Embracing Emergence Christianity Participant's Workbook: Phyllis Tickle on the Church's Next Rummage Sale

by Tim Scorer, Phyllis Tickle

Author, historian and keen cultural observer Phyllis Tickle invites us to join her in examining the changing face of Christianity and culture. Phyllis surveys 2000 years of Western history, identifying the great upheavals that occur in Western culture and Christianity every 500 years. The last was the Great Reformation of the 1500’s; the next is happening now. What are the implications of this “Great Emergence,” both culturally and spiritually? What are the key questions and issues that need to be addressed? Where might we be headed next? And, perhaps most importantly, where are you, at this moment? Might you be an emergence Christian? The six sessions 1) Emergence 101, 2) Where Now Is the Authority? 3) The 20th Century and Emergence, 4) Gifts from Other Times, 5) How Then Shall We Live? and 6) Hallmarks of Emergence The Participant’s Workbook contains all the material needed for use by class participants as well as notes for the class leader to facilitate each session; leadership can be shared among members of the group. DVD SOLD SEPARATELY
There are six sessions on the DVD. Each session begins with a video presentation by Phyllis Tickle, lasting from 10-15 minutes. Ms. Tickle’s presentation is followed by filmed interaction with a small group. The Participant Workbook then helps your small group “join the dialogue” in your own setting. Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department of Publisher’s Weekly, is frequently quoted in print sources like USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, and NY Times as well as in electronic media like PBS, NPR, Hallmark Channel and innumerable blogs and websites. She is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer and workshop leader. In addition to lectures and numerous essays, Tickle is the author of over two dozen books in religions and spirituality.

95 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

Reviews

[JD Waggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's the thing: Phyllis Tickle blows my mind in terms of the amount of information she can throw out at any given time, especially over the range of topics she seems to command. And I'm super glad to have seen this and become more aware of what's going on with Emergence Christianity. A friend of mine asked me to vet this for possible small group study, though, and I just can't say it's that great for it. The editing of the book is frightful, as is its structure; there are many "options" for each session, and while I did figure out how they worked, I never quite understood how they were arranged and decided on. The questions were often vague or extremely wordy (an odd critique, coming from me). The assertions left out much of history's complexity, which you have to do to a certain degree but which should be acknowledged when making an argument.
The video itself was a film of a group, so in a small group setting it would be a group watching a group watching Phyllis, which is a bit meta even for me.
If you come across this, watch the video by yourself or with some friends who like academic/faith sparring, or make it into an actual class-based, longer-term idea. Skip the booklet. Learn. Go find other resources. The best I can say for this is that it's a good springboard, but not something I would want to spend more months than I already have on. (But I will totally find other works of Phyllis Tickle!)

[Jeannette Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting theory of evolving Christianity. Tickle is extremely intelligent and forecasting the direction of the Christian church.

[Donna Suchomelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this as part of an Adult Sunday School class. The topic was interesting and I learned a lot about new ideas on Christianity.