[ November 9, 2007; 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. November 10, 2007; 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. ] hear from others learning to be ‘ekklesia’ in a new way — be there or be square

So, What’s There To Talk About? And Do We Dare Listen?
“Emergent” has become a popular, albeit nebulous, term that many are using to describe a new way of incarnating the essential message of the Christian faith. To some it is synonymous with the methodology of church-growth movement in North America. To others, the adjective closely resembles the “missional” language coined by Darrell Guder and others in The Missional Church; A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. What exactly does “emergent” have to say that hasn’t already been said? Are these postmodern cohorts simply an amalgam of online forums, chatrooms and podcasts that refurbish the same theological content? And what, if anything, do the mainline denominations have to gain from paying attention to the passions represented in the recently released book, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope?

Whitworth University and the Presbytery of the Inland Northwest present a forum for discussion that will raise more questions that we can answer. An Emergent Mainline Dialogue will host the following speakers, who will consider the vital witness to Jesus Christ that is being made amid the cracks of the institutional church as we know it. Nuances abound. And we need to talk about them without feeling threatened. Moreover, our hunch is that mainliners may have things to teach that emerging generations still need to learn. As Philip said to Nathaniel regarding anything new that might be coming out of Nazareth, “Come and see!”