KC Emergent Cohort

Location Change

2007-09-21T16:05:00.000-05:00

We are making a location change for our gathering on Friday night. We will now be meeting at Oklahoma Joe's BBQ in Olathe KS (map).

We are gathering at 6:00pm Friday, September 21st to have a conversation with Tony Jones (National Coordinator for Emergent Village) about what is happening and the future of Emergent. Following our dinner conversation many of us are planning on making the short trip over to Mid-America Nazarene University for a 8:00pm worship service that will be lead by the folks at Jacob's Well.

Sept. KC Emergent Cohort

2007-09-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

We will be gathering on Friday, September 21st at 6:00pm with Tony Jones, National Coordinator for Emergent Village. Tony is in town speaking at the Postmodern Youth Ministry conference.

We will be having dinner (or whatever you want to order) at Perkins restaurant on Santa Fe Street in Olathe. Take exit #218 from I-35 and the Perkins is located about 2 blocks east. See map here.

We are looking forward to a good discussion with Tony about what is happening with Emergent now and what the future looks like.

Hope to see you all there. If you have any questions, just let me know

July Gathering

2007-07-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

It is time again for another gathering of the KC Emergent Cohort. We are going to gather on Wednesday, July 18th at 8:00 pm at Tera Yakel’s home (please email Terayakel.at.hotmail.com for address, directions, etc) for dessert and drinks (feel free to bring your favorite beverage) and a conversation with Mike King about Postcolonial Africa.

We haven’t seen some of you in a few months and are looking forward to a great conversation.

April Cohort Gathering

2007-04-02T13:52:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, April 10th we will be gathering at 7:00pm with the folks at Cherith Brook, a new monastic, intentional community.

We will gather at their community house and storefront at 3308 E 12th St. (one and a half blocks east of Benton).

You can check out this blog post about Cherith Brook on the Christian Century Blog.

What is Cherith Brook?
Cherith Brook is a residential Christian Community committed to sharing table fellowship with strangers and all our resources with one another. We have found our inspiration from the early church, the Church of the Saviour and the Catholic Worker.

Mercy - Our daily lives are structured around practicing the works of mercy as found in Jesus' teachings. We are committed to regularly feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, visiting the prisoner and the sick in the name of Jesus.

Peacemaking - As followers of Jesus we understand our lives to be centered in God's Shalom. Cherith Brook strives to be a "school" for peacemaking in all its dimensions: political, communal and personal, working constantly to undo poverty, racism and militarism.

All of these can be summed up as the Struggle to connect with the God of life. We pray that Cherith Brook be a space where all of us - the broken- can come to learn and relearn the ways of Jesus; a place to struggle together for God's call of love, mercy, peace and justice.

You can also check out some of these links
New Monasticism website
Christian Century article - the new monastics
Seattle Times article "Christian communities try "whole-life faith"
Christianity Today article "The New Monasticism" - need to be a member to read
Scot McKight even had a blog post talking about this.

Let me know if you need any additional information - and we hope to see you there.

Upcoming Events in April

2007-04-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Brian McLaren will be in town for two days this month.
April 10th - At Platte Woods United Methodist Church, 7:00pm, and will be leading a presentation titled "The On-Ramp to the Postmodern Conversation".

April 11 - Brian will be at St. Paul's School of Theology at 11:00am in the Kresge Chapel.

Then on April 20 & 21 Marcus Borg will be at Village Presbyterian Church leading a conversation about "Intentional Christianity: Sharing God's Dream"

March Cohort

2007-03-06T11:13:00.000-06:00

We are postponing our March Cohort gathering and will instead meet in April. Please forgive our lack of consistency and check back for the details of our next gathering on April 10th when we will be having a conversation about New Monastic/Intentional communities.

February Cohort Gathering

2007-01-31T11:14:00.000-06:00

We will be gathering for our next cohort discussion on Thursday, February 15th at 8:00 pm in the back room of the Westport Coffee House to discuss Scot McKnight's article in Christianity Today; Five Streams Of the Emerging Church.
Hope to see you all there!!

Stanley Hauerwas - January 18-19

2006-12-20T21:24:00.000-06:00

Charlie was telling me about a conversation "Is the Reformation Over" that will be happening the Nazarene Theological Seminary January 18-19 with George Lindbeck, David Burrell, and Stanley Hauerwas. Check out the information here.

Tony Campolo - January 25

2006-12-20T21:16:00.000-06:00

Tony Campolo will be speaking at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village on Thursday, January 25th at 7:00pm. It is free and open to the public but registration is required here or by calling 913-671-2333.

Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University, is the founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, an organization that develops schools and social programs in various third world countries and in cities across North America. He is the author of 33 books, his most recent being, "Letters to a Young Evangelical." Dr. Campolo will speak about the transformative power of faithful learning, not only for ourselves but for the world in which we live.

Weekly Conversations - Part 2

2006-11-30T12:58:00.000-06:00

Do to some interest in a weekly conversation we are going to provide an opportunity for informal conversations every Wednesday at 7:00am.

We will get a table at the Panera Bread in Westport and buy our own breakfast. Please feel free to come whenever you can.

December Cohort Gathering

2006-11-30T12:52:00.000-06:00

We will be gathering on Thursday, December 14th at 8:00pm in the front room of the Westport Flea Market Grill & Bar (817 Westport Rd.)

Mike Kruse will be with us to talk about “The Image of God at Work in the 21st Century. Economic life and the Emerging Church."

You can check out Mike’s blog at Kruse Kronicle.

