Article on Mainline Emergent/s Conference

Adam Walker Cleaveland at Presbymergent just posted a link to an article in The Presbyterian Outlook about the Mainline Emergent/s Conference. Just FYI, it sounds like the conference involved more than just Presbyterians, but since the Outlook is a Presbyterian publication, it tends to focus on how Presbyterians responded to the conference. Anyway, the article is posted here as a pdf.

Presbymergent or Presbymerging?

I just posted a brief article on Presbymergent titled, "Presbymergent or Presbymerging?" Check it out here if you're interested.

Presbyterian + Emergent = Presbymergent -- Is it possible?!

Just found a new website as I was browsing Kairos Blog called Presbymergent. It's a website for Presbyterians who are or who want to be part of the emergent conversation.

A couple of cool things I've discovered about the site so far:

• The site went live on January 26, 2007--that's less than a week ago!--and they've already got all kinds of traffic.
• Anyone who registers is automatically set up as a contributor. That means that anyone can post an article (once it's approved by the administrator, of course).
• They are currently covering some of the seminars and sessions from the Mainline Emergent/s conference.

Anyway, give 'em a look-see and see what you think--especially if you're a presbymergent!

2 Things I Appreciate about Being Presbyterian

Can you believe it?! I'm actually gonna say something nice about the PC(USA)!

I know I tend to state my frustrations with the PC(USA) more than I talk about what I appreciate. And sometimes I feel like there is nothing to appreciate.

But that's not true. In the last few days, I've been reminded of at least two things that I appreciate about the PC(USA).

1) No fundamentalist upbringing to react against.

I already mentioned this in my last post, so I won't go into detail. Steve Taylor (the musician, not the emergentkiwi guy) once said that, even though he was a pastor's kid (like me), he never felt like he had anything to rebel against. His parents loved him. They weren't legalistic. They gave him breathing room.

This has also been my experience. I've never felt any urge to react because I've never had anything to react against. I've certainly grown, and I'm always open to exploring new ideas, but never out of a frustration with the sense that something has been shoved down my throat.

2) I don't have to be afraid to say something I shouldn't.

I'm in a group of pastors and ministry leaders that get together once a month to talk about whatever is on our mind. This Monday, we talked about God and country. One of the guys was recording the discussion in order to post it online. But halfway through he had to stop the recording because too many of us were saying things that those in our denominations or churches or places of ministry might not approve of.

Nothing heretical, of course. Everyone believes Jesus is God incarnate. Everyone believes Jesus rose from the tomb. Everyone believes Jesus has called us to reach out to our world.

But not everyone believes that we should have an American flag in our sanctuaries. Or sing "America, the Beautiful" as a worship song. Or celebrate Veteran's day as a holy day.

I think it's sad that we had to turn off the recorder because some of the guys were afraid that their higher-ups might hear what they say.

There's a lot that frustrates me about the PC(USA), but at least I know I won't be called a heretic or told I'm backsliding if I don't tow the party line. Come to think of it, the PC(USA) doesn't really have a party line.

So, there you go. Two things I really like about my denomination.

By the way, I can't stand the logo at the top of this article. Not because of what it symbolizes, but because it's just a boring logo. I really hope the PC(USA) gets a logo facelift sometime in the next few years.