Sjolander Road Fellowship

Sjolander Road Fellowship Annual Conference

January 24-26, 2014

4464 Sjolander Road

Baytown, Tx 77521

Theme: Atonement Theories and the Associated Bible Metaphors

Perhaps, like me, you have been intrigued by the many words or terms you encounter in the Bible as describing the work of Christ. Just a few examples are forgiveness, salvation, reconciliation, justification, propitiation, ransom, restoration, etc. The existence of so many different descriptive devices in the scriptures has led to the development of differing views of what Jesus accomplished during his earthly ministry. These different views are known academically as atonement theories. Each represents a different emphasis or focus on the many ways the mission and work of Jesus can be seen based on the different biblical words loyed.

Current day Christian Orthodoxy in this country tends to lean toward a rather narrow view of atonement and what it means. The prevailing western view of atonement is not the only one embraced today nor is it the only one held in the past.

In the Baytown Conference this year, we have invited a series of speakers to explore and share their thoughts on atonement and how it can be seen in light of scripture. Some people undoubtedly feel that there is only one possible way, but history proves otherwise. We can summarily dismiss other views or attempt to learn from them. At this gathering of Bible students we hope to step outside our normal religious "box" and explore beyond the dictates of conventional religious thought.

 The conference presentations begins at 7PM on Friday the 24th and ends at noon on Sunday the 26th. Admission is free.

2014 Sjolander Road Fellowship Annual Conference Schedule

4464 Sjolander Road, Baytown, Texas 77521

January 24-26, 2014

Theme: Atonement Theories and Associated Metaphors

Friday, January 24, 2014   

5:00 PM Group Fellowship Hour

6:00 PM Group Dinner at Conference Site

Presentation 1   7:30 PM Rick Crotts Introduction. What's the real issue? The historical background.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Presentation 2   9:00 AM Mark Eaton The Terminologies of Atonement. Different translations and associated word studies

Presentation 3   10:00 AM Willie Cripps Atonement Deals with Sin. The scope and aspects of atonement. The human response to atonement- please or thank you, Lord?

Presentation 4   11:00 AM Amie May Perception is Reality. Or is it? God’s will and human nature.

12:00 PM Group Lunch at Conference Site

1:00 to 6:00 PM Group Break for the Afternoon.

Please note: There will be no evening meal provided at the Conference Site

Presentation 5   6:00 PM Harold Lovelace  God All in All   Harold deals with I Corinthians 15:28 

Presentation 6   7:00 PM Donna Brown Environment vs Spiritual Heritage. How our religious environment misrepresents our spiritual heritage

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Presentation 7  9:00 AM Mark Eaton Death from a New Perspective. Cross cultural comparisons and the various biblical meanings of death

Presentation 8   10:00 AM Amie May Atonement and Sacrifice. The breadth of the message of Jesus

Presentation 9   11:00 AM Willie Cripps New Birth. Born of water and spirit. How? Did we initiate our own birth?

12:00 PM Group Lunch at Conference Site/Wrap-up

Sponsored by Rob Hunter, Board Member for Presence International.

PRESENCE, INTERNATIONAL’S “BETTER STORY” CONFERENCE NOTES:

Doug King

7/24

We are people of the biblical narrative but what name do we embrace?

The NT language, especially that of Jesus, is decidedly different from OT language. It reflects a God without form.

Complexity and Unity are flip sides to the same coin.

Truth is not static as one experiences spiritual or consciousness evolution. Growth in truth cannot happen as long as we defend the old truth.

Teilhard de Chardin said "Humanity is an embarrassment to science, meaning that science cannot explain the mental/spiritual component of humanness. Doug contended that the evolution of the mind occurred while the physical brain remained essentially static in its genetic structure.

Jesus did not exhibit the "fight or flight" reaction.

Judgment requires form and labels. Violate the boundary of form and miss the mark.

Promise fulfillment is deterministic but leads to co-creation which is open ended.

Law cannot legislate fruits of the spirit. These come directly from God- I will write my laws on their heart.

Unity of the spirit is the only basis for unity. External circumstances are inherently unstable. How do I refuse to be defined by my life situation or condition?

We move from law (form) to unity. From entities to non-entities.

Robert Kegan- Adult Developmental Psychologist at Harvard.

Tom Thresher

7/25/13

Wrote Reverent Irreverence

How do we transform consciousness? Tom, a UCC minister, had no church affiliation growing up. He got into Integral Theory before getting into the ministry. He then became interested in how to use Integral Theory in the church.

Along with Robert Kegan, above, he has developed the idea of Transformational Inquiry, which strives to make us more resilient, comfortable, and trusting.

Rebecca Costa- As societies become more complex they hit a cognitive threshold and must evolve or die.

Al Gore's book- The Future.

