National Pastors Convention :: The E-Trip
Published Monday, February 27, 2006 by Tank | E-mail this post
Here are a couple of theologians and Doug who I found to be very interesting at the convention so i thought I would point you towards some of their resources and blogs.

Scot McKnight
I first heard of him only weeks ago when I recieved a copy of the 'Religion & Ethics' coverage of the Emergent movement DVD. He was labeled as someone who has been keeping up with the movement, but not part of the movement because of his reservations, so when I found out he would be speaking as a presenter at the Emergent Critical Concerns Course (or E-Trip :: E for Emergent and trip for the triple Cs) I thought he would be a critic of the movement who they invited to dialogue with. I actually almost didn't go to his portion of the E-trip because I was tired, but I went and I was very pleased. He gave a twenty minute talk on theology which wasn't critical at all. It actually complimented the rest of the talks nicely I thought. He wrote a few articles on his
blog, my favorite being
this one which states:
[...All this group of folks care about is theology...The topic at each juncture and between junctures and in passing was theology, Bible, and praxis. That’s it...] And [...They’re really into the intersection of theology, culture, and praxis — and it was stimulating to be part of...]
If you haven't already, you should check his blog out and his two books:
The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others and
Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us which he said he wanted to title "What's so Embracing about Grace?". I haven't read these yet obviously, but I was with someone who was reading Embracing Grace and said he was enjoying it. You can find his presentation and responses on Doug Pagitt's podcast (there will be a link later) or in a few weeks on the Emergent Village site.

LeRon Shults
I have heard of LeRon Shults a few times here and there in Emergent circles, but hadn't really heard much from him. He was also a presenter at the E-Trip and was the most scholarly of presentations with words that I need a dictionary to understand. I need to listen to his presentation again to grasp it better. You should also check out his presentation on Doug's podcast and check out a few of his books
The Faces of Forgiveness: Searching for Wholeness and Salvation,
Reforming the Doctrine of God, and
Reforming Theological Anthropology: After the Philosophical Turn to Relationality.

Doug Pagitt
I was the most familiar with Doug (out of these three) going into the E-Trip because I have read one of his books, heard him speak/teach a few times, and been reading his blog. He still surprised me though, everytime I encounter his thought I feel like he moves more and more towards something. I understand his thoughts more each time I hear him and I think he understands his thoughts more each time I see him or as he put it "Did I think all of this when I started? No. Did I feel all of this when I started? Yes." During the conference he recorded almost everything he did, and when I say almost everything I don't just mean seminars. You can find many of his recordings on his podcast which is found
here. (You need to click the 'PagittCast' link at the top of the page to get to it.) You should also check out his books:
Church Re-Imagined : The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith,
Preaching Re-Imagined, and
BodyPrayer : The Posture of Intimacy with God.
sounds like you had a super great time!
what are some things that you have learned? how have you changed since hearing and experiencing these things?
mattd