“We need thousands of leaders to help lead existing churches through the current paradigm shift. AND we need thousands of leaders to help plant new faith communities. Both are essential, and progress in one helps the other. Among church planters, we need folks who will start churches to help alienated churchgoers … people who will drop out of church unless somebody forms a more open space where they can survive and thrive spiritually. But no less important — more important, in my opinion — we need church planters who will go much farther than most alienated churchgoers would want to go — to meet the ‘spiritual but not religious’ where they are and form faith communities among them, forming authentic disciples or followers of Jesus without needless religious baggage. So I just wanted to say to you and anyone else feeling this call … you’re needed. Fan the flame. Go for it. Don’t let anyone discourage you!”

Read the rest of Brian’s post

If you haven’t already, join TransFORM by registering on this website and start getting better connected with others who are on this journey together — over 1,000 members!

In the July/August 2010 issue of Tikkun magazine, Andrea Smith writes in her article “Dismantling Hierarchy, Queering Society” shares an interesting observation/comment about “the emergent movement.” (Jay Bakker also has an editorial in this issue of Tikkun, which is available online for $5.) I wanted to post an excerpt here that’s a bit longer than Twitter will allow to give a space for people to read and reflect and respond in civil dialogue. Here’s what Smith says,

“By describing the emergent movement as a queering of evangelicalism, I don’t necessarily mean that it offers an open critique of homophobia (although some emergent church leaders such as Brian McLaren have spoken out against homophobia). Rather, I see this movement as challenging of normalizing logics within evangelicalism. This movement has sought to challenge the meaning of evangelicalism as being based on doctrinal correctness, and instead to imagine it a more open-ended ongoing theological conversation.”

What do you think?

At American University:
McDonalds and Subway 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (in the tunnel on campus)

Down New Mexico Avenue (but still walk-able) is:
Chef Geoffs 3201 New Mexico Avenue

Down the street (north of campus totally walk-able) are the following:
Starbucks / Chicken Out / Le Pain (sandwiches) 4866 Massachusetts Avenue

Across the street is:
Tara Thai 4855 Massachusetts Avenue
Wagshal’s Deli

In Tenleytown (near the metro):
Starbucks
Angelico pizza 4529 Wisconsin Avenue
Neisha Thai 4445 Wisconsin Avenue
Robeks (juice bar) 4523 Wisconsin Avenue
Marvelous Market 4530 Wisconsin Avenue
Guapos 4515 Wisconsin Avenue
Whole Foods 4530 40th Street, NW (behind Guapos)
Crisp and Juice (chicken) 4533 Wisconsin Avenue
Dancing Crab (hard shell crabs and shrimp) 4611 Wisconsin Avenue a Washington landmark BTW it where Sonny Jerguson used to go after Redskin games back in the day
Murphy’s Law Irish Restaurant 4624 Wisconsin Avenue
Steak n Egg Kitchen 4700 Wisconsin Avenue
4912 (another Thai place) 4912 Wisconsin Avenue
Z-burger 4312 Wisconsin Avenue
Café India 4909 Wisconsin Avenue
Ruby Tuesday 4200 Wisconsin
Chipotle Mexican Grill 4301 Wisconsin Avenue

Friendship Heights ( one metro stop into Maryland):
Cheesecake Factory 5335 Wisconsin Avenue
Maggianos 5333 Wisconsin Avenue
Chadwicks 5247 Wisconsin Avenue
Booeymonger 5252 Wisconsin Avenue

Drivable and still close by:
Listrani’s 5100 MacArthur Blvd
Bambu 5101 MacArthur Blvd

Greetings, TransFORMers!

It’s almost here – the TransFORM conference planning team is looking forward to this weekend’s conference, and we hope you are, too.

We know that a lot of you all are flying in to the DC area and will be relying on mass transit to get around. The DC mass transit system is really good, but there’s some stuff you should know:

1) Buses: The buses in DC are quite good, regular and reliable. The buses out in the VA and Maryland suburbs … not so much. There is much less reliance on the bus in the ‘burbs, so the buses are less frequent and not necessarily on time. Bear in mind that weekend schedules are MUCH sparser than weekday schedules. My advice would be to cab it, but if you do decide to take the bus, NextBus is your best friend. This site http://www.wmata.com/rider_tools/nextbus/arrivals.cfm gives real time arrivals for buses throughout the MetroBus system, and it is absolutely invaluable.

