James K.A. Smith On How to Inhabit Time in this Moment in the CRC

Join us for a Better Together Conversation

One of Better Together’s goals is to create space for key conversations throughout the church that promote both unity and mission. This week Better Together is thankful to launch our first YouTube conversation as we welcome James K.A. Smith. Smith is a professor of philosophy at Calvin University, where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview.

In this conversation Smith is joined by Kyle Brooks, a member of the Better Together Steering Team, as they invite us into a fascinating exchange that covers the theme of his most recent book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.

Together they discuss:

• The dangers of nostalgia, revivalism, despair and the ideal of progress.

• The importance of gratefully receiving our Reformed heritage.

• The gift of time in making us capable of receiving what Jesus has to give us as a church.

• The crucial importance of patience as a posture during tumultuous times in the church.

We hope that as we engage in these conversations together the Holy Spirit will begin to show us how we can build our capacity for unity, even across disagreements, for the sake of Gospