Emerging Africa

Hi, I'm Tim.

I'm married to Bev and we're about to have our first child toward the end of April. I make maps, do some web design, write a little and do some editing, but mostly work as a spiritual consultant. I drink lots of coffee with people who want to explore spirituality and are open to Christ and/or the Spirit but closed to Christianity. I blog a bit.

Envoy

And I'd like to hear more from Roger about his joining a new monastic community :-) Sounds interesting!

I've just written something on it, with links tio other articl;es, here:

http://khanya.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/new-monasticism-revisited/

Hi my name is Lauren. Kevin is my husband. He was called a heretic on his first post and most others after that (remember the easter passover problems, homosexuality and bible inerrancy!!!) . So i decided reading was safer!!

At one stage last year emergent africa was my church. One of Linda's posts made me cry, firstly because she was the first person in a while to be honestly asking the questions i was asking, but then i cried even more because she was cyberspace. I am in cape town and she was not. Anyway it was still good to know that somewhere out there not too far away, there was someone who could possibly understand my journey. So thank you Linda for your honesty and vulnerability it did help me through a lonely time.

I am a photographer. At the moment i am lecturing and freelancing. We are now attending a small traditional presbysterian/congregational church where we are the conservatives for a change. It is great to be able to ask any questions we like and not feel heretical for asking them. We are also meeting randomly with people who are doing great new creative things.

What i dream about is creative meetings with God, discussions, questions, environement, photography, antiques, analysing, rising interest rates:(!!, politics, holidays, movies, the poor, gender, homosexuality, hell, heaven, friendship, my husband.

So to end my coming out blog, i just want to say thanks for the blogs. sorry i was such a wimp but give us lurkers a bit of understanding: it is quite scary to put yourself out there, because some people don't realise there is a real person behind that screen. But thanks for kicking my butt because lazyiness was a small part of the probelm :)

Hi all

I'm a 26-year-old newspaper editor living in Cape Town. I'm married to Lauren, a photographer and lecturer. I have a degree in English and Theology from UNISA. Before I started describing myself as a recovering fundamentalist, I used to head up the creative arts and preach occasionally at a fairly large charismatic church in the Southern Suburbs, but left because we agreed to disagree about whether Christians should be sexist or not. These days, we attend a Congregational/Presbyterian church where we're relieved to be the most conservative Christians in the room for a change. It's probably an interim measure until we feel it's time to help start something small with some friends, which is likely to be full of creative liturgies and discussions on the cross, the kingdom, gender, homosexuality, heaven and hell, justice, culture, and the environment. Really enjoying the spacious place we're in for now though.

Would love to be able to blog on the site more, but life gets crazy around newspaper deadlines, which come every two weeks for me. But I enjoy reading everyone's musings even when I don't get a chance to comment.

Roger, not sure what I score, but I am wondering why you changed the name? If you're still in Cape Town, would be great to connect...

Kevin

Carl Brook here. I am not albino and will change my picture soon.

I facilitate a Bible school on the lower KZN coast, reaching mainly Xhosa and Zulu communities. I'm interested in post-colonial conversations, though I agree with Steve (not verified) that on this site they seem very few and far between.

carlbrook.wordpress.com

Gareth.

All: "Hi gareth."

(Going for the AA-meeting-introduction-feel. It's not as easy in a subject line, but what the heck.)

I'm Gareth. One of the newbies here so can't be blamed for lurking for too long (though the idea is enticing). I lost track of Roger's points allocation. I grew up, went to school, worked and played Ultimate frisbee* in Jhb and Pretoria for 25 years.

*(If you haven't heard of, or played Ultimate Frisbee before, subtract a "ka-zillion" points. Ed.)

I also studied good reformed theology at the University of Pretoria, had a (great) stint working at a church in Randburg, spent Christmas at a Benedictine monastery in New Mexico, and most recently studied some more theology at a Presbyterian Seminary in Atlanta (Walter Bruegemann is the hot-shot there). 6 months ago i moved to Cape Town where I work with public policy and advocacy at the SA Council of Churches Parliamentary Office. Still new to CT, but i already notice some faces on the Lurker hall of fame. Keen for stimulating conversations and contacts in Slaap Stad if anyone knows of some.
Did i mention i play Ultimate Frisbee?

I'm not really a blog-lurker, but haven't been reading this blog for very long and haven't felt the need to comment! I am a Methodist with emergent tendancies. Probably, I'm more conservative than most people involved in this blog, however in most Methodist contexts I am seen as a little dangerous. Theologically, pretty conservative, but a bit radical in the expression of that theology, how we 'do' church and never taking the status quo for granted. I stay in Randburg. I enjoy hearing what other people are doing for church.

