I’ve been waiting for today for a long time. I’ve always been a big fan of the conversations that The Idea Camp stirs up, and this will be the first time I get to attend one of the events in person!

Then I started running The Idea Camp blogging series for #ICSEX.

I honestly don’t know if I was ready for the incredible blog posts that would start rolling in. We’ve heard people like Sarah Markley share about her struggles with pornography. And people like Heidi Bylsma have shared about how the pain of being sexual abused can leave wounds that need to be healed many years later.

We’ve talked about perspectives related to gender, sexual orientation, and human trafficking. And we’ve seen much of this conversation result in some great family week posts that focused a lot on how we need to get this right with our kids.

Throughout the blogging series we’ve seen the kind of brokenness that Jesus chases after, and the kind of healing that only He can provide.

So to be here… right now… in Las Vegas…

I’m humbled to be around some of the people who are doing such amazing work in ministry in these areas.

Then this morning, I wake up to the results of a new Barna study in my email. The title alone says a lot…

Survey Finds Lots of Spiritual Dialogue But Not Much Change

Some of the conclusions of this study remind me how important it is for this event to not just be a conversation. But this is where it starts. People need to have these issues brought to their attention…

[R]eligious leaders are not provoking people to think deeply and practically about the major issues of life and culture from a religious perspective.

These are the issues that we need to be talking about. These are the issues that might actually cause us to change…

It also appears that when theological views are altered, such shifts are largely due to having wrestled with the personal and moral implications of a high-profile, real-world issue, such as abortion or homosexuality.

The reason that the church needs to be talking about this stuff (sexuality) is because ‘the world’ really jacked it up, and the church’s silence on the issue has allowed that to happen…

People do not appear to be turning to religion as often as assumed for answers to troubling questions. Adults do not seem to spend much time pondering the relationship of their faith to current cultural challenges and developments.

It doesn’t take long looking around here in Las Vegas to see that somebody needs to get this conversation right, and the church needs to turn this conversation into some kind of practical change.

Change that brings restoration.

Change that brings healing.

Change that brings Jesus.

My prayer for the next two days is that this conversation sends a ripple through the church. I pray that the church realizes that not only is it okay to talk about these things, but that we lead the way in talking about them. And may we talk about them in a way that brings healing and restoration, rather than judgement and condemnation. In Jesus name, amen.

You can watch the live stream of The Idea Camp on 9/27-28 at…
http://live.mediasocial.tv/theideacamp