We’d had some offline conversations and put the Asian American Emergent Skypecast to bed (or, on ice, if you prefer a more wintery metaphor.) Apparently, 1 word in that mix, Emergent, scared off some people. And, our conversations weren’t all that alarmingly edgy emergent, at least not theologically ambiguous and exploratory enough to warrant the label, even though we did stay conversational and unstructured.
We’ve had a handful of great skypecasts over the past months (2 even got recorded: here and here), virtually connecting emerging leaders ministering to Asian American Christians around the U.S., Canada, and even Malaysia. Now the skypecast is being resurrected under a new name:
Next Gener.Asian Church Skypecast -
Sunday, January 21st – 9:00pm (Eastern) / 6:00pm (Pacific)
January’s hour-long Skypecast will revolve around the ever-present question about the legitimacy of an Asian American church. David Park framed it this way: Is the Asian American church — necessary, optional, or simply an unhealthy diversion? Read more over at Next Gener.Asian Church >>
I’ve set that date/time aside, and am really looking forward to the conversations again! I’m particularly encouraged this season of my life, as it seems the Spirit is really moving more people to work together along these lines…
Thanks DJ for organizing this. Hope I can make it after my denomination EGM where I’m serving as the chaplain. As for the word “emergent”, I suppose there’s nothing to be really afraid of it
and yet, what we wanted is to include more who would be interested in a conversation. Based on the topic, looks like I’ll be listening more than contributing (maybe I might throw in some questions) let’s see.
Your comment edified and encouraged me. You said that I was processing out loud about my faith. You helped me to realize that I’m processing out loud about my faith and helped me see that it’s OK to process out loud about my faith.
In your “Why I Stopped Pastoring” post, you wrote:
“All those years of theological training sits in dusty boxes because most people don’t ask the questions that got answered in seminary.”
Reading that helped me, though I’m not exactly sure yet HOW it helped me….
Thanks for being honest about your vocational journey as well as for being honest about your vocational confusion and doubts…. It’s a scary thing that I’m getting married even while I’m STILL unsure of the vocation I want to pursue & unsure of my “calling” in life…but I think I’m slowly learning to become comfortable with the uncertainty….
Thanks again for your comment and for your own honesty…you’ve encouraged a younger brother on his journey….
Thanks from me too DJ for doing this. I wonder if its still a little early for the Asian American church to have the emergent discussion. The Next Gen.a topic sounds good though. One thing to think about is that maybe we could have the special guests present their viewpoint in writing, which would provide grounds for discussion during the skypecast, and leave more time for discussion. Just an idea. Also, while I’m asking for stuff, any chance we could possibly get a reminder email/invitation just before the date? I’m not on RSS and don’t always check the blog in time. And of course, sometimes i just forget.
Tim, well, here’s what I do to remember things b/c I forget too — I setup email alerts in my Yahoo Calendar, so it emails me to remind me, and it can also text message me on my cell phone. I see you’re using a Yahoo email address, so click over to the Calendar tab, add an event, scroll down to the Reminders section at the bottom, and have it auto-alert you!