You can follow along and ask questions on Twitter at #EVTC where the main sessions will also be streamed live.

Some of you will be looking to download some last minute audiological goodness for your journey.
Here are some suggestions:

Philip Clayton was interviewed on Doug Pagitt’s radio show. Link is here [all of these are also available on I-tunes]

During the American Academy of Religion a herd of theology nerds gathered in the home of Mark Scandrette – Jesus Dojo extraordinaire – for some live Homebrewed Christianity podcast fun.  Daniel Kirk (New Testament Prof at Fuller Theological Seminary) and Philip Clayton (Philosophical Theologian and Dean of Claremont School of Theology) were our featured contributors but the crowd Deacons who gathered made the entire experience a blast. On top of the podcast we all enjoyed the wonderful food provided by the Scandrette family, the huge bottle of Bullet Bourbon from Rebekah, 3 amazing homebrews from Kirk, and some great questions at the end. 

We hope you enjoy the live brew.  If you dig it you should make plans to join us February 12 at Claremont for John Caputo going 3-D or holla about hosting a show in your own home\bar\church.

If you are wise….and of course you are…you should get Kirk’s new book Jesus Have I Loved, but Paul? and Phil’s freshest The Predicament of Belief. 

We will be posting guest blogs around the internet as well as responding to questions here.

If you want to get ready for that – or are looking for a little Turkey-Week reading, here are two places to start:

“What_Is_Process_Theology” is a classic little starter by Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki

“GodBeyondOrthodoxy-r3” : Process Theology for the 21st Century by Philip Clayton

until then, you can post your questions or thoughts here. Thanks for helping us get ready for this. The comments and conversations  have been wonderful. 

There is, however, in the Galilean origin of Christianity yet another suggestion which does not fit very well with any of the three main strands of thought. It does not emphasize the ruling Caesar, or the ruthless moralist, or the unmoved mover. It dwells upon the tender elements in the world, which slowly and in quietness operate by love; and it finds purpose in the present immediacy of a kingdom not of this world. Love neither rules, nor is it unmoved;  -Whitehead

 

Here are some highlights of what you can expect:

• Process Theology emphasizes an open-ended and relational view of faith. The 5 sessions will integrate a format that is thoroughly relational and open-ended.

It is important that the information being presented match the organization of the conference. We want the content to match the container.

• Process Theology introduces new concepts and vocabulary. Each of the 5 sessions will begin with a ‘keynote’ presentation from a scholar, who will then be in dialogue with two other practitioners and thinkers.  The conversation will then be expanded to the gathered participants – with each session utilizing an appropriate format for the themes of that session.

Use of technology like the Twitter-Tumbler and an empowered moderator will facilitate real-time interactions with the presenter during the session.

• The structure of the five session are organized in a chiastic format. Monica A. Coleman will lead us in session 1 and 5. John B. Cobb will host session 2 and 4. Philip Clayton has agreed to provide the ‘hinge’ session 3.

Session 1 is Introduction with Monica Coleman
Session 2 is Expansion with John Cobb (Christian Belief and Pluralism)
Session 3 is Dissection and Doubt with Philip Clayton
Session 4 is Application with John Cobb (Economics and Ecology)
Session 5 is Construction for Ministry with Monica Coleman

• Julie Clawson, veteran of Emergent Conversations, pointed out that most conferences don’t build in a time to question, disagree, and push-back. Great ideas are presented and insightful questions are asked … but the real wrestling is done either individually or after hours.

We still want personal wrestling and after-hours conversation, but we have also purposefully built in a session for wrestling out loud. Session 3 will let us debrief with Philip Clayton who navigates the worlds of Emergent and Process, Church and Academy in a masterful way.

• Each session will be followed up with related break-out tracks. One will focus on ministry specific issues. Jeanyne Slettom, director of the Center for Process & Faith and co-Pastor of a process-centered congregation will be helping us with this. Another track will be theological-conceptual. The third will be a wild-card showcase.

Five times we will come together for the main sessions to hear a presentation, listen to a dialogue, participate in a conversation, and then disperse for break-out sessions.  These four expanding levels of engagement will allow for both learning and expression in each of the five chapters.

Here is a potential picture of Session 5: Monica Coleman will present ideas and stories about her ministerial experiences and context specific opportunities and challenges for ministry with a Process framework. Then Danielle Shroyer and Bruce Epperly will join her to tell a bit about their context and their engagement of Process in ministry.  Next, we will break down into smaller circles to compare notes in order come into the Question & Response time. This main-session conversation will propel us into the the breakout sessions. One breakout will have two pastors talking about preaching Process. One will be about comparing theological vocab & concepts between different schools of thought. Another will address sexuality in the church & community.

For John Cobb’s session 4 on Ecology and Economy, a conversation partner like Julie Clawson (author of Everyday Justice) and another thinker would be followed by  breakout sessions that correlate.

This is going to be a wonderful time – come to the registration page and sign-up now. Put it on you Christmas List! you might surprised who wants you to be there.

We are so excited to be a part of putting this on.

Register here and tell a friend to sign up!

Christmas is just 40 some days away… publish your Wish List this week. 

