So, General Conference starts today. All your favorite bloggers are there (or will be there…I don’t get there until Friday). Out of all the updates and commentary by bloggers, pundits, and John Wesley himself, what can you expect here at HX.net?
For those of you that are not Methodist or are solely interested in the concept of hacking Christianity, please forgive the next 10 days. However, if you stick with me, you’ll find many applications of the concepts of this blog onto the UMC. Ya might learn somethin’!
During General Conference
- There’s gonna be plenty of hacks and opportunities abound! Here’s what I’ll be doing…
- posting and reviewing copies of renewal group publications (mostly bad.hacks I’m sure).
- reviewing written statements by the UMC-affiliated agencies and handouts (our famous mission.hacks)
- Pictures, pictures, pictures!
- Coverage of advocacy events and responses!
- Praying for peace.
- Crying and celebrating with my brothers and sisters in Christ (I’m sure there will be much of both!)
Post-General Conference
- There’s plenty more to process!
- Review the changes to the Discipline
- Review the responses and media-whoring by the renewal groups
- Review the witness and advocacy events of the caucus groups
- Sleep. Maybe.
Life after General Conference…
- There’s several posts to look forward to that I’m holding off on until after GC…since that’s all on everyone’s mind anyway!
- What the UMC can learn from Wikipedia [4-post series]
- User-submitted mission.hacks from their communities (contribute by emailing me here)
- And more whittling through the list of future blog posts.
Enjoy! Looking forward to the week ahead, and pray for safe travels!
I’ll be interested to read your perspective on conference. The next one should be about the time I graduate from Sem. Now I just need to decide which one. 😉
Do you happen to know how long after GC the new book of discipline will become available?
@ john, thanks, I hope to provide interesting stuff. From my contacts on the ground there now, content should be no problem! Incidentally, which seminaries are you looking at?
@ gary, according to this article, the 2004 BOD came out about the end of November. I would then expect it somewhere around November 2008.
I’d like to stay in the South, especially since that is where I expect to minister.
I’m going to visit Wesley, Duke, Emory, SMU and possibly Asbury though I’m leaning away from that.
@ john, keep your options open. I wanted to stay where I was to be a minister, but leaving for a different area of the country (Oklahoma to Boston) was the best choice I could have made.
Of those you mentioned, I applied to Emory and Duke…and only Duke (out of 6 seminaries) didn’t accept my application! Ha! But I have friends at all of them, and wish you the best as you go through applications and such.
Thank you.