Special Thanks to Rev. Poh and those at the Board of Youth Ministry Chinese Annual Conference (The Methodist Church in Singapore) for making this event possible.
Date: 7-8 July (Thurs- Fri), 2005
(please contact Rev Poh –> heowlee.poh@methodist.org.sg for more info)
Tony Jones (author of Postmodern Youth Ministry) and Dan Kimball (author of the Emerging Church) will be the main speakers.
It’s side by side the CORE Part 3 Certification Training by Youth Specialities with Mark Oestreicher.. which is on 9 July, Saturday.
I think I should be able to make it for the Pomo Youth Ministry Conference (now working on funds) and have some “conversations” with the guys!
Here’s the conference topics I saw in the brochure:
– Youth Ministry in a Globlized World
– How Postmodern Culture Shapes Youth and Youth Ministry
– Designing Multi-sensory Worship gatherings
– Moving Worship from performance and celebrity to participation and community
– Developing a theology of pop culture
– The recovery of ancient practices in youth ministry
– Starting an emerging worship gathering in an existing church
– Dialog session with the team
Of course, my main reason for going down is to connect face to face with the guys who are part of emergentUSA and engage in more indepth conversation – this is a good chance for some one like me from Asia to have some fun with my American friends as far as all things “emergent” or “emerging church” is concerned (plus all the youth ministry related issues from the conference).
take many pix and notes. make sure you ask tony what it feels like to have a title 😉
peace (hope you find the funds)
“WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THESE … CHRISTIANS?”
wonders Aneel David Kannabhiran
ONCE not too long ago, a guy came up to me out of the blue and asked, “You a Christian or what?”
“I’m Catholic Christian,” I answered, quite unfazed.
“Oh, no, no, no! Catholics are not Christians!” he retorted.
“Then I guess I’m an ‘or what'”
“What?”
“Nevermind”, I said, walking away before he could pull open his Bible, presumably to show me extensive proof why Catholics aren’t Christians.
In the mid-70s there was the “I Found It!” campaign, with the exclamation in all four languages printed in blue and plastered on almost every available space throughout the country, like election campaign flyers.
Acutely curious, I remember a Hindu friend and myself calling the phone number provided. A few days later two Christians from the then fledgling Assembly of God [now one of the largest Christian denominations in the country] came knocking at my door, Bible in hand, ready to recruit.
They also paid a visit to my Hindu friend’s household with the same intention.
I recall a furore in the newspapers sometime later objecting to the Malay version of the flyers because it enticed Muslims equally eager to know what exactly had been ‘found’.
My partner was looking for a tenant for her house a few years ago. A lady came to enquire. Amid looking around the house and negotiating rental, the lady casually slipped in a nonchalant, “So, would you like to become a Christian?”
I would have asked, “Would you pay double the rent if I did?”
Then there are those who insist on wearing their religion; or at least emblazoning it on the back of their vehicles – as if boasting their affiliation will elicit awe from other drivers.
One gets the impression that each religion is somewhat of an exclusive club, complete with ‘member-get-member incentives’ and membership privileges: ‘sign-up and you’ll get a free ticket to heaven!’.
In the end, we only find ourselves isolated behind the high walls of our respective clubs, turning our noses up at the members of the other clubs that lie beyond.
And within each club there are further distinctions and segregations:
Because of “language barriers” real or imagined, Church Apostolates are formed along racial lines, inadvertently creating instant racial polarisation when these apostolates organise functions, courses or rallies.
Clergy and laity are two separate and distinct groups, as if denoting first and second-class members of the Church.
If this is not enough, at a certain church, a clear announcement is made before communion, effectively warning ‘non-practising Catholics’ to stay away from the Eucharist, as if stormtroopers would jump out from behind the altar and arrest them if they didn’t.
In this post-9/11 world, organised religion is experiencing a huge revival, and this will only lead to a further widening of the ‘us and them’ chasm within and without each religious institution.
This is however, yet another milestone in humankind’s evolution. There will come a time, I believe, when humankind will tire of the parent-child mentality of organised religion and so transcend it, and embrace a purer, holistic and inclusive form of spirituality.
But until then, “are you a Christian or what?”