This is a big week. I was lucky enough to start the week with five hundred (I'm guessing) progressive Christians at the January Adventure in Emerging Christianity at St. Simons Island, Ga. This retreat has become an tradition for me. It was the forth year I've attended and I've made many friends. This annual retreat is a progressive oasis in the desert of the bible-belt.

The speakers and topics this year were...

Marcus Borg - "Paul for the Rest of Us: A Radical Apostle for an Emerging Future."

Diana Butler Bass - "Tradition for the Rest of Us: Exploring the Past for an Emerging Future"

Yep, you read that right. The conference was about two of my least favorite things: st. Paul and church tradition. It wasn't as bad as that might sound. Marcus Borg, my favorite author, gave us a sneak preview of his yet to be released book on reclaiming Paul and Diana Butler Bass made a great case for the importance of remembering our history in order to create a progressive future. I enjoyed them both. Mostly I enjoyed being with a group of like minded progressive people. I love diversity, but sometimes you need to feel like you are in a safe place where you don't have to defend your views.

If anyone is interested, the speakers next year will be John Dominic Crossan and Paul Rauschenbusch. The dates and details will be available in a couple of months at januaryadventure.org.