Category: Leadership Planning Team 2014

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Blank Pages

by Brooke Perry

One of the sights I dislike the most is that of a blank page of paper. For some writers I’ve heard that this is an exciting sight, an invigorating and inspiring view of possibility; stories to be told and words to be written. For me it makes my throat close up and sweat start accumulating on my brow. I’m intimidated by the blankness. I want to know what’s going to end up there before I create it. I want to have a base to already build on. I’m much better in the building up than I am in the beginning from nothing.

Now some may say that what we are doing as writers is always building on something. I mean, there’s nothing new under the sun right? And yet even with the knowledge that there is always a “building up” process based on our thoughts and ideas and the experiences of life that have led up to these eluding thoughts and ideas, the sorting it all out intimidates me.

I am currently in a very “blank page” state of life, and if there’s anything I may dislike more than a blank page on a screen, it’s the blank page in my own heart, mind and soul. I look out at my life and see everything that I knew now saved into other files or deleted altogether. There are no words, no ideas, no decipherable thoughts. The things I thought were true stories of love, adventure and full life have now been revealed as lies, with one of the biggest deceivers of all being my own heart. I don’t know how to make sense of any truth I once thought I knew. So I get scared and I stop writing altogether.

Once I do start writing something it’s jumbled and fuzzy and ends up being deleted before I’ve even developed the thought. And I have an uncomfortable notion that this is exactly where Jesus wants me right now.

My heart is broken, my soul bruised and my mind blank. I can make it by “going through the motions” for a few hours at a time, but those hours are always followed by the delete button going full force and once again, the canvas is bare.

Why? Why the bareness, why the stark white page staring at me instead of everything that I had built for myself? Before, just a few weeks ago, I had thousands of words, well written words at that, covering page after page of my life.

I didn’t care if the words were wrong or in the wrong order, I only cared that my page was full.

Of course I desperately wanted the words to be filled with Jesus, filled with hope and purpose, but I was willing to let them stay regardless of whether or not Jesus actually did fill the page or not, over the threat of having to delete them altogether. The blankness, the giving over of authority to Jesus like never before wasn’t worth it to me. I didn’t see how deep I had gone with allowing words to cover the pain, deceit and desperation that my heart had fallen into.

But sometimes our Lord loves us enough to take control of the keyboard. Sometimes He loves us enough to call us to the terrifying blank canvas, to allow our entire hearts and souls that had been poured out onto that paper to be completely washed away, leaving us with nothing, nothing but Him.

And with His heart breaking in sync with ours, and His soul reaching out to mend our own, and His mind connecting with ours in only the way His can, we realize that He is bigger than the page, canvas and scope of what we can see of our lives. In the midst of the heartbreak and loneliness, the fear and confusion about what comes next, we realize that He is the true author of the greatest story ever told, and that the deletion of everything we had built for ourselves was the only thing miraculous and loving enough to allow His words of truth, life and, most importantly and confusingly of all, His words of LOVE to finally start to fill the pages of our soul.

So instead of trying to refill my pages in my own messy way, I finally let Him take control of my keyboard, and to my surprise, of all the miraculous secrets and wonders He could start to reveal on my new page of life, He only writes three words.

I CHOOSE YOU

The choice of these words surprised me as I didn’t understand why He had chosen to write those. I had most likely expected Him to write “I love you” instead because that seems to always be what He’s trying to get me to remember. And then He spoke to my heart and reminded me that in order to even believe that He loved me, I first had to believe that He chose to love me. That it wasn’t by default or obligation, however He had chosen me, and chooses me when I have nothing to give back to Him. He only wants my heart.

He led me to a verse I had read a million times and breathed new life into the words in these pages, the most important words we will ever have the gift of reading.

Ephesians 3:12-21

“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored. When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”

To live a full life does not mean to have all of the right words, structure or punctuation in our writing of our own lives. To live a full life is only accomplished by fully receiving His love for us, and realizing that that life is the only true thing we will ever fully be able to boast about. All words, desires and dreams flow freely from this love. The forcing of our own lives forward ceases as we rest and lean into His truth. So as I work at allowing Him the control over the words in my life, the words on this very page, I leave you with the question He has so passionately whispered in my ear:

Where do you need to choose to believe His heart for you? What words are you forcing that would flow freely if you gave up the control of your keyboard to the hands that made you?

