Oh yeah, Jeff! I remember you guys, sorry I didn't put that together before. Hope things are well, hope to see ya at the next one.

Here's what I commented to someone else who expressed what you are expressing here; "I think, in part, the issue is insecurity. Insecure people live in fear & cope by polarizing things & people to remain 'safe.'"

It would be fascinating to hear more about your journey from "eating this up," to where you find yourself now. I imagine you have the built-in potential to set lots and lots of people free.

As for others stopping to ask more of my thoughts. 2 people talked to me. The first guy wanted to know how I could sleep at night as someone who teaches a class about a movement led by non-Christians. As gently as I could, I told him that there was a lot more to the picture than what he currently saw and that I would be happy to talk with him more about it. He wasn't interested and asked for my email address so that he could send me "sound teaching." I haven't heard from him.

A girl, maybe in high school, also approached me and wanted to know what I thought about the bounded and centered set analogy that the speaker had used and we had a great conversation.

I would have liked to have had more conversations, but I think everyone else in the room (and it was a packed room of probably 300 people) pretty much had their minds made up about things.

Thanks for the even-handed honesty. I appreciate being able to hear from grads who are able to see both the strengths and weaknesses of their alma mater no matter how indebted they feel.

Accurate indeed. I worked for the MAGL for a year and my wife is an MAGL grad! Guess who her advisor was? ;) I think the MAGL is one of the best programs happening in the world of evangelical seminary education - I am constantly referring people to it.

Hey Jeremy, sure thing. Congrats on beginning a program at Asbury. Sorry to hear that about their DMiss. They have a host of resources that it seems like would make that degree both viable and attractive. Please pass this option along to anyone else you know that might be interested.

You got that just about right! Love how you connected with that bit of insight from Dallas - perfect.

Good insight Chris, I was struck by the same thing.

There is a telling difference in the functioning of local churches and Christian institutions when they value their version of "doctrinal purity" over trusting the work of the Holy Spirit and the Lordship of Christ over all things. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks Ajay, I think you've done a great job! The issue is more with people who don't pay close attention to that they're reading, not the plugin itself.

Oh, I don't disagree with that, that's a no-brainer, but that's not what Ken said. Without clarification, he seemed to be intimating (and reiterated even more strongly in a reply to my reply to below) that either EC landscape has its roots in some uniquely American experiment which couldn't be further off base.

I'm well aware of the history of the YLN & Terra Nova, but I think what has grown out of that, in terms of its affiliation with things "Emerging" represents a pretty small segment of the larger EC movement/discussion. I bet most of those guys would probably even agree with that, don't you think?

Great info, thanks.