Sitting in the sessions at Q is like watching one of those stock tickers in Times Square or on the bottom of the financial channels. So much information is flying by at the speed of light: it’s hard to pick what stands out in the midst of overwhelming information. And yet the second most valuable part of Q — for me — is the thoughts I think while that information flow is passing over me. So what I’m saying is that these little summaries represent very little of the actual content today. They are simply what stood out to me at the time. Hopefully there’s something interesting for you!
John Golden “Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee” spoke about the “inklings” that God gives us. You know what they are: the leanings of our hearts when we daydream about what-if and what-could-be. God calls you through that inkling and then develops your passions and your proficiencies until you take action. Land of a Thousand Hills is a great “cause” coffee — fair trade and Kingdom minded.
Sajan George - “The Future of Education”
Sajan is a man with turnaround expertise. When God called him, he chose to apply his turnaround skills to the public school systems. I love the idea of actually changing an institution, and being brave enough to tackle it as a redemptive representation of the gospel. His analysis of education jives with what I’ve noticed in our homeschooling and schooling journey as well: education is a design issue, and it needs a new design. In this digital, technologically advanced age it is time to let education be customized to each individual student while simultaneously raising the bar on academic standards even for those in the lower income groups. Education must be restored back to what was working in the past as well as renewed, or enhanced with the best of what is new. Great quote: “Your zipcode should not determine your success in life.”
Bryan Coley – “Evolution of a Voice”
This was a 9 minute presentation, which is frustrating. It takes more than 9 minutes to develop an idea. Bryan Coley runs a writing mentoring group in the film arts. For every sub-group of people, he says, there is a progression toward finding their voice in the culture. As the voice grows, you get to a tipping point where the culture will begin to understand your subculture. For the Christian subculture in the movies, that time is now. The Passion followed by The Blind Side opens up the opportunity for further high quality movies and to further the Christian voice. And then the presentation ended. Would have loved to hear more.
Jo Saxton – “Being Provoked to Engage”
Jo gave a great presentation today using the metaphor of earthquakes. There is a cultural earthquake going on, and people need to know how to engage in the rescue efforts following it. Every day we run into people in the middle of their own personal earthquakes. Here is what we need to give them.
1. Compassion – This is when we are in survival mode and taking care of the immediate needs. An interesting question she posed: “What is the limit to your compassion?” We know that we shouldn’t have a limit, but examine yourself. It’s worth the thought process.
2. Communities – People will not be attracted to a cement building in the middle of an earthquake. It doesn’t feel safe. We need to go out into the community with tents…bring the effort where the people are. In other words, live your relationships with with purpose. Share life together, loving God and loving people.
3. Connecting story – People need to talk and make sense of what they have experienced. They need to know that what they have gone through is part of what we have all gone through. Their story is one of redemption, not one of loss. Connect them to their redemption story.
4. Compass – Have you noticed that maps are out of date after an earthquake? The landscape changes radically, and maps (the way we used to do things) are out of date. A compass is what you need…something that points to true north. Jesus is that compass.
Jo concluded by asking some questions.
“Would you have come to find me in the rubble?”
“Would you have listened to my screaming for as long as it took?”
“Will you stay long enough to connect me to my story?
“I don’t need another program…I need a life.”
Scott McKnight “Did Jesus preach the Gospel?”
Scott’s presentation focused on realizing that words have particular meanings, and that if we lose those meanings we lose the sense of what Jesus meant. In this case he was referring to the word “Gospel.” In short (and I know I’m butchering this…sorry Scott if you ever read this!), the gospel is NOT the biblical narrative, the plan of salvation or a method of persuasion. What it is is the announcement of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In the end we need to simply tell the story of Jesus.
Mark Regnerus “Saving marriage before it begins”
Mark spoke on the state of sexual health and purity in both society at large and the Christian community in particular from a social scientist’s perspective. It was a sobering discussion. Two statistics that popped out at me:
35% of male’s relationships (aged 18-23) with the opposite sex become sexual within two weeks. In the Christian community that is 28%. 48% (and 41% for the Christian community) become sexual within a month.
Males are choosing to remain single because the “price” of sex has gone down so much. They no longer “need” to get married to have sex. At the same time, we are encouraging our kids to waiting longer before marrying. This sends a disastrous message that marriage is not valued. Our kids become defensive about wanting to get married. We need to push back against this cultural trend.
Buddy Hoffman – “Engaging Islam”
Yay Buddy! It was a privilege to come here Buddy Hoffman speak about his ministry to the Muslim world. Unfortunately, he was given a 9 minute time slot and you already know how I feel about those. Buddy presented the simple idea that Muslims are seeking the straight path to God, and their own religion’s background can provide the common starting point for a deep conversation. Go to Buddy’s website to find out more.
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Thanks for the updates and thoughts. Wish we could all be there.
What a great update! It sounds amazing. So glad you are there taking it all in.
as todd has mentioned, thanks for sharing the update and conference love! definitely appreciate hearing the on-going conversations all over the world…good stuff. blessings!
The conversations that happen around the event — to me — are even more exciting than the ones ON the stage. I’ll be doing the rest of the summaries later today, after the conference ends.
Me too!!!!
hey marla – still waiting for these updates :]
I am hoping to get to them tomorrow! The springtime blooming in Chicago triggered a huge sinus/allergy attack. I have been out of commission since I got home! Ugh.