Jennifer Kay Smith
in love with creativity & its sourceArchive for change the world conference
Brian McLaren at the Change the World Conference
Brian McLaren
He had a group of pastors make a list of their big concerns. They listed people disagreeing over worship styles and conflicts in the church. Then he had a list of teens & young adults list their big concerns. After he pushed them beyond zits and dating, they said poverty, healthcare and peace. How do we get pastors to care more about that?
Four Global Crises
1. Our prosperity system can’t stop growing beyond environmental limits, resulting in multi-faceted environmental crisis. (government can’t get us out…will require a change in human behavior)
2. Our equity system can’t keep pace with the growing gap between the rich minority and the poor majority, resulting in suffering and fear.
3. Our security arms rich and poor with more catastrophic weapons, resulting in vicious cycles of crime, migration, terrorism and anti-terrorism.
4. Our World’s Religions are failing to provide a framing story capable of healing the societal machine.
The middle class in the US today lives better than the richest king in the world 300 years ago.
We consume more prosperity than we produce.
A baby in Dayton, Ohio goes home this week and is given 35 extra years. A baby in Honduras goes home and has 35 years taken away.
Bono: Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live.
Immigration issues look different when you’re holding your baby and crossing the border to give them a longer life.
We each live in some kind of narrative.
1. Domination Narrative: in a dangerous world, we’re not safe unless we’re in control
2. Revolution Narrative: we’re not safe as long as they’re in control
3. Scapegoat Narrative: everything would be fine if it weren’t for them
4. Isolation Narrative: those three are going to destroy everything, we’re the hope, we’ll go off by ourselves & create our own world
5. Victimization Narrative: there’s no hope unless we get everyone to feel sorry for us so they’ll stop treating us badly
6. Accumulation Narrative: the only way to be safe is to have a lot of money and possessions
The Roman Empire was tolerant of other religions, but not of new kingdoms. Jesus proposed a new kingdom.
Heaven is supposed to come down and we’re writing books about how to go up.
Equity, security & prosperity come through a sacrificial people who embody reconciliation and bring peace through justice and love.
Adam Hamilton at the Change the World Conference
Adam Hamilton, Church of the Resurrection
There have been three major movements in the US:
1. Social Revolution in the 70s swung too far to the left
2. The Counter Revolution in the 80s (Dobson, Falwell, Reagan) swung too far to the right
3. New Synthesis happening now - both sides have part of the truth
Sometimes our theology isn’t adequate for our reality.
God gives us a brain and expects us to use it. God gives us a heart and expects us to feel.
God is not offended by our questions.
People from the left are yearning for a more personal faith but don’t want to give up progressive ideas. People from the right are yearning for something more corporate – this has to be bigger than me.
The emergent movement is people from the right moving towards the center. “Wow…we can sing songs that were written more than 5 years ago…” The left is moving towards the center and realizing parts of contemporary worship can help us relate to God in a new way.
Young adults aren’t hearing the middle way talked about in our churches. An entire generation is being turned away because of the Counter Revolution.
Hyper-Calvinism/Determinism: everything happens for a reason. That works for a while but it becomes a problem when our friends die for no reason. A lot of things happen that aren’t God’s will. But we may find hope and healing in God.
David Kinnamon: Christianity is no longer what Jesus intended.
We must recognize the complexity in life.
The more mature you become, the more you realize you don’t know.
Is your church wrestling with the issues people are really thinking about?
Our job is to help followers become more authentically human. To help people clarify what matters most to God. We’re to help people close the gap between God and themselves.
START WITH MISSIONS. After someone serves, they start to get it.
Adam had 800 people leave in a short span because of sermon series they did. Have courage. One of the most important characteristics of leadership is courage.
It’s easy to irritate people. But our goal is to take people on a journey where they are stretched to see God in new ways.
