The Annual Mockingbird Conference is just around the corner! To give you a bit of a preview for what to expect, here’s a peek at few of the fantastic breakout sessions we have planned.
For other conference previews click here and here.
To register for the conference, go to conference.mbird.com.
James Wilson — “René Girard: Church Father for a Secular Age”
“I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” (Mt 13:31). Bishop Robert Barron once claimed that French Catholic social theorist, Rene Girard, would eventually be known as a church Father of the Modern age. In spite of Girard’s reputation in the theological mainstream as a novel and heterodox thinker, I hope to show the way in which Girard’s thought is not only in line with classical Christian orthodoxy, but actually helps us reclaim the essential wisdom of that tradition that has been lost and distorted under the conceptual framework of our secular age.
Janet Broderick — “The Holy Spirit, Self talk and Healing”
We all have an inner life. A life deeply inside ourselves with our own sensations, fears, images, desires and joys. With all the cracks in our armor — how does that voice transform from a voice of disapproval, judgment and fear to one of approval, care, compassion and love? How do our injuries become the very strengths we have to give to the world? Using dreams, experiences, people, circumstances, scripture, signs and wonders, God makes known to us what he desires for us. This is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit as it guides us. We will explore the very real way the Holy Spirit interacts with our day-to-day life, perhaps even the most unexpected places.
Tasha Genck Morton — “Could I Be Any More Asian?! The Importance of Representation and Its Limitations”
Somewhere in the last five years BTS became one of the biggest bands in the world and Squid Game became the most streamed show on Netflix. 12-year-old Korean-American adoptee me would have never seen this coming. No matter our background, we all long to see our lives reflected back to us in the entertainment industry — whether through seeing people like us on the big or small screens, hearing our feelings sung by our favorite bands, and reading our stories in print. We want to feel “seen.” But beyond the buzzwords of “seen” and the hashtag “representation matters,” what does this longing tell us about ourselves? What does it tell us about our relationship to God? Join me to learn why I’m the worst Asian, ever, and to share your answer the age-old question who would play you in a movie about your life and to figure out where the gospel fits into all of this.
Melina Smith — “Sparking Faith: Gen Z and Beyond!”
StoryMakers explores the narratives we tell ourselves about God, our children, and teens. When it comes to the BIG story we (grown-ups) often attempt to “domesticate God,” leaving out the tough bits of the Bible. It is understandable when you come across the more “Game of Thrones” sections of the Bible, leaving us all a bit uneasy. Humans naturally are in the business of fashioning God into our own image, because we don’t always trust the whole story, not for ourselves and not always for our children, sometimes we may think…”Is this story of redemption enough?” Join us for a session that explores the possibility of hope, faith and health at home and in church through art, social-emotional tools, and the imagination.
Amanda McMillen — “Hope and Hopelessness in Reality TV”.
At the end of the day, when we’re too tired to live our own lives, we watch other people live their lives – and I wouldn’t have it any other way. From the fabulous lifestyles of The Real Housewives of New York City to the soulmate searches of The Bachelor to the odd sense of calm that comes from watching British people bake “puddings” in The Great British Bake Off, reality TV has so beautifully marked our television era. And whether we like it or not, what we watch shapes us. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to convince you of TV’s impure hold on our nation’s children in order to keep you from watching more Real Housewives. Quite the contrary, in fact. This is very much a TV friendly space. Just like in our own lives, the people we watch on television find themselves in moments of both great hope and moments of great hopelessness — and these shows create narratives that reflect our society’s hopes, too.
Matthew Hoskinson — “One with Jesus: How an Ancient Promise Inspires Confidence about the Future.”
We have plenty of reasons to be cynical about the future of the church. But while the troubles facing our generation might be amplified by social media, they are common to the whole history of the church. And still she lives on. How has the church survived two millennia of scandals and heresy and division and politicization and exhaustion? By the same powerful gospel that gives us hope for its future. Join us for a discussion of a central, though, oft-overlooked blessing of the gospel — in fact, the central blessing of the gospel — that will inspire you to look with confidence to the future.
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