by Tom Sine, Mustard Seed Associates
In the last few weeks, several people have asked me, “What’s different about The New Conspirators conference?” It is a fair questions. One might be tempted to think it will be exactly like all the other emerging church conferences that are happening now. Let me try to explain some elements of our conference that we hope are not only new, but valued by those that come to this gathering on February 28, 29 and March 1 at Bethany Community Church here in Seattle.
Distinctive 1: Hearing from four streams instead of one
Distinctive 2: Bringing new expressions and established congregations together
Distinctive 3: Exploring questions important for the entire church
Distinctive 4: Taking the future of God seriously
Distinctive 5: Taking the future of the world seriously
Distinctive 6: Taking our imaginations seriously
Distinctive 7: Taking connections seriously
Click here to read more about the distinctive characteristics of The New Conspirators.
“One of the greatest challenges we always face as we start to plan a conference is how to convey the kingdom values that are central to who we are at Mustard Seed Associates. I teach a class on urban ministry and cross-cultural adaptation, and one of the questions I like to ask is: ‘What will the culture of the kingdom of God look like?’ Most of us have no idea. I believe that God’s love and compassion, justice for the poor, concern for those at the margins, freedom from oppression and good stewardship of God’s creation will be at the center of God’s kingdom. Many people will probably get a shock when they enter the kingdom because it will be a real cross-cultural experience for them.
God is present in our communities and at work in our world. We cannot be effective as followers of Christ unless we take time to observe where God is working and learn from what God is doing. There is no better way to understand God’s presence in our communities than by getting out into the streets. Therefore, you will have the opportunity to go on an urban field trip to a unique Seattle neighborhood. The urban field trip represents the very heart of The New Conspirators conference. It is the best way to observer where God’s shalom kingdom is breaking into our world.
“In a religious landscape that celebrates the ‘mega,’ Trinity Lutheran Church conceived a simple vision of smallness through its Mustard Seed ministry. We found we have a number of Christian creatives who are not a part of the core leadership want to create imaginative new missional expressions. We started this ministry because we wanted to help them unleash their imaginations to create new ways to make a difference. We also want to help other traditional churches enable their creative member to create new forms of innovative mission like some of the younger church are doing. In fact, that will be the focus of my workshop at The New Conspirators gathering.”
