Christianity 21

After weeks of hype and teasers all over the Twittersphere, the Christianity 21 website was launched today. I, for one, can't wait to attend.

Though it doesn't carry the emergent village logo, this conference seems to be very emergenty. What I find to be especially intriguing is that the 21 speakers are all female. I like this very much, but the cynic in me can't help but wonder if this is a response to the perception that previous emerging church events have been dude-heavy. The names that I recognize are profoundly intelligent, dynamic leaders in the church. It will be interesting to see, though, if this conference becomes 21st Century Postmodern Chicks Gone Wild...religiously speaking, of course. If nothing else, it will be nice to see a bit more gender balance in overall attendance.


I remain excited about the emergent church undercurrent that seems to be moving in, around, and through the denomination. I still believe that the future of our denominational identity rests in our ability to engage the emerging church conversation in a public way. Sadly, we keep pumping millions of dollars and thousands of hours into feeding the machine of human sexuality fights.

I'm excited to use Dr. Nathan Frambach's Emerging Ministry book for our Wednesday night adult small group (once we get out of the hell-hole that is our Lenten journey). It's a thoughtful, passionate group of adults. With any luck, we might even pick up a few newbies along the way!