As I said yesterday, I’m at Q Conference this week which is conveniently being held a few miles away from where I live. I think a lot of what is being presented will stir something in you and challenge you to think in a new way on different parts of our culture.
If you want my full notes from any specific person or session just use the Contact tab up above to get in touch with me.
Feel free to share your thoughts or questions based on any of the notes I took.
Rick McKinley // The Restorer Minded Church
- Three ways god uses the city to save the church.
- Truth: cultures questions help us figure out what we believe, the questions keep us from oversimplifying the gospel, forces us to think and act theologically about the gospel and keeps us from sinning
- Identity: the church as the people who participate in the city, we need tom shape and create the city, the church is sent to sectors to announce the reign of god.
- Humility: the church must believe and act as one,
- Two portraits of the church:
- The church exists for itself building itself, pastors and disciples are resources for church building.
- The church exists for the world, pastors and disciples exist to announce the reign of god in the public square.
- The church is good at looking at how the world misuses power, but doesn’t see their own power misuses.
Skye Jethani // Inoculating a Generation
- Human religion: cycle between fear, control, and danger.
- 4 postures of religion
- Life under God: powerful god, control god through morality
- Life over God: secular humanism, christian values without god
- Life from God: god as a vending machine from my desires
- Life for God: do more for god
- 5th option: Life with God
- All other options use God to accomplish an end. Cycle between faith, safety, and surrender.
- “We are presenting a generation with a mission for God, but we forget that before we are called to something or somewhere but to someone.”
Ann Voskamp // Everyday Grace
- How do we help people experience joy in a fallen world?
- Where is God when life goes dark? He is most present in the dark.
- All new life comes out of the dark.
- Keeping a list of gratitude leads to 25% more joy.
- We are made to give thanks, to give him glory.
- “I only deepen the wound of the world by refusing to give thanks.”
- I am blessed, I can bless. This is happiness.
- “Gratitude for the seemingly small plants the seed for a giant miracle.”
Phileena Heuertz // Contemplative Spirituality
- Who are you? We are tempted to define ourselves with lies…what we have, what we do.
- What path are you on? Narrow is the path that leads to life.
- How do you connect with God? Practices that sustain us in our faith sometimes fall short.
- “Contemplative prayer consents us to the action of God within us.”
- “Let’s dare to listen to God in the silence.”
Day two was filled with an afternoon full of interactive learning I didn’t take notes at and a nighttime arts show, hence why I had more notes yesterday. It was a great day to begin processing some of what has been presented.
