3 Reflections from Stronger 2022
We distilled three things for you to take away from our recent online event.
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We had been planning Stronger 2022, on and off since Stronger 2021, but with concerted effort since August 2021. We knew that the context was going to be different to the lockdown of January/February 2021 which meant that we couldn’t simply run another 4-week event.
So we thought: while maybe not 4 weeks, maybe we could try 4 days this time…
We knew that people would have some degree of flexibility, either working at home, or in isolation, and as we found in 2021, there were a bunch of people that tuned into the sessions by having it on in the background, a bit like a podcast.
In the end, our experience of Stronger 2022 far exceeded expectations. More than 450 people showed up to engage with 100 speakers who had given their time to help us to look at 6 topics under one theme: ‘Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power’ (Eph 6.10). The topics of focus were these:
Leadership
Culture
Digital
Entrepreneurship
Communication
Business
For me, as an extrovert, it was a dream. It was like a party! Getting a load of people together in one virtual room, meeting old friends, making new friends. Listening to new concepts and ideas. Chatting with each other, laughing and learning.
But it was so much more than that too.
These were some of the things I took away on that Saturday night at the end of four 12-hour days organising and hosting the conference with the team:
1. GOD IS AT WORK IN OUR NATION
I know there isn’t any doubt about this, but sometimes you get a little glimpse.
For me, Stronger 2022 was a little glimpse.
Session after session we heard stories of God at work through individuals and organisations. The stories of how the Lord had gone before people and led them to set up a business or project or new initiative that’s making a Kingdom impact. There were accounts of God’s faithfulness breaking through. Stories of how people had responded in faith to Jesus’ invitation to come follow him.
You could see the passion for Jesus in their eyes.
What I could see were a bunch of people scattered across our country, embedded in society, seeking to live faithfully for Jesus as salt and light, doing their best they can to steward what God has given them, and watching God fill in the gaps.
These were people on an adventure with him, as much amazed by the journey as those listening.
It was beautiful. It was faith raising. It was a great reminder that Jesus is at work today, as he always has been…through his body….the Body of Christ….through women and men like you and me, both in the mundane and the miraculous.
Takehomes:
Surround yourself with people who point you to Jesus
Listen to stories of God’s faithfulness in contemporary stories but also those through Church History
Take some time now and again to step back from the immediate and the operational, away from the 2-ft view of things and get a 30,000 ft view.
2.FAITH VS. FEAR
I think linked to the first point is this area of ‘fear’. We can sometimes be so confronted by fear that it can paralyse us and stop us from moving into all that God is inviting us into….
Which means we miss out and the world misses out on what God wants to do through you.
I asked one of our Stronger 2022 speakers, Sara Clarke, to speak to this topic. She kindly accepted the challenge and absolutely nailed it. She spoke honestly, openly and passionately. I found my faith rising as I listened to her. I’m excited to release her talk in due course so you can listen to it as well.
Fear is a common human emotion and so I don’t know why I’m surprised when I think about how often fear is referenced in the bible.
We first hear how Adam and Eve were afraid…so they hid from God (Genesis …). That shameful fear is part of our sinful, fallen world. As it did in the case of the Genesis account, it can sometimes point to a separation and lack of trust in God’s faithfulness.
I personally know fear all too well. I have battled with fear in different ways, probably no more than the next person. But particularly in the area of public speaking, I had a debilitating fear in my school and university years. When I came to faith in Jesus, I noticed a few things in this area:
1.Jesus was inviting me to trust him with this fear
2.That meant putting myself in situations where I had to trust him
3.I sensed a deep seated holy anger, that fear would try to hold me back
4.A new faith that fear wasn’t the last word, that role was reserved for Jesus’
I know all too well that fear can prevent you from moving forward in faith. That’s why I wanted us to be reminded, that even in the face of fear, Jesus invites us to trust him. To follow him and keep our eyes fixed on him.
There are huge opportunities for us as a Church across this nation. I was inspired by the stories of people stepping forward in faith. Like Peter, Jesus is inviting each one of us to come out of the boat, with our eyes on Him.
Takehomes:
Don’t let fear stop you. Its bark is louder than its bite
Let the perfect love of Jesus drive out fear (1 John 4.18)
Listen to stories of people stepping out in faith in the face of fear and find your own faith rise
That old saying: faith is spelt ‘RISK’
Notice where you’re feeling fear today. What is Jesus speaking to you about in the midst of it?
3.THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU NEED
I look back to the way God has led and expanded me and grown my own faith. Do you know what? There is no one thing that has done it.
God has used a whole raft of people, practises and promises, as well as events, encounters, and experiences, not to mention resources, repentance, and reliance.
I can’t point to one thing and say ‘yes, it was that that did it’. You would expect that wouldn’t you? But we’re invited into a life-giving ongoing relationship with God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit. The Christian life is a journey; an adventure. There are twists and turns and ups and downs, and God uses our lived experienced to grow us and transform us into his likeness.
That’s why I’m so excited about what was going on at Stronger 2022. There were a few things at work there that I believe God was using to expand our faith and grow us:
Hearing from people further ahead than us: whether it was someone speaking on leadership or living faithfully in the business arena, or whatever it was that landed with you, there were people who we could identify with and who inspired us. For those brief moments they acted as a mentor or coach for us.
I am so blessed by all those who have spoken into my life over the years and still do today, who are further ahead than me, but spend time encouraging me
Peers on the journey with us: the Christian life is not an individual pursuit. Discipleship isn’t about implementing an esoteric mindfulness exercise in the mountains. We’re invited into a community of faith, to be plugged into a church community somewhere.
And when I think back over the last 20+ years of following Jesus, that has been my experience. I have always been plugged into a church community and had peers around me, friends that have inspired me, challenged me, kept me real and prayed for me.
And when it comes to friends, someone said we might find that God brings together friends for a season, friends for a reason, and friends for life.
Stronger 2022 created an opportunity for us to connect with others who may or may not be living out their faith in a similar part of society to us, but nonetheless, we were strengthened by that encounter.
Inspiring, truth filled Content: where else could you hear about how people are seeking to be present as a Christian working with AI, or AR and VR? What about hearing how people are using TikTok to bring something of the presence of Jesus to others? What about those who are working hard to provide resources around the area of mental health awareness, or simply using film to communicate Kingdom truths.
While there will no doubt be some of that on Youtube, there was something about how we were able to interact with the speakers who are living and breathing this stuff in our country today. There was an immediacy to it, and an accessibility too.
Takehomes
Plug into a local church
Gather one or two trusted friends around you who can pray for you and encourage you
Find a mentor or someone who has experience in the same arena that you feel God is leading you into
Gathering together is always a good thing. When we get together around Jesus, God raises faith
