Human Flourishing
Part 2by Following Christ Conference 2008
Page 1, 2
Questions
In the end, the concept of human flourishing presents us with more questions than answers, and this is precisely why it merits the collective attention of 1,500 delegates and scores of speakers and presenters during four days at Following Christ 2008. Those who are planning the conference are engaging the following kinds of questions:
- Are there universal elements of human flourishing, things that every person needs to flourish? If so, which of these are immediate gifts of God and which can be created, shaped, or nourished by the practice of the academic and professional disciplines?
- Why do men and women fail to flourish? To what extent does sin, both personal and systemic, account for this failure?
- In the face of such failure, how is the gospel good news and how does it help us flourish ourselves within our vocations and beyond?
- Is it really true that to fully flourish one must be a follower of Jesus? How can such an outrageous claim be presented compellingly in our culture?
- Must our bodies be doing well for us to flourish? In what ways does our embodiment affect our flourishing?
- What does pursuing excellence have to do with human flourishing? Is elitism inherent in excellence, and does it impede human flourishing in a diverse society?
- Will the career and personal path I’m on lead to my flourishing and that of others? Are my vocation and occupation in sync? Should I perhaps change paths, and how can I know?
- What kinds of suffering stifle human flourishing, and what kinds can contribute to it?
- How can we prepare to flourish and help others flourish in the face of an uncertain future and rapid social, cultural, economic, and technological change?
- How does the right practice of one’s discipline enable us to demonstrate neighborly love, to be energized in witness to God’s character and doings, and to effect God-honoring institutional change — in other words, to contribute to the flourishing of others?
In the end, the ultimate question is one of identity and vision: who did God make us to be? What would it have been like to live in God’s original garden, walking with him at our side as we practiced our calling? Or perhaps better — what will it be like to live in God’s New City amid his New Creation, dwelling in a divinely restored community, within a renewed environment, loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength? The theme of Following Christ 2008 challenges us to consider this vision, to long for it, and to seek God’s help in realizing it, even as we wait for his ultimate fulfillment.
Why Now?Much has been accomplished to make universities more open for Christians to work on and work out their faith within their intellectual and professional milieu. Much helpful guidance for scholars and professionals is available in print and in public discourse among Christians. Many colleagues and mentors have gone this way before and can offer their advice, their experience, their encouragement, and their challenge. We are resource rich, and the time is ripe to distribute those riches as widely as possible.
Because of such riches, we should perhaps be especially attentive not to squander the opportunities. And of course, the imperative to bring our faith and our work together can all too often be neglected quite easily and without apparent professional cost. The integration of study, work, and worship warrants fresh reflection and renewed practice. God has endowed us with education and opportunity; we are accountable for the stewardship of our talent, knowledge, and privilege.
Finally, there’s room to push ahead. We must endeavor to bring ever more wisdom, more graciousness, more intelligence, more commitment, more integrity, more beauty, more charity to the professional and academic worlds. We do not yet see enough flourishing in the universities and professions, do we? Thank God for his redeeming presence there, but we want still more, and more people called by and flourishing in his name.
Excerpt from the theme of InterVarsity's Following Christ 2008 conference which takes place December 27 - 31 in Chicago.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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