There is a lot of territory to cover between traditional Christianity and the values-based communities we need to nurture if we’re going to survive as a species. And there’s little time. To help make the best use of yours, here are some of the topics I would love to explore with you.
- What Is Progressive Thinking and What Does it Mean to the Church?
- The Loss of the Liberal God: How the Rise of the Nones Impacts Community
- Creating Barrier-free Communities Means Creating Communities With or Without God
- Transitioning Traditional Communities without Killing Them
- With or Without God: Language that Refuses to Exclude
- The Off-label Benefits of Religion
- Prayer in a World Beyond Belief
- Bleeding Edge Leadership
- Straddling Tectonic Change
- Religion beyond Religion
- Yes, Virginia, there is a God and He’s Very, Very Scary
- Values-based Community
- The “Enemy” Within: The History of Unbelief within Belief
- Getting over Ourselves
- A 21st Century Social Gospel
- Book Study Closing Session
Workshops:
- Creating a Courageous Leadership Team
- Writing Liturgy for Transitioning Congregations
- Inspirational Gatherings for Seasonal Celebration
- Ritual for Individual and Community Inspiration
- Creating Meaningful End of Life Celebrations
- Creating Lectionary-based Liturgy Beyond Belief
- Spiritual Practice When You Don’t Believe in Spiritual Practice
Keynote Addresses
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What is Progressive Thinking and What Does It Mean to the Church?
- There are four absolute musts if you’re going to break ground in your thinking about any topic you explore. In this lecture, I explore those four things and another four that are equally crucial if you want to make the endeavor worth undertaking.
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The Loss of the Liberal God: How the Rise of the Nones Impacts Community
- In 1928, New Testament scholar Kirsopp Lake predicted that the liberal church would hemorrhage from the left. Apparently, he was a prophet as well as a professor. While coming to grips with what that has meant congregationally, we’ve neglected what it means politically and socially. That’s been a huge mistake.
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Creating Barrier-free Communities Means Creating Communities With or Without God
- We’re unlikely to change the beliefs that people hold and I’m certainly not trying to do that. But one of the ways we can communicate more effectively is by getting underneath exclusive language and begin speaking about the values that hold us together instead of the beliefs that tear us apart.
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Transitioning Traditional Communities without Killing Them
- The transition of a traditional, liberal congregation into a theologically barrier-free community is nothing short of a wild ride. In this lecture, I expose everything we did wrong so you can do everything right.
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With or Without God: Language that Refuses to Exclude
- We’re not just talking about changing the name of the Sanctuary to the Gathering Hall so we can’t just explore the big labels. Language excludes all the time. Learn how to become sensitive to its use and abuse.
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The Off-label Benefits of Religion
- The recent work of scientists, anthropologists, and sociologists is compiled in this lecture to bring to the fore the exact things that a community needs to be good at in order to do the work of transforming the relationships individuals have with themselves, those around them, the world, and the future.
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Prayer in a World Beyond Belief
- Once the god called God disappears in the aftermath of contemporary critical Christian scholarship, what do we do with this iconic spiritual practice? An intersection of scientific discovery and the longing of the human heart makes prayer a possibility even beyond belief.
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Bleeding Edge Leadership
- Nothing is simple on the bleeding edge and learning is often too late and terribly costly. Learning how to lead while living and leading on that bleeding edge is a crucial part of survival – both yours and the community’s.
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Straddling Tectonic Change
- A hop, skip, and a crash away from most work on transitions, managing tectonic change can be a callisthenic nightmare. Unless, of course, you’re ready for it. In that case, bring it on!
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Religion beyond Religion
- The outdated structures and institutions that have been the backbone of all religious traditions no longer work in the hyper connected world in which we now live. And who knows what the world of tomorrow will look like. This is an exploration of the essential elements of religion explored beyond the frameworks that have supported them in the past.
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Yes, Virginia, there is a God and He’s Very, Very Scary
- The liberal church has revelled in the creation of metaphor and symbol that has taken the concept of god beyond traditional doctrine. But there is a god out there who is called upon by many. What does he look like and what is he trying to do? A look at the political use of belief in the context of human sexuality, power, and aspiration.
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Values-based Community
- The work done by West Hill United early in its transition toward becoming a theologically barrier-free community sorted out the difference between statements of faith and commitments to values-based living. This exploration of its dynamic VisionWorks document inspires communities to step outside the denomination expectations and invites them to speak intentionally about who they are.
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The “Enemy” Within: The History of Unbelief within Belief
- It took generations, but those who questioned from within Christianity and Judaism – skeptics, sinners, and saints – are those who have staged its demise. Atheism is a natural progression of their revolutionary thought.
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Getting over Ourselves
In contemporary society, change seems the only constant in the world, with raw and uninvited newness seeming to batter us daily. For many, religion and religious practice are a soothing, stable reality in their otherwise chaotic lives. And for that reason, it is important. But how do we meet those needs for a demographic that has little interest in religious practice? And how do we keep any form of ritual, spiritual, or mindfulness practice from becoming the proverbial opiate of the masses?
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A 21st Century Social Gospel
At the turn of the last century, contemporary critical scholarship was battering the gates of heaven as it undermined personal piety, stripped away moral certitude, and unleashed a crisis of faith that hasn’t yet ended. Out of that chaotic mess emerged the Social Gospel, grounded in progressive thinking and social responsibility. It laid the groundwork for some of our greatest liberal denominations, many of which continue to press society forward on critical social issues. As those denominations hemorrhage membership, how will we address the challenges that face an increasingly disoriented and isolated citizenry?
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Book Study Closing Session
- Explore either With or Without God: Why the Way We Live is More Important than What We Believe or Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World beyond Belief with your book group and I’ll join you via Skype for your last session.
Workshops
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Writing Liturgy for Transitioning Congregations
Locked in what you’ve always been doing? Dependent upon the creative work of others? Find your muse in this engaging, interactive workshop.
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Inspirational Gatherings for Seasonal Celebration
The major Christian festivals and holy days are often aligned with much older traditions, many of them linked to the changing seasons. Explore the calendar as you’ve never seen it before and bring your pagan heart to life!
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Ritual for Individual and Community Inspiration
The rituals of our everyday are often hidden and unseen. But ritual helps us make sense of our world. In this workshop, we look at common rituals and create uncommon ones that speak to our own individual realities and contexts.
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Creating Meaningful End of Life Celebrations
For too many, the overwhelming connection between funerals and the church prevents them having any celebration of the life of their loved one. Learn how to create meaningful celebrations and become known in your community as someone who is able to lead the bereaved down the path that leads toward healing.
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Creating Lectionary-based Liturgy Beyond Belief
Stuck with the lectionary? Find ways to read and revel in what it has to offer, all with a rebel’s heart!
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Spiritual Practice when You Don’t Believe in Spiritual Practice
Helping your congregation get through that portal that leads to the place where they explore meaning can be a challenge when they believe religious language has to be part of their work. In this workshop, we explore different ways in which to inspire, stretch, and condition those muscles you might once have called spiritual but now know are some of the foundational aspects of life.