Consumerism is one of the greatest challenges facing the church in North America today. Ultimately, consumerism is a form of self-indulgence that does great harm to our brothers and sisters around the world and indeed to all of Creation. At the Through the Consuming Fire conference, we will explore what economic faithfulness would look like -- particularly as shaped by denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus. Specifically, we will examine three themes that when taken together will give us a good start on the journey toward economic faithfulness: community, contentment and creativity. In community, we learn to prefer others to ourselves, to bear one another's burdens and to be a local culture with its own economy. In contentment, we learn to trust in God's super-abundant provision and to find joy in what we have and thus we nurture gratitude, and become able to resist consumerism's constant longing for more. In creativity, we learn to become producers instead of consumers, to fix and re-use things instead of disposing of them, to find ways of celebrating that revel in the gifts of persons, rather than in those of stuff. With an eye toward the coming Advent season, and beyond, let's gather to discuss these things that we might grow in the economic faithfulness and freedom to which we have been called through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Our host, Englewood Christian Church, maintains a strong belief that conversation has an essential role in the life of the Church. They are excited about the
opportunity to offer a space in which dialogue can unfold. It is our hope that interactive conversation -- the telling of stories, active listening, asking questions, etc -- will be
a major part of our conference experience.
