On April 19, professors, pastors, entrepreneurs, thought-leaders and students gathered from all across the country to further the conversation about faith and culture at the 2016 Intersect Conference.
Here are 5 things I learned.
1. God designed you to be a culture-maker.
Bruce Ashford kicked off the conference with a big-picture look at faith and culture. He started at the very beginning — by emphasizing that God designed us to create culture. “Inherent to who we are as humans is that we take God’s world and do something with it,” he said.
All of our lives need to be the argument of a thesis. That thesis should be Jesus is Lord. @BruceAshford #faithandculture
— SEBTS (@SEBTS) April 19, 2016
2. Want to learn how to connect faith and work? Look at this gentle janitor.
In the most moving moments of the conference, Benjamin Quinn and Walter Strickland talked about the example of Eugene Smith — a 90-year-old employee at Southeastern Seminary who serves by taking out the trash. “This is who I want to be when I grow up,” Quinn said.
Goosebump alert! @BenjaminTQuinn & @w_strickland talking abt Christ follower faithfully living /serving for Christ @SEBTS #faithandculture
— Lizette Beard (@LizetteBeard) April 19, 2016
3. Be generous.
Brent Aucoin offered a survey of how Christians have understood economics over the years. And while you can find church fathers with all kinds of opinions, Aucoin noted that “the overall consensus is that Christians can have private property, but they shouldn’t view it as exclusively theirs.” In other words, we don’t have to live in communes, but we should give be generous.
Fascinating lecture here at @SEBTS on the history of the Christian church and economics by Dr. Brent Aucoin.
— Daniel Darling (@dandarling) April 19, 2016
4. What’s the relationship between material and spiritual wealth? It’s complicated.
Does being godly mean you’ll be rich or poor? According to David Jones, that question misses the point. God doesn’t care about whether you’re rich or poor, Jones asserted, but he does care what you do with it.
God doesn’t care about whether you’re rich or poor, but he does care what you do with it. @ethicist @SEBTS #FaithandCulture
— Nathaniel Williams (@Natdavewilliams) April 19, 2016
5. The conversation about faith and culture is just beginning.
As I returned home after the conference, I reflected back on all that I’d seen and heard about faith, culture, work and economics. And while I was impressed with the talks, the crowd and the sense of community, this was my biggest takeaway: These conversations are just beginning. Each of the pastors and thought-leaders will take these ideas — and this passion for faith and culture — back to their local churches and communities. And together, we’ll help people re-connect faith with the rest of their lives.
Wonderful time at the #faithandculture Intersect Conference! @SEBTS pic.twitter.com/bhAPCBO6E5
— Ashley Gorman (@AshMarvGorman) April 20, 2016
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2016-04-29 11:02:54
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