We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

Open2013

open viewAs I’m sure many of you know, the understanding of the Christian faith and the model of the Christian church is in the process of being transformed. All around the globe, and in a multitude of different ways, we are seeing new wine being poured out and old wine skins bursting apart. Many of us believe that part of this transformation involves Jesus followers finally throwing off the old Hellenistic-influenced model of reality as a static, unchanging, eternally settled thing and embracing a more biblical, dynamic and open model of reality. It’s our conviction that the open view of the future is a central component of this new model.

It’s with this in mind that I’d like to invite all of you to attend the upcoming conference called Open2013, Thursday through Saturday, April 4th-6th, at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. (For more info, go HERE). I will deliver the opening address on Thursday night, and John Sanders and Tom Oord, two renowned leaders of Open Theology, will give keynote addresses on Friday and Saturday.

This conference is going to be a unique, informative, motivational and exciting time! While there have been plenty of academic discussions of Open Theism over the last fifteen years, this conference will be have a more practical orientation and will focus on the significance of Open Theism for the future of the church. And while most conferences consist almost entirely of lectures, this conference will involve a great deal of group participation. Leaders within the openness movement are genuinely interested in getting feedback from attendees on what they are sensing, seeing and thinking about where the church is going and how this relates to the open view of the future.

So I encourage you to come let your voice be heard! Be part of what God is doing as we move into an open future that is full of exciting, new possibilities!

Related Reading

What is the significance of Exodus 32:14?

The Lord states his intention to destroy Israelites because of their wickedness: “Now let me alone,” he says to Moses, “so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them” (vs. 10). Moses “implored the Lord” (vs. 11) and, as a result, “the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that…

Topics:

How do you respond to Isaiah 53:9?

Speaking of the suffering servant Isaiah says, “[T]hey made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich…” As with most evangelical exegetes, I believe that Isaiah 53 constitutes a beautiful and stunning prophetic look at the person of Jesus Christ. The most impressive feature of this prophecy is that the suffering servant…

What is the significance of 1 Samuel 15:35?

“…the Lord was sorry that he made Saul king over Israel.” (see 1 Sam. 15:12). Once again, the Lord expresses his regret over having made Saul king of Israel, an emotion which is inconsistent with the classical view of God’s foreknowledge. It’s important to note that Samuel had prayed all night trying to change the…

Topics:

Sermon Clip: Through Samaria

In this final installment of the Women on the Outside series, we explore the story of the woman at the well Jesus encountered while traveling through Samaria and how he dives right in to the gender and racial tensions of the first century Jewish culture. You can listen/watch the full sermon here: http://whchurch.org/sermons-media/sermon/through-samaria

Podcast: What Does God Actually DO in the World?

Greg discusses what a God, who takes his hands off of us, who gives up control for us, who accommodates for us, actually does in the world. http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0215.mp3

My Car Crash and the Open View

Last Saturday night Shelley and I were involved in a rather serious four car crash on a local highway. One person was hospitalized, and I’m being treated for neck pain and an on-going dull headache. But thankfully, no one was critically injured. In any event, the crash inspired several folks to e-mail or tweet questions…