Happy 1st Anniversary Emergent Voyageurs!
Well, it is hard for me to believe, but one year ago today Emergent Voyageurs was born. I started it as a way for me to be more disciplined in my writing, keeping track of ideas or questions that occurred to me. I expected a few people to stumble across it. In the end, I thought I’d give it a go. More than 125 posts later and it has had far more impact on my life than I could ever have imagined.
From no other contact than my blog, I have sat on two panel discussions on the emerging church. The first was a conference, entitled “Ministering With The Emerging Church”, with Dr. Gary R. Collins hosted by Providence Seminar. While there was some open suspicion from many of the participants, I made some great friends that day from among the other panelists. Later I sat on a panel with Len Sweet at the PAOC Leadership Advance. While the panel was good, it didn’t measure up to Len’s excellent teaching. The PAOC leaders in attendence were among the most generous and open one could hope for. This Sunday, I will be flying down to Minneapolis where I was invited to be part of the Emergent Coordinating Group meetings.
Another amazing development of the blog has been how it has pushed me into deeper and more intentional praxis on my own life and ministry with YWAM. From review books, engaging ideas, asking questions and imagining possibilities, this blog has been an important part of my spiritual and missional formation. As my last post noted, I have also begun writing my second book, much of its content inspired through the connections made through this blog.
Above all, however, the greatest gift this blog has given me is friendships. Throughout the year I have been shocked, moved and humbled by the genuine, consistant and generous people that I have come to call dear friends. In addition to the faithful readers, many people have become true friends. People like Dana, Cindy, Grace, Len, Jordon, Wendy, Santosh, the whole crew at Resonate, Simon and so many more. Several I consider teachers and mentors, people like Scot McKnight, John Frye, Andrew Jones, Tony Jones and others.
Not all the relationships have been confined to the internet, having the chance to meet many of them. People like Dan, Gerry, Brother Maynard, Bill, Norm, Doug, Rob, George and many more. While we are WAY behind on our regular theology pub nights, I still enjoy getting together for coffee or lunch (like with Norm yesterday). Inner city ministry can be lonely at times, but my blog has opened me up to a world of dear friends.
So what does the next year hold for this blog? I hope to be more personal, sharing the next phase on my missional journey, as God has been leading us into exciting new possibilities for the future. As I work on my new book, I hope to use this space to share ideas and get your feedback. I look forward to new friends, new ideas and new possibilities. Thanks for being a part of this little corner of the internet.
And remember:
(St. Jean de Brébeuf)
