Back from the Emergence

I just returned from a continuing education conference in Denver titled THE EMERGING CHURCH FOR THE EXISTING CHURCH.  What is the emerging church you might ask?  The emerging church sector includes both independent and mainline congregations that seek authentic Christian practice in ways that are both ancient and future.  The emerging church movement hopes to be beyond denominational-ism and fundamentalism and liberalism and modernism.  In some ways it is taking the principles of Montessori education (interactive, tactile, deliberate, simpler) and utilizing them for adult worship and formation.  The honorary godparent of the Emerging church movement is a man named Brian McLarren.  His current book is Everything Must Change.  A prominent Anglican emergent leader is a young woman named Karen Ward.  A quick google will give you much to ponder.
The conference leads me to a couple of questions for families to consider:

• what interest is there in small groups of families that meet for prayer and study in your own neighborhoods?
• what interest is there in finding ways to integrate arts and formation for both children and adults?
• how we do a better job of sharing what we do with the community and our neighbors?