December 6, 2008 Dayton Cohort Meeting

The next Dayton Cohort meeting will take place on December 6 at 1;30 PM aat Panera Bread in Beavercreek; I hope you can join us for a good time and interesting conversation.

One issue that would make for great conversation is Tony Jones' latest blog entry titled How I Went From There to Here: The Same Sex Marriage Blogalogue.

Now I understand that this could make for some heated conversation, but it would also make for interesting conversation and it may motivate us to put our faith into a historical but also contemporary framework.

Also please feel free to bring other topics with you as we usually cover a number of issues when we meet.

I hope to see you there...if this is your first time, coffee is on me.

Directions & info below:

Panera Bread at Fairfield Commons (map)
2751 Fairfield Commons
Beavercreek, OH 45431
(937) 426-3900 | phone

October 4, 2008 Dayton Cohort Meeting

Greetings again! Our next cohort meeting will take place on Saturday Oct. 4 at 1:30 at Panera Bread in Beavercreek. I found two very interesting articles that may stir up some conversation for this upcoming meeting. The first is one on the private reading of Paul and it's from Mike Gordon. You can read it at http://www.emergentvillage.com/weblog/de-privatization

The second article is on the topic of the Economy of the Kingdom, by Jay Voorhees: http://www.emergentvillage.com/weblog/the-economy-of-the-kingdom

I hope to see you all Saturday for some great conversation!

June 7, 2008 Dayton Cohort Meeting

The June cohort meeting will take place on Saturday, June 7 at 1:30 PM at Panera by the Fairfield Mall in Beavercreek. As I (Virgil) have less time to dedicate to those meetings, I am hoping that other folks will step in and participate. One person offering to help was Fr. Gregory Theopistos, a local minister which will share some of the meeting with us.

Please come Saturday to meet Greg and other folks in the area. We rarely stick to a topic, but two books which have electrified me for the past couple of weeks were Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna, and Doug Pagitt's new book A Christianity Worth Believing. If you have copies of the books please bring them with you; I will do the same and perhaps we will be able to discuss some key points which I believe are relevant especially from an Emergent perspective.

I hope to see you all on Saturday at 1:30 PM.


Directions & info below:

Panera Bread at Fairfield Commons (map) 2751 Fairfield Commons Beavercreek, OH 45431 (937) 426-3900 | phone (937) 426-3980 | fax

No April Meeting

Due to the Back to the Future conference in Dayton, there will be no April cohort meeting. Sorry for the inconvenience; we'll see you in March!

March 1, 2008 Cohort Meeting

Greetings everyone, and sorry for the late e-mail.

Our next cohort meeting is Saturday March 1, and it will be at Panera by the Fairfield Mall in Beavercreek. I am hoping to see some new faces and we will try to discuss something that always makes for a fascinating conversation, namely "What is the Kingdom of God?"

Recently someone asked the question: "In reading McLaren's books, and your interview with him, I've come across the phrase "Kingdom of God". I just wanted to know, what exactly do you or McLaren mean by "Kingdom of God"? Is it here already, or is it something we are working towards?"

Join us Saturday and we'll discuss the wonderful topic, The Kingdom of God. I will also bring a copy of Shane Claiborne's latest book, Jesus for President (see http://www.jesusforpresident.org) and Tony's new book The New Christians (see http://tonyj.net/); they will make for interesting conversation as well.

God bless!

Atonement Metaphors -- A Contest

by Tony Jones, national coordinator:

Have you heard the one about the father who operates a railroad drawbridge and sends his young son to manually fix the tracks, only to watch his son be crushed by the oncoming train? Or the one about the judge who condemned the prisoner to death only to disrobe and go to the electric chair in the prisoner’s stead? Or maybe you’ve see the drawing with God on one side of a chasm called “sin,” a stick-figure man on the other, and a cross as the bridge between the two.

These metaphors for the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross are powerful, and they capture the imagination. But these metaphors and images — the ones that many of us grew up with — are predominantly reflective of one theory of the atonement, called “penal substitution.” As far as atonement theories go, penal substitution is important, to be sure, and it commands a lot of respect these days, particularly among Western, Reformed theologians. But it’s merely one of several theories of the atonement that have held sway over the Christian imagination for the past 2,000 years. In Scot McKnight’s superb book, A Community Called Atonement, he likened the many historical theories of the atonement to the many clubs in a golf bag — each useful in a different situation.

Read all the details about the contest here.

Shane Claiborne meeting tomorrow

After a few scheduled meetings and subsequent cancellations, Shane Claiborne will be able to speak at Apex Community Church in Kettering at 5200 Far Hills Ave. (see map here: http://tinyurl.com/2u9oxa)

Apex was gracious enough to host this event for the community tomorrow (Feb. 11) at 7:30 PM. Admission is free and an offering will be taken.

Another exciting event is also scheduled at Apex later in the month; Alan Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways will be at Apex on Feb. 21 - Feb. 23. You can find more details about this event on http://region1.apexcommunity.net

February 2, 2008 1:30 PM - Next Cohort Meeting

Greetings,

The time for the next cohort meeting is already here and there is one important issue to bring up at the February 2 meeting. We will meet as usual at Panera Bread in Beavercreek, Ohio at 1:30 P.M.. For various reasons (mostly career-related) I will not be able to continue to lead the cohort, so I would appreciate it if someone else steps up as a volunteer to do this for a while. If you are interested, please e-mail me and let me know. Also only a couple of people showed up at the last few meetings, so I need to hear from those of you interested in making the cohort successful, or we will likely discontinue the group for lack of interest since folks do not seem to be interested in attending regularly. Most meetings so far have been very exciting and beneficial in my opinion, and it would be a shame to not continue to meet and benefit from this great interaction.

For this next meeting, I am hoping we can discuss an interview with Bishop Kallistos Ware in which he discusses Orthodox Christianity and other issues, from the role of women in Church to liturgical experiences for Orthodox believers. I think it is healthy for us to contemplate what Christians outside of the U.S. experience and how they view the Church in their own cultural and social contexts. You can read this interview and other articles by Bishop Ware at: http://www.stnina.org/journal/art/1.3.7

Again, please e-mail me as soon as possible if you are interested in leading the Dayton Emergent cohort; this will be last meeting as an Emergent cohort if more of you do not show up, so please come and participate if you are interested in making this group successful.