My brother reminded me last night that I had promised more stuff on the conference. So I feel suitably spurred on. My previous post covered the first half of the first session [of 7, and each session was 3 hours!! The Germans, eh?!] by Gerard Kelly. He did one other session which I want to mention. I will do more of the stuff by Alan Hirsch, but not session by session [hopefully!].

Firstly he suggested 3 shifts since the millenium:

1) A philosophical Shift
The main point here was that he thought that there was a more positive outlook generally. From teh end fo the world feelings at the end of the millenium [Independence day etc] to the ‘open space’ of a new millenium. I want to agree with him on this, but I am just a little bit skeptical. Someone challenged him about it and he was fairly defensive! Maybe he also thought he was pushing it to say it was a ‘cultural shift’.

What was good at this point was his retelling of 1 Kings 19 and Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal. He focussed on what happened next: Elijah is fearful and runs for his life, and then is deeply depressed. He followed the story all the way through to Elijah wanting the presence of the Lord - but it wasn’t in the mighty wind, it wasn’t in the earthquake, it wasn’t in the fire, it was in the whisper. From the Drama of Mount Carmel to the Whisper of Mount Horeb. Now that is something I have never heard preached on that story!! Gerard related this to a required change of mindset and models.

This is a journey of GENTLENESS. Not of confrontation, not narrow triumphalism where we feel good because we have made our point. But finding those people open to the work of God in their lives - they are out there in millions. They are asking the question but don’t now Jesus makes the difference. They can’t engage on Mount Carmel because it is too loud and brash, but rather find God in the whisper.

2) A sociological shift
From the obligations of Christendom to the freedom to consume. Sociologist Grace Davey says the biggest cultural change for Europe is the collapse of the state churches. A huge number of people who have opted out of state religion. People no longer want to go to church because they think they ought to. Bu8t we have tended to keep the people we have through obligation and draw others through guilt!!! When you remove Christendom model of going to church because they ought to, there are spaces for new kinds of churchwhere people go because it does them good. [interesting note: apparently in Scotland they made charitable status of organisations dependant on the good that they do for the community. And guess what: some churches protested!!]

3) A theological shift
This I really liked [although not strictly theological!!]: A shift from what is true to what is real. In todays world in order to discuss truth you must discuss what is real. Therefore we must root our theology in what is real; Real experiences, and hopes and fears, real creation. Truth must be lived out in authentic human relationships, to demonstrate its reality.

Here was a great illustration of what reality deos for you. The artist Caravaggio painted two pictures of the Supper at Emmaus. The first was in 1601 at the height of his ‘playboy’ lifestyle.

The second in 1606 after he was in exile from his own country. The paintings reflect this reality shift, the nature of gritty realism.

Here’s a [real] truth: It is when things go wrong that people see what your faith means.

[Hmmm this conference thing to take a while to get through!! Anyone actually interested?!]

We had a great trip to Nuremberg. A real mix of stuff that when put together made for a really impacting weekend. Thursday and Friday we spent some time doing the touristy stuff. In particular we went round Hitler’s ‘Rally’ grounds - where he held huge conferences [kind of]. It was in this place that you see the classic poses of him in front of thousands of people. We also went to a museum tracking his rise to power. Really quite scary. He clearly modelled the stuff on the Roman Empire [he built a colloseum type structure] and set himself up asa Messiah, god-like figure. I never realised the deliberate religious overtones that went along with the whole thing. For me it was particularly stark having recently read Colossians Remixed which picked up the themes of empire that the Colossians had to face and related it to empire in our own day -then to see the most extreme overt form played out in recent history - and so subtely that much of the German church did not notice. Crikey!

That picture by the way is of the “Holy Ghost Hospital” - an ancient hospital in the centre of Nuremberg.

We stayed with a lovely family called the Erkharts - so generous and welcoming. It is always good on these trips to stay with locals rather than in hostels or whatever. You feel like you get to know the people a little. On that front we also spoke in the church on the Sunday morning. I tried as much German as I could and got a round of applause for it - mind you Mark Mumford got almost as much response for standing up and shouting “Come on ENGLAND!!”. He has such talent. Great to have the opportunity to share with them. A guy called Norbert Knoell [Nobbie to his friends] leads the church and is a great guy.

Then there was the conference. Run in true German efficiency - 3 x 3 hour session a day, it was pretty intensive. The first guy, Gerard Kelly, set the scene of cultural shifts:

1) Post-industrial - change in technological base of western culture; “when you change the tools you change the rules”

2) post-literate - a whole new chapter for the book

3) post-modern - philosophical shift in western culture, “…this is my truth, tell me yours…”; but we are now going somewhere else; now we have a generation who live in the new world of pomo and aren’t in ‘transition’.

4) Post-imperial - change in global politics; the twin engines of globalisation and fragmentation

5) Post-Christian Spirituality “…can’t believe it’s not Buddha”; new generation: Christian spirituality is part of the old, and foreign ones are new and exciting; they are a spiritual generation. But no connection back to our churches.

Whole-sale change in how culture functions
- Everything about church must be rethought on the basis of this new landscape
- but we keep old treasures cos we have thought about it
- Innovation is required

Nothing majorly new there, other than it was the first conference I have been at where they used the term post-post-modern! Generally a good introduction though. This is getting a bit long so I will blog more about the conference on another post.

One other thing about germany - they do beer…

Tomorrow morning, early, I head off to Nuremberg. I am really looking forward to this conference: Forum for the future “Innovation & Transformation”

The two speakers are:
Alan Hirsch, australian national director of Forge and one of the authors of Shaping of Things to Come. Which is a great book on incarnational, missional, church - a set of words that I like to see together!! But still the books is mostly very readable with good examples. And I think with very little pretence.
Gerard Kelly, who co-incidently wrote the “because he is risen” peom i posted below. He is also leader of Crossroads International Church and Bless Network.

I am also looking forward to spending a little bit of time with my friends from Derby Mark Mumford, Steve Perkins and Adam Martin.

The only downer is that the family will be left here for the weekend :o(.