Colson Featured at CE&P Conference
“Making Visible God’s Invisible Kingdom," November 13-15, 2008
Christian Education & Publications (CE&P) is hosting the “Making Visible God’s Invisible Kingdom” conference November 13-15, in Atlanta, Ga. It will feature plenary speakers Charles Colson, Christian Smith, Anthony Bradley, Allen Curry, Charles Dunahoo, and others. Below is an interview with Charles Dunahoo, coordinator of CE&P.
What’s unique about this conference? Have you done anything like it before?
This is the first time on a denominational level that we’re doing this kind of conference. It’s all about making kingdom disciples—which is CE&P’s underlying focus.
This is different from just making disciples. The kingdom concept focuses on the totality of the Christian life—not just Bible study, prayer, etc. Christianity is a 24/7 religion. There is no area over which Christ does not say, “This is mine.”
We see this in Romans 12:1-2, which talks of transforming the way we think and developing a Christian mind. Typically, Western churches have bought into the concept of dualism, the separation of the sacred and the secular. And surveys show that the average Christian is not sure how to integrate Christ into all of life. But if you’re going to make a difference in the world around you, you have to live all of life to the glory of God. This impacts all of the choices we make in life.
What can people expect at the conference?
Having a kingdom perspective means that we have to think biblically about every area of life. So at the conference, different speakers will emphasize different aspects of that. Chuck Colson has done the most writing on this subject—developing a kingdom/worldview perspective—which is why we asked him to speak. And the conference seminars will flesh out the main concepts.
Tell us about your goals.
We want to make the PCA more aware of what it means to be kingdom disciples. I hope we will help sensitize people to keep a holistic kingdom perspective. It’s not a discipleship program per se, but a new concept, a new way of thinking about discipleship. It’s a framework for thinking about the Christian life. Not a program, but a way of life.
Our desire is for the PCA to make a difference. Hopefully, this conference will help that along. It will be a way for the PCA to impact the world today—even as small as we are as a denomination.
What do you expect to happen as a result of the conference?
Well, we’ll be targeting various Christian education audiences (leaders of ministry to men, women, youth, and children). We’ll want to help and encourage them to think holistically about what they’re doing in ministry.
So at the conference we’re going to compile a list of those who agree to participate in an 18-24 month follow-up program afterwards. There will be books to read, and interaction with us and one another through an Internet community, among other things.
How can the “kingdom discipleship” concept impact the church, and the world?
Most of the discipleship programs out there focus on the individual, but the kingdom concept focuses on God first—it’s about Him, not us.
If we’re to live differently, we have to think with a transformed mind. The goal is to develop right thinking. To search the Scriptures, to interact with one another on issues of life from a biblical grounding. And to not get sidetracked. Charles Malik, former ambassador to the U.N., said once that “Our task is to save souls and save minds. If we fail at one, we fail at both.”
Some younger people are turning away from church because they’re seeing it’s not making a difference. But if the church does what God tells it to do in terms of kingdom discipleship, it won’t be irrelevant because it will be dealing with real life.
We’re seeing that some churches are beginning to catch on to this and are changing their preaching and curriculum to flesh it out more. And we’re hearing that it’s making a difference in those churches.
To learn more about the “Making Visible God’s Invisible Kingdom” conference, or to register, visit www.pcacep.org. Taped copies of the plenary sessions will be available for sale after the conference.
Comments
Leave a Comment
BBL
Ruston, LA