By Dan Collison, Lead Pastor of First Covenant Church, Minneapolis

Author "Church in Translation" (Abingdon Press 2010)   

The Christian Church as a whole, and individual Christians in particular, should never swipe their hands and believe they have everything figured out. Rather, we are to be incurably curious about God and what he is doing in the world. Jesus said the greatest two commandments are: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27). Unfortunately, there are streams of evangelicalism that fear the intellect, scholasticism ... and are even anti-intellectual.

In his book, "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind," Mark A. Noll notes, "... modern American evangelicals have failed notably in sustaining serious intellectual life." A pervasive anti-intellectualism has limited and isolated Christians, thus removing their voices from serious discourse within the universities of America. Noll recalls respected scholars of previous centuries-John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, Francis Asbury, Charles Hodge, Moses Stuart, George Monro Grant-"believed in the life of the mind ... because they were evangelical Christians." For them, "diligent, rigorous mental activity was a way to glorify God." Not the only way but a significant one.

Many Christ-followers may not be drawn to the life of a scholar, but we should never shy away from the intellectual life. In the 21st century we must be the kind of Christ followers who read our Bibles in one hand and our newspapers, Kindles, Nooks and iPads in our other hand! One leadership concept that provides a unique perspective on this is a leadership book called, "Geeks and Geezers" by Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas.

In their book they instruct all leaders to have insatiable curiosity or a hunger to cultivate curiosity. They frame this conversation around the word "neotony." The dictionary's definition of neotony is "the retention of youthful qualities by adults." This is linked to optimism in that it is associated with what are normally considered youthful activities: curiosity, playfulness, eagerness, fearlessness, warmth and energy.

Our 2012 Annual Meeting included the debut of three new videos highlighting the Ministry Priorities of the Northwest Conference. Each video features interview segments with church staff, lay leaders and pastors, intermixed with animations of statistics and key statements designed to help explain each priority.  

NWC Ministry Priorities: Congregational Vitality

NWC Ministry Priorities: Church Planting

NWC Ministry Priorities: Children, Youth & Family

The videos are designed for use throughout the year in church new member classes, services and other adult education opportunities to help congregations better understand and engage the work of the NWC. The delegates from each church left with a DVD copy of the videos, and the series is available on the NWC web site's video page (www.nwc-cov.org/resources/videos) and Vimeo Channel (http://vimeo.com/channels/northwest).  

CHIC 2012 is just around the corner and we need more adult volunteers to help us make it come to life. We have extended the adult staff registration deadline to June 1, 2012 (rather than May 9). 

Please help the recruitment effort by encouraging your friends and church members who are "on the fence" to come to CHIC. Whether your church is sending the high school youth group or not we welcome you to register.  

This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of event and we look forward to serving with you! 

• Complete and submit the application form (download Adult Application)
• Review the areas we need assistance with (final page of the adult application document you downloaded) and be sure to mark your preferred area/s of service - preferred assignments cannot be guaranteed.
• Cost: $545
• Deadline: June 1
• Questions: chic2012@covenantevents.org or 1.800.910.CHIC (2442)

If you're unable to attend you can still help in big ways!

• Prayer - subscribe to the CHIC Prayer Newsletter 
• Donate - The NW Conference has set up a fund to assist with covering volunteer expenses.
• Follow us on the CHIC Blog 
• Bookmark the CHIC Website for more information

We hope to see you in Knoxville!

Coming Together 2012 is a leadership conference for pastors, ministry leaders and volunteers, designed to equip local churches and organizations to create healthy, multi-ethnic communities, and to provide opportunities to bridge the divides that separate us.

Minneapolis-St. Paul is a diverse, multi-ethnic, global city of many cultures, races and ethnicities. We live in a growing cultural mosaic, yet we also have long-standing divisions that must be bridged and relationships to build. This conference brings many different Christian leaders together to learn, discuss and build relationships.

To learn more or register online, visit www.comingtogethertc.org 

A Charitable Gift Annuity is an irrevocable contract between a donor and a charity. If, for example, you were to set up a CGA between yourself and the Northwest Conference or one of its Ministries, you would make a donation to them, and they would make fixed payments to you for the rest of your life. The fixed payments are based on different factors, including the amount donated, age of the donor(s), and payout rates set by the American Council on Gift Annuities.

Part of these payments will not be subject to tax and your gift qualifies for a charitable deduction. Also, the amount given will not be subject to tax. For a more accurate understanding of how a CGA will affect your taxes, contact your tax advisor.

So what are your financial and charitable goals? How can a CGA help you reach them? Contact Kevin Lawson, CFP®, our local Financial Service Representative at 1-877-222-3960 or kelawson@covenanttrust.com to find out.

Please visit http://www.covenanttrust.com/news/ to read more.

© 2012, Covenant Trust Company. All Rights Reserved.

Communications Corner