What we’re about
Like that old, soulful U2 rock anthem, do you sometimes find yourself singing "I still haven't found what I'm looking for," and somehow the song's sentiment connects with your spiritual journey? Perhaps you feel emotionally distant from the Christian spirituality and Sunday worship you grew up with. Curious to find out why you’re having these feelings/thoughts/disconnect? But more importantly, curious if there is a better way to think about, experiment with, and live out your faith in the 21st Century?
The roots of this disconnect between what we are and what we grew up with are many: generational, philosophical (postmodernity, for example), educational (if you grew up in an anti-intellectual church), and cultural. Someone recently observed, “We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the church. Not since the Reformation five centuries ago have so many Christians come together to ask whether the church is in sync with their deepest beliefs and commitments.”
“An Emerging Christianity Conversation in DC” will take up & explore these and other theological/cultural questions. Our goal is to collectively gather up and reassemble the shards of our faith in light of our explorations and experiments into new kinds of theology, community, music, contemplative prayer and acts of simple worship. So we have two purposes: exploration and putting new ideas into practice. For those who are looking to go beyond casually exploring, we have created a loose-knit Christian Community. Some of us have come together pretty consistently once a month (sometimes more), and for us this is an experience of Christian community that works for us. If you find you want to do more than attend events, but participate in more dedicated Christian community, we encourage you to check out our Face book page Iona DC: A Christian Community (click here). Feel free to follow that page for those people interested in more consistent Christian community, including meals, music, Bible studies, and worship in private homes.
Related opportunities: You might want to join the DC Theology Pub meetup if you find you are not interested in the particular animating themes of Emerging Christianity but are still interested in hearing book authors talking about their new books on theology. The difference between the two is that DC Theology Pub sponsors a broader, and more eclectic, mix of speakers and books for folks interested in Christian Theology.
For more information: Click on the"Learn more about this Meetup Group (click here)" link below for more detailed information on this group, the 10 questions author Brian McLaren has identified as central to the future of Christianity, the books we'll be looking reading, and the organizer. These pages will help you see if you are asking the same questions that the Emerging Christianity movement is seeking to answer! Feel free to come to one or all of our speaker events and book discussions!
