Brehm Center

MORNING SESSION
David Taylor & Lisa Mickey, Welcome to Q Austin.
Alan Hirsh, Post-Christendom Mission.
Joel Kotkin, The Future of The Suburbs.
David Goetz, Suburban Addictions.
The doors opened promptly at 10 am and hundreds of church leaders frantically rushed into the Paramount Theater to find the best seats. Built in 1915, Paramount is classically adorned with frescos and ornate trimmings. The history of building is juxtaposed with the large project onstage and the high-end lights, sounds equipment and large HD video cameras. Gabe Lyon gave the introductory talk which included the call to be fully present rather than trying to “record” what is being said, and then called his first presenters for a interview-style talk about the host city, Austin. And with that, one after another each presenter in the morning session gave his or her thought provoking 18-minute presentation. It was surreal; I can't believe I'm actually at Q!

TALKBACK
David Goetz
Talkback is a time for attendees to pick a topic for further discussion. Attendees broke off into groups that meet at various local venues. David Goetz gave a provocative insight into the flaws of the perfect picket-fence suburban lifestyle, and so I went to the Q&A session that was held at Buffalo Billiards, a local darts, pool and shuffleboard hangout. During the Q&A Goetz shared stories of his high-maintenance lifestyle and the burden that comes with it. He distinguishes in the city, while many socio-economic dynamics are compactly present; the differences are obvious whereas in the suburbs they are not. In the “Burbs” there is no drugs, no crime, no poverty and everything looks perfect from the outside. However, Goetz points out that poverty is not only financial, deeply hidden behind he picket fences is a spiritual poverty. The addictions lie in maintaining a certain lifestyle, and living our dreams through our children. Therefore as Christians it would be profoundly life changing to recognize these “toxins” and reach out to neighbors in meaningful ways. During the talkback, questions were asked to Goetz about remedies and positive outcomes to which he honestly confessed that it was still an on-going problem for him and the friends he is trying to reach. It was also asked if there were spiritual leaders to look to up to which he replied he is always hesitant point out a superstar, but rather seeking to find mentors who are older, found just within our communities. People who are farther along and not asking to be "trumpeted". I couldn't agree more.

AFTERNOON SESSION
John Burke, Pluralistic Evangelism.
Andy Crouch, Power, Privilege and Risk.
Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, The Post-Atomic World.
Shannon Sedgwick Davis, Not On Our Watch.
Bill Townsend & Bill Hampton, Economic Opportunity.

TALKBACK
Andy Crouch
During talkback Crouch dug deeper into concepts for his next book. Thoughts such as what happens after you have created culture. Does one simply marinate in the success or does one turn the accumulated power back into new opportunities. Couch shared how his first book Culture Making was first formulated during Q and how over the years it finally came together. Although with success, he expressed concern that no one wanted to here about taking risks and giving up the comfort of privileges. For the talkback he expect only a few people to show up but it ended up being fully packed with people standing on the sides. He gave illustrative answers that eventually addressed the issue but the whole way through he was thoroughly engaging!

EVENING KEYNOTE
Shane Hipps, The Spirituality of The Cell Phone. Keynotes are an extended talk, where rather than 18 minutes, the talks are doubled to 36 minutes. Hipp’s talk occurred after dinner and we were warned that upon entrance back into the theater, our cell phones would be confiscated for the period of the talk. There was a lot of anxiety for some many folks who found it really hard to part-ways with their smart phones even for that period of time. There were many people including myself trying to get in their last calls before handing over their coveted device. There was a survey where about 60% of the attendees had iphones, probably the largest concentration in any conference! I made a friend from Australia who cynically refused to hand anything over in America after many experiences of lost items in the past. Shane Hipps talked about the disembodiment of technology and how we are constantly being taken out of the present moment. He even made an iphone app called, “Fully Present” where for a specified time one can disable the phones functions. That when multitasking, our brain is merely dividing up the same limited resources and spreading it thin. Being so fragmented is the opposite of spiritual wholeness. Therefore to counter this he satirically made an iphone app called, “Fully Present” where for a specified time one can disable the phones functions. He also talked about how the power of presence is unique to the Christian faith, where God decided to take on a body to come to Earth. As Christians we are also called to be incarnate in a disincarnate world.