Peace.

 

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What Leadership Means to Me

By Matthew O’Connell 

I once thought events like Faith and Culture stem from one person. That one person alone makes all the plans and other people help execute it. My first meeting with the Faith & Culture Writers Conference leadership team quickly changed the view that I was inculcated with.

I attended the Faith & Culture Writers Conference last year. A friend heard that I enjoyed writing and asked if I wanted to go with her. I signed up only minutes after she told me, having no idea what to expect. I remember the anxious anticipation days before Faith and Culture. The event started with worship and I turned to my friend saying, “I thought this was a writing conference?” It appeared more like church than what I envisioned a writing conference would look like.  “When are we going to get to the good stuff?” I wondered.

But, I quickly found that writing is a form of worship, and God is the only good stuff one needs.

As William Young, the Friday night keynote speaker, began his talk, my posture changed from relaxed to sitting at the edge with my hands on my chin. I don’t remember blinking for the next 45 minutes. One thing he said stuck with me, something I will always remember: “I will never again ask God to bless what I am doing, but ask to be apart of what He is doing.”

After the first night concluded, I felt like Moses coming down from Mt. Sinai. My friend and I talked the entire ride home about the experience we just had. The next day I attended the breakout sessions, absorbing every piece of information I could. This is the first time I ever saw an agent in person. I heard of them vaguely, like some mythical sea creature that didn’t exist. A whole underworld of supportive writers, agents, mentors, and publishers were at my fingertips. I sat in the front row at every workshop so I can ask more questions.

I left the conference with a new appreciation, enthusiasm, and revival in my writing. I began writing everyday and have been ever since. I am currently on my third re-write of my memoir, and actively making posts on my blog. I stayed in contact with Cornelia, the conference director, and attended one of the monthly Writers Connection meetings she leads.

At one of those meetings, I came a half hour early and saw Cornelia and remembered her. Her enthusiasm and warmness makes it impossible to forget. I began talking about a writing contest I entered and how I think they are amazing. Interestingly, she told me, “We just discussed at our last leadership meeting how great it would be to have a writing competition this year at our conference. Would you want to help organize it?”

A week went by and I was unsure how serious her request was. None-the-less I was filled with ideas. I sent her a long message of all my ideas for the contest. She asked if I could attend the planning meeting the following evening. Luckily I wasn’t working and was able to join the leadership team.

As people began trickling in they didn’t even question my presence. We opened up in prayer and fellow team member Veylnn gave a short devotional on what the words Faith and Culture mean. The night before, Cornelia had sent us the itinerary for the meeting. I thought it was just for our reference and that we weren’t going to hit every point. Nope, we were going over every last detail. I had prepared a few vague ideas regarding the proposed writing contest.

We started discussing which people were speaking. As one idea was brought up, another person would give an idea. Slowly the conference began building one piece at a time, becoming its own separate entity from anything we imagined. No idea came from one person, but everything was constructed entirely as a collective effort. Each new idea was spoken louder, with more enthusiasm than the last. We were almost jumping out of our seats; “What if we had a panel of blogger mentors?” and so on.  Slowly the conference was falling into place.

This conference no longer belonged to us. It was God’s. We were just the vehicles he chose to deliver his message. Cornelia at one point said, “I don’t know how this is going to work, I am just trusting God He will provide.” I couldn’t count the number of times she and everyone in the group said this. Trusting God’s plan for this conference was a huge a theme through every step of the process.

Each time we met as a leadership planning team, I became closer with the other members, more than I thought I could in such a short amount of time. I learned that leadership isn’t about any isolated person, or idea, it is the collective effort of every person. A machine with God at the heart of it.

I reflected on when Paul Young talked about only being a part of God’s plan. Throughout this whole process we utterly depended on God and only wanted His will to be done, that He would invite us into his grace. God delivered far more than I deserve. It was clear from the very beginning God has had (and is having) His hands on every stage of the process for this conference.

