House Church Talk - Emerging Chruch Gathering

[Bob Bowen]

Everybody is talking about answers for the emerging church. Everybody is reading the next book that will solve our dilemma. Everybody is trying out the flavor of the month in hopes that the magic pill will make sense out of our present reality. And what is our present reality? Some call it postmodernism, a radical deconstruction of all our previous cultural assumptions. Others call it post-Christendom, a transition time for the historic church where it finds itself on the margins of society. Others label it a fad, a bad dream that we will someday awaken out of and get back to the way things used to be and ought to be. We call it Mayhem. Not sure how to label it, not sure how to define it, we just know that we’re in it and we’re not alone. 

We want to invite you to a gathering (see www.not-alone.org), a conversation centered around the reality of Mayhem and what is emerging. Out of this reality is growing an underground movement of Christ followers who are not afraid of their surroundings and not surprised at the shifting ground underneath their feet. These are people who resonate with an old faith in a new world. These are people who are passionate about words such as community, natural, organic, simple, missional, monastic, relationship and Kingdom. 


We want to invite you to a “thin place”. In Celtic Christian tradition, certain locations were called "thin places", where the division between heaven and earth was said to be at its narrowest. It is understood that in some places the veil that separates the eternal from the temporal grows thin and becomes permeable, so that in such places, the things of heaven are felt and experienced with greater clarity. When you find yourself in Mayhem, you need clarity. We believe that our faith is rooted in the truth that the Kingdom of God is both now and not yet. We have glimpses now, portals of the Kingdom that can be accessed through the Spirit of Christ. The fullness of the Kingdom is not yet, but in reality not altogether foreign for us. It is at this intersection, in the thin place of the Kingdom now that we declare you are not alone. 


We want to invite you to a gathering of “not alone”. As we are moving forward into the future in co-operation with the Kingdom in whatever form of Church you are an architect in, we are not alone. Mayhem can be chaotic, dark, lonely and cold but you’re not alone. Mayhem is being hosted by an emerging network of missional communities in the Midwest. It is a 2 day gathering where Brian McLaren will help lead the conversation to make sense of our present reality and point us towards the future. The gathering will be highly interactive and relationally driven. In addition to Brian McLaren, there will be round-table conversations led by practitioners who are making attempts in the new mayhem. The “thin place” will be sought through community worship, monastic reflection, common meal, communion, prayer and new friendships breaking out all over. 

Mayhem is taking place January 9-10, 2003 in Cincinnati, Ohio at St. Elizabeth’s Church on 1757 Mills Avenue. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. on Friday for the common meal and close at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. We will be providing housing for a limited number of participants based on a first come first serve basis. We take hospitality very seriously and want you to feel welcome, as well as keep your costs down. 

We are also proud to partner and associate ourselves with Off-the-Map, Next-Wave & Allelon who will help lead the conversation. Register @ www.not-alone.org. The cost is $40 for one registration and $70 for two registrations - any two people registering together. Space and registration is very limited. Register today (Cost includes Friday evening common meal.) Questions?, Email us at info at not-alone.org 

It’s Mayhem, and you’re invited! 


Bob Bowen
Denver Bronco Fan Since 1961
bobbowen.blogspot.com
www.off-the-map.org