Flourish – A Conference of the NAE

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) sponsored a Flourish Conference in Nashville, TN on October 4 – 5. The purpose of the Conference was to learn about and discuss many of the challenging and contentious issues that we face in this generation.

About 300 people from member denominations and organizations came together to hear from thoughtful speakers and to share in table discussions on these topics:
• Evangelism in a changing culture
• Racial justice and reconciliation
• Pro-life witness at the end of Roe v. Wade
• Pastoral care to hurting people
• Human sexuality
• Leadership challenges

Conference Minister, Ron Hamilton, and Board members, T.J. Turner, and Mike Haddad represented the CCCC at these meetings.

“The teaching of thoughtful evangelical leaders opened the door for realistic and helpful conversations. I was encouraged by the openness and vulnerability of people who strive to be a faithful witness in our culture.” – Ron Hamilton

“It was an encouraging picture of the unity of the body of Christ even as we wrestled with topics that have often bred division in the church. We need more opportunities just like this to practice open and biblical conversations regarding such complex issues with great humility and grace.” – Mike Haddad

“Flourish left me more hopeful and optimistic for the future of Evangelicalism in America. It was the kind of thoughtful conversation about hard topics that needs to happen if we’re going to meet the challenges we face with the Gospel of Jesus, and taker seriously our calling to make disciples.” – T.J. Turner

The NAE hopes to hold the Flourish Conference again and is considering regional gatherings to make this accessible to more people. It is important for us to tackle these challenging issues in a loving, God-focused, gospel-centered way.