Our Future Conversations
It isn’t exactly January 1st, but I’m not sure I trust myself to remember this in 5 months time.
Anyway, today I was listening to an old Emergent Village podcast from December 2006 that was hosted by Melvin Bray. (Incidentally, why isn’t Melvin doing more podcasts for Emergent Village? And what is with the lack of podcasts lately? Surely there isn’t an absence of possibilities for content. Sorry, no more erratic questions.)
Back to the podcast… Melvin spoke of looking forward to 2007 as the year of “Justice.” No doubt that was largely the story. Prophets such as Brian McLaren and Shane Claiborne as well as many others, both contemporary and historical, liberal and conservative, led us artfully and with wisdom into a revitalized World Christianity that took seriously the question of stewardship and justice. In the larger global neighborhood both inside and outside the Christian church people turned their attentions to the need for a greater compassion.
This discussion has only just begun, and in many places our churches are only beginning to realize the greater significance and calling. Throughout a myriad of contexts the church really is emerging from her interior programs and ministries to see a world literally starving around her. I’m fairly certain I heard that there is an Emergent Manifesto of Justice being published sometime next year. (Does anyone know of a list of contributors to the project?) This rally surely must continue.
Coming around to the reason for this posting…
What are the conversations that you see being sparked around you as we are now into the second half of 2008.
What are the questions you foresee being asked in the coming year?
What will be emerging at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century?
What will emergent phenomena will we see in the year 2010? What will be the world’s questions a decade on from 9/11? Am I getting too far ahead of ourselves now?
May we never lose our sensitivity to the anxieties and questions of that which is other to ourselves.
Tags: future, emergent, emerging, justice, brian mclaren, shane claiborne, melvin bray, 2009, podcast
