Subverting the Norm: The Emerging Church, Postmodernism, and the Future of Christianity

Help us be (somewhat) green

Phil Snider — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:19:25 +0000

Help us be as green as possible by downloading the Subverting the Norm registration packet instead of using paper.
Download Registration Packet

Lodging updates

Phil Snider — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:45:39 +0000

Available rooms at University Plaza Hotel are almost gone, so here are a couple of other lodging options for Subverting the Norm:

The Doubletree offers a local negotiated rate (LNR) with Drury, but is a bit further away from campus (3.4 miles from campus). Be sure to ask for the LNR with Drury.

The Holiday Inn Express is a bit more pricey but it is within walking distance of Drury’s campus (1.3 miles from campus).

Updated schedule

Phil Snider — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:28:02 +0000

A few updates have been made to the schedule over the last two weeks. Here is the most up-to-date schedule:

FRIDAY, OCT. 15: RADICAL THEOLOGY IN EMERGING CHRISTIANITY

10 am: “Beating God to Death: Radical Theology & the New Atheism”
Roundtable conversation with Jeffrey Robbins, Christopher Rodkey and professors from Drury’s department of philosophy and religion

11 am: “An Emerging Radical Theology: On Politics and Ecclesiology”
Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey

12 pm: Lunch (on your own)

1 pm: “The Emerging Church 101: An introduction for those new to the conversation”
Gary Black

2 pm: “To Believe Is Human, to Doubt Divine: Introducing Zizek’s Christology”
Peter Rollins

3 pm: “An Emerging A/Theistic Fighting Collective? A Caputian Introduction to Žižek’s Pneumatology”
Katharine Moody

4 pm: “Just Us: The undeconstructible Christ community in the age that is passing away”
Carl Raschke

7 pm: Keynote presentation I: “Radical Theology—or What’s the Emerging in Emergent?”
John Caputo

8:15 pm: Keynote presentation II
Peter Rollins

9:15 – 10 pm: After Session
Conversation with John Caputo, Peter Rollins, Carl Raschke, Katharine Moody, Jeffrey Robbins & Christopher Rodkey

10:30 pm: Transformance Art with participants from VOID, a collective from Waco, Texas
Creamery Arts Center in Downtown Springfield

SATURDAY, OCT. 16: EMERGING CHRISTIANITY AND THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH

8 am: Coffee & Bagels

8:30 am: Keynote Presentation III
Karen Ward

10 am: Church practitioners workshop
Peter Rollins & John Caputo

11:30 am: Lunch
On your own unless you registered for the Saturday lunch option (see registration packet for local options)

1 pm: Keynote presentation IV
Karen Ward

2:15 – 3:15 pm & 3:30 – 4:30 pm: Breakout Sessions for Church Practitioners
2:15 – 3:15:
Emily Bowen: “Megachurch or Megasubversion? Transformative Ritual in the Emerging Church”
Chris Rodkey: “Satanism in the Suburbs: Ordination as Insubordination”
Julie Kennedy: “The Open Invitation: Tearing Down Labels at the Door”
Phil Snider: “Preaching After the Death of God: With A Little Help From Derrida & Caputo”

3:30 – 4:30:
Laura Fregin: “Art and Justice in Emergent Communities”
David Weiss: “Putting the ‘Queer’ back in Christianity: How extending a full welcome to LGBT persons reclaims the work of Jesus for today”
Lindsey Arnold: “Messiahs, Monsters & Others: The Search for Christ Figures in the TV Show Lost“
Travis Cooper: “Why the Emergent Church Represents the Culmination of the Azusa Street Revival”
Matt Gallion, Chris Rodkey & Phil Snider: “Why We’re Not Emergent: By Three Guys Who Used to Be”

7 pm: [D]mergent meet-up
Venue TBA

Carl Raschke to present at Subverting the Norm

Phil Snider — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 03:07:15 +0000

We are really excited to announce that Carl Raschke is joining the list of presenters at Subverting the Norm. Dr. Raschke, who is professor and chair of the department of religious studies at the University of Denver, has been on the cutting edge of “postmodern” theology and its relationship to the church for over 20 years. He is the senior editor of the Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory and the author of numerous books and hundreds of articles, including his most recent releases The Next Reformation: Why Evangelicals Must Embrace Posmodernity and GloboChrist: The Great Commission takes a Postmodern Turn. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Mars Hill Graduate School (Seattle) and has been actively involved in recent years with various emergent church networks and postmodern ministry initiatives around the country.

Exact times for Dr. Raschke’s presentations will be added shortly, so be sure to check the schedule for updates.

The gospel according to Zizek and Caputo

Phil Snider — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:42:21 +0000

On Friday afternoon, U.K. scholar Katharine Moody will present “An Emerging A/Theistic Fighting Collective? A Caputian Introduction to Žižek’s Pneumatology.” Her expertise on the highly influential theo-philosophical dis-courses offered by Slavoj Žižek and John Caputo will help participants get a feel for what religious collectives might look like when informed by the respective thought of these preeminent postmodern theorists.

