May Cohort Meeting, May 11th

I am late in posting this, but we will be getting together tonight. There have been a handful of ideas thrown around as topics for discussion, but no clear winner. So we will be happy to entertain your ideas for this evening. If nothing else, it will be good to see you and spend some time together.

As typical, we will meet at Tin Star restaurant in Preston Center at 7PM. The restaurant is right near the corner of Northwest Hwy and Preston Road.

April Cohort -Tuesday April 13

We have had a few conversation and personal circumstances in the past few months that have prompted us to want to speak about Muslim/Christian relations at this months meeting. I hope you will plan to join us.

As is typical, we will meet at the Tin Star restaurant in Preston Center on Tuesday evening, April 13th, at 7PM.

March Cohort - Tuesday, March 9th, 7PM

We are going to be jumping on the pop-culture band wagon this coming cohort meeting and taking time to discuss the movie, Avatar. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you are in good company. A few of us have seen it, however, and the rest of us have heard enough about the themes of the film to make it something worth talking about.

So, I hope you'll join us. As is typical, we will gather at Tin Star in the Preston Center shopping area. See you at 7PM.

By the way, we had decided we were going to discuss this even before Mr. Driscoll decided to pop off about the movie, but this came to our attention recently.

He thinks he has never been accused of being a fundamentalist??

January Cohort, Tin Star at 7PM on the 12th

After taking December off, we will be getting back together next Tuesday, January 12th, for our monthly cohort meeting. Hope you will join us at Tin Star in Preston Center at 7PM.

If this will be your first time to join us, just look for the folks who don't seem to be married or dating. The restaurant isn't so large you couldn't find us. Some of us order food, others of us have already eaten, no pressure to do one or the other, but I'm sure Tin Star would appreciate the business.

This months topic will be around some of the online buzz that has been created by folks who have some of these question that our friend Kenton has submitted here...

What is the future of "emergent?" I know we've talked on this not too long ago, but there seem to be more stories floating about calling the Emergent Church "dead" as of 2009. Probably none of us think it really is, but perhaps now the anti-emergent crowd is wielding their most damaging weapon: ignoring it. What needs to happen in response? Dan Kimball and others have dropped the association. The holy trinity (Brian, Tony & Doug) seem to have all "gone political." Is it time to start a post-mortem analysis? (Even if you disagree that it has died?) What has emergent accomplished? What did we miss? Why? How important were those things? If it is still alive what should we still try to accomplish next?

We aren't limited to this topic, we often let the conversation go wherever it wants, but this is what will get us started.

Hope to see you!

August Cohort Meeting - Tuesday, August 11

Tuesday, August 11, 7PM

We will be meeting at the Tin Star in Preston Center.

Don't feel like you have to complete any required reading to come be part of the discussion, but we will be taking time to talk about the book, Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight. Scot also wrote The Jesus Creed.

Here is a November review from Publishers Weekly,

Infused with common sense and seasoned with candor, the latest work from McKnight (The Jesus Creed), religious studies professor at North Park College, takes a stand in controversial territory by bravely asking the question: how is it that even Christians who claim to be led by an authoritative Bible read it so differently? In response, the author asserts that believers need to take a fresh look at how they adopt and adapt Scripture before they can read the Bible in a way that renews a living relationship with the God behind the sacred text. Using the analogy of a water slide, McKnight argues that the Gospel is the slide, the Bible and church tradition the walls that both protect and liberate the believer as he or she discerns how to apply Scripture as a living document. In the last section, McKnight tackles the controversial issue of women's role in church ministry in a way that is both scholarly and confessional, documenting his own journey alongside that of the apostle Paul and other biblical characters. Enriched by folksy anecdotes, this volume could be very useful for evangelical readers and any others wanting a safe place to ask the same bold questions.

If you will be joining us for the first time, just come on in Tin Star and look around. We could possibly be on the patio. Look for the group that is obviously not a family and not a dating couple. Will probably have a copy of the book on the table as a signal for you. See you this next Tuesday!