Monday, July 13, 2009

poets, prophets, and preachers ...


I just spent the past weekend in Grand Rapids, Michigan, soaking up the Poets, Prophets, and Preachers, a conference hosted by Rob Bell of Mars Hill, Shane Hipps, author of Flickering Pixels, and Peter Rollins, author of How (Not) to Speak of God. When I found out about this conference, I knew I had to be there. I bought a plane ticket the next week. Sometimes, you just know you've got to be there.

The heart of the conference: Reclaiming the Art of the Sermon

Here were some of the session titles: (provoking to say the least!)

The Original Guerilla Theatre (Rob Bell)
The Story We’re Telling (Rob Bell)
Returning to the New: An Introduction to Tranformance Art (Peter Rollins)
How Technology Shapes the Sermon (Shane Hipps)
The Fig Tree and the Failure of Language (Rob Bell)
Fumbling Around with Your Radar (Rob Bell)
For Those With Ears to Hear: Parables and the Lost Art of Provocation (Peter Rollins)
You are the Medium (Shane Hipps)
The One Thing I’ve Never Heard Someone Talk About That Has Changed Everything For Me (Rob Bell)

I took 15 hard core pages of notes ... I leaned forward in my chair 3 days straight ... my head hurts, but my spirit is alive ...

More than anything, I have a wider lens through which to read the Scriptures ... I have a new set of questions as I approach theology ... I have a new passion for teaching and preaching ... I have a renewed love for God's story ... (and I have a great idea for our Fall series) ... just wait and see ...

5 comments:

JUAN said...

oh geezzz...

JUAN said...

What's this "new lens" you have now? and what is the difference between how you read scripture before versus how you read scripture now? This is an honest question. Not a form of attack.

Jenna said...

I cant wait to come back and hang with you guys... It's this kinda stuff that makes me so proud to be a part of the Stirring.

Josh H. said...

i would probably err on the side of having really bland sermon titles...like "romans 12" but that's just me.
i'd also be more interested if luther, calvin, spurgeon, ryle and cramner were speaking...

Josh H. said...

what is transfomance art?