1) Registration for the 2012 Emergent Village Conversation  = $99

2) Plane tickets to Southern California = points donated by relatives

3) Engaging in new ideas presented by inspiring thinkers = priceless.

click here for an overview of the 5 sessions that are planned

A while back I wrote a review of her Christology, Christ the Key, here.  You can check out all her books (and get Christ the Key) here.

The book itself came out of a series of lectures she gave at Princeton.  Bloggers showed up and got a clickin’ Lecture I, Lecture II, Lecture III, Lecture IV, Lecture V, Lecture VI, Memoria Dei has a series of posts that go through the book and there is a brief post on theopolitical. She is also loved at Faith and Theology!

As one of the behind the scenes helpers of Big Tent Christianity, I can honestly say that I feel like last week’s Phoenix event was very successful. I know that others are weighing in on things that they would have liked to have seen or things that we can do differently next time – and I agree with many of these suggestions; I think we all do.

But before we focus on the 10% that could use adjustment, I want to highlight four things that I think were done right and which made this an overwhelming hit: partnership, dialogue, facilitation and leadership.

Partnership: we partnered with people. The Arizona Center for Contemporary Theology, The Desert Emergent Cohort and the Beatitudes Church were wonderful hosts and friends to Big Tent.  We didn’t pick some random city off the map, we responded to an invitation. We didn’t book some conference center or large hotel to stage the event, we were hosted by a congregation.

This shift in theological dialogue is not primarily about ideas but about relationship – not about impressiveness but about connection. If the main concern was to stage a big event with nationally known speakers then you would do that differently than what we did in Phoenix. I loved the connections that we made and the way that they were made.

Dialogue: we had conversations. Carol Howard-Merritt was the first speaker and set the perfect tone. David Felton spoke with an honesty that carried weight because of his position and location.

Eliacin Rosario-Cruz in conversation with Brian McLaren about the practices and rhythms of faith and life.

Nadia Bolz-Weber in dialogue with Richard Rohr about conflict and reconciliation.

Anthony Smith in dialogue with Tripp Fuller about Pentecost and post-Colonial realities.

Rachel Held-Evans taking on Marcus Borg in the Evolution break-out session.

Brian Ammons’ letter to the Bishop.

Mark Scandrette’s spoken word prayer-benediction-exhortation.

This is the upside to a conference like this. There are always limitations to this sort of event, but one of the advantages it that we get to listen in on conversations that we would never get to hear otherwise.  When Shane Hipps, Spencer Burke, and Barry Taylor were talking about technology and spirituality, I was so happy to be in that room.

Facilitation: we organized and empowered. There were many moments where I thought to myself “I love this moment”.  We had Main-Liners, Emergents, Evangelicals, Neo-Monastics, Pentecostals, Conservatives, and ‘Nones’  talking about Prayer, Evolution, Technology, the Bible, Sex, the Church, Demons, Intentional Communities, and Race.

This happened in break-out sessions, over coffee breaks, in main sessions, over meals and at late-night mixers.

Leadership: The simplest way to say this is that Big Tent is one branch on a big tree. When you have an internationally acclaimed Theologian like Philip Clayton who gets a vision and a subsequent grant to “Transform Christian Theology” and he does this – not by writing a 3 volume systematic theology – but by being in dialogue with others and facilitating conversation between others … I think that is really saying something.  Something that is probably too easily overlooked or taken for granted in this age of cynicism where it is easier to make sarcastic quips from the back row than to make substantial contributions on the front line (I am preaching to myself here).

I loved Big Tent Phoenix – and not just because I was on the planning team. I was on the planning team because I love what this is and what it represents and what it can become.

There will be things that will be different at Big Tent NY or Big Tent San Fran or Big Tent Portland-Seattle.  (I am making those up because I am hoping for them)

In addition to the Denominational diversity there is always an eye toward Gender and Race representation. The theological and ecumenical voices will be increasingly complimented by the thoughtful practitioner.

One thing is for sure: Big Tent Phoenix was a moment – a living moment. Heads and hearts were enlivened, lives and communities were influenced. Seeds were planted. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it and I look forward to seeing where it  goes from here.

you can connect with Bo at his blog http://aneverydaytheology.blogspot.com/ or on FaceBook

Source: Transforming Theology Blog

Philip Clayton raises a good point in this video about the need for theologians to engage in discussions with philosophers that don’t involve pulling the dogma card.

As church leaders, we need to teach this kind of openness before theological education.That way when people are exposed to philosophical dialogue that confronts their worldview, this won’t happen:

(From today’s Postsecret update)

I think the kind of 1st person theology that Philip Clayton is describing in this video has to be encouraged very early in discipleship. We can approach discipleship in churches in ways that give permission to change theological positions later.

Many adults in our churches were handed a set of non-negotiable truth statements when they were first discipled. If catechism is packaged that way, then our beliefs are either 100% correct or 100% BS.  When these truths are under attack, we have to fight back because otherwise we’ve wasted the last umpteen years believing something stupid.

On the other hand, if we learn early on that one of the only things we can be certain about is that our theology is going to change, then we can go into philosophical discussions and make truth assertions with the idea that we’re still searching, excited that we might discover something new.