We will explore “The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers” by examining the spiritual content of the cinematic oeuvre of Oscar-winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen. We will discover a rich portrait of post-modern faith in their enigmatic films, from "Raising Arizona" and "The Big Lebowski" to "Fargo" and "No Country for Old Men," and everything in between. We will talk about spirituality in the Coen films as well as the important spiritual lessons in other popular films of recent years.
Church on the Couch: Does the Church Need Therapy?
Elaine Hamilton
Why are so many in our communities struggling with troubled marriages, with addictions, depression, anxiety and disconnected from each other? Our lack of emotional health and our tendancy to fake it at church sabotages our ability to grow spiritually as a Body. This seminar will encourage and equip leaders in creating a culture of authenticity, where truth is valued above appearances and theological concepts are practiced in real life rather the simply understood intellectually.
Church and Culture, Style and Substance: Understanding the Big Trends that Shape the Way You Reach the Next Generation
Margaret Feinberg
What does the personalization of M&M’s, the popularity of music downloads, and the exponential growth of Google have to do with the future of your church and reaching the next generation? In this fresh, insightful presentation, Margaret Feinberg explores the buzzwords, and more importantly, the crucial trends taking place in our culture and what they mean to you as you seek to develop leaders and disciple followers of Christ. The first 200 attendees will receive a complimentary copy of The Sacred Echo.
Backstage Pass: The Best of & The Worst of Reaching the Next Generation
Margaret Feinberg
What really works when it comes to reaching the next generation? What are the best practices of young adult leaders and pastors around the country? In this candid, humorous workshop, Margaret Feinberg takes you around the country in a tour of churches and ministries committed to reaching the next generation. You’ll get insights into leadership structures, organization models as well as fresh ideas for events, programs, and retreats. Discover ideas to help you build both community and committed Christ followers. Along the way you’ll also see some unforgettable blooper ministry moments. The first 200 attendees will receive a complimentary copy of The Sacred Echo.
The Electronic Gospel: Why Changing the Methods Always Changes the Message
Shane Hipps
We live in a media-drenched culture. The options for ministry innovation have never been so pressing or prevalent —from podcasting and projection screens to video venues and virtual community. In our race for relevance, however, we have missed the subtle power of our technologies to shape our minds and God's message. We have failed to ask the most important question. Are technology and media merely neutral tools? How do our technologies change the way we think about scripture, truth, and even the gospel? This seminar unveils the hidden power of electronic culture, the ways it shapes our life of faith, and how we can respond.
Our Nomadic Life: Undoing the Incarnation Using Nothing But Your Cell Phone
Shane Hipps
The church is undergoing radical changes under the force of electronic culture. Community is fragmenting, and strange cultural paradoxes are emerging. We live as a “tribe of individuals" thrown together and torn apart at the same time. Most of us are asleep to this phenomenon, but it's power is stunning. We experience life as electronic nomads—physically in one place but electronically elsewhere. How do we form community in such a context? How do we be the body of Christ without a body? How do we decide what technologies to use and which ones simply use us? Join us as we explore what our digital diet does and undoes to our faith.
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
AJ Jacobs
We will discuss what it means to live biblically in our modern world. For twelve months, I attempted to follow every single rule in the Old Testament – from the famous ones (the Ten Commandments, Love Thy Neighbor) to the often ignored ones (don’t shave your beard, don’t wear clothes made of mixed fibers, stone adulterers). The resulting journey was reverent and irreverent, profound and funny, personal and universal. I wrote about it in my bestselling book The Year of Living Biblically. The project started three years ago. Raised an agnostic Jew, I began to wonder if I was missing anything by not having religion in my life. So I decided to dive in headfirst and try to live the Bible. To follow everything it said as literally as possible. I was surprised by how relevant much of the Bible’s ancient wisdom was to my 21st-century life.
unChristian: What A New Generation Thinks about Christianity…And Why It Matters
David Kinnaman
Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like "hypocritical," "insensitive," and "judgmental," young Americans share an impression of Christians that's nothing short of . . . unChristian. Find out why these negative perceptions exist, learn how to reverse them in a Christlike manner, and discover practical examples of how Christians can positively contribute to culture.
Post-Christian Faithfulness
Gabe Lyons
In this seminar we will describe specific ways Christians and the local church can thrive in a pluralistic, post-Christian setting. We will uncover how Christianity lost its influence in culture over the last century leading to an ever-increasing unChristian context. And describe the unique and timely opportunity the Church has to redefine this new era by recovering its historic roots. We will also explore the future context in which the Gospel must go forward and talk specifically about the implications of evangelism and faithful living in a Post-Christian, postmodern, westernized culture.
Answering the Tough Questions on Sexual Identity
Andrew Marin
When someone in your congregation tells you they are dealing with same sex attraction and then asks you: "Do you think that my thoughts and feelings are a sin? What if I do not act out on them? What if I do because I feel like I am gay? Was I born this way? I believe I was born different and I don't want to change. The Bible says I'm an abomination and I should be put to death. Why?" These are serious questions and can effect the rest of a person's life. This workshop will go through each of those questions, and more, in how to practically and productively answer them so as to build a bridge for eternity.
Building Bridges within the Gay and Lesbian Community
Andrew Marin
This workshop will first enter into the broader mindset of gays and lesbians, and then cover their unique filtration system and thought processes towards God and Christianity. We will then work our way through The Marin Foundation's scientific research results (this study is the largest national scientific research study ever done in the gay community regarding spirituality and religion), theory, practice and application on how to effectively build a bridge from an evangelical perspective within the broader gay and lesbian community.
Being Faithful in a Pluralist World
Brian McLaren
How can followers of Jesus find freshly faithful ways to engage with Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, and others who do not want to accept Christianity? Are the alternatives beyond ignore, persecute, exclude, fear, and badger?