This past Friday and Saturday the new network known as The Origins Project held its first conference at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. Origins describes their central commitments as Christ, culture, collaboration, and creativity. The network is led by familiar faces in the emerging church conversations of the last decade including Dan Kimball, Erwin McManus, Dave Gibbons, Eric Bryant, Mark Batterson, and Margaret Feinberg. Scot McKnight is lending theological muscle to this venture, and a host of practitioners from the worlds of church planting, business, social activism, and the arts are part of the group’s leadership as well.
Day one of the event was an activist-oriented day aimed at making a difference in the city through a host of projects and opportunities to serve. The undergirding thought is a good one: if you are a Christian conference bringing a bunch of believers to a city, why not try to bless the city by your presence?
Day two was a more learning-centered setting replete with music, film, and speakers. Speaking was divided between panel interviews with activists of different stripes and ten minute TEDS-style presentations. Panel interviews included Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes and Scott Harrison of Charity: Water, pastors and lay people ministering in urban contexts, and business people who are finding highly creative ways to impact others in and through their workplaces.
The ten minute presentations were concise and powerful. Two notable presentations called for a both/and approach in critical areas of ministry. Dan Kimball, while praising the church for its renewed emphasis on compassion and justice, gave a powerful reminder not to minimize the work of verbal evangelism as well, noting that the gospel must be seen in both proclamation and demonstration. In a similar vein, Deborah and Alan Hirsch utilized social set theory to encourage participants to revision evangelism and discipleship as two interrelated and overlapping activities, not as wholly separate ones. “Evangelism,” in their view, is simply pre-conversion disciplemaking, and “discipleship” post-conversion disciplemaking.
In addition to these, participants were invited at lunch and again at end of day into highly interactive mini-breakout sessions (groups of six or less) on a host of topics ranging from missional entrepreneurship to microfinance development.
The biggest take-away for this participant was not any one presentation but a subtle reminder that ran like a thread throughout the entire event – the gospel of the kingdom is both radical in its call and diverse in its application. Taken together, the day’s events presented a sweeping picture of how God delights to work in varied and innovative ways through the hearts of unique individuals who seek to do his will.
Tim Morey (D.Min., Fuller Theological Seminary) is founding and lead pastor at Life Covenant Church in Torrance, California, and the author of Embodying Our Faith (InterVarsity Press). He blogs athttp://embodyingourfaith.com.
