Saturday, February 23, 2008 Another Brick in the Wall
Just Another Brick In the Wall: Why We Don't Join Institutions Anymore     Will Our Church Have Children? Emergent Possibilities
Keynote Speaker Bob Sweetman Historian of Philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies		Daddy's flown across the ocean Leaving just a memory Snapshot in the family album Daddy what else did you leave for me? Daddy, what'd'ja leave behind for me?!? All in all it was just a brick in the wall. All in all it was all just bricks in the wall. –Pink Floyd
River Park Christian Reformed Church (formerly First) 3818 14A St SW, Calgary AB
Schedule | Keynotes | Conversations | Registration | Sponsors   Click here to download the brochure (PDF 420KB). Please feel free to print and distribute!

Schedule

Keynotes

MORNING
Just Another Brick In the Wall: Why We Don't Join Institutions Anymore.

The world changes at a dizzying rate. Bob Sweetman tells a story about the role our social institutions—church, home, school, governments—played in that change. Those institutions were forged to build a better world. They were designed to help people with different visions share the same political, economic and religious landscape. Over the past generation, however, our society has lost much of its faith in these institutions, leaving them ill-suited to meet the challenges of our new era. Finally, Bob examines how these institutions might adapt to address these challenges.

AFTERNOON
Will Our Church Have Children? Emergent Possibilities

The difficulties faced by all institutions have in today's society also bedevil the church. The old issues—doctrinal purity, converting unbelievers, or beating back evil secular humanists—don't have much traction today. Many dismiss the church as too authoritarian, inauthentic, irrelevant and scandal prone. Bob Sweetman suggests that a large part of the problem is that the church is organized to fight yesterday's battles. He also suggests that the emergent church movement offers some valuable clues for what the church could look like beyond yesterday's battles and today's yawns.

Bob Sweetman was born of missionary parents in Tokyo, Japan. He surprised himself by becoming a professional medieval historian with a PhD from the University of Toronto (1988) and a historian of philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies. Bob is married to Rosanne Lopers and has three children at or near university age, who keep him young even as they tire him out.

Conversations

Moderator, John Suk, is President of the Institute for Christian Studies and a communications scholar. Secularization is one of his areas of interest. He will guide the morning and afternoon conversations.

MORNING

Panelists Ray Pennings and Dale Taylor will share their insight and experience. Ray and Dale's work moves beyond observing bricks and mortar to intentionally engaging in change. Their conversation together with audience questions will help us all move forward in fresh ways.

Ray Pennings is VP of Research for the Work Research Foundation (WRF), an emerging Christian think-tank dedicated to the renewal of Canada's social architecture. The WRF aims to become a leading economic and policy research institute with respect to values-based leadership and industrial relations in Canada. Ray served the Christian Labour Association of Canada, chairs the Board of Governors for Redeemer University College, and is working on a Masters degree in public theology.

Dale Taylor came to the Centre for Newcomers as Executive Director in 2000; with a staff of close to 100, the Centre provides English language training, and settlement and employment services to over 5,000 clients a year. The Centre has increased significantly in size and complexity in the past 5 years, providing a living model of how an institution grows, changes and becomes stable. Dale's previous positions include: Associate Executive Director of MCC Canada, Assistant Professor of Theology at Concord College.

AFTERNOON

Panelists Quentin Steen and Ed Top will speak to the case of the institutional church. Quentin and Ed engage in new church formation.

Quentin Steen is a third generation pastor and has been in full time ministry for 17 years. He is the lead Pastor of neXus, an emergent church in Abbotsford, BC and co-author of "The Colours of God: Toward an Emergent Theology."  Quentin loves anything to do with snow, traveling, film, conversations, coffee, the Green bay Packers and what it means to be an emerging evangelical without the "ism".

Ed Top, after a career in print media, Ed was ordained in the Christian Reformed Church. Along with his wife, Michelle, he began the Lantern Community Church in the inner-city of Calgary with eight enthusiastic families. The church de-centralizes its Sunday activity, and pours its energies into the Inglewood and Ramsay communities. The church has earned a reputation of being a leader in the community — and therefore has a voice.

Registration

Please register by Feb. 20 to ensure lunch availability.

If you have any questions please Contact Jenny Krabbe by email at or by telephone at 803-4387.

Sponsors

Doornberg Engineering Ltd

Carolyn Huisman CHINOOK CITY 403-288-2422