Initial Conversations (First & Second Hand)

Today was a great exploration of the emerging communities through two conversations. I was simply an observer in the first conversation (a Podcast interview conducted by Tony Jones with Karen Ward) and an active participant in the second conversation (with Isaac Bubna - a co-ordinator with one of the emerging communities in Spokane). Let me take a moment and pull out a couple of things of interest from each conversation. There were three things that most caught my attention in the interview with Karen Ward. First, I was interested by the organic nature of her church building process. She began the Church of the Apostles without official authorization from her denomination (she found a call on her own in Seattle that allowed her to start the community building process on her own time). The community started with just 4 participants, and the community began in one place (an internet cafe across the street from their current site) and evolved into its current setting. All of this confirms my conviction that you don't have to be ready by conventional standards (i.e. "x" number of dollars in the bank and "x" numbers of committed members) to embark on an emergent endeavor; you simply have to be passionately faithful and follow the Spirit's leading. The rest will take care of itself. The second thing that caught my attention was the way Karen integrated her individual social location (i.e. as an African-American woman) into her vision. She was somewhat non-chalant in discussion her social location and didn't let it define the entire scope in of her ministry. As a gay male clergy, I could strongly relate to Karen's approach since my own social location does not define my call; rather, it informs it. The third and final thing that caught my attention was the way the community organized itself around the principle of radical hospitality. They especially claimed the wisdom of two parables: (1) the prodigal son, and (2) the wedding banquet. I loved how the community had such a clear sense of scope and purpose for its ministry. There were two things that I walked away from my time with Isaac this morning as well. First, I was impressed by the scope of Isaac's resources and the connections/relationships that have been built over the past few years. Isaac was incredibly gracious in his sharing of resources. I feel like I've got much food for thought to chew on for the coming weeks. The second thing that struck me in our time together was how the emerging communities have brought together folks whose paths would otherwise never have crossed. Isaac was located solidly in the evangelical community; I have been solidly located in the mainline community. Isaac is a heterosexual man; I'm a gay man. Isaac's in a demographic (20-somethings) that has largely been absent from the communities I have served; I'm in a demographic (30/40-somethings - I turned 40 in 2 weeks) that has largely been underserved in his ministry settings. The amazing things is that our common interest in emerging ministries reach across all of these lines and created an instant rapport in a way that nothing else I've been involved in during the past 5 years of ministry has. This really helped reinforce the notion that (with the Spirit's help) I'm heading in the right direction. Til next time...