When we get to together for leadership meetings it gets progressively longer as we share our hearts with each other. I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many God-loving writers and friends. I wake up every morning thankful that God has placed so many amazing, supportive, loving people in my life.

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The Invitation: My Faith and Culture Story

by Velynn Brown

I know faith. I accepted Jesus into my little heart at the tender age of eight. Grew up on turquoise pews, and church potlucks. I even bore the title “PK” (pastor’s kid).

I know culture. I’m African-American through and through. This is the wrapping God chose for housing my spirit.

But sometimes, my faith and my culture clash. At least that’s how it feels when I’m the only brown-skinned believer in the room.

Our doctrines say we are all Christians—that we all come from the same family. It’s true. We all have the same Heavenly Father. But do our pews, our platforms, and our publications reflect all God’s children?

No. Unfortunately we missed some folks when we snapped the “family of God” photo. I’ve got a problem with that. And to my surprise, I’m not the only one.

My girlfriend Ashley Larkin and I had been coffee-meeting, text-praying and blog-inspiring for several months before she extended an invitation to me. I was apprehensive about going to Writers Connection meetings she kept encouraging me to go to during our soul-sister-sharing times together. I didn’t want to tell her that I knew I’d be the only chocolate chip in the room. Or that even though it was a “Christian” event, my faith experiences and religious palette would not be understood or met. I would be alone.

She agreed that I could very well be the only person of my skin complexion there. But she disagreed that I’d be alone. She said she’d be right by my side. She wanted me to share my journey and my story. Had Ashley not first shown she could be trusted by bravely attending my predominantly African-American congregated church first, I would have kept her invitation at a distance.

Ashley placed herself in my world, embracing the opportunity to hold and carry out publicly what we had been talking about privately: to become the change we needed to see in our own Christian worlds. Now it was time to share in this exchange of life, story, and depth of relationship in one another’s lives.

I was a little embarrassed that at forty-one, I was still struggling with a color complex. I should be over the shock of the lack of diversity in Portland, Oregon, right? My people only make up six percent of the population in the city. So why was this invitation bothering me so much? Being a native Oregonian, I knew the hand we’d been dealt.

Truth was, I was not excited about crossing the bridge to Lake Oswego and I wasn’t thrilled about being the “bridge” again.

“Why me, Lord? Why do I have to go and be the only sistah in the room?”

It took a while for me to pinpoint my struggle. This was a “see the speck in your own eye first” confession, but eventually I got to it. We don’t get to chose the family we are born into, but it’s are still our family. As a member of the extended body of Christ, I’ve often felt adopted into, not tied-to-blood-related. It’s subtle. Christian radio, bookstores and platforms represent majority white Christian culture all the time.

Why aren’t we representing the entire family of God?

We all speak the same God-language, but our translations are as different as King James and The Message versions of the Bible. Yet this diversity of parallel texts brings out a more vivid, 3D-panoramic view of our lives and the God we serve, if we let it.

I think it’s because I want God’s people to act different, be different, and to look different. I want the world to stop and take notice of how we include and not exclude one another. I’d like them to see how Christians freely share our resources, our privileges, and our pews with each other on both sides of the rainbow and everything in between. But the truth is we don’t.

In my journey as a writer, I was told by a well-respected and profitable publishing house that my voice as an African-American writer was needed and desirable, but it probably wouldn’t sell well in mainstream Christian market because of my color.

So why go? Why keep putting myself out there only to be rejected by my “Christian family”?

Sarah Thebarge was the guest author the first night I attended the Writers Connection. I’d never met her before, but when she opened up her mouth to share her story, we had several things instantly in common: cancer and embracing others’ lives, stories, and cultures.

One of my best friends was right smack in the middle of battling cancer and I needed a tangible testimony of hope to pass on to her. Sarah was a cancer survivor, so I bought her book. And although I was the only chocolate-skinned Christian in the audience that night, when she began to share the story of her spiritually adopted Somalian family, I began to feel at home—right there, in Tualatin, Oregon.

