In mid-September, over 400 people came together for the first gathering in our Once & Future Mission Series, which is…

dedicated to recognizing the gifts of our various traditions up to today and re-imagining those gifts for the future of mission. We seek to do this by bringing these gifts into conversation with other parts of the Body of Christ so that a “fusion of horizons” can begin to take shape – one that we believe will be necessary for the future of mission in North America.

This event was held under the title, Church & Post-Christian Culture: Christian Witness in the Way of Jesus, and provided a space for those who identify as Anabaptists (whether through a denominational stream or beyond) and those who may not, but have some measure of interest in Anabaptism as a theological tradition, to gather together and consider the gifts of this tradition for the wider Body of Christ.

This was a very experimental gathering that, by virtue of a commitment to bringing divergent-yet-related people together for the purposes of planning as well as presenting, brought with it several important challenges. Questions of diversity, conference structure, the number and make up of voices, topics to be addressed, and still other issues were raised and addressed in conversation to the best of our ability. While there are certainly things we would perhaps do differently on this side of things and are grateful for the grace offered by those who recognized the unique nature of such an event, we were also enormously gratified in hearing a number of partners and attendees express appreciation for an opportunity to get people who seldom connect with each other working and learning alongside one another. A significant number of people said that this gathering felt like “a large huge family reunion where you are meeting people you didn’t even know you were related to!”

For those who weren’t able to attend the gathering, we’re excited to make the audio of the various sessions available for download. Using the links below, you can download a zip file of the talks for each category of talks. Or, at the bottom you can download a zip file (800+MB) containing all of the conference audio.

Plenary 1: A Fresh Encounter with Jesus, with Greg Boyd, Meghan Good, and Brian Zahnd

  

$5 – Descriptions & Download

Plenary 2: A Radical Approach to Community, with Bruxy Cavey, Samuel Sarpiya, Dennis Webb, and Kurt Willems

   

$5 – Descriptions & Download

Plenary 3: A Subversive Journey in Mission, with Anton Flores-Maisonet, Nelson Okanya, and David Fitch

  

$5 – Descriptions & Download

Response Session: Re-Imagining The Gifts Of Anabaptism For Our Common Mission, with Frank James and Cherith Nordling

 

$5 – Descriptions & Download

Breakout Sessions:

The Blessed Community | Woody Dalton

Fighting the Right Fight: An Anabaptist Perspective on Spiritual Warfare | Greg Boyd & Dennis Edwards

Has Anabaptism Failed in North America? | Drew Hart

Non-Violence in a War Culture | Josh Crain & Brooke Strayer

Transforming Community: Exploring the Successes and Struggles of an Anabaptist Multi-Site Church | Tim Day & Bruxy Cavey

Vital Signs: Encouraging Vibrant Congregations | Jonathan Shively, Stan Dueck, and Josh Brockway

$5 – Descriptions & Download

Full Conference Audio:

Plenary 1 (3 talks + Question/Response)

Plenary 2 (4 talks + Question/Response)

Plenary 3 (3 talks + Question/Response)

Response Session (2 talks)

6 Breakout Sessions

$20 – Descriptions & Download