Big Tent Christianity

I am finally getting around to posting some notes and thoughts from the conference I went to last month, Big Tent Christianity. It was a gathering of thinkers and practitioners in the Emergent Church movement. This gathering was the capstone of a project on which Philip Clayton, theology professor at Claremont University, has been working. There were about 200 people in attendance to hear 35 or so speakers. The crowd was made up of people from several mainline denominations, many progressive Baptists (it was held in North Carolina), and some non- and post- denominational folks. It was hosted by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones, two who have been involved in the Emergent movement from the very beginning.

There was a lot to like about the conference and the speakers. I, like many, have found in the Emergent movement, helpful words to describe the direction in which we have been moving. My only complaint is a certain amount of cloying self-consciousness, a hipster "look at the coolness that is us" sensibility that is mildly annoying (yes, that is a pipe that 20-something is smoking). Beyond that, however, there was some good conversation and much food for thought.

For each of the next few days I will highlight one of the panel discussions. Some were more rich than others, some were more notable than others (in that there was stuff to take notes on), and some piqued my interest more than others, which accounts for the length and brevity of some of the sections.

The first session was Big Tent Christianity and included Phyllis Tickle, Brian Mclaren, and Philip Clayton.

Philip Clayton talked about the Big Tent metaphor, inviting us to imagine the old revivals held in tents. This is where many, including Clayton himself, have had a profound experience of the Divine. The other meaning he suggested is the bigness of the tent, a tent where as many as possible can fit.

He challenged those gathered to consider:
Revival: repentance, not just a personal revival, but something more complex
Renewal: not rejection, we don't have to reject everything. We can move away and come back to discover the tradition anew.
Revisioning: discovering new ways of being the church
Reflection: taking the responsibility for finding the words to describe our relationship with Christ
Respond: Clayton left us with a three-fold exhortation: 1. Called us to the discipline of living deeply, 2. Called us to practice Big Tent Christianity at home, 3. Be pioneering prophets.

Brian McLaren, who moved from traditional evangelicalism to  a more progressive or Emergent position shared what he had experienced on that journey:

1. Loss of members
2. Loss of friends
3. Loss of belonging
4. Loss of simplicity, certainty
5. Loss of rights
6. Gaining wounds and fatigue

and, conversely:

1. Members may have only been consumers anyway
2. New friends when you reach out to the "other"
3. Making space for others to belong
4. Something beyond dualism- a new simplicity
5. Opportunity to love our enemies
6. In being wounded, we lose capacity to inflict wounds

Phyllis Tickle, shared, basically, from her book The Great Emergence

She sees a great upheaval in religion and culture every 500 years, the latest, "The Great Emergence," happening now.

the Great Emergence in one word: de-institutionalized

"Emergence Christianity" is the overarching theme- but there are different emPHAsis on the sylABles: emergent, emerging, neo-monastic, missional