobody writes more realistically about grass roots ministry among poor people than my friend Bart Campolo
Our new supporter, Bread for the World, has put together one of the best one-minute videos I’ve ever seen.
Join us on the move,
Brian
