April 14, 15, 16
Back to the Future?
The Emerging Missional Way
see below for links to information about "The Emerging Church"
Michael Pasquarello, an ordained elder in The UMC, teaches preaching at Asbury Theological Seminary. He describes his inspiration as John Wesley, who "was able to make the gospel so fresh, so invigorating, so inviting and compelling, by turning to the Christian past and the wisdom he had inherited."
The Rev. Melissa Rudolph
serves Christ-Ballenger Creek United Methodist Church in Frederick, Maryland. She has found that the Emerging Missional Way has brought energy and excitement to her congregation. She will share with us from her own experience in a small church setting.
Taylor Burton-Edwards is director of Worship Resources for the Board of Discipleship and an ordained elder in The UMC. He has a long-standing interest in the Emerging Missional Way and has made presentations on it to the North American Academy of Liturgy and the Order of St. Luke.
A growing number of preachers and theologians have started to find new energy and vitality for the present church by turning to the Christian past and the wisdom of our ancestors in the faith. American theologian Robert E. Webber, who taught at Wheaton Collegemay have best summed up this approach when he wrote...
... "The road into the future leads through the past." Among those preachers and theologians are persons loosely gathered under the banner of The Emerging Missional Way. This group is hard to define with contemporary theological labels. One of the best known within this band is Brian McLaren, for example.
In a review of his new book on preaching, Christian Preaching: A Trinitarian Theology of Proclamation in the Christian Century in October, 2007, Bishop William Willimon wrote:
"A preacher told me the other day her well was running dry and she was just about to throw in the towel so far as her ministry of preaching was concerned. She has been preaching for over a decade and now feels that her preaching is falling flat. I recommended Pasquarello to her. She read his book in a day and says that it recalled her to the task of proclamation. "May this good book be closely read and well marked by preachers and used in homiletics in seminaries. We need it."
Our three presenters for 2009 all continue to explore Michael Ramsey’s definition of the church as a "living past in a living present". The 2009 School for Ministry will allow us to think about the future of the church in conversation with them.
Frequently Asked Questions
for more information contact here
Visit these sights:
General Board of Discipleship (rich with information and links to resources)
Churchleadership.com - article on the topic
Churchleadership.com - book review on....
Inside the Organic Church:
Learning from 12 Emerging Congregations
By Bob Whitesel (Abingdon Press: 2006)