the Gospel and Our Culture Network

The annual GOCN conversations "Toward a Missional Hermeneutic" were held in November 2008 on two dates and at two venues, because the AAR and SBL academic societies ceased meeting jointly as they had in the past. The 2008 Missional Hermeneutic sessions in Chicago (November 1) and Boston (November 22) respectively reviewed the previous six years of the conversation and pointed the way toward the future. (Presentations at the 2008 sessions are contained in the January 2009 issue of the Gospel and our Culture newsletter, eSeries No. 2.)

Plans are now underway to lodge this conversation more formally in the program of the SBL (Society of Biblical Literature) where the questions of biblical interpretation and hermeneutical approach are especially germaine to the field as a whole. The missional dimension of such issues is not always in view in the various program components for this large annual gathering of biblical scholars, and a continuing presence of the GOCN conversation has an important contribution to make in that regard. Several options are being considered to determine the best form for that conversation to take place at the next SBL meeting (November 21-24, 2009, in New Orleans). Meanwhile, others among the planning group whose academic fields and membership lie on the side of AAR (American Academy of Religion), are reflecting on the most appropriate ways for these missional concerns to be carried forward in that forum. The AAR meets next in Montreal on November 7-10, 2009.

Persons interested in the further development of these initiatives may wish to be in contact with the key coordinators of each:  SBL--Michael Barram. AAR--Jeff Greenman.