Faith communities can lead the transformation of consciousness, teaching and using the "How" of transformation.

To change the unconscious, you must bring the unconscious to consciousness.

Transformation is a series of slow, small steps.

A technical change strives to fix or modify a system.

An adaptive change transforms me.

The five steps to Transformational Inquiry

Complaints or frustrations

Noble Commitment

What am I doing or not doing instead that negates this commitment

Hidden competing commitments

Big assumptions that underlie these competing commitments

Somewhat similar to Byron Katie's "doing the work" in Loving What Is. What do I fear will happen?. Is that really true? What is the worst that could happen?

Rob Hunter

Getting to Better

Challenges propel progress

The Noosphere is the sphere of human consciousness or thought

True North- the transcendental value is "liberty for all". It reminds us of the declaration of independence which identified the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It also resonates in the pledge of allegiance- liberty and justice for all.

Kenosis- emptying

Liberty for more produces liberty for more.

The Quakers have a book called "If Grace Is True"

The life description of Epicurus, 4th century BC, parallels that of the story of Jesus in many respects.

Jesus' Mission Statement in Isaiah 42- Good News, freedom, sight, divine favor

The 2nd day of creation was not declared good because it involved separation, which leads to a feeling of superiority.

Jesus redefined man's problem.

The end of religious suffering required the end of separation. The end of separation required the end of sin. The end of sin required the end of the law.

Jesus' message: God as parent- present, not separate

The misconception of God is a blasphemy or sin which must be corrected before forgiveness can happen, before I can forgive myself.

The Transcendent Values- Beauty, Truth, and Goodness

God is light, good, spirit, love

Doug King

7/26

The Gospel of God

The Purpose of Evolution by Steve McIntosh

Truth- Thought (Mind)

Beauty- Feelings (hear)

Goodness- Will (Behavior)

What propels the evolution of consciousness? Love and imagination

What does the biblical narrative add to the evolutionary process?

There are two possible sources to inform human consciousness- ego or self and spirit

The Fall was Adam's recognition of individuation and concurrently the "other" (Ego). Adam came to believe he was separate and comprised of ego only.

How does one sin? God gave Adam a concept of boundary. There are two sides to a boundary and they are separate. Adam desired to be like God which meant he was separate from God. Both God and Adam became forms in Adam's mind.

The definitions of beauty, goodness, and truth evolve.

The ego covets in order to protect or enhance the identity. Adam coveted the status of God.

What is the source of righteousness- God or self. Comparison requires form.

The ego is purely biological- self protective and drives the biological imperative of self preservation

My will (ego)- Thy Will (spirit)

Jesus launched second tier consciousness.

Form is required to ultimately understand formlessness.

The Christian/Jewish Complimentary identities:

Exclusive by obedience

Exclusive by birth

The dynamic that drives evolution is the dialectic- two opposing forces (ego and spirit)

Ego sees only self. Spirit looks outside.

Chris Dimmock

7/26

His company is "Elation"

A new way of doing business- not maximizing profits.

The goal of business should be to elevate the lives of people, including employees.

Chris' ideas in "Elation" mirror those of Ken Turbock, a log home builder. The goal of education is to teach a successful mindset, the ability to think successfully, and not to instill facts.

Business's must be fueled by purpose and driven by passion.

Chris introduced the idea of conscious capitalism, a movement embraced by several big corporations.

Panel Discussion

A debate about Steve McIntosh's book and whether evolution had a direction or purpose.

Participants: Michael Dennis, Phd Biologist; Lionel Tapia, pediatrician; Doug King; Ed Stickley, MD, Family Practice.

Doug introduced the question of why evolution generate complexity when simplicity seems to impart resiliency and the ability to survive harsh circumstances, i.e. bacteria. The biologist admitted that complexity could cause survival problems.

What drives changes in consciousness? Could it be a survival instinct?

The biologist contended that altruism has a genetic basis, implying that altruism was a factor in survival and therefore an altruism gene was propagated among those best able to survive.

Biologist- evolution always solves problems but cannot be said to be purposeful. Natural law draws it deterministically.

The Nature/ Nurture Debate was noted along with the issue of free will. The biologist seemed to attributed human behavior to 50% nature and 50% nurture with little or no room for the exercise of free will.

The most important note of his whole discussion was the admission by everyone that we don't have a good definition of the words mind and consciousness, words which are essential to this entire discussion. We may have an intuitive understanding but it is difficult to verbalize that understanding. The spiritually minded conclude that science will never define and therefore understand the mind/consciouness because it exists in another non-physical realm. The scientist denies that saying, in effect, that science will ultimately solve the enigma of the mind and consciousness in purely physical and therefore scientific terms, just like it has successfully explained many previous seemingly intractable issues. Each position has its evidence and presumptions.