Passion, Purpose, Mission 2019

One of the major shifts in the 21st century is the emphasis of the presence of the Gospel in the marketplace. It is about the awakening of the followers of Jesus Christ to the fact that their life is missional and is lived primarily outside of the walls of the church. Each person’s calling is to be a good steward of what they are given by the Lord in order to be His ambassadors in the marketplace where they work and live most of their lives as well as the other important areas of life. One of the ways to facilitate this process in the life of believers is to enrich them with tools and processes to practice their faith and apply it to everyday living. It is also necessary to utilise sound biblically based principles in order to impact all involved in the marketplace with the Truth of Christ for the transformation of lives and communities. A platform that addresses these issues can become an instrument that can proclaim in various forms the power of the Good News and the way they bring a change in lives and relationships. This workshop will address the manner that a non-profit organization attempts to fulfil this purpose.

Incarnating Jesus’ Kingdom in your neighborhood is as simple as blessing families who live there. The rhythms of an incarnational life are listening, eating, getting to know stories, celebrating, being present, and blessing. All of these rhythms lead into each other but blessing a family in your neighborhood will have a great impact as it gives a tangible example of Jesus’ Kingdom. Blessing a family is more than just a one-off task we do for them never seeing them again but it is about being a family with families. The ultimate goal is to be an extended family of the families in our neighborhoods. Whether we can be a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma, or grandpa to the families in our parish we can all play a role in the blessing of families. Blessing families is a key way we can incarnate the Kingdom into our local parishes as families can become an idol to people around us and the only way we could ever express the kingdom to them is through their family. On the flip side, there are people who are displaced from their families all around us and are looking for someone to be family to them. Seeking to bless families in your parish through the rhythms of an incarnational life will have a great impact for Jesus’ Kingdom.

There are many creative Christians who are frustrated when it comes to their God-given creative abilities and the church. Unfortunately, most churches give the impression that artistic expressions are only worthy of ministry if they can be used within the worship context. Whereas many churches have expanded these possibilities by including some painting or a bit of theatre or dance, many creative believers are left out. The bigger picture is that practically every artistic expression can be used in powerful ministry possibilities, but it mainly lies outside of the church worship service. (But isn’t this where we should be anyway?) Since the arts naturally lend themselves to interactions with others through lessons, performances, exhibitions, discussions, etc., God has given us an amazing tool that we can use to naturally meet people and go spiritually deep with a few of them. This workshop will discuss ways to intentionally meet creative people through the arts and how to share your faith in the context of arts while at the same time keeping your credibility as a serious artist. The workshop will also discuss how to create a missional community with those who choose to hear more about creative take on spiritual things.

Burning Man is a sensuous “Corinthian-like” pagan festival annually taking place in the remoteness of Nevada, on the desolate moonscape of an ancient lake bed, the last week of August and the first few days of September. Black Rock City is re-birthed each year when the Burning Man community comes together. People come from many nations and many if not most, share a concern about the ultimate end of the world by uncontrollable disease, an asteroid colliding with earth or a nuclear war— they are survivalists. They are hoping for a universal spiritual experience, or a scientific/technological discovery or some phenomenon that will save the planet. How do I define myself? This is the most captivating notion in the present-day West— “I’ve got to be me! This quest to be absolutely free is the ultimate Burning Man (and in general, human) experience— “I will define myself, my way.” How do we, as Christians, witness to the one Person who brings true, and everlasting freedom in the post-Christendom West?