For many explorefaith visitors, Phyllis Tickle is almost a household name. They know her from The Divine Hours, her multi-volume compilations that guide readers through the Daily Office. They respect her as a religionist, whose knowledge and understanding of church trends and history are truly remarkable. They embrace her as a storyteller, who crafts lucid images that illuminate the life of the church and the lives of the people who comprise it.

Phyllis’s latest book in a long line of publications is called The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why. In it she traces the major shifts in the Christian faith, great rummage sales, she calls them, that have taken place every 500 years.  We are in such an upheaval right now, says Tickle, and the result is a church more relevant to today’s culture.

This very enlightening, and engaging, new book will be the centerpiece of an event this December in Memphis Tennessee, that will explore Christianity as it is now, and what it may look like in the future. To talk more about the Great Emergence, both book and gathering, here is Phyllis Tickle:

download or listen to the mp3 of the talk in its entirety
<this file is large: 49MB>

Clip 1: What is the Great Emergence? mp3 clip

Clip 2: Your book calls what we are going through a great rummage sale. Is everything in Christianity on the table? Is it like a great pruning? mp3 clip

Clip 3: You identify the impact of scientific discovery as one of the main factors leading to the current Great Emergence, as scientific explanations undercut scriptural understandings of the universe and humanity. Can you talk some more about how our understanding of the world affects our faith? mp3 clip

Clip 4: The interface of the Spirit mp3 clip

Clip 5: About Anglicanism mp3 clip

Clip 6: With the Great Emergence will the tension between science and religion no longer exist? mp3 clip

Clip 7: What are some of the differences that someone might observe if they were to visit an emergent church or place of worship? mp3 clip

Clip 8: In terms of appeal, is emergent Christianity crossing all demographic lines? mp3 clip

Clip 9: Who are the “hyphenateds”? mp3 clip

Clip 10: What can participants expect to experience at The Great Emergence event in Memphis December 5-6 2008? mp3 clip