Peaceful Turtles the anti skunk blog

I am trying to put together what transpired this past week-end ( off the map ) in Arvada, Co. It was so different from the “Jesus” conferences I have attended lately. I had a hard time trying to explain this to my sister on Google Talk.

• At first all I seemed to hear is that is ok to be homosexual and that is is not sin. Actually, there is such an open forumn for discussion on this topic, with this group, that the Biggy sin of being gay can be overlooked or taken down a notch or two in favor of the interest of the heart and soul of that person. God does not hate fags, but rather desires a loving relationship with us all.
• Most of the folks there, younger than I, are very tech savvy and invested in some kind of virtual community, at the very least.
• Conversations and discussion was the main thing! In this laborious, slow, but exciting format, people are responding and enjoy a friendly forgotten art form in the church as we know it. Ask the questions!
• These conversations were fun and at times very funny, relieving the tension for the moment of serious topics.
• The young folks there really get it when it comes to living a transformed life in Jesus being the goal rather than being “saved” from hell. According to Jim Henderson, “Heaven is a destination.”
• Another major thought was what the research is saying to believers on how our culture reacts and interfaces with the Christian world. Davin Kinnaman, author of “Unchristian“, kept me widely awake with the disturbing stats.
• The whole atheist thing with Matt Casper and Jim was like an episode of Seinfeld. We laughed at some real issues facing us today and probably remember much more of that discussion as a result of the laughter. I really appreciated that whole “show” of fascinating talk. I definitely want to buy the book, ” Jim and Matt go to church.  The short excerpts from the book were so insightful.
• Todd Hunter brought home experience, theology and history to the discussion. Did you know that in Billy Graham’s day wearing argyle socks and a hand painted tie was close to today’s tattoos and piercings?

Randy Siever, an evangelist by his own accord, showed us how to start simple doable conversations of faith.

All in all it was a great time of meeting new people, finding out where they are from and hearing a small portion of their story. I would highly recconmend an off the map event but don’t leave your brain at home!

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