To invite Brian to speak,
To invite Brian to speak, please contact laci.scott@gmail.com
This email address is for booking purposes only. If you have a question or comment for Brian, please direct those to info@brianmclaren.net.
Brian is making some changes to the criteria he uses to determine which speaking requests he is able to accept. Please read through these new criteria before contacting Laci.
Brian's 2010 and Spring 2011 schedules are full and closed for booking. We are currently accepting engagements for Fall 2011, and will open booking for 2012 on November 1, 2010.
Comments and Questions
If you would like to post a question or offer a comment about one of Brian's books, please click here. If possible, please keep your questions brief, and we will select a few to answer each month. See FAQ for previous responses.
Current Speaking Topics 2010-2012
Current Book
Brian’s new book, A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith, will be a major focus for his speaking in 2010-2011. As the subtitle suggests, the book addresses ten questions, five primarily theology and five more practical. Brian can address a single question in an hour session, and he can give an overview of all ten questions as well. Brian enjoys weaving Bible study, small group interaction, and Q & A into these sessions. Here are the ten questions:
1. The narrative question: What is the shape – the arc, the storyline, the plot – of the biblical narrative?
2. The authority question: How does the Bible have authority?
3. The God question: Is God violent?
4. The Jesus question: Who is Jesus, and why does he matter so much?
5. The gospel question: What is the gospel – and how do we reconcile Paul’s gospel of grace with Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom?
6. The church question: What are we going to do about the church?
7. The sex question: How can we deal more productively with complex sexual issues?
8. The future question: How can we gain a more hopeful vision of the future?
9. The pluralism question: How should Christians relate to people of other religions?
10. The what-do-we-do-now question? How can we translate our conversations about these questions into constructive action?
Upcoming Books:
The Vital Connection: An introduction to Spiritual Practices (2 - 6 sessions)
Depending on the amount of practice desired, this series can give a brief introduction or deep engagement with ten spiritual practices: invocation, thanksgiving, worship; confession, petition, intercession; aspiration, desperation, lament; meditation, surrender, and contemplation. This material will be the basis of Brian’s March 2011 book.
Finding the Seventh Story (1 – 2 sessions)
Brian presents six stories that lead to violence, and then highlights the Christian gospel as a message of reconciliation and peace.
Additional Themes
Everything Must Change (1 – 4 sessions)
Brian explores two important questions: 1) What are the world’s most significant problems? and 2) What does the message of Jesus have to say to these problems? After identifying four top crisis (the planet, poverty, peace, and religious violence), he relates Jesus’ message of the kingdom to each one.
The Secret Message of Jesus (1 - 4 sessions)
Based on Brian's 2006 release, this presentation explores the theme of the kingdom of God – central to Jesus’ life and message. It explores the meaning of the kingdom in Jesus’ day, the way Jesus communicates the message in parable and prophetic action, and the implications of the kingdom message for people and churches today.
Onramp to the Postmodern Conversation (1 - 3 sessions)
This presentation, which has been given in dozens of settings around the world, gives historical, philosophical, and theological background to the concepts of paradigm shift and postmodern transition - in a fast-paced, understandable, and highly visual way. 2 or 3 session recommended, with plenty of time for Q & A.
Emerging Churches (1-2 sessions)
Brian recounts the development of the “emerging church movement,” summarizes problems with the term, provides an overview of what emerging churches have in common, addresses common criticisms, and assess the way ahead.
More Ready Than You Realize: Evangelism in the Emerging Culture (1 - 4 sessions)
This presentation, based on one of Brian's most popular books, uses a real-life email conversation to help people understand the questions, objections, fears, and needs of people in the emerging culture. This is one of Brian's most popular presentations.
Beyond Absolutism, Pluralism, and Relativism (2 - 3 sessions)
Many people use terms like "absolute truth" and "objective knowledge" without understanding the social, historical, philosophical story behind them. This presentation explores positive ways to talk about Christian truth-claims, morality, and values in our current context - by understanding why secular and religious people think the way they do.
Spiritual Formation in the Emerging Culture (1 - 2 sessions)
This presentation explores the idea of becoming "apprentices of Jesus." It presents disciple-making as the point of the Great Commission in a challenging and imaginative way.
Public Worship as Spiritual Formation (1 - 2 sessions)
This presentation explores such concepts as "ancient-future worship," the meaning of ritual, liturgy as group spiritual formation, and leadership as exposure to "masters of practice," to help leaders plan and lead public worship more effectively - with the goal of authentic spiritual formation in mind. (With more sessions, more experiential practice can be incorporated.)
Stages of Faith Development (1 - 2 sessions)
This presentation offers a four-stage faith-development process that integrates the work of several leading theorists. It is especially useful for people seeking to understand their own spiritual growth and struggles - and for those seeking to help others, including pastors, Christian educators, youth workers, and spiritual directors.
A Whole-Hearted Gospel (1 session)
This presentation is based on the famous passage in Micah which calls us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. It is an effective introduction to the relationship between social justice, relief and compassion work, and authentic spirituality.
The Three-Fold Way (1 or 3 sessions)
The monastic traditions of both the Western and Eastern churches have this in common: a three-fold way of spiritual formation. In either one or three sessions (the longer format allowing for extensive experiential practice), the presentation explores the via purgativa (katharsis), the via illuminative (fotosis), and the via unitiva (theosis). Especially helpful for those seeking to experience and lead others in deep spiritual formation.
The Seven Jesuses I have Known (1 - 2 sessions)
This presentation, based on A Generous Orthodoxy, gives a positive overview of the ways in which seven traditions in the Christian faith seek to honor and follow Jesus.
Global South/Global North: Holistic Gospel and Integral Mission (1-3 sessions)
This presentation looks at “the colonial gospel” and examines its strengths and weaknesses, specifically as they have worked out in Africa and among Native Peoples in North America. It then explores a more holistic understanding of the gospel in the aftermath of colonialism.
Inter-religious Dialogue (1-2 sessions)
This presentation draws on a number of contemporary Christian thinkers, Catholic and Protestant, to explore a “third way” – an alternative to absolutist monologue and relativist pseudo-dialogue, to assist Christians in promoting neighborly dialogue in their interactions with members of other religious traditions.
You may download a word document with this information by clicking here: Potential Speaking Topics.doc