Happy New Year!  As we enter 2008, we are just a few weeks away from starting the EMC tour.  We would love to hear from you about what you hope to gain at the Everything Must Change event in your city.   In addition, please take this opportunity to plan to carpool with others who are coming to this event by stating your name, location, and contact information so that others can be in touch with you.

Blessings for an awesome 2008!!

Brian, Linnea & Denise

The “just in time” registration deadline has been extended one more week, so register now through January 7 at the $99 rate ($79 after the $20 off discount code, available by joining the Charlotte Emergent cohort).

BTW — We’re now just one month away from EMC Charlotte at Area 15 (Feb. 1-2), and it’s going to be an amazing kingdom experience! Here’s a short description from Brian’s latest Deep Shift email newsletter to wet your appetite:

“When you arrive at the tour site near you, you’ll be welcomed into a short-term community of people who, like you, want to see God, the gospel, Jesus, our world and its crises, and our churches and faith communities in a dynamic new light.

• You’ll experience times of prayer and guided meditation, aided by some profoundly moving works of art.
• You’ll not only sing new songs, but you’ll participate in some new kinds of music, and you’ll experience liturgical resources that you can bring home to your faith community.
• You’ll be challenged to think about some important ideas, and you’ll engage in some stimulating dialogue with people who sincerely want to listen and share.
• And you’ll be challenged to action too — not with pressure or manipulation, but with encouragement and hope and opportunity. My prayer is that this event will be for many of us a true and lasting conversion.”

We’re also putting together some great “late night” breakout sessions/discussions for Friday night, which will be unique to Charlotte. Check back here for the announcement about those in the next few days.

Don’t miss this — register now!

We’re finally ready to announce some exciting news about the “Everything Must Change” event, February 1-2, at Area 15 in Charlotte—Friday “late night” discussion groups featuring some great topics facilitated by some incredible leaders!

After the regular program ends on Friday night (Feb. 1), we’ll have the following breakout sessions to choose from: Continue reading »

Brian McLaren has been active in interfaith dialogue for some time, and he was one of the early signers of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture’s “Loving God and Neighbor Together” document, which was a response to an unprecedented appeal by over 130 Muslims leaders to engage in peaceful dialogue with Christians. Lately the Yale response has been criticized by some Christian leaders, who say it has “sold out” the Gospel. Brian has responded to these critics in writing, and he is further responding by participating in a Muslim-Christian dialogue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 23-27 (right before coming to Charlotte, so it’ll be fresh in his mind!).

We are pleased to announce that Brian will also be participating in a Trialogue discussion—with members of the local Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities in the Charlotte region—on Saturday, February 2, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. This panel discussion will take place at Area 15 and be moderated by Dennis Teall-Fleming (director of faith formation at Queen of the Apostles Catholic Church in Belmont, NC). The Trialogue discussion is free and open to the public.

So register now for Everything Must Change Charlotte and plan to stay Saturday afternoon/evening for the Trialogue (and more to be announced soon)!

Also, a reminder to check out Friday “late night” discussion groups (more details being posted) …

We’re excited to announce that following the “Everything Must Change” weekend event with Brian McLaren and the Saturday afternoon Trialogue discussion, we’ll be hosting a Worship Party — featuring music by Tracy Howe, Andy Squyres, and kgb (from Warehouse 242) — Saturday night, February 2, starting at 7:30 p.m.

This concert will be free and open to the public, and donations will be received for the Charlotte 24/7 prayer ministry at Area 15.

It’s not too late to register for “Everything Must Change,” so make plans now to attend!

Here’s just a few reminders about why you won’t want to miss this:

• participate in Friday “late night” discussion groups
• read a full description of the “Everything Must Change” experience
• watch a video invitation from Brian McLaren

One of the national sponsors of the “Everything Must Change” Tour with Brian McLaren and Friends is the Sierra Club. Recently, the Sierra Club posted this on their blog:

Inspired by our shared values of environmental stewardship, global justice and care for our neighbors, the Sierra Club is proud to partner with Sojourners: Faith & Justice Churches, Emergent Village and others, in promoting this message of responsible stewardship.

Each of the eleven-city events are held on Friday night through Saturday afternoon. In select cities these events are followed by an opportunity to put your faith into action with a service project hosted by the Sierra Club on the following Sunday.

