GlocalNet

Later today I’m doing an interview with the top US pastoral leadership journal regarding talking about your faith and serving humanity at the same time.  We really don’t know how to do that - the world has changed.  The context has changed.  The people have changed.  The message has not - but how we view the world, the people, and the context determines how we deliver the message and how we engage with others. 

People are always asking to go with me on trips - and that isn’t always possible - so I’m bringing some of my best friends from around the world that are not all “Christian” to NorthWood to help you understand the world.  They are intellectuals, diplomats, world leaders, and religious leaders of other faiths and some of no faith.  I don’t always know how to communicate everything I’m learning - but I’ve discovered when people can see it and touch it - they begin to get it. 

I’ve been talking about conversations with Muslims and Jews around the world at NorthWood trying to gradually help our own church understand our current context.  It wasn’t until we had our Multi-Faith weekend that people began to say, “I get it now.”  There were many “aha” moments.  The week before I asked them, how many of you live near a Muslim, work with a Muslim, go to school with a Muslim? Nearly everyone raised their hand.  I then asked how many of you think our current relationship with Muslims and other peoples is a healthy path for our future.  No one did.  It stretched us and got us out of our comfort zones.  It made us think and then act.  As a result there are some joint home-building projects and cooking projects with our church, the mosque, and the synagogue. 

I cannot afford the speaking fees for most of these people.  They have agreed to come free, gratis, just to be a part.  They are intrigued that a conservative evangelical church has built the kind of global relationships we have, and at the same time, would like to interact with more of these evangelicals to understand how they think and to see if there are more of us that want to engage, or am I and NorthWood just an anomaly.  I’ve assured them that we aren’t.  We hold to the authority of the Bible and the humanity/divinity of Christ without compromise, and our love of others is an expectation that Jesus has of us. 

His Royal Highness Prince Turqi of Saudi Arabia, John Esposito of Georgetown University, Vietnamese Ambassador Chien of Washington DC, Al Weiss President of Disney Worldwide, Mark Galli of Christianity Today, Ed Stetzer, Shamil Idriss, and Suhail Khan . . . are just some of the ones who have confirmed . . . there are others in the works. 

This will be a conference that will be a conversation with the world.  It will move the conversation from one we have with each other, to one we have with the other.  It’s going to be big.  There will be a web-site.  It’s all coming.  You just need to reserve the date.  There will be people visiting from the DFW metroplex that represent all religions and all domains of society.