I had the privilege of attending the first-of-its-kind Missional Community Conference in Austin called Verge. This was a homegrown conference organized by Austin Stone Community Church (Michael Stewart was the driving force) and hosted by Hill County Bible Church- NW. The main theme of Verge was discussion about the DNA of Gospel movements and centered around the core concepts presented in a book by Alan Hirsch called, "The Forgotten Ways." The main session speakers included Francis Chan, Matt Carter, John Burke, Neil Cole, Alan Hirsch, Jeff Vandersteldt, Dave Ferguson, Dave Gibbons, Hugh Halter, Ed Stetzer, David Watson, George Patterson and David Garrison. Aaron Ivey, his band, and an awesome choir provided the musical element to the event.
Verge completely sold out and over 2,000 leaders from all over the country came to Austin for almost 3 days. Over the next several posts, I am going to be sharing my notes from Verge as well as my experience while there. To simply boil Verge down to a bunch of notes is like trying to hear a concert by reading sheet music.. it is best heard, played out, and experienced. However, since not everyone could be there, I am offering my notes, thoughts, emotions, and personal reflection in hopes that God will continue to move through this experience to catalyze others in a movement forward.
As a side note, the following thought has been on my mind for quite some time: the Bible is great, but just like sheet music, it must be experienced and played out in life to best understand the symphony of God's story with humanity. Without the activism of the Gospel, we become a bunch of people with a lot of gnostic intellectualism but not Christ. We all have a part to play and it sounds the best if we are in harmony with one another.
For now, let me leave you with this insight into the essence that was Verge. At one point during the conference, Michael Stewart sent out an update via Twitter that said, "Usually conferences run late 'cause speakers can't stop speaking. #verge10 running late cause worshippers can't stop worshipping."
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composed by
dave
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