Hi Nic
You may know my name from the futurechurch blog.
I think dangerous is relative. You must see the look on my minister's face if I walk in and say 'I have an idea'. It's odd, because generally they work out quite well. But I think Methodists in general (not all by any means) are used to doing things a certain way and variations are challenging. It took our church about 18 months to let me put up a working web page. We had a street party to advertise the evening service. We did 'church in a coffee shop' for a while, but there really wasn't the space. We did a prayer-drive, rather than a prayer-walk. Some multimedia stuff in the evening service. I don't think it's dangerous . . . And - in my minister's defence - he has been more accomodating than anyone else I've worked with!

Hi All

I have just moved to Johannesburg as Youth Ministry Director at a Church in Randburg. I spent the previous 9.5 years at a Church in Somerset West. I have not visited this blog for a while, but have kind of reconnected via the Facebook Emerging Church group.

I have read four of Brian McLaren's books and I am watching the whole emerging Church conversation with interest.

Is this something God is doing, and if so what is he doing?

My wife works for a division of Medi clinic in Pretoria, I have a 3 year old daughter called Nina, and a son due to be born in March.

Brendon Asch
Youth Ministry Director
Randpark Ridge United Church

Hello watchman-WOWman, I have an incling as to who you might be. (nudge nudge walter wink.) Were you aware that upside down wowman is uawmam? hmmm...

Anyway I am intruiged as to how you plan to get every atom in you to contain love. That's a great aspiration!

Roger, this is the best blog post EVER to appear on this site and has changed the whole atmosphere for me. Being on this side of the Boerewors Curtain must be doing good things for you! (I know you wrote this before you moved, but nevertheless...!).

I've been quite active on this site for a while and then had phases of feeling embarassed by what I've written or frustrated by what others have written and then again frustrated with my inability to articulate myself effectively to others. Hence the 'gentle aggressor' - most people who know me see me as a shy, gentle, quiet person yet my husband, Kevin (http://mexc.blogspot.com) can assure you that when I feel strongly about something I have no trouble letting other people know about it :)

Great to see some more women introducing themselves. The role (or lack there of) of women in Christian conversations in every sphere in South Africa and worldwide is one of the more close-to-home issues I'm working through (and this has sometimes manifested itself on this site!). I really hope it is something I can continue to work through in dialogue with others on this site.

Apart from writing angry things about white men on blog sites I work for an NGO that runs a life transforming 'alternative discipline' program in high schools in Pretoria and am completing my PhD on reconciliation in Rwanda.

Ant
Geography isn't everything. We are learning to live both on and off line.
I do have some interesting friends (not necessarily "emergent", but questers) in Durbs.
Visit our attempt to emerge in CT on http://capeconversation.wordpress.com/.
Lets keep talking, I'm happy to help the process.
Nic

Heh I was on this site at it's inception and haven't visited for some time. I am leading a church along with my wife Debbie, in Rivonia Johannesburg called Ridgeway Ministries, which has been going for 15 years now. We have been in the emergent zone for the past ten years and are following the path of a conversational ,arts, integrational, questioning and searching people, finding food together.

I think we should call it the "emergency church" - i.e desperately needed for survival into the future. Emerging is and was and is to come. It's the beginning and end all together. It's exciting.

I am also doing my doctorate on the future church in South Africa, with Len Sweet and Chris Peppler as my supervisors - What will it look like ? Who knows will get a jolly lolly - no just kidding - but seriously would love to hear some of what's going on in your parts of the the great big beautiful vineyard.

Ok, so maybe I'm too late - but i only just saw we're back online - shows just how much of a lurker I am ;-)

I'm Steven from Somerset West (that's Cape Town for non Cape-tonians and "The Village in the Sticks" for Cape-tonians). I am a Methodist Minister (no please don't shoot!).

I have always been "different" and now I've found a place where people actually think (just a little bit) like me.

I'm here because I think that "The Church" (i.e. that institutional thing not the body-of-Christ thing) has lost The Way of Christ somehow and we need to get back on track.

I do sometimes contribute - but there's loads out there and my main area of influence will remain my "oikos" and the institution God has called me to - this is just where I come when I need to find life again ;-)

Oh yeah, I'm married and have 2 children.

The church I'm currently "pastoring" is on the journey to becoming an INCLUSIVE community where ALL people can find healing and wholeness in Christ.