God met me that night on the outside with what I was wrestling with on the inside. I needed a tangible story of culture, and the acceptance of being woven in, right where I was, in the color that I’m in. I needed to know I truly wasn’t alone and that where I’m from matters dearly to the Lord.

Cornelia Seigneur, the monthly Writers Connection leader, whom I also met for the first time that night, asked me to meet her for coffee a few weeks later. She shared with me the vision for the annual Faith & Culture Writers Conference and would soon extend to me a second invitation to serve on the conference leadership team, a position I have been humbly honored to hold. She asked me to be a part of constructing this year’s conference.

At this table of the conference leadership team, I am seen as an equal, as sister in my chocolate covering. I am embraced with a shared faith in our God who is committed to diversity, culture and community.

I extend the same invitation to you:

Come . . . have the courage to be yourself.

Come . . . share the story God is crafting in your life.

No matter what shade of the kingdom-rainbow you are wrapped in, come meet the rest of your family. Let your soul, your God-given creativity, and your unique purpose find a little bit of home.

Come join us at the Faith and Culture Writers Conference.

See you there!

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. (Philemon 1:6- NIV)

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Widening our View is the Essence of Faith & Culture Writers Conference

Cornelia Becker Seigneur

“Most people come to know only one corner of their room, one spot near the window, one narrow strip on which they keep walking back and forth.”-Rilke

About a month before the start of the 2013 Faith & Culture Writers Conference at Multnomah University, I received an email from a pastor at a local church.

He asked why I would let William Paul Young, the author of The Shack, speak at our conference. After all, the pastor said to me, how could an event that was being held at a reputable Christian university “invite a ‘heretic’ like Young onto the campus?” as he worded it.

The pastor went on to inform me that he would not promote our conference nor would he tell others at his church about it. At the time of the event, I was an adjunct professor at Multnomah, where I served as the faculty advisor for MUSE, the student publication I founded at the school.

My first response to the pastor was to ask him if he had read the book.

“No, I have not,” he confessed.

I offered, “I know there has been controversy surrounding Paul’s work over the years, especially regarding his (fictional) portrayal of the triune God, but we are a faith and culture conference, and if nothing else, whether you agree or disagree with the way Young portrays God, we must admit that the words and story Paul created has affected culture in a big way: 20 million books sold.

May we ask the hard questions? Can we start a conversation on topics where we have differing views? Can we question the way we have done things over the years? Are we able to sit in the same room with others who have a different creative way to express their story?

That is the essence of what the Faith & Culture Writers Conference is about.

On the top of my website, I have a tagline “Live the Questions,” which is a quote by the German poet Rilke. This is my mantra. And perhaps the mantra of the conference. We should not be afraid of hard questions. We should not be threatened with differing view points, with people stretching our worlds; we should not fear discussion around a subject we feel uncomfortable with, but rather embrace the difference and see life from someone else’s world. To get beyond that one spot near the window, as Rilke notes.

I say, let’s talk.

This year as the Faith & Culture Writers Conference moves to George Fox University, we once again have invited some speakers and authors whose views and takes on issues not all attendees may agree with. Heck, not everyone is a C.S. Lewis fan. He did have witches in his books and he prefers in infant baptism, to which some object.

Our speakers are thoughtfully sparking dialogue in their work, musing over long-held practices, pushing boundaries and borders, and asking questions that open up fresh perspectives, challenge presumptions, and stretch views.

Take Sarah Bessey, as an example. In November 2013, she released her first book, Jesus Feminist, the title itself stopping people from giving her a voice. Yet, if you can get beyond stereotypes and open up the pages of Bessey’s book, you’ll find the mother of three captivated by Christ while at the same time challenging the church to reconsider gender-based restrictions on women in ministry.

We welcome speakers — who are at once authors, professors, theologians, bloggers, journalists, movement starters, activists, editors — at the Faith & Culture Writers Conference to open up the doors to dialogue on issues in our current culture and we trust they will do so with grace, humility, vulnerability and the Spirit leading them. Can we bathe in discussions with differing views, and allow ourselves to listen rather than immediately criticize, and engage without feeling threatened? Instead of judging, let’s perhaps ask, “Hmm, I wonder what they mean by that? Let me find out.”

