There was a conference in Portland that I was hoping to attend last month, but it was priced at 860 dollars. Pretty steep for a three day event. The conference was put on by an organization titled Q-ideas. The vision for this organization was birthed out of Chuck Colson’s profound idea that, “Christians are called to redeem entire cultures, not just individuals.” Gabe Lyons ran with this vision and developed an organization that seeks to facilitate education regarding issues of Christian engagement with culture.
The good news is that we have access to a lot of the presentations from the 860 dollar conference for free! The following link directs you to the resource page from Q-ideas that offers over 70 short talks from world renowned speakers on a whole host of issues that deal with Christian engagement with culture. The talks are usually 10-20 minutes long and cover topics on science, politics, social activism, media, art, business, and education, all from a Christian perspective. This is definitely a conversation worth following. I’d encourage you to check out some of the topics that interest you. I’m hoping to follow up with some of these topics on the blog.
Click here to check out the videos: http://www.qideas.org/video/
Intersect 
Is it just me or is it a Christian version of the TED talks? Not that it’s a bad thing (though I still have issues with the need to take something the “the world” is doing and “christianize” it – why not become part of it, weaving our story in with the world’s story?)
Cynicism aside, I’m off to listen/watch to what look to be some very interesting talks!
By: Peter Thurley on June 1, 2011
at 1:57 pm
Hey Peter,
Some of the talks argue for exactly what you’re promoting – a more embedded and engaged view of Christianity and culture. One of the talks emphasizes the need for collaboration. A lot of the discussion has to do with finding ways to take your faith into your workplace, and sphere of influence rather than trying to get everything to come under the structure of the institutional church.
By: Philip Rushton on June 1, 2011
at 2:51 pm