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2015: Forming Youth in Our Congregations: Raising Danielle and Daniel to Live in Babylon (July 9-11)
Planning for the 2015 Gathering continues, and registration should open within the next ten days! Speaker info. and schedules will be posted on the website as they are finalized.
The 2015 Gathering will attempt to address questions like "What else (or who else) in our culture is forming our young people? How do we understand these other actors theologically? How do we engage these other voices and forces congregationally?" and "How can the work of forming young disciples be an intergenerational endeavor, undertaken by the whole congregation?"
We will hear from congregations who are doing the formation of young people well, and we will hear from young people who will tell us where they are in life and what their experience of discipleship formation has been.
more details can be found here
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EP board of directors meets in Texas
Despite weather delays, the board met from 2/27-3/1 in Waco, Texas to discuss the upcoming work of EP. Discussion was centered on the upcoming gathering in July, but the board also discussed topics such as upcoming pamphlets, info. from the 2014 gathering, plans for the 2016 gathering, and leadership transition.
Board member Victor Hinojosa and his family worked with many people at Dayspring Baptist Church to provide fabulous hospitality during the visit, including hosting members in their homes. Board member Stan Wilson preached at Dayspring on Sunday and the board had a fellowship meal to celebrate their brief time together. A few pictures from the meeting can be found on the EP facebook page, and you can learn more about the board members here.
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bLOGOS this Week
Loving the World
Kyle Childress
 Likely the most well known verse in the entire Bible is John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever should believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life (which is the way I memorized it in the King James version).
In the Texas Baptist life in which I grew up this was the essence of the gospel or as old Luther said a few centuries earlier, it's the gospel in miniature. Along with the entire story of Nicodemus secretly coming to Jesus during the night and being told earlier in the conversation that he must be born again, this was our canon within the canon and it interpreted everything else. To this day in most Baptist churches in my part of the world I can stand up in the pulpit and say, "For God so loved" and the entire congregation will respond reciting the rest of the verse from memory.
Unfortunately, for most of us so formed by this understanding of the gospel, it has reinforced our Gnosticism. God's only Son dying on the cross for me, so I might be born again and have eternal life in heaven ("So I might get saved" to put it more colloquially) has been understood in American evangelicalism in individual and spiritual terms.
To read the rest click here.
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 Special Thanks John McFadden has been an amazing editor of our newsletter since October 2006. We have been graced by his wisdom, skill with words, wry sense of humor, and patience with late contributors. As John transitions away from this work, we thank him from the bottom of our hearts, and rejoice that he continues among us as friend and provocateur.
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Ways to help EP
We are always grateful for financial support and hope you will continue to donate to EP. If you have skills that might be helpful, we're also grateful for your time and interest. Currently, we could use assistance with some communications work (facebook and the newsletter) as well as some help with audio and possibly video recording for the 2015 Gathering. If you're interested in helping, you can email at mail@ekklesiaproject.org. |
