Conference Info | Contact Us | Who Are We? | About Our Speaker | Leaving Church?
A Conference with Gene Edwards
May 27-29
Duke University
Durham, NC
A church community is about to be born in Durham. Those who plan to be a part of this new beginning are:
- Quitting their jobs
- Leaving family and friends
- Selling their homes
- Moving to Durham
Engage Reality
Be with us in Durham, North Carolina on May 27 - 29 at Duke University.
Tired of chasing windmills?
Thirsting for Christ?
Longing for real community?
Beyond the cycles of the world, beneath the currents of religion, deep within your center lays Jesus Christ in All His Primal Splendor.
We are going back to a walk that is instinctual... simplicity, ecclesia, community, and intimacy.
Conference Information:
Dates: May 27 th – May 29 th
Meeting Times:
- Friday – 7:30 pm
- Saturday – 11:30 am
- Saturday – 7:30 pm
- Sunday – 11:30 am
Location: Duke University in Durham, NC
Registration:
$ 65.00 per person - conference only*
$ 138.00 (double occupancy) includes conference fee, meals and room on campus
Susan Justice
(770) 745 - 6386
sujusti@yahoo.com
Register Here
Who Are We?
Well, that’s a long story…and perhaps a bit tedious, who knows? So we’ll make this brief. A group of us, mostly attending Berry College in Georgia at the time, were touched by Jesus Christ and began getting together, meeting as a home gathering of sorts. Rather than go our separate ways upon graduation, we decided “hey, let’s go to another city, together.” Of all the large cities in America to choose from, we decided to move to the city of Durham (with one notable abstention holding out for Bend, Oregon). No one has moved there yet, but the conference in Durham is our official announcement. This conference is an invitation to everyone in North Carolina (and elsewhere) who is interested in becoming part of this grand adventure.
About Our Speaker:
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Gene Edwards graduated from college at age eighteen. He then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated from there at age twenty-two. He holds a Master of Divinity. He left the institutional church at age twenty-nine. Today, he is part of the radical wing of the house church movement. He also holds conferences on the deeper Christian life. His life is geared towards a revolution of the present-day practices of the church. Gene will be working with us in establishing our intentional house church community in Durham. |
“We cannot change the practices of the church. Those practices can only be abandoned. We have to start over . . . from the ground up.”
-Gene Edwards
Gene Edwards is a prolific writer. Some of his books include: The First-Century Diaries,The Prisoner in the Third Cell, A Tale of Three Kings, The Divine Romance, The Chronicles of Heaven, and How to Meet in Homes. If you have not read a book by Gene Edwards, you may want to drop by your Christian bookstore, or check out some of his harder to find works on the Seedsowers website.
Leaving Church? You are not alone.
Over the past ten years, surveys have indicated that approximately 50% of Christians who describe themselves as “born again” or “evangelical” have stopped attending a traditional church. Of those, 90% of people were in some sort of leadership role. Almost 33% of these were former pastors! It is estimated that in the year 2000, 95-100 million Christians stayed home from “church.”
Some reasons Christians quit going to church:
- Had a bad experience in the past
- Worship services are boring
- Want a deeper connection with their faith
- Want to participate in a community of faith
- The church had nothing to offer, so no reason to go
- Many do not see a need to get involved
- Do not believe in organized religion
- Not interested in being a part of an institution
- Do not like to be preached at
- Think the Bible is an outdated book of rules
What some of those stay-at-home Christians do:
- One half pray to God during the week
- Three out of ten have a devotional time each week
- One out of seven read the Bible during the week
- One out of ten have a spiritual mentor
- Three out of ten watch religious television
- One out of ten purchase Christian music
- One out of four listen to Christian radio
- One out of five read a Christian magazine
What Christians who stay at home want!
- A friendly, caring environment
- Want to feel connected with people
- Prefer a small gathering, instead of a megachurch
- Want to participate in ministry
- A desire to deepen their faith
- Want informal services
- To be received with Christian love
These are seven good reasons to attend the Durham conference.
Gene Edwards is currently working on two books. To get a special sneak preview of these books, go to his website.
Click on Radical Books. Then enter manuscripts for the username and durham for the password.