Awaken Event: Day Two

Erwin McManus: There are a lot of great churches out there that are reaching people like Mary and Martha and Peter in the Scriptures, but there aren’t enough which reach out to Dionysius and Damaris (Acts 17). It’s better to be alienated by the Christian world if that is what it takes to reach the alienated.

Mark Batterson: “If you want to please Christians then quote the Bible. If you want to gain credibility with the non-Christian world quote other sources. Every “ology” is a branch of theology.” Paul quoted the poets of Athenians, so we should do the same. Rather than buying a property to build a church, National Community Church bought a coffeehouse next to Capitol Hill in order to develop genuine relationships with people who wouldn’t go to a church. The world gains their understanding of theology through movies and music.

Rick McKinley: Rick started Imago Dei in downtown Portland in his house 7 1/2 years ago. Sought to move from “talking about doing something” to “we should do something.” To help people care for the outsiders, they spent 6 months repenting. People in Portland are very spiritual so chose a name that sounded more like a cult than a church. 🙂 Seeking to convert the Christian, the non-Christian, and himself to a life that follows Jesus (not mental assent to a set of beliefs but a genuine choice to live out the Gospel).

Jamie Tworkowski: “To Write Love on Her Arms” seeks to show love to those suffering with depression and self-injury. Won a Community Award at Myspace and the blog is in the top 5 every week (along with Jonas Brothers and Marilyn Manson). 19 million people in the U.S. struggle with depression and 2/3 never get help. Online community allows people to tell their story and discover that others can be helped by their pain. How do we help those who are hurting? It is ok to look into the eyes of those hurting and say, ‘I’m not afraid of your pain.'” TWLOHA offers non-discriminatory kindness.

Dan Kimball: Grew up outside of the church and saw Christianity as a suburban, middle class religion. His friends did an intervention because they were afraid he would become a Christian because they didn’t want him to give up creativity and become a drone so he began reading the Scriptures in order to prove them wrong.

Nancy Beach: Are we allowing God to create wonder among us?

Other great presenters included: Lee Strobel, Mark Mittelberg, Emmanuel Katongole, and Henry Cloud