Zoe Conference Notes

For the last two days, I've been at the Zoe Conference here in Nashville. It's been a great couple of days so far and I've got a lot going through my mind. I thought I'd share some of the notes that I've taken so far from the four classes I've gone to as a part of the Leadership section. I'd like to hear your thoughts as well.

Kingdom
Wade Hodges/John York

Jesus' teaching on the kingdom was mainly about Surprise.

Our primary identity in CofCs has been through differentiation from everyone else.

Kingdom is a difficult concept in a democracy.

Jesus' kingdom language walked the line between Caesar's Kingdom and the expectations of the Jewish people of what the kingdom should be.

Is Kingdom language today called to walk between the Kingdom of America and the traditions of Christendom?

"Anyone who accepted anyone at their table with Jesus was accepted by Jesus, but those who rejected those that Jesus had accepted are rejected by Jesus." Hodges

"In the first Century, who you eat with is who you are, but it was Mainly used for exclusion. Jesus used the table for inclsion." York

"Religious leaders believed that repentance preceded acceptance, but Jesus believed that acceptance led to repentance." York (Zaccheus)

Then - Pax Romana vs. The Shalom of God
Now - Pax Americana vs. The Shalom ot God

Incarnation
Randy Harris/Mike Cope

"We prefer the Christmas Card version of Christmas rather than the way it really happened." Harris

"Jesus was born into scandal and poverty and blood." Harris

Attractional Model - Trying to get people into church
Incarnational Model - Jesus came here to us
"The best hermeneutic of the Gospel is people living it out." ???

Incarnational Ministry doesn't have nice neat little rules.

• Incarnation teaches us who God is.
• Incarnation teaches us what it means to be human. Living like Jesus is not what we do to get salvation; it is Salvation.
• Incarnation means that we know the world is loved by God.
• Incarnation means our bodies are not evil.

Incarnational Ministry means laying our lives down over and over, believing that God will lift us up.

Mission
Leonard Sweet/Larry James

Amos 5:18-24
Amos 6:4-6

We are really good at responding to crisis especially when it's natural disaster because those people are ''worthy" James

"It's theologically incorrect to talk abort the mission of the church; It's God's mission. The question is whether or not the church will join God's mission." Sweet

330,000 churches in the US
75% are dying or declining
24% of the 330,000 are growing from the other 75%
Only 1% are growing from reaching nonChristians

"God's mission is not for 'successful Churches" Sweet

MRI
Missional, Relational, Incarnational

Missional vs. Attractional
Did we write New mission Statements because we didn't like Jesus' for us?

Jesus told us to "Go;" we want people to come to us.

Christianity was one of the few if not only non Temple based religions

If we don't think we've become Temple based again, we should look at our budgets.

Relational vs. Propositional

Incarnational vs. Imperialistic

The medical definition of death is a body that does not change.

We don't need mission statement

Three Steps of Change

• Reframe - Give a new metaphor (mission)
• Give people a big dream (Relational)
• Has to be an emotional engagement (Incarnational)

Reason leads to ; emotions lead to

It's not the quality of the performance; It's the quality ot the participation (Sweet)

Jesus' death was largely a socio- theological-political death (James)

To carry out the mission to the poor, we have to relax and trust them. (James)

We can't take Jesus to the inner City; he never left. (James)

We look at the poor in terms of need, because we are materialistic. We don't look at the assets and dreams. (James) This one brought tears to my eyes because I realize that it's exactly how I've always thought.

Healing
Becca Stevens/LaJuana Gill
Magdalene Ministries

Difference between healing and fixing

• Fixing is goal oriented
• Healing is process oriented

Don't say you love someone unless you're willing to feed them/wash their feet.