The actual title of Todd’s presentation was Relational Evangelism, but I think it perhaps would be a bit more helpful to think of this within the shift from the modern worldview to the postmodern. It used to be that within the modern mindset there was this demand for experts. Churches happened to be the places where people would go for to get expert advice on all things spiritual, religious, etc. At this time, though, there is a shift in how a lot of people are thinking, in that they don’t demand this expertise anymore.
Todd (who is the president of Alpha) made an interesting observation that the more traditional, conservative Evangelical a church is, the more difficult it is for the Alpha program to work. For instance, if someone came in who has grown up in a pantheistic family, where everyone had subjective morals and smoked pot together, the knee-jerk reaction would be to whip out the cult-apologetics Bible and beat them over the head with it. In this increasingly postmodern culture, this would be unacceptable. How much more do we need to be able to listen, hear, and connect?
About Nate
Currently, Nate is living in Bend, OR, working as the co-founder for VillageWorks (celebrating abundance | creative connectivity) and the singular Bend|OR advocate of BridgeWorks (an educational 501[c]3). He is connecting and holding space for an emerging community of people, young and old, who are seeking to grow into more sustainable and mature relationships… with self, community and God. The vision on his heart is one of giving people experience of village culture and practice.
Nate can be found connecting people through at The Hub, VillageWorks’ Central Oregon community connection center (www.rockthevillage.com) and making oven pancakes for the biggest regular “village” breakfast in Bend every Saturday morning at 9:30.
Nate went to Bethel College in St Paul, MN (’03), got his BA in Youth Ministry, completed his Masters in Divinity at Bethel Seminary (’06) with an emphasis in Spiritual Formation, and is currently pursuing a certificate in Spiritual Formation at George Fox Seminary in Portland. His hope is to continue to pursue community spiritual formation within the framework of the neighborhood conversation and cross-cultural dialog.
Nate has been connecting people into more authentic community in Bend | OR since June ’07. Since day one of his arrival, Nate has been gifted with the chance to listen and learn about the culture and people of Central Oregon. Because of his passion for conversation and community, he has fallen in love with the people of this wonderful city and is committed to the growth of more intentional and transformational community.
Nate’s particular areas of interest are:
* conversational transformation
* spiritual formation
* relational mentoring and counseling
* small group strengthening
* men’s work (spiritual, emotional, and relational)
* “Village Knowledge” of homecraft, live food, etc
* Intergenerational community
* New visions of the gifts we offer to the community
* teaching for the 21st century, and more.
At this time Nate has not written any books, but hopes to some day have enough material to put into some type of publication. At this point, he is dedicated to building relationships in Bend, Central Oregon, and across the United States to connect people to what is happening in an emerging and evolving paradigm and with those who are seeking to follow God and live more authentically in the transforming presence of the divine.