Other speakers this year — Tony Kriz, Paul Louis Metzger, Randy Woodley, Micah J. Murray, Natalie Trust, Emily Maynard — have also written and spoken on topics that might have made some people uncomfortable. That’s okay.

We’re about engaging culture, starting conversations, expanding our worlds.

And, maybe make new friends along the way.

Which makes me think about a story I read in Christianity Today about how, after writer Tim Challies calls into question Ann Voskamp’s theology, calling her popular book One Thousand Gifts “dangerous.”

And, how did Ann respond? Why invite him and his family to dinner, of course.

He accepted and during their time together, he apologized to her. In our online world, it’s easy to criticize someone we cannot see face to face. It’s a click of a button to publish judgment. But, when you are face to face with someone, it’s a whole different ball game. Being present matters.

Now, I realize of course things don’t always have a happy ending like this, but it illustrates that we can at least be in the same room together, maybe even share a dinner. Or coffee. We can extend grace and mercy and humility toward others and not be defensive.

And maybe, just maybe we can do just as Rilke said:

“I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world.” Rilke

www.corneliaseigneur.com

 

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We Cannot Do This Alone

By Cornelia Becker Seigneur

When the leadership team for the 2013 Faith & Culture Writers Conference had our celebration dinner last June, we reminisced over wine and salmon and salad, discussing the big event. I am so grateful for the service these wonderful ladies gave: Bethany, our executive administrative assistant, Kari Patterson, our communications director, Ashley our agent and mentor coordinator, and Ana, our marketing specialist.

They sacrificed countless hours to put on what turned out to be a fabulous conference last April at Multnomah University. When you serve with people on a team to put on such a large event, you bond over late night brain storming sessions, sipping tea and wine and agonizing over speakers and schedules and wanting every detail to be perfect and lots and lots of prayer. I got teary eyed at the end of the conference saying our goodbyes. We are all dear friends now, and I will always be thankful these four ladies that said yes. ,

And, during that final meeting last June at the downtown waterfront restaurant, the subject of the next conference eventually came up. Kari — who came to our 2011 inaugural conference at Western Seminary who had introduced herself to me after my talk, and then returned in 2013 to serve on the planning team — said she needed a year off to breathe and that she actually thought we should keep our conference an every other year event, and wait until 2015 again. And Ashley said she needed a year off as well. And, my right hand, Bethany, though she didn’t tell me that night, later shared with me that family and health issues required her immediate attention this next year.

A month or so later, Bethany called me up to meet. She brought flowers. I should be giving HER flowers! She had tears in her eyes and said, “Cornelia, God has given you a vision and you need to keep this vision alive no matter who comes alongside you. God will provide.” She said to trust and believe and move forward and to give it to God. She said people would come forward, new people, and I need to have faith. We both cried and prayed and I said I would listen to her.

I started calling and emailed people about the conference, and I asked for people to be on the advisory board and I met with others who had experience with events envisioning businesses and non-profits, like Ken Wytsma and Don Jacobson and my good friend Paul Louis Metzger, whose been a supporter of our conference from Day 1.

In discussing this event with these friends, the consensus seemed clear: have the event yearly.

But, then there is reality. I cannot plan this conference alone. I know it is God’s vision, yes, but I told God, I cannot do this alone.

I began to pray, that if it is meant to be, people would come forward.

I love how God works. I got a phone call from Christal, a speaker last year. And a text message from Ana. Separately mind you. Both messages were clear- “Cornelia, what date in 2014 is the next Faith & Culture Writers Conference? I think you need to have it next year, and not wait a year.”

Then, I got an email from Melanie, a professor of English at George Fox, with whom I’ve been connected off after teaching a course at Fox a while back. We have a mutual friend in Pam, who spoke at our 2013 conference. Melanie wanted to meet to talk writing and life. When we met, the subject of the conference came up. And, after I noted my vision is to move the Faith & Culture Writers Conference to different campus each year, and I’d love to be at Fox sometime, she said, “Well, George Fox is looking to host more events on campus.”