Here in Charlotte, we’re working with the Sierra Club to collect and sort donations for the Really Really Free Market. This Sunday (1/27) there’s a free benefit “Rock + Art Show” at the Roofless Building — featuring music by My Epic, Love & Reverie, Harvard, and work on display by 10 featured artists. We’ll be collecting donations, basically anything you would give to Goodwill or Salvation Army (e.g., quality clothes, books, CDs, DVDs, even food).

Then on Sunday, February 3, we’ll be gathering again to watch “The Story of Stuff” together, sort through the donations, and get them ready to be given away.

Bonus: Listen to a new interview with Brian McLaren on the Sierra Club podcast! Brian’s interview starts at 15:40.

Register now for “Everything Must Change” Charlotte, Feb. 1-2

Today’s Charlotte Observer newspaper features a new Q&A interview with Brian McLaren (see the “Faith” section), conducted by the Observer’s Faith & Values reporter Tim Funk.

Welcome to all of you who read the interview and made your way here to the “Everything Must Change” Charlotte blog! From all of the local organizers here in Charlotte, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of you to join us this coming Friday and Satuday, February 1-2, at Area 15 in the Optimist Park neighborhood of Charlotte.

This is going to be more than just a book tour and more than just a series of talks from Brian McLaren! “Everything Must Change” Charlotte promises to be a unique experience featuring the visual art of Linnea Nilsen Capshaw, the original music of Tracy Howe, and the contributions and voices of local leaders — including plenty of opportunities for conversation and interaction with hundreds of participants, all enjoyed while drinking fair-trade coffee.

Register online now for “Everything Must Change” with Brian McLaren, Feb. 1-2

The $109 registration fee includes lunch on Saturday. Student rate is $79. Also, you can save $20 just by contacting the Charlotte Emergent Village cohort!

The Trialogue interfaith discussion with Brian on Saturday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. is FREE. We do ask that you please RSVP on the Meetup.com website to let us know if you are planning to attend.

Also Saturday night, from 7:30-10:30 p.m. we’ll be hosting a FREE “Worship Party” featuring music by Tracy Howe, Andy Squyres, and kgb.

Continue reading »

Brian McLaren will be Mike Collins’ guest this Friday (Feb. 1), on “Charlotte Talks,” 90.7 FM WFAE, from 9-10 a.m. That interview will re-air on Friday night from 9-10 p.m., but you’ll be with us at the “Everything Must Change” event so you won’t be able to listen to it then! (wink, wink - register now!)

OK you’ll be able to listen to the interview with Brian in the “Charlotte Talks” archives, as well. But do plan to tune in on Friday morning, and if you have any questions for Brian, call into the show at 704-926-9323 or 1-800-603-9323, email charlottetalks@wfae.org, or post a comment on the new “Charlotte Talks” blog!

This weekend (Feb. 1-2), around 200 of us will be gathered for the “Everything Must Change” Tour with Brian McLaren and Friends, at Area 15/Duncan Memorial Church in Charlotte, NC!

Here’s what you need to know before you get here:

Check the Schedule — This a general schedule for the conference; what it doesn’t tell you about is all of the special Charlotte-only events we have planned, such as:

Friday Night Discussion Groups — Decide now which group you want to participate in, because we’ll have you sign-up for a group when you check-in at the registration table (NOTE: this is taking place instead of the Q&A/book signing/etc. on the general schedule)

Trialogue Interfaith Discussion — Plan to stay after the EMC conference Saturday afternoon for this special panel discussion with Brian and local members of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities

Worship Party with Tracy Howe, Andy Squyres, and kgb — Stay a little later for this concert celebration Saturday night

Next Steps project with Sierra Club — If you can, plan now to participate in this hands-on project Sunday afternoon and start practicing change

Download Sitemap — This will tell you where to park, where to check-in, where the meetings will be held, where to find restrooms/coffee/wifi/bookstore/etc.

Any Questions? — If you have questions, please email Steve Knight or call him at 704-689-2489.

Just a quick note about check-in/registration: The main registration time will be 6-7 p.m. on Friday, but you will be able to check-in throughout the night, so come whenever you can.

If you or someone you know hasn’t registered yet, online registration closes tonight at midnight, but walk-up registrations will be taken anytime Friday night and up until 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Check back here on the blog for more updates, if any other questions come up that we need to address. See you this weekend!