Location, Location, Location

2006-11-17T08:01:00.000-06:00

We need a good location that we can use on a continual basis. We are looking to stay in the city somewhere in or between Westport and Waldo (including Plaza and Brookside.)

We need a place that is free and maybe has a back room or something, it also needs to be open until 11 or 12pm.

So what's the name of you favorite pub, coffee shop or restaurant that won't mind us taking up a few tables every month?

We're Listening

2006-11-17T07:50:00.000-06:00

The Kansas City Emergent Cohort is not about a few people getting a "program" together for you to come listen to, but it is about our friendships and conversations. So we are wanting to hear from you.

What do you want to talk about? Some of the things that have been suggested include; New Monasticism (Intentional Communities), Authority of Scripture and Economic Justice. There have also been talks about book discussions and doing some mission opportunities together (serve at a soup kitchen.) What appeals to you?

So here is your chance to tell us what you think and what you want to do.

Weekly Conversations

2006-11-17T07:47:00.000-06:00

This is the third month in a row that someone has talked to me about their desire to get together on a weekly basis maybe for breakfast or lunch. If you are wanting to participate in something like that on a regular or semi-regular basis, or are wanting to participate in the Cohort but evenings don't work for you, comment here or email me and we'll start the dialogue about that.

November Cohort Meeting

2006-11-11T20:23:00.000-06:00

Our November meeting will be Thursday, November 16th. We will be gathering at 8:00pm at Jacob's Well.

We will be discussing Radical Orthodoxy - Here are some links to more information about Radical Orthodoxy.

Radical Orthodoxy Online

First Things

The Ekklesia Project

We are looking forward to seeing you there!!

Next Meeting

2006-10-26T09:03:00.000-05:00

We had a great time last week with Doug Pagitt and had some great conversation.

Our next meeting will be Thursday, November 16th and we will be having some conversation about Radical Orthodoxy. Stay tuned for location information.

Next Cohort Meeting - October 20th

2006-10-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

Our next Cohort meeting will be Friday, October 20th. We are excited that Doug Pagitt will be joining us at 8:00pm for discussion, dialogue and some questions.

Doug is the pastor of Solomon's Porch Church in Minneapolis. He is the author of three books; Body Prayer, Preaching Re-imagined, and Church Re-Imagined. Doug is also one of the guys who helped bring about Emergent Village. No doubt most of you are familiar with Emergent Village but in the event that you are not, please check out this part of the website.

We will be having a change in locations this time. We will be meeting in the restaurant/lounge located in the lobby of the Embassy Suites Hotel at 43rd and Broadway. They are going to reserve us an area on the side and you are free to order (and pay) for your own food/drinks if you would like.

We are really looking forward to this conversation and hope that you can join us.

UPDATE - Some of us are going to meet early at 6:30 to have dinner together and talk about some women in ministry discussions. Mike Kruse will be there and you can check out his blog series on Discovering Biblical Equailty.

Leonard Sweet - October 12

2006-09-21T23:53:00.000-05:00

Leonard Sweet will be at Olathe Bible Church for the Ministry Resource Center Seminar sponsored by MidAmerica Nazarene University. "The three hardest words in the world to get right" will be October 12th 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. The cost is $49 for the seminar, lunch and a book. You can find more information out here.

Darrell Guder at Saint Paul's

2006-09-21T23:40:00.000-05:00

Dr. Darrell Guder will be at Saint Paul's School of Theology on Tuesday, September 26th. He will be lecturing on "Missional Theology for the Western Church after Christendom" at 11:00 a.m. and a conversation with him will follow lunch at 1:15 p.m., I believe that this is free and open to the public. For more information see this site.

The Gospel in Our Culture - October 19-21

2006-09-18T22:24:00.000-05:00

I noticed on Doug Pagitt's blog some information about the 2006 Conference of The Gospel and Our Culture Network. Kansas City is playing host this year October 19-21 at the Radisson Hotel downtown. This is the place for more information.

September Meeting

2006-09-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

We will be meeting on Thursday, September 21.
Time: 9:00pm till whenever
Where: Keystone Coffeehouse located in the Broadway Methodist Church at 74th and Wornall. You can enter at the door under the blue awning. Parking is on the street or in the parking lot directly across 74th.

We will jump start some conversation by talking about Walter Brueggemann’s 19 Theses that he presented at the Emergent Theological Dialogue in ’04.

Upcoming Events

2006-09-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of things coming up here in Kansas City that you might be interested in.

First Dallas Willard will be at Christ Community Church in Leawood September 30th for the True Spirituality conference. Check this out for more information.

Then Brian McLaren and Dan Kimball will be over at Church of the Resurrection for their Leadership Institute October 5-7. You can check this out for more information.

There will be 3 day ministry dialogue regarding "Missional Leaders in an Emerging Culture Conversation" at the Nazarene Theological Seminary October 24-26. For more information check this out.

Brian McLaren will be back in the area October 31 - November 1 at William Jewell College in Liberty. He will be part of their lecture series and will speak on "Faith, Culture and Higher Education" on Tuesday evening at 7:30 and he will be their chapel speaker on Wednesday Morning. Both are free and you can find information here, you need to scroll down to the second page.

If you know of anything else let me know and we'll try to get the word out.

Cohort Meeting

2006-08-30T10:01:00.000-05:00

We met last night to discuss what the Emergent Cohort will be doing in the future.

We will be gathering to discuss and build relationships on the third thursdays of every month at 9pm. We are still scouting locations - if you have a suggestion let us know.

Please check back here for a listing of meetings/events in the KC area that you might want to be part of.