We are looking forward to getting to meet everyone this summer at the conference. To help us become more acquainted with each other we encourage you to introduce yourself here. Feel free to tell as much or as little about yourself as you like. If you have a blog, post a link.
8 comments:
Hello, Friends.
My name is Tim Thompson and I live in Saint Paul, MN. My wife and I are ELCA pastors and while she is serving a parish in Lindstrom, MN I have left conventional congregational life in order to explore the house church movement and see how I can be a part of that. We've got two girls, 5 & 10, adopted from Vietnam and my wife has two grown sons from her first marriage. You can read more about my journey towards things house and emergent here: http://feralpastor.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Life.
Hi, all. Ellen and I will be coming with our two boys, Josiah (5) and Elijah (2). We live in Downers Grove in the western suburbs of Chicago. We are part of Church of the Savior, an Anglican Mission in America church plant in West Chicago. We're worship leaders there and lead once or twice a month, usually.
We both work at InterVarsity Press; I'm an acquisitions and development editor working with books in culture, church & mission, spirituality, etc., and Ellen is our rights manager, licensing translations of our books in languages around the world.
I'm also the author of a few books, most recently The Suburban Christian, and I blog at thesuburbanchristian.blogspot.com. Ellen blogs at our family blog, teamhsu.blogspot.com. Looking forward to the gathering!
I'm a 47 year-old pastor in Rochester, MN who no longer attends church.
Not unemployed - work as a high school math teacher and LOVE it. There is always a place for compassion in an Algebra class.
Done the pastor thing. M-Div at Trinity Ev.(Deerfield,IL). About 10 years in ministry. Two church plants, the last one in '96 using the Willow Creek model.
Lots of success, but the last few years have been full of questions whose answers have drawn me away from church.
I know that the Kingdom is not centered on pastors, programs and property but on compassion, justice, mercy and humility. For me, the pursuit of those values has led me away from church.
There are a few people I meet with regularly who are feeling the same. It is an unsettled feeling, which I know isn't bad, but nevertheless forces change.
I'm attending the gathering hoping to find some clarity as to where to pursue community. Go back to church? Connect with others feeling the same? Do something at home? Continue to wait?
Hello all. My name is Jason Ellis, from the far north suburbs about 2 miles from the IL-WI border. I have been raised in "Christian" schools and "evangelical" churches my entire life....a few years back a relative turned me onto a young preacher named Rob Bell who started the ball rolling on what became my "unchurching" as I call it.
A few years back I also was able to attend the emergent conference in Nashville which was another true eye opener for me.
In January of 2006 a group of us from this area started to gather in what became known as The Living Room - www.livingroomfaith.org
This was founded by lead singer of a band called 38Acres. The weekly gatherings have halted for the time being as the band is moving to Nashville, but the spirit is very much alive in many of us around here. We would love to see a new type of gathering emerge in this corner of IL-WI.
I work for a computer company in Northbrook, and manage about 30 web sites part time. I have a beautiful wife and 2 awesome kids, and another due any day now.
My personal web site has more references and info here: www.emergingconversation.com
Hi. My name is David Jones and I will be attending the Gathering with my wife, Betsy Whaley. Betsy and I both grew up Southern Baptist (Betsy in Tennessee & David in South Carolina), but I have been serving in American Baptist Churches in Indiana for the past 15 plus years.
My wife was recently ordained by our current congregation but has been a pastoral counselor for the past 15 years. I am presently serving as an Interim Associate in a church I have been at for 12 1/2 years now. I have agreed to stay until they hire a new full-time Senior Pastor. However, Betsy and I are looking to possibly co-pastor with a congregation that is participating in some way with the emerging church conversation.
I have recently starting my own blog at www.nexusjesus.blogspot.com. It is my fledgling attempt to speak about and have conversation about some of the questions being raised by the emerging church but also just some of my own story and thoughts in my own journey. One person, at this point, has engaged with me in a little conversation through comments, but I hope that it will grow over time. I have not heavily adverstised my blog with my current congregation, but have given the address out to some people. I don't know that a lot of people here would appreciate my recommended books or recommended websites I've posted there. My wife, Betsy Whaley, also has a website at www.betsywhaley.com for consulting and counseling. We have also started the Muncie Emergent Cohort Group in Muncie, IN which are really enjoying, but it is just getting off the ground.
We are looking forward to seeing folks possibly Thursday night, but definitely on Friday and Saturday at the gathering. This will be our first emergent gathering to attend and we are excited about meeting people, having conversations with others, and to be honest, have some time away from our kids and congregation for a few days to just be together.
Greetings from SW Indiana. My name is Dan Whitmer and I plan to attend the Gathering with my wife Angie as well as her brother DB who is a youth pastor in that area. I am originally from the Wheaton area so the kids will be visiting with Grandma and Grandpa while we are there.
We've been in East Asia for the past ten years working with a mission organization and doing poverty alleviation/aid projects among other things. We moved back to the US last year and I now work at a small university as the international student advisor.
I relate to some of the comments that David Pugh wrote. I really struggle with much of churchianity and have a hard time sitting through most church services. So I too am looking for some clarity. Most of all I am excited to join with others in conversation as I really don't have any friends in my area/church who relate to many of my postmodern leanings.
My Friends-
I am a local guy (walking distance from Cardinal Drive), so if you have any needs or questions, let me know. I am attending with another staff person from our church.
We are excited about meeting everyone, long discussions, and sweet fellowship.
DB Antrim
gwa73@comcast.net
Looking forward to meeting everyone. Some intriguing stories and familiar sentiments expressed here already.
I'm from Valparaiso, Indiana, and in addition to enjoying the conference would enjoy the chance to get feedback about a position our Methodist church is creating and seeks to fill this fall (hopefully): Local Missions Pastor or maybe more aptly, Community Pastor (associate pastor position).
It seems bizarre that this is a novel thing, but for us it is....This pastor will live in a challenging neighborhood (my husband and I live in and have actively built community in the same area), build relationships, minister from/in/out of relationships and community formed, while also participating to some degree in our church community, helping us (modeling, occasionally preaching, intermittently coaching us but not playing the game for us) to more fully develop our participation in the call to be salt, yeast, light.
Ideas, thoughts, comments, any experiences that can be shared along these lines... all appreciated.
carol stoner
thestoners@comcast.net
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