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?!]
