Why I am so excited about Q

It seems hip nowadays to be a conference-basher. With a seemingly endless supply of corporate gatherings convening, it's not difficult to understand why the cynical impulse throughout our society spews some of its sarcasm upon these specialized symposiums. Caricaturizing the apparently absurd premises for these comical conferences has become serious sport. Granted, I fervently pray that my son never has the desire to attend the annual Star Trek conference or that my daughters never request to participate in a 'Little Miss Sunshinesque' beauty pageant. But for all the superficial seminars assembling today there are ample examples of collective gatherings that indisputably revolutionize lives for the better.

The development of my own thought processes and my most acute heart palpitations have many times been triggered by these corporate gatherings. Whether it was standing in the drizzling rain for an entire day worshipping God with 40,000 other college-age students at the first One Day conference in Shelby Farms, Tennessee or when I feverishly compared notes with my sister after gulping down my initial SWSX film panel discussion in Austin, Texas or the time I sat across the table from the 'Christian Internet Guru' Quentin Schultze and discussed the sociological implications of this emerging technology at a GospelCom conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan,' my life has become incalculably wealthier for having partook of these unforgettable forums.

I have participated in about every kind of Christian conference imaginable, from missions to revival conferences, from youth to marriage seminars, from writing to film festivals, from college to leadership summits, from passion to prayer meetings, from gatherings concentrating on theological issues to conferences that concentrate on nothing but the Internet. Yet I have never been as excited about any conference as I am about Q.' As stated on the Q website, 'Christianity has gained more conversions in America over the last two hundred years than any other faith.' Simultaneously, Christianity has steadily lost cultural influence despite its rapid conversion growth. It is time for leaders in the church to wrestle with the complexities of embodying the Gospel in leading-edge culture. Q is a gathering for leaders in the church to become informed and exposed to future-culture. It is a space where select leaders can create, dialogue, collaborate, innovate, serve and ideate around the important topics shaping the church's future role in culture.

The website goes onto state that 'Q will expose participants to over twenty presenters on a myriad of topics...It is time for leaders in the church to wrestle with the complexities of embodying the Gospel in leading-edge culture. By doing so, this has the potential to become a rebirthing place for the church to once again be a culture-shaping institution' Q makes no apologies for providing an in-depth experience meant to engage, shock and deepen your awareness of current culture. Questions create dialogue and fuel creativity. This is the essence behind Q. In the spirit of the European education system we will create an environment where honest questions can be asked, debated, argued and discussed. We will not provide answers, but rather allow the attendee to draw conclusions and discover based on his or her own experience, theological underpinnings, cultural context, dialogue and learning.

A few questions that Q is daring to explore at this remarkable gathering are '1) What are the major social and environmental issues coming over the next 10 years and how can the church take a leading role? 2) Am I cultured? Can I recognize good, truth and beauty in our culture? 3) What role does news and media play in shaping the future generation's views of life, humanity and religion? 4) How can we change the negative perceptions of Christianity in our culture? 5) What are some of the new ways the Gospel is being expressed in our culture? 6) What are the essentials we must hold onto when leading a church in a post-Christian environment? 7) How do I respond to homosexuals in the local church and community? 8) What are our responsibilities to confront injustice to humanity locally and internationally? 9) How does globalization affect the culture and the local church? 10) What can we learn from history about how the church has shaped culture over the last 2000 years?'

Just glimpsing at the luminous lineup of lecturers this event has attracted varies from pastor Andy Stanley on 'Is Church for Non-Christians?' to pastor Rob Bell on 'Everything is Spiritual'; from Josh Jackson, editor-in-chief at Paste Magazine on 'Good Music' to Jeff Johnson, producer at BET on 'Hip-Hop Culture'; from EVP at CNN Susan Grant on 'The Future of News' to Editor-at-large at Wired Magazine, Kevin Kelly on 'Christianity in a 1000 years'; from Donald Miller on 'How Literature Shapes Culture' to Philip Verre, CEO of The High Museum of Art on 'The Louvre's Contribution to Culture'; from VP of Governmental Affairs at the NAE Richard Cizik to Majora Carter from Sustainable South Bronx on 'Green the Ghetto'; from Grammy Award winning producer and musician T Bone Burnett to author and journalist 'Andy Crouch on 'Culture-Making'; from VP at Barna Research Group, Dave Kinnaman on 'The Brand of Christianity' to Michael Lindsey, a sociologist from Rice University on 'Evangelical Cultural Influence'; from David Batstone, founding editor of Business 2.0 on 'Human Trafficking' to Blake Mycoskie founder of Tom's Shoes on 'Social Entrepreneurs' and the list keeps going from there.

Beginning on April 25th a small gathering limited to 750 innovators, social entrepreneurs, entertainers, artists, church shapers, futurists, scientists, historians, environmentalists and church leaders will gather together in Atlanta, Georgia for the purpose of being a part of an initial spark that one day hopefully ignites a chain reaction which ultimately spreads throughout the church in North America and alters the manner in which we understand and engage culture. Over the next 12 to 18 months I am dedicating the back page of this newsletter to exploring in further detail this crucial concept of Christ & Culture. I can't wait.

A fellow learner, Dave Tippit