a missional church network
We are excited to have Life on the Vine as a part of the Ecclesia Network. Their young congregation is located in the NW Suburbs of Chicago in the community of Long Grove, IL.
Life on the Vine is co-pastored by Geoff Holdsclaw, Matt Tebbe, and Dave Fitch. They are in the process of helping to start two new churches in the Chicago area in the next two years. We are excited to join with them in multiplying gospel communities throughout the Mid-West.
On October 24, 2009 we had the privilege of hosting Darrell Guder and Andy Crouch for a seminar in Suburban Philadelphia. Below, you will find the audio from those sessions.
On October 24, 2009 we had the privilege of hosting Darrell Guder and Andy Crouch for a seminar in Suburban Philadelphia. Below, you will find the audio from those sessions.
We are pleased to announced Verge LA 2009. This unconference is hosted JR Woodward and the Ecclesia Network. It takes place next month — November 13-14 — at the Fountain Room in Los Angeles.
JR describes the event this way:
The next big idea is about giving time to interact about innovative ways to partner with God in the renewal of all things. Unconference is about freely sharing creative ideas with one another without putting anyone on a pedestal. It is more participant oriented than personality driven, which is why there will be no lists of speakers. There is also no cost, because people share their gifts and knowledge freely.
Within a 24-hour period there will be twenty 14-minute presentations by 20 different speakers from 20 different churches on innovative ways to think and live missionally.
I will be in LA for this event. I love the format JR is putting together, and I’m going to be one of the presenters. You can learn more on JR’s blog or on the event page on Facebook.
We’re excited about the upcoming Scripture and Culture Seminar with Darrell Guder and Andy Crouch at The Well in Suburban Philadelphia. This event is put on by both The Well and The Renew Community. It should be a great event. If you are coming, directions can be found here. We’ll also be trying to do a video cast as well so check the Ecclesia Twitter stream for more info.
But, we’re more excited about all the proceeds from the event going to two organizations that are working hard to care for the poor. One Days Wages and HELP (Help End Local Poverty).
You can find more information about these organizations on their websites.
Oh, and if you are attending, register here.
I reviewed Deep Church on my blog this morning. I’m reposting that review here because I think this a book that many in the Ecclesia Network will find beneficial.
I’ll tell you up front that I received Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional, by Jim Belcher, for review. But I’ll also tell you that I would have bought this and read it at my first opportunity, review copy or not.
With so many books written about the emerging church in recent years, there has been a gap in books written about…the gap. Most books from both sides of the discussion have been written from the perspective of, “Here’s what we think, and why we don’t agree with you.”
But there is a gap and many of us find ourselves sitting in it — somewhere between what Belcher labels as the Traditional and Emerging churches. I think many of us in the Ecclesia Network fit this description. In the introduction, Belcher says it like this:
This book is written for those who are caught in between. They are unhappy with the present state of the evangelical church but are not sure where to turn for an answer. They like some of what the emerging and traditional camps offer, but they are not completely at ease with either.
Despite what he writes above, I think Deep Church is a book that can speak to several different readers. To those in the gap, I think it will be a hopeful resonance with what you are thinking and feeling. To those in the traditional church with trepidation about the emerging church, Belcher offers a fair take on the emerging church as one who has clearly listened to what is being said. And to the emerging church, Belcher offers a thoughtful and honest reaction to the concerns being expressed.
If I have one critique of the book, it is that the subtitle is ambitious (but maybe that is more a revelation of my own hopes than of the intentions of the publishing team). Belcher does not go all the way to lay out what a third way between emerging and traditional should look like. And that task should not be his alone anyway, though he offers a good head start.
Belcher writes as one who stands perhaps a little more to the traditional side, but leaning into this third way. I read as one standing a little more to the emerging side, but also leaning into this third way. The generous yet honest way he writes is one that invites me and others into conversation about a third way — a conversation that I hope will grow as labels are shed and hope is adorned.