Lafayette Ave. Presbyterian Church

I tried to take notes as we went, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Seven or eight people spoke, and each spoke quickly. Go to ev08.org for the list of speakers. Look up their books and communities and stuff to get an idea of what they are all about.

Some thoughts:

Language and structure of the church are changing, and have to change. I am not sure if that will happen in our community (I’m speaking of Lafayette Church right now), but the reality is there. Doug Padgit pointed out that professional clericism will have to go eventually. I can see why he would say that, but as a professional cleric, that isn’t easy for me to deal with. I like having heath insurance.

Race and class and gender all play a part. This is also hard for me to deal with. I want to be a part of the solution, but people like me in leadership is part of the problem. We need to make room for other people’s stories and styles.

The church of the future will not only sing different songs. It will do different things. Our job is not to simply repeat the stories of those that came before us.

It will not be an institution, it will be a movement of people.

It must be inter-generational (all young is just as bad as all old, is just as bad as all black or white).