Peter Rollins gets it right about this weekend in DC
Peter says …
This weekend the place to be is TransFORM. This impressive event is bringing together some of the most interesting and inspiring theological practitioners currently at work in the US. And I am not speaking primarily about the contributors. TransFORM seems to be creating a gravitational pull that is drawing in key people from across the US.
And one of the most amazing things about it is that the event is totally free. This means that everyone organising and participating have given their time for nothing. I know that the people involved in this conference are not wealthy, and that many struggle to get by financially on a daily basis. Yet still everyone has committed their time and energy for free because they believe in the project at hand. Please consider taking a moment, looking at the schedule, and then reflecting upon how counter-Christendom that really is.
If you’re anywhere around Washington, DC, such as in the Western Hemisphere, and you have any stirring in you about the need for new, inclusive, transformative faith communities, join Peter, me, and a bunch of other folks this weekend.
More from Peter …
But the fact that it is free makes it all the more expensive. In order to understand this let us take the example of going to a therapist. If I go to a therapist the giving of money means that I am free from any obligation. They help me and in exchange I pay for their time. However, if a neighbor helps me, the free gift draws out of me a sense of deep appreciation and obligation. Yet because it is a free gift the attempt to pay for it would be very inappropriate (to understand this just imagine trying to pay for a meal at a friends house as one would do in a restaurant). Such a sense of obligation needs to find release and one of the ways of doing that is through service to another (paying forward). Hence we often see that people who have been helped by someone at a time of crisis go on to help others.
To be part of this conference means being freely gifted by peoples time, energy and talents. And it thus may lead to a sense of deep obligation to do likewise with your time, energy and talents. Thus the conference might well be too expensive.
I am not sure if there are still spaces, but if you haven’t registered and are interested I would encourage you to do so.
There is still room … so I hope you’ll take advantage of this opportunity, so you can become an agent of advantage to others, paying the advantage forward.