2) Metro: The nearest Metro to the conference hotel is Shady Grove, at the end of the Red Line (a full DC metrorail map can be found at http://www.wmata.com/rail/maps/map.cfm. In fact, there is a free shuttle from the conference hotel to the Shady Grove metro station. If you decide to drive yourself to the Shady Grove station and metro in, there is parking, but please be aware that you can only pay for parking with a SmartTrip card. You can buy these in the station (look for machines with the SmartTrip logo (http://www.wmata.com/fares/smartrip/).

3) Trains: The trains in DC are great … comparatively clean and quiet (most of the time), but service on the weekends is a lot sparser than weekdays. Travel on Friday shouldn’t be an issue, but is not at all unusual to be waiting for 20 minutes for a train on Saturday or Sunday. Again, Metro’s online real time arrival tools are invaluable … you can get real-time train arrivals online at http://www.wmata.com/rider_tools/pids/real_time_arrivals.cfm. Be sure to factor in time for transfers if you are staying somewhere that is not on the Red Line.

4) How to get from the metro to Wesley campus: The nearest metro stop to Wesley is Tenleytown/AU. American University runs three shuttles (http://www.american.edu/finance/facilities/shuttle.cfm) with service every 10-15 minutes from the metro station. [Note: On Friday the shuttle will run from 7am – 3:30am(Sat) and on Sat 8am – 3:30am (Sun).] When you get to the top of the escalator, continue ahead to the first street corner. The shuttle stop is there, at the front of the queue of buses. Wesley has good directions for how to get to the Wesley campus from the AU campus here http://www.wesleyseminary.edu/admissions/id.228/default.asp#Main.

To walk from the Tenleytown/AU metro stop to Wesley campus: Cross Wisconsin Avenue and turn left to Nebraska Avenue. Turn right on Nebraska and walk until you come to the traffic circle. Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue and walk down the hill, pass the Kogard Building. Wesley will be on the opposite side of the street at 4500 Massachusetts Avenue.

Walking map: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/1-VKx2sZZkkEHT__pz3Fym

5) Cab service: Cab service in DC is very good. Most DC cabs will NOT take a credit card, so be sure to carry cash with you. $20 should cover you for one way fare plus tip to Wesley from most destinations. If you’re staying in DC or Virginia, I can personally recommend Red Top Cab ( 703 522-3333 in Arlington, 202 544-1212 in DC 703 333-3333 in Fairfax). They offer very good service and they WILL take a credit card. You can also make a reservation with Red Top online at http://www.redtopcab.com.

6) Trip Planner: If you need to figure out how to get elsewhere via public transit while you’re in DC, the Trip Planner on the WMATA home page (http://www.wmata.com) is pretty awesome.

We can’t wait to meet you all!!

Amy Moffitt
for the TransFORM East Coast Gathering planning team

UPDATE 4/28/2010: Parking at/around Wesley Theological Seminary campus — For those who are driving, yes, you may park on campus — anyplace that’s legal (i.e., don’t block fire zones) and on the street at the bottom of the hill outside Wesley Seminary.

Additional parking can be found at the garage for the Katzen Center (center for the arts at American University) up Massachusetts Avenue, but that costs something and we’re not sure at this point what that fee is for daily parking. There may also be parking back in the neighborhood behind Wesley Seminary, as well, but you will have to read the signs closely to see where you can or can’t park.

I’m really excited to announce that a new series of podcasts has launched, featuring conversations with missional practitioners. It’s called the TransFORM Round Table, and Jonathan Brink is the host of these fascinating discussions. As Jonathan explains:

“The purpose of this podcast is to highlight communities who are living out a missional approach to the Way of Jesus. I’ve selected a Round Table approach because I want this to be a dialog as much as an interview. My hope is to create a robust conversation for those who are looking to engage a missional approach to ministry, to bring out great ideas and foster healthy dialog.”

Check out the first installment of the TransFORM Round Table, featuring Pam and Don Heatley (Vision Community Church), Kathy Escobar (The Refuge), and Stephanie and Phil Shepherd (The Eucatastrophe).

All of these folks (except for Stephanie) will be a part of the TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2, at Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C.

We’re excited to have Jonathan Brink joining us for the TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2. Jonathan has been a part of the leadership team for TransFORM, and he recently posted some of his thinking on missional community formation over on his blog, The Adventurous Way.

