An Introduction to Ancient-Future Movement

Well, I've wanted to post some more stuff on the Ancient-Future idea, and I believe there is a person, who can do it better then me. Ladies and Gentelmen, I present to you Robbert Webber, who has been one of the most inspiring authors for the last few years for me. I just found his Intro on the subject through another blog. I suggest it is well worth your time (the Intro).

Webber identifies three commitments that an Ancient-Future Movement calls:

1. An Ancient-Future Faith calls us to return to our ancient roots in the first centuries of the church – world of the past is very similar to our own.
2. An Ancient-Future Faith is characterized by connection – ecumenical factor, common roots.
3. An Ancient-Future Faith seeks to be authentic in a changing world – a counter-cultural movement.

Enjoy the reading. It's fairly short.

A Conversation

Dear Emergent Village - Vilnius Cohort,

I would like to invite you to our first official conversation. The theme will be:

“The Mission of the Church: ways of expressing the missional calling of the church”

The location will be in Vilnus at “Katpėdėlė“ on P. Lukšio g. 34 (Across from Hyper-Rimi in Žirmūnai. The restaurant is located on the east side of the Senukai parking lot) on Saturday, March 3, 2007 from 10:00 to 12:00. You can stay longer if you like and talk but I want you to know that there is a beginning and an ending time. We will be eating breakfast or drinking coffee(s).

I hope to see you there!

David




http://emergentvillage-vilnus.blogspot.com/

Emergent Before Missional

I came across this quote on Alan Hirch's blog: The Forgotten Ways.

I think largely because they like the idea of emerging church but don’t want to bother about mission as the organizing principle of the church. They emerge before they get missional. And it is this aspect of the ‘emerging church’ that does worry me–much of it (by no means all) seems to me to be a re-configuration of the inhereted forms of the church and its worship.

I have read a good deal about these two terms, but have never thought of them having a sequential aspect. Why don't people tell you this stuff when you are starting a church?

Anyone up for a cup of coffee in the next couple weeks?

Five Streams of the Emerging Church

If you are interested in the Emerging Church stuff, this might be well worth your time. In this article, a well known theologian, supporting the movement (well, some say conversation), Scot McKnight talks about key elements of the most controversial and misunderstood movement in the church today.

It is said that emerging Christians confess their faith like mainliners—meaning they say things publicly they don't really believe. They drink like Southern Baptists—meaning, to adapt some words from Mark Twain, they are teetotalers when it is judicious. They talk like Catholics—meaning they cuss and use naughty words. They evangelize and theologize like the Reformed—meaning they rarely evangelize, yet theologize all the time. They worship like charismatics—meaning with their whole bodies, some parts tattooed. They vote like Episcopalians—meaning they eat, drink, and sleep on their left side. And, they deny the truth—meaning they've got a latte-soaked copy of Derrida in their smoke- and beer-stained backpacks.

Continue reading here (there? I'm confused) and come back to comment here. :-)

Postmodernity: Are the Baltics There Yet?

How postmodern are the Baltics in general and Lithuania in particular?

What are the evidences that we are actually in postmodernity?

How has being a part of the Soviet Union affected postmodernity in the Baltics and Lithuania? I heard someone say once that the 20th century's experiment with Communism was the pinnacle of the modernity. I would particularly like to hear from those of you who are native to the Baltics on this point.

Are the Baltics going postmodern faster than the US?

Is postmodernity different here than in western Europe or the US? How so?

Can someone tell me what postmodernity looks like in our context?

On a side note, what would you think of getting together on Saturday, February 10th for our first "conversation?" I am flexible on the date. Let me know.