Upcoming Event: Welcome to the Negative World
Some information about an upcoming event I'm contributing to.
I’m excited to announce I’ve been asked to speak at an upcoming event happening in the South Jersey area and wanted to make readers of this newsletter aware of how you can support this effort in the coming weeks.
The event is slated to be the first in an ongoing series called “Christ & Culture” that will address how Christians should think about and engage the various hot-button issues we see debated in culture today. In my experience, so many people have questions about how to navigate polarizing topics, but are either afraid to speak up or find it easier to ignore the issue altogether. This event intends to address those issues head-on and hopes to provide a framework for how we can think biblically about the problems we see and how we can walk wisely in the world today.
I’m doing this alongside two people I love dearly, my friends Jeff Caldwell and Pastor Greg Hill. Between the three of us, I’m really excited about the ground we’re covering in this event and the quality of content we hope to bring you.
We’re calling this event “Welcome to the Negative World,” and it’s based on the work of author and cultural critic
, which you can read about in an article published in First Things magazine entitled “The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism.”Here’s my elevator pitch for this topic. America today is more deeply divided than ever, and that reality is reflected within the walls of our churches as well. Across the country, congregations are divided over basic truths that used to be universally accepted, but now are considered radical and offensive. In many ways, it feels like we’re speaking different languages altogether sometimes. When we consider the state of the cultural landscape, it begs the question: how did we get here? Come to think of it, where even is here? Is this just a cultural fad, or is this our new normal? What does the way forward look like for those who seek to follow Jesus?
If you’ve seen a news story in the past four years and thought “what in the world I going on?” I believe this event has something for you. And the answer to that question has to do with something we’re calling the Negative World.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be writing more on the idea of Negative World and offering a few critiques of my own in the lead-up to the event. So even if you can’t make it out to the talk, you can watch this space for new content and jump into the discussion at your leisure.
Event Details
If you’re able to attend, the event is being hosted by Living Faith Alliance Church in Vineland, NJ and will take place on Saturday, August 5th from 6:00-8:30pm. It’s free to attend and all are welcome.
The schedule for the night will be three 20-25 minute talks, one given by each of us, followed by a Q&A time for attendees to end the evening.
We’d love to see you there. Tell your friends and come out to support us!