Learning Environments
February 2020
Flourishing Communities Workshop (Boston)
Join us for a workshop centered around the topic of flourishing communities.
Building An Integrated Church: Generosity, Economics, and Faith (Twin Cities)
Teaching and Insights paired with Discussion and Hands-on Brainstorming led by Brooke Hempell and Tom Nelson
Join us for teaching and a discussion-based learning experience with Brooke Hempell, Senior Vice President of Research at Barna and Tom Nelson, President of Made to Flourish, Senior Pastor at Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas, and author of Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work and The Economics of Neighborly Love: Investing in Your Community’s Compassion and Capacity.
Together we will explore findings from research conducted by Barna and insights from hands-on-experience integrating generational perspectives on work, helping others build economic capacity, and discover multi-generational discipleship opportunities centered around the topics of Faith, Work, Economics, and Generosity.
Be Generous. Bring someone with you.
Don’t come alone! As a part of your registration, we’ve included a spot for you to bring another pastor/church leader from your church. We all know the saying: “Two heads are better than one.” and we couldn’t agree more!
The price of the workshop is $65. What you will get:
Admission for you and one additional attendee from your church/staff
Access to local and national thought-leaders with resources to help you develop a vibrant culture within your community
Lunch and snacks/coffee provided
No products will be sold. For additional disclosures see Thrivent.com/social
February Pastors Lunch (Los Angeles)
Join us at the House LA on Thursday, February 20 at 11:30 am for a lunch with fellow LA pastors.
Rajeev Nandakumaran, minister, and author of The New Great, a narrative on discovering true greatness in the midst of culture's misleading messages, will start our discussion by sharing themes from his book.
Art as a Transformational Tool (Cleveland)
Art is a powerful tool that is often underutilized and overlooked when thinking about loving our neighbor. Join us for an engaging workshop around using art to transform communities, cultures, and self. Deejay Doc (Refresh Collective) and Stephanie Leonardi (LEOnARTi) will be presenting. This is a free event and includes breakfast.
Marketplace Talks: Mental Health – Opioids vs Crack (4 of 9 – Hampton Roads)
We invite you to join us for a series of nine Marketplace Talks. Marketplace Talks is a conversation series that takes place over a meal. It allows people to discuss current events that are impacting our local, national and international communities. Topics in the series include issues related to privilege, violence and mental health in our society. Participants will discuss these topics and learn how they can connect to available resources. The goal of the conversations is to promote the flourishing and sustainability of our churches and communities.
Work That Has Worth (Chattanooga)
Every follower of Jesus has great capacity to change the world around us because of how God has created, redeemed and sustained us. Yet, so many end up aimlessly spending their lives without ever discovering the ministry of presence and the the ministry of productivity in ordinary living. With countless perspectives on what we choose to do with our lives, work that is truly transformative involves much more than simply leveraging our strengths, talent, ideas, resources, or influence. God calls us to work that has worth.
From Thinking to Thriving: Economics, Work, and Human Flourishing (Los Angeles)
We were made to live in freedom and flourish. But what ideas form the foundation for healthy, thriving communities? How does our understanding of the human person, economics, and work help us build a culture for flourishing?
Join us for a day of discussion where we’ll explore:
• The human person made in the Image of God
• The economic realities of our world
• The value and dignity of our daily work and labor
We will also screen our award-winning film, Poverty, Inc., and address the ways we can successfully engage communities living in material poverty.
Who Should Attend:
- Faith-Based Leaders
- Nonprofit Leaders
- You! All are welcome!
SCHEDULE
8:30am Breakfast
9:15am Session 1: "Christian View of the Human Person" - Anthony B. Bradley, Ph.D.
10:45am Session 2: "The Economic Way of Thinking" - Anne Rathbone Bradley, Ph.D.
12:00pm Session 3: Lunch and Poverty, Inc. screening
2:00pm Session 4: "Wisdom and Work: Perspectives on Human Labor from Ecclesiastes" - J. Daryl Charles, Ph.D.
3:30pm Conclusion
Registration deadline: February 20, 2020 - Hurry! Event capacity is limited, so register right away!
Tickets are complimentary. Normal cost would be $50/person. This event is being underwritten by Acton’s generous supporters. Visit HERE for more information about this event.
March 2020
Pastoral Residency Workshop
Our pastoral residency network offers resources, peer relationships, coaching, and start-up funding to churches interested in beginning and sustaining a pastoral residency program.
Bring your church team to learn how to begin and sustain a Made to Flourish pastoral residency in your local church.
Find out more »Exegeting the City (Phoenix)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Pastors are often trained in how to study the Bible, but we rarely have
opportunities to learn how to study our city. Exegeting the City is a full-day class
that will help us understand the history, design, challenges, and assets of
Phoenix. We will turn the city into a classroom as we visit a variety of
neighborhoods, buildings, museums, and organizations in our city.
This class will provide pastors with the opportunity to interact with city leaders,
business leaders, educators, historians, and others who can help us understand
Phoenix and the role of the church can play in contributing to the flourishing of
this place. This class will expose the pastors to the basic tools of exegeting a
city, neighborhood, or community. This immersion experience will seek to expose
the theological truth that we are our “brother’s keeper” and that “we reap what we
sow” for good and ill.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify individual leaders, ministries, churches, and businesses, city leaders
who are doing substantial Kingdom work in the Valley and learn how we can be
shaped and partner with them.
2. Observe multiple theological perspectives and develop an appreciation for
how the whole church can provide theological perspectives that are like a
symphony making beautiful sounds to the Lord in benefit to our city.
3. Observe multiple contextual ministry philosophies with the purpose of learning
best practices and emerging trends.
4. Form new relationships with city leaders in the marketplace, the church, the
civic center, and among the poor.
5. Develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the city of Phoenix.
6. Identify various barriers and challenges the church of Phoenix faces in
addressing the needs of the city. Develop strategic partnerships and plans to
address them.
Faith and Work Luncheon (Hampton Roads)
Bryan Fowler (Chaplain at AGI headquarters in Virginia Beach) has a heart towards integrating Christian faith into the workplace, and as such, some monumental changes have taken place in AGI's workplace with employees that number 800+ in Virginia Beach. Chaplain Fowler has some other ideas worth hearing about that could possibly be supported from the extended faith community in the Hampton Roads area.
A small group of pastors and business leaders from Hampton Roads will meet for a luncheon at AGI to hear more about how faith and work in the marketplace is contributing to the flourishing of our churches and communities. AGI will host on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 11:30am. It will take place at their corporate office located at 2655 International Parkway, Virginia Beach.
Seats are limited for this event. If you would like to attend, please send an email to Charles Cheek at charlesc@madetoflourish.org. We look forward to hearing from you.