Suburbia & The Church Seminar
August 9, 2008
Sponsored by The Well, in partnership with the Ecclesia Network and C4ML at Biblical Theological Seminary
“God always shows up in the most God-forsaken places.”
Alan Roxburgh
In some ways, it doesn’t get any more God-forsaken than suburban America. This seminar will take a look at two important topics: Suburbia and the Church. For some people, there is a sentiment that its impossible to really be the church in the ‘burbs. But for others, we believe that this is the place that God has called us. If we are going to stay, we need to ask what it means to “be the church” in a culture that is defined by comfort, consumerism, isolation, wealth, strip malls and hidden poverty.
This one day seminar will focus on the development and culture of suburbia and the opportunities and challenges that this context presents the Church. We are honored to have Al Hsu, author of The Suburban Christian, lead the discussion along with some other local pastors and thinkers.
This one day conference is open to all and will be helpful for pastors, lay leaders and members of congregations. Our goal is to have some substantial discussion around practical issues that relate to the everyday practice of the Church and the Christian life.
Cost: $25 (includes lunch)
Schedule:
Friday Night:
7pm - 10pm
Open House at The Well
Saturday:
9:00 - 10:15 “Understanding the Suburban Context”
10:15 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 11:45 “Ministering In, To and From Suburbia”
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 2:00 “Envisioning a New Suburbia”
2:00 - 4:00 panel/discussion
Recommended Reading:
The Suburban Christian by Al Hsu
The Gospel and The God Forsaken by Todd Hiestand
Helpful Links:
Steve McCoy has collected a list of links around this topic here:
http://www.stevekmccoy.com/reformissionary/suburbia.html
Questions?
Contact Todd Hiestand (
todd@thewellpa.com)