Zack Exley

“Falling in love with each other across class lines” at the megachurch? 2 October, 2007

We’re going to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta tomorrow through Friday. This conference is sort of the Christian equivalent of the Yearly Kos or Take Back America—except it’s much more focused on young people.

About ten thousand people are attending. From all that I’ve read and heard, this annual conference, of mostly suburban white church leaders, has traditionally been pretty conservative.

But this year’s speakers look to be pretty focused on poverty & justice issues. Will this conference be one more sign that the a true Great Awakening is underway? Check back all this week to find out.

And Shane Claiborne is speaking. This is a guy with a best-selling book out that challenges Christians: “Hey — didn’t Jesus tell us to give up everything to serve the poor?” In Irresistible Revolution he wrote,

Redistribution is not a prescription for community. Redistribution is a description of what happens when people fall in love with each other across class lines.

And he’s preaching that gospel this week to 10,000 suburban church leaders. This is a great example of why I can’t help but get so excited about this movement. Show me where, in the mainstream progressive movement, someone as radical as Shane is given an audience. At Tack Back America or Yearly Kos, someone with his message would be practically booed off the stage as a throw back to communism—wouldn’t they? It’s like all of politics has been turned upside down and inside out.

I’m not saying this conference is going to be a hotbed of radicalism—I’m just saying: How interesting is it that the radical movement within Christianity is being given a major presence this very mainstream/conservative conference? Visit the (very cool) Catalyst website. Or just read these selections below from the “On-Mission” pre-conference lab track:

ON-MISSION: Our culture is being confronted with serious social issues, but what is the church’s role in this new age? How does the mission of the church intersect with these needs? Hear compelling stories of leaders making a difference for the common good, and participate in a forum to learn how to respond to the pressing issues facing the church today.

The Cost of Consumerism
Chris Seay
Pastor, Ecclesia- Houston
Editor, The Voice Project
www.ecclesiahouston.org

Chris Seay is a leader in the emerging church discussion, church planter, author, and third generation Baptist pastor. Currently, Chris is the president of Ecclesia Bible Society where he is orchestrating a scripture project that seeks to retell the biblical narrative with the literary beauty of great poetry and story as well as historical truth. As Pastor of Ecclesia Houston, Chris leads a unique congregation that is living out the gospel faithfully in an urban environment. He is also the author of seven books including The Gospel According to Tony Soprano, The Gospel Reloaded, and The Last Eyewitness.

Redefining Racial Reconciliation
Brenda Salter McNeil
Author and Church Leadership Expert
www.saltermcneil.com

Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil is a thought-leader who has over 20 years of experience in the field of racial and ethnic reconciliation. She is also a dynamic and prophetic speaker who ministers at conferences, on college campuses and in churches around the world. Her life mission is to “inspire every mind and ignite every heart.” Dr. McNeil earned her Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, a Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She served for many years on the staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship as the Regional Coordinator of Multiethnic Training.

In 1995, Brenda founded Overflow Ministries, Inc., a faith based organization devoted to the ministry of racial and ethnic reconciliation. She continues this work through Salter McNeil & Associates, LLC, a racial & ethnic reconciliation training, consulting, and leadership-development firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. McNeil is also the coauthor of the book The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change Leads to Social Change.

Poverty and Human Suffering
Chris Heuertz
International Executive Director, Word Made Flesh
www.wordmadeflesh.org

Chris Heuertz knew that his life needed to count for the poor after spending several months in Calcutta with Mother Teresa in 1993. After this life changing experience, he moved quickly and deliberately so that his life would be marked by service to the poorest of the poor and to Jesus. Since 1992, Chris and his wife Phileena have traveled through nearly 60 countries working with the poorest of the poor, gypsies, children with AIDS, prostituted women and girls, recovering drug addicts, street children, unreached people and refugees.

Currently, Chris is the International Director of Word Made Flesh, a community called and committed to serving Jesus among the poorest of the poor.

Chris and Phileena reside in Omaha, Nebraska, serving in an administrative capacity in addition to teaching, writing, speaking and pasturing/pastoring the Word Made Flesh community.

Modern Day Slavery
David Batstone
Founding Editor of Business 2.0 Magazine
Author, Not for Sale
www.davidbatstone.com

It is a rare set of skills that enable David Batstone to be active as a business leader, professor, journalist and social entrepreneur. Batstone leads the Not For Sale anti-human trafficking campaign that is connecting business leaders and celebrities to raise awareness on this issue. David served for six years as Executive Editor of Sojourners magazine, and was also a founding editor of Business 2.0 magazine and a contributor to the New York Times, Wired, the Chicago Tribune, Spin and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the recipient of two national journalist awards and named the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at the University of San Francisco for his work in technology and ethics. Gifted as an entrepreneur, Batstone plays an executive role in a niche investment bank operating internationally in the entertainment and technology industries. During the 1980s, he founded and directed a non-governmental agency dedicated to economic development and human rights in Latin America.