[Ian Cameron McLaren]

A couple things before I move on from the Conference.

- During the Q&A time, Donald Miller addressed a question about dealing with the tension between modern and postmodern, the old and the new. He emphasized the importance of always speaking in love; we are not to assume that we are right and others are wrong, but need to engage in conversation with others in love and respect. That hit me good, because I have not always had a most loving or respectful attitude when thinking through and discussing issues of my church upbringing. While I am not a fan of the methodology and disagree with some stuff about the Army, I have to know that the best thing is to demonstrate love for my neighbour in all I do and say. That was a big thing in this conference; there was no venemous attack on the Church as it is, no malice or ill-will. It was just a good, uplifting, loving discussion. I appreciated that very much.

- In that light, another aspect of it that I took away was the reality that it must not simply remain a conversation; it must be followed up with action. McLaren said that while we can lose confidence in our theology, we must never abandon the base level fundamentals of the Christian life which are expressed in tangible action. Amen.

I guess it’s evident with the multiple posts that this conference touched my life. I know it’s going to keep me thinking for a while, and that the conversations will continue. All I know is that for the first time in a long time, I am excited about Church. I’ve tried for a while to convince myself that I could exist as a follower of Christ apart from it, but I am starting to see how vital it is in terms of the Kingdom.

I’m sure more posts on all this are forthcoming. I am right into The Secret Message of Jesus, and this is a tremendous book. I’ll try to post some thoughts on that over the weekend.