Incarnate Conference: Review

As promised, here are some reflected thoughts on the Incarnate Conference I went to a couple of weeks ago. There was so much that was helpful, challenging & thought provoking, but these are some of the things I have been left with…

1. I loved the passion of people like Steve Chalke, Tony Campolo and Malcolm Duncan. They weren’t hyped. They weren’t super-spiritual. They weren’t offering cheap hope, wild prophesies, exaggerated stories or buying into the Christian personality scene. But they were intentional, focused on what they were doing, and passionate about seeing God’s good news touch all people. One of my favorite stories was one that Malcolm Duncan told of buying an extra cup of coffee every day to give to one of his fellow commuters on an early train to London. Gradually, people began to speak and talk to one another, and he had an opportunity to pray with someone because of that simple step. Love it!

2. There was a clear message that came across: missional church must have concern for the poor (in the very broadest and Biblical sense of that word). That doesn’t mean that all our efforts need to be focused on the poor, but we do need to have a focus there. I am all for our work with students or with business people or with families … but generally we are a pretty well off lot. So I would love to see something emerge that really serves the poor.

3. The church needs to have confidence in our role and place in our communities. The Christian faith community does a tremendous amount in Edinburgh and in other places. Rather than bemoaning what we don’t do, lets start celebrating what we do do, and strive to do more. We mustn’t hide our faith in Jesus. But we don’t serve our communities in order to convert people. Those two statements don’t contradict each other! And finally we are cheap service providers. All in all, I came away with a sense the church needs to be more confident in our identity and place amongst others in the charity and voluntary sector working for the betterment of people’s lives.

4. I also came away challenged that we can’t do this without a greater connection and dependence on God. When we are with broken people, giving, loving and serving, we do need that relationship with God more than ever. We need it because actually only changed hearts brings real change to people and community (and we know Jesus touches the parts that … oh how did that beer advert go?). We need it because we will burn out if we don’t.

So there are my reflections and the things that have had a lasting impact on me. I also had a great lunch with Malcolm Duncan, from Faithworks, who we are talking with to see how they can help us in our transitioning into missional church. He is Northern Irish, married to a Scottish lass, lived in Falkirk for a while, and studied theology at New College (which is where I studied)! We are hoping to get him to Edinburgh sometime to see how what kind of partnership can emerge.

If you want to catch up on all the posts, the links are:

• Session 1 - Steve Chalke
• Session 2 - NT Wright
• Session 3 - Tony Campolo
• Session 4 - Mike Royal
• Session 5 - Tony Campolo
• Session 6 - Malcolm Duncan
• Session 7 - Tony Campolo

Tags: Faithworks, Incarnate, Incarnate Conference 2007, Kingdom of God, Malcolm Duncan, Mike Royal, Missio Dei, Missional Church, NT Wright, Steve Chalke, Tony Campolo