i4Conference

2008 CONFERENCE DRAWS HIGH PRAISE

The Fourth Annual National Conference on Innovation, held in Columbus, Ohio on October 5-7, 2008, attracted twice as many participants as did the first such gathering in 2005. Besides those who attended from various parts of the United States, there were attendees also from Canada, Scotland, and Australia. The three-day event has established itself as the premier gathering of innovators and missional entrepreneurs within the Adventist community. Organized and supported by a number of denominational organizations, institutions, and individuals, the National Conference on Innovation identifies four primary purposes for its annual gatherings:

1. To provide a forum for conversations about the future and how the church might relate to that future;
2. To stimulate learning and discovery, and inspire bold, creative experimentation;
3. To validate the critical role of missional entrepreneurs in moving the church into the future;
4. To contribute towards creating a culture of innovation within the Adventist Church.

In welcoming participants to the Conference, Raj Attiken, representing the Ohio Conference – one of the sponsors of the event – noted that “Institutions are rarely the source of innovation. The purpose of institutions is to preserve the innovation of the previous generation. The institution’s role is to preserve stability, continuity, and historical memory. If innovation is to occur, we must create a culture of innovation within the organization – a culture that affirms and validates the role of the innovator; a culture that protects its innovators; a culture that values its innovators; a culture that fosters risk-taking; a culture that has a high threshold for failed experiments.”

World-renowned sociologist from Princeton University, Dr. Robert Wuthnow, opened the Conference with a review of current demographic and social trends in the U.S. He identified the greatest ministry opportunity for the church right now as that of engaging the 20-and-30-somethings in our population. Dr. James Tucker, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Tennessee, described the process of how people learn best, and how reality is often counterintuitive to conventional wisdom. Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder of the Veritas Forum at Harvard University – a movement that has spread to over 75 secular university campuses around the world – shared her personal story in starting this movement, and the spiritual journey that it took her on. Internationally-known Christian historian, author, speaker and futurist, Leonard Sweet contrasted what he named the “Gutenberg Generation” with the “Google Generation,” identifying the challenges and opportunities for communicating the gospel in the current cultural context. In his second presentation, Sweet identified seven metaphors that can change the future, and their implications for Christian mission and ministry. Dr. Julius Nam, Associate Professor of Religion at Loma Linda University, had the audience fully engaged in his presentation on the innovations that have occurred in the development of Adventist theology since the mid-1800s, and the implications for the future.

Vervent, the North American Division’s Church Resource Center, awarded its second Innovative Church of the Year award. The award was received by the Hillsboro Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Program features such as Table Talk, The Idea Lab, and After Hours provided participants opportunities to network and to share ideas and learnings. Daily worship and devotional periods – Soul Awakenings – provided time and opportunity for thoughtful reflection and personal worship. Principles of innovation from the business world were introduced through a series of video presentations entitled “The Business of Innovation.”

Written and verbal feedback from attendees unanimously confirmed the value of this event to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The 5th Annual National Conference on Innovation has been announced for October 4-6, 2009, at the same venue – the Embassy Suites Hotel, in Dublin, Ohio.