Worship to "lure" people

From today's On Faith section of The Washington Post:

"But mostly, leaders are hoping that all the high-tech equipment will
help lure more people to their pews and make their places of worship
more interactive and user-friendly."

Read it all here:

A friend and colleague of mine, Steve Manskar, has offered the following thoughts about this quote in particular and the article in general:

We've come to a very trying place when a writer will, in all
seriousness, conjoin "worship" and "user-friendly." As if the
worship of the living and holy God, the crucified and risen Lord of the
Universe could or, ever should be, "user-friendly." This makes me grieve
for the church that has apparently lost nearly all consciousness of the
mission of God for the world and replaced it with marketing and church
growth strategies.


The article also reference's Jim Twitchell's book, "Shopping for God"-- and there was an interview with Jim this morning on NPR. You can read or listen to the interview here. There's a link to the book via Amazon (if you want to SHOP for IT!) on the NPR page as well.

Add you own comments below... or share them next week in the Worship Cohort conversations at emergingumc:a gathering, here in Nashville...

Peace in Christ,

Taylor Burton-Edwards

Looking forward and priming the pump

I am excited as I look forward to meeting many and reconnecting with a few of you next week in Nashville. As a means of priming the pumps and perhaps gaining a little insight into one another (you can learn a lot about a person by looking at his/her bookshelf), and perhaps just to generate some discussion, I’d like to invite everyone who will be in Nashville, as well as those who would like to be, to share what books you are reading/what thinkers have had significant impact on you/whom you are listening to/what thought trends excite you/whose interpretive lens you have appropriated/whose heart beats in tune with yours/etc. & etc. If nothing else, maybe I’ll get a few ideas for my library. Don’t worry, I’ll share my list soon, but for now I have to go pick up dinner.

Billy<><

Sorry I can't be there

Hi friends,

I'm sorry I wont be able to join you in October at the gathering. I'm waist deep in "stuff" here. I will be thinking of ya'll (do they still say ya'll in Nashville?) and my prayers are with you as connections are made and dreams find some fertile soil. I look forward to reading the blogs of your experiences. Have a great time friends.

Mark

SCHEDULE 2.0 emergingumc: a gathering

Companions...

New updates on the schedule given last minute changes by some presenters...
And a great big welcome to Kevin Anderson, who is one of my counterparts with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and who will be joining us for our panel conversation and for a workshop on developments in worship resources for emerging missional churches...

Guess it wouldn't be emerging if it's not changing like this!

So here goes:

thursday october 4

Preconference Option: a gathering with the Nashville Emergent Cohort
11:30- 1 @ the flying saucer

Registration 3:30-5:30 p.m. at scarritt-bennett

Dinner and conversation at scarritt-bennett 5:30-6:30 pm

Evening Prayer and Plenary: 7 p.m.
“Streams in the emerging landscape and your ministries:
a conversation and cohortation”

missiology
worship
spiritual formation
theology

Facilitated by Taylor Burton-Edwards

Night Prayer: 9:30

friday, october 5
Breakfast at scarritt-bennett 7:30 am

Morning Prayer: 8:45
emerging ministries 1 9:00-10:00
Organic Gatherings in Greater Cincinnati dg hollums and gary gibson
Indigenous mission in an urban arts community jim walker
Emerging in a traditional congregation in west virginia melissa rudolph

Break 10-10:15

a key group conversation 10:15-11:30
Women and emerging/Emergent Elizabeth Buxton

noon prayer and lunch options 11:30
Love feast hosted by DG Hollums

emerging ministries 1:00-2:00
What Jesus is teaching us in New York-- Don and Pam heatley
Indigenous mission in an urban arts community Jim Walker
Emerging in a traditional congregation in West Virginia Melissa Rudolph


break 2-2:15

a panel conversation: emerging and the institutional church 2:30-3:45
Emerging and ELCA Kevin Anderson
Emerging and PCUSA Chip Andrus (via podcast/video)

Emerging and Wesley Jay Voorhees
emergingumc and GBOD Taylor Burton-Edwards

mid-afternoon eucharist 3:45-4:30

emerging ministries 4:30-5:30
Organic Groups in Greater Cincinnati DG Hollums and Gary Gibson
What Jesus is teaching us in New York-- don and pam heatley
Resources from/for emerging churches—Kevin Anderson

dinner and evening with your cohorts
or bible fight club hosted by jim walker

night prayer (for those who are back) 10 p.m.


saturday, october 6
Breakfast at Scarritt-bennett 7:30
Morning Prayer 8:30

Spiritual formation options 9:00-10:00
lectio divina
confession
labyrinth
healing
intercessory prayer
study

A panel conversation: theology and missiology 10:00-11:00
An Emerging Methodist Billy Watson
missiology and organic groups DG Hollums
Attractionional, extractional,
and missional/incarnational taylor burton-edwards

Cohort time and covenant affirmation 11:00

Mid-day Prayer and Sending forth 11:30