by Brian McLaren
Dear Friends of Emergent -
I think it was almost a year ago when Doug Pagitt predicted that 2005 would be the "year of criticism" for Emergent. Yet this year more than ever, I've sensed growing momentum, maturity, and health in the Emergent community.
There's a lot of evidence for this growing momentum, maturity, and health. Invitations to and attendance at conferences and other events. Private emails and letters from a number of notable Christian leaders. Interest from seminaries. Enthusiastic partners in publishing and event planning. Book sales. Personal conversations in cities all over the country. The spread of Emergent cohorts. The fact that our upcoming event at Yale filled to capacity in six hours. (We've since made some more space available.) A dramatic increase in the number of women leaders getting involved, and a balancing in numbers of mainline and evangelical leaders who are involved. Deepening of relationships, and expansion and connection with new and broader networks. Even the criticism tells us that our message and momentum are being taken seriously.
From the start, Emergent has been a volunteer effort, a labor of love. Those of us involved have volunteered a lot of time, energy, creativity and emotion. Most of us are pastors and church planters with demanding "day jobs" - and I continue to be amazed at how much has been accomplished with so little money. A lot of other groups and efforts have been spun off from the Emergent conversation as well - and it's exciting to see them doing a lot of good, bearing a lot of fruit.
This year we strengthened our board structure, and I agreed to serve as Board Chair as we plan to bring on a number of new board members - which will expand our capacity in many ways.
Also this year, we set a very important goal: to fund a National Coordinator for Emergent. We realized that we couldn't adequately respond to even a fraction of the opportunities and needs unless we had someone who could coordinate the efforts of volunteers across the country. Tony Jones has volunteered to serve in this capacity on a part-time basis until we can raise part-time and as soon as possible, we hope, full-time support. Tony has earned the respect and affection of so many of us - for his deep commitment, his sharp mind, his great ability as a writer, his articulate and no-nonsense communication style, his passion, his intensity, and his work ethic.
I'm writing to ask you to make a generous financial contribution to Emergent so that we can free up Tony to serve full-time in this capacity as soon as possible. In our "Emergent rule," part of our fourth commitment is to "bring whatever resources we can to enrich this shared faith and resolve." Unless you are experiencing financial hardship, I hope you will give to Emergent in any or all of these three ways:
A large annual gift: It would be of great help to us to receive several large gifts - $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or more. If you are capable of giving at these levels, please be assured that your gift now will add to our momentum in significant ways.
A regular monthly commitment: If you could consider giving monthly at $50, $100, $200, or $500 per month, you would be building needed strength and stability in our community.
- Adding us to your church budget: If Emergent contributes significantly to the health and direction of your church, we hope that your church can reinvest in Emergent.
All contributions are tax-deductible, and you will receive a tax letter for any gifts given to Emergent. You can give online by clicking here. The online donation site will also allow you to choose to contribute to Emergent in regular intervals.
If you are interested in mailing a check, please mail it to the following address:
Emergent
1617 W. 42nd Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
We have already received a commitment for $10,000 in matching gifts, which means that your contributions will be doubled if we receive them before year's end.
Please join me in making a generous contribution to Emergent. As we invest in supporting a National Coordinator, we'll be able to help more and more people get involved in the Emergent conversation - which will bring benefit to the participants, their churches, and we trust, to the church at large. With God's empowerment and our commitment, we just might have a movement on our hands.