Last spring, I attended a conference called Q. Why is it called Q? The conference hosts would never say for sure, but most of the attendees think that Q stands for the many questions the conference asks. Q is not your typical Christian leadership conference offering tips for how to do some aspect of church-life more effectively. Instead, it’s a conference bringing together leaders in media, social justice, education, business, and the church to “think-tank” about some of the biggest issues facing us today.

Each speaker at Q has to boil his or her presentation down to 18 minutes. Once he or she steps on the stage, a digital clock everyone can see is set to 18 minutes. Once the clock hits 00:00 – the speaker must stops whether or not he or she is finished.

After several 18-minute sessions, audience members can choose to go to one of the speaker’s talk-back sessions. A talk-back session is a time to question the speaker on his or her presentation, to share ideas, and to brainstorm about ways to put ideas into action.

What most struck me about Q is it left me with more questions than answers. Sometimes two speakers would have directly opposing views. Both were well-thinking people addressing the same issue and coming up with opposing answers. This paradox made me realize how important it is to really consider things – not just to think I know the answer.

In future blog posts, I’m going to try to give a thumbnail version of some of the issues Q’s caused me to ponder. Because of Q, I am reading Flickering Pixels – How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps. So as I’m using technology to write this blog, I’m wondering:

How does technology enhance my faith?
How can technology impede my faith?
How would God have me use technology?

My thoughts on these questions and more are coming soon….