I really thought I was going to spend today just doing hospital-related writing.
Then Q Commons happened and got a bunch of ideas swirling, so here we go…

If you’re not familiar with Q Ideas, definitely check out their website and YouTube channel. Gabe Lyons started this annual conference in the vein of TED Talks, and where TED focuses on innovation, Q is all about making space for Christian dialogue. After all, Christians are all over the political and cultural map, so there needs to be a peaceful meeting ground somewhere. The annual Q Ideas conference is a weekend-long event, but Q Commons involves local speakers mixed in with simulcasts from the main Q auditorium in Nashville. Basically, if Q Ideas is TED, then Q Commons is TEDx. Urban Soul hosted the Jacksonville Q Commons, so in true Urban Soul fashion, the speakers represented a wide range of spirituality and offered deep thoughts to prompt later conversation and reflection. Derrick Scott (who directs Urban Soul and several other outstanding ministries in Jacksonville) emceed the evening, which consisted of six presentations, three coming to us from Nashville:

– Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias spoke on the problem of systematic meaninglessness in our culture and called for a shift in focus to eternity, morality, accountability, and charity. His talk involved some suspicion of science and the university system, so I had a hard time fully agreeing with him, but he sowed seeds for some good further conversation. The phrase “systematic meaninglessness” is definitely one I want to explore further.

– Political commentators Kirsten Powers and Ross Douthat discussed what it means to be a Christian in this particular election cycle. Extremists like Trump rise to power when people feel like they’re not being listened to, so how should Christians respond? Even though Powers and Douthat have different political allegiances, they agreed that Trump presents himself openly as a monster, so what does it do to the reputation of Christianity when Christians in the public eye openly advocate for him?

– Lecrae was the final speaker out of Nashville, sharing his perspective on the Black Lives Matter movement. He talked about the difference between “keeping the peace” and “making peace,” and he addressed issues of bias and privilege by pointing out “We are all confined to our experience and our education.” He then discussed the idea of righteous anger, which can be used for constructive means rather than vengeance.

These ideas were interesting and thought-provoking and merit further conversation, and if there’s one big flaw with Q’s approach, it’s that we had to move so quickly through them. Knowing Derrick’s passion for open dialogue, future Urban Soul gatherings will likely allow us more time in listening to one another.

The local speakers were what really drew my interest:

– Nyah Vanterpool of OneJax spoke on the difficulties of truly meeting each other where we are when our words so often flow from places of judgment rather than love. Nyah evoked the all too real presences of Westboro Baptist and the KKK and drew a contrast with reconciling congregations like Chicago’s Broadway UMC. His full presentation is available online, and I highly recommend it.

– Leah Donelan of the Nonprofit Center spoke on reviving the spirit of giving and service in our society, and she offered concrete ways to do so. Leah’s organization is all about connecting North Florida organizations and people, and if you have just a few hours to give to your community and to the causes you care about, check out thenonprofitlink.org to find organizations that could use volunteers, donations, and even board members. There are 1,022 charitable organizations in the five counties around Jacksonville, so the opportunity is endless.

– Church planter Nathan Hamm (who has the distinct honor/curse of being one of my pastors) closed out the night. Jessi and I are part of Nathan’s launch team for StoryHouse, a community geared to people who aren’t fully comfortable in church. StoryHouse will eventually add in regular worship gatherings, but right now, our focus has been on monthly parties. These are low-pressure environments for people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and faith backgrounds to share their stories and walk together through the questions that shape us. (And we have some outstanding cocktails too.) In his Q talk, Nathan addressed the question Is the Church Dying?, and his talk took the shape of a long-form poem as he spoke of the continual death and resurrection of Church. Nathan pointed out that so many of our efforts now are on resuscitating churches rather than allowing their resurrection. Nathan described a resurrected church where there is room for conversation and discussion and debate, but never room for hate. It was the perfect way to wrap up the night.

Recordings of the Q talks will become available online over the next few weeks, but if there was one takeaway from the night, it’s that we need to have these conversations in person in our own communities. Sure, the national talks were interesting, but Leah, Nyah, and Nathan are all doing concrete things right here in Jacksonville to create a climate of service and conversation. I hope you’ll take some time to check out what they’re doing and get involved as well.