Up/rooted.northwest starts up again! Folks, are you anywhere near Long Grove, Buffalo Grove area and looking for a place to engage in emerging church type discussions? Our Up/rooted West gathering is too far of a drive? Well Up/rooted NorthWest is coming back to that first location of Up/rooted (a long time ago) at Life on the Vine Church. We will be having quarterly meetings with emerging-style theologians, and monthly regular gatherings in-between. We’ll be meeting in some bars and pubs when we are not having a presentation per se. Expect reflective, theological conversations engaging our post-Christian culture.I’m very excited about Ray Aldred being with us from My People International in Canada. As many know, when we comunicate the gospel in different cultures, often the history of the church has been to enforce certain cultural versions of the gospel upon quite different cultural contexts. Western values, western individualism, western exchange economy, even western style justice has unilaterally been forced upon cultures in the name of Jesus Christ. At a time when alot of these values are being called into question by postmodern critique, we as a church must listen carefully to articulate thinkers like Ray Aldred on this issue as it relates to the gospel, what Native N. American Indian culture can teach us about Christ, and what we can learn about justice for wrongs done in the past.We’ll gather on Wednesday, January 31st at 7pm at Life on the Vine Church in Long Grove. Ray is one of the leaders at My People International, a cross-cultural ministry to Native North-Americans. If you’d like to get a handle on Ray’s thought, check out the transcript of his keynote speech at the Urbana ’03 Mission Convention. I think you’ll find his stuff thought provoking. Hope to see you on the north side!Jon Berbaum is our new leader of Up/rooted NorthWest …