I love how God works!

I’d see certain people at my monthly Writers Connection and think, hmm, they would be great on the leadership team. And, I was reminded of names I had written down after the last event, who had said that if there is a need for help, to please contact them.

So, I met for coffee with people and we prayed and dreamed and looked at calendars and talked and here we are. It’s a go.

And, this planning team is fabulous.

Starting with the only returning member, Ana, whose digital and social media expertise is amazing. Then there’s Velynn, our executive administrative assistant, who is such a passionate, driven, dynamic person, whom Ashley brought to one of our monthly Writers Connection meetings.

And, Taylor, our new communications director, is such a sweet, kind, deep soul who happens to work at The Oregonian, where I freelance. Grateful to Michelle Watson for introducting Taylor to FCWC and me last spring.

And, Brooke, our new agents and mentor coordinator who attended the last conference, wrote a note to me after the last conference offering to help. Wow, she has energy and many talents she is bringing to the table. Nicole introduced Brooke to our event last spring.

Melanie is our GFU laision. It is so good to get to know her better. She’s an excellent writer and thinker and we both have boys the same age!

And, Lynn is our new prayer coordinator and scribe, whom I met at the Oregon Christian Writers Conference last summer where I served as a mentor, and Lynn’s been a faithful Writers Connection attendee ever since. And, finally there’s Matthew, our writing contest coordinator who attended our 2013 FCWC and has been reaching out the past couple of months on Facebook. When we met a couple of weeks ago at my Writers Connection at Rolling Hills, we touched on the next conference. The subject of writing contests came up, which is wild because Velynn had suggested that idea during our first brainstorming meeting in the Pearl District.  Yet, excitement is one thing, feet to pavement is another. I know how much time and work it takes, and again I say, I cannot do it alone. But, I love affirming others in their enthusiasm, so with Matthew’s excitement about the writing contest I suggested he help organize it. I figured he’d say no or ignore the question. He did neither, but instead tossed so many great ideas my way. I chuckled that he could organize the event. And, again, I did not really think he’d be serious about it as I made the suggestion in a light-hearted manner. But, he surprised me once again.

After a few days and many emails later, I invited Matthew to our first large get-it-done planning meeting last week. Matthew arrived before me with his trademark positive spirit and enthusiasm. Okay, I tell  God, I get this. I don’t have to go it alone.

And, there are so  many others who have affirmed the conference, helping with direction and connections and ideas. Aaron Smith, aka the cultural savage, for one. He showed up at our first larger FCWC brainstorming meeting in November. We happened to be meeting for coffee that day anyway, so I just said, hey come at the tail end of the meeting. Aaron is on our advisory board and we are grateful for his insight and belief in our event.

So, for that first meeting with all these official positions in place, we opened the meeting with prayer. For God’s guidance and direction. There was so much positive energy and passion and drive, and the ideas were flowing and moving and being shaped.

And, there was a lot to do after leaving that meeting. Yet, there are enough people to make it happen.

I love our theme verse, which we chose during our first brainstorming session in the Pearl: “And God has filled us with the Spirit, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship for work in every skilled craft.” Exodus 35: 31-33. And our five theme words this year: diverse, fresh, craftsmanship, voice, and wisdom. The words that our amazing designer Martin French will weave into our new logo!

I am incredibly grateful to the 2014 FCWC leadership planning team, for our advisory board and others who have believed in this event, and to George Fox this year for being our sponsoring host.

And I’m ultimately grateful to our creative God, who fills us with His Spirit to guide us with craftsmanship and creativity and voice and wisdom. The God who continually reminds me, through His Spirit and through others, this is His event. He is with us. Just as in life, He is with us. We don’t have to walk through life alone. I am desperate for Him to show up. That’s a good place to be.

And, for this specific event — and in life in general — I am desperate for Him, and He is making Himself known, providing so many others to walk alongside, so many wonderful people to share the load, so many others who are excited to see this conference return in 2014. Indeed, we don’t have to go it alone.

CORNELIA BECKER SEIGNEUR