Three new presentations

Phil Snider — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 04:28:43 +0000

Three new presentations have been added to the conference! On Saturday at 3:30 pm, Lindsey Arnold will present “Messiahs, Monsters & Others: The Search for Christ Figures in the TV Show Lost,” David Weiss will present “Putting the ‘Queer’ back in Christianity: How extending a full welcome to LGBT persons reclaims the work of Jesus for today,” and Travis Cooper will present “Why the Emergent Church Represents the Culmination of the Azusa Street Revival.”

Very excited to add Karen Ward to the lineup of presenters!

Phil Snider — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:33:46 +0000

Karen Ward, an ordained Episcopal priest, is the founder of Anglimergent.org (a relational network of Anglicans engaging emerging church and mission), and cofounder of Episcopalvillage.org (companioning parishes and leaders in emerging/ fresh expressions of church and mission). She is Abbess of Church of the Apostles (Seattle, Washington), an influential emerging mission in North America. She is coauthor of Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Five Perspectives (Zondervan, 2007), and contributor to Rising from the Ashes: Rethinking Church (Seabury, 2007), and Ancient Faith, Future Mission: Fresh Expressions in the Sacramental Tradition (Canterbury Press, 2009).

She will share two presentations on Saturday.

A few good reads

Phil Snider — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:30:16 +0000

Interested in getting a head start on the “Subverting the Norm” conference? Here are some great books by a few conference presenters that will make you want October to arrive all the quicker:

Theology:
Peter Rollins and John Caputo are both known for engaging continental philosophy. Rollins’ most recent work is heavily influenced by Slavoj Zizek, while Caputo usually highlights the thought of Jacques Derrida.

A nice introduction to Rollins’ theology can be found in his books The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief and The Orthodox Heretic. If you are interested in learning more about Zizek in general, and thus understand the background from which Rollins works, you might wish to check out Adam Kotsko’s Zizek and Theology.

The best introduction to Caputo’s thought can be found in his What Would Jesus Deconstruct? The Good News of Postmodernism for the Church and On Religion. If you would like a more in-depth perspective of his work, then you might want to check out his groundbreaking books The Prayers and Tears of Jacques Derrida and The Weakness of God.

A great overall introduction to radical theology can be found in a book that Jeffrey Robbins edited entitled After the Death of God.

Practice:
Those who are interested in emerging approaches to worship and ecclesiology will especially want to read the second half of Rollins’ How (Not) to Speak of God, and perhaps also Toward a Hopeful Future: Why the Emergent Church is Good News for Mainline Congregations, by Emily Bowen and Phil Snider.

If you can think of other books that people interested in “Subverting the Norm” might want to read, please pass along your recommendations in the comments section!

New presenters added to schedule

Phil Snider — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:20:11 +0000

Very excited to add participants from VOID Collective in Waco, Texas to the schedule!

Updated schedule

Phil Snider — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:43:26 +0000

We are regularly adding several presenters to this schedule, so check the schedule page frequently for updates

FRIDAY, OCT. 15: RADICAL THEOLOGY IN EMERGING CHRISTIANITY

10 am: “Beating God to Death: The Death of God & the New Atheism”
Roundtable conversation with Jeffrey Robbins, Christopher Rodkey and professors from Drury’s department of philosophy and religion

11 am: “An Emerging Radical Theology: On Politics and Ecclesiology”
Jeffrey Robbins and Christopher Rodkey

12 pm: Lunch (on your own)

2 pm: “To Believe Is Human, to Doubt Divine: Introducing Zizek’s Christology”
Peter Rollins

7 pm: Keynote presentation I w/ Q&A
John Caputo

8:15 pm: Keynote presentation II w/ Q&A
Peter Rollins

9:15 – 10 pm: After session with John Caputo & Peter Rollins
With refreshments

11 pm: Transformance Art with participants from VOID, a collective from Waco, Texas
Downtown venue to be announced

SATURDAY, OCT. 16: EMERGING CHRISTIANITY AND THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH

9 – 10 am: Coffee & Bagels

10 am: Church practitioners workshop
Peter Rollins & John Caputo

11:30 am: Lunch
On your own unless you registered for the Saturday lunch option (see registration packet for local options)

1:15 – 2:15 pm: Breakout Sessions for Church Practitioners
Emily Bowen: “Megachurch or Megasubversion? Transformative Ritual in the Emerging Church”
Matt Gallion: “The Emerging Church: Radical or Repolished?”
Julie Kennedy: “The Open Invitation: Tearing Down Labels at the Door”
Chris Rodkey: “Satanism in the Suburbs: Ordination as Insubordination”
Gary Black: “The Emerging Church & the Holy Spirit”
Laura Fregin: “Art and Justice in Emergent Communities”
Phil Snider: “Preaching After the Death of God”