Jonathan writes,

With the advent of science and technology, the world is rapidly changing. Denominations are in overall decline and church attendance for those under 35 is significantly waning.

Yet what if this process is opening us up to the possibility of a larger framing story, one that requires a new way of thinking about how we organize and engage God’s mission of restoration in community?

Later, he concludes,

What would it look like to gather together under the larger framing story of the Kingdom? What would it look like to participate with Jesus in God’s mission of restoration for all creation? What would it look like to create and support missional communities that begin with participation in God’s Kingdom mission?

We believe the time is now to create something fresh and new, a missional community formation network. The network would gather together those individuals, leaders and organizations already participating in the larger framing story. It would also seek out those looking to participate in the Kingdom. It would develop missional communities of practice much like the current church planting networks. It would also foster training and development in missional practices and activities.

It would create a basis for unity founded on grace, and centered on the authority of Jesus. It would advance robust theological conversations across the traditional borders. It would include opportunities for each expression to continue to flourish, knowing that God works in different ways for different people.

I’m grateful to Jonathan for writing this, and I hope that others will engage him on these ideas. (And I’m excited for him to come and share more with us at the East Coast Gathering!)

Read the whole thing and add your voice to the discussion »

I’m excited to announce that two Marks have been added to the speakers list for the upcoming TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2:

Mark Scandrette is the founder and executive director of ReIMAGINE! in San Francisco and the author of Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus (Jossey-Bass, 2008). He’s also the “star” of a few short videos we’ve produced and posted in the TransFORM “Video” section. Check out a recent blog post from Mark on “Living in the Questions.”

Mark Van Steenwyk is the founding member of Missio Dei, an Anabaptist intentional community anchored on the West Bank of Minneapolis that pursues Jesus’ way of simplicity, prayer, hospitality, and peace. He’s also a writer, speaker, grassroots educator, and a co-conspirator with the Common Root. He and his wife Amy, along with their son Jonas, live with a random assortment of friends at Missio Dei’s Sattler House. You can read many of his thoughts at JesusManifesto.com.

More speakers and workshop topics will be posted soon, so check out the event page for updates and please RSVP to let us know you’re coming!

Brian’s new book is coming out soon, and we’re excited that he’ll be talking about some of these themes at the TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2. Here he is talking with Spencer Burke about the book (obviously recorded before they banned* videoblogging and driving):

*Only a prediction at this point

Kathy Escobar has written a great blog post on “the difference between ‘cultivating communities’ and ‘building churches’”:

i think it’s fairly easy to build a “church.” the typical elements are not that hard to find–a gathering place, music, a good message, and some kind of programmatic glue will usually do the trick. if the music and the message are good enough, some Christians out there will come. i’m not saying they’ll come in droves–i think that’s a unique phenomenon these days, but i do believe that if the basic elements are there, some people will come and find what they are looking for.

cultivating real communities is a whole other animal.

i believe that finding ways to knit hearts together, share life and meals, gather around a common purpose but allow for a wide range of diversity and perspectives, nurture a spirit of justice and action, and somehow create a safe and challenging container to learn to love Jesus, ourselves and others and be loved by Jesus, ourselves, and others requires a whole different way of thinking.

She goes on to outline four ways that “cultivating communities” and “building churches” are different:

Read the whole thing »

And plan now to participate in the TransFORM gathering in Washington, D.C., April 30-May 2. It’s a free event focused on equipping men and women to form new missional communities of practice—and Kathy Escobar is going to be one of the main speakers!

Two exciting things to announce today regarding the first TransFORM Network learning party event, coming up April 30-May 2, 2010, in Washington, D.C. (the TransFORM East Coast Gathering):

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina is joining us as a sponsor of the event. We’re grateful for their financial support, and we look forward to having them with us in D.C.

Note: TransFORM is looking for other partners to help support the network and put on regional gatherings like the D.C. event. If you, your church, organization, or business are interested in exploring partnership, please contact Steve Knight.

Eliacín Rosario-Cruz from the Mustard Seed House community in Seattle is going to be joining us as well, as one of the workshop facilitators, speaking about neo-monasticism and intentional Christian communities. Among his various projects and affiliations, Eliacín has been a part of the leadership team for TransFORM, so it’ll be great to have him there in D.C.

We hope many of you will be able to attend the TransFORM East Coast Gathering, which is a free event – please RSVP online now to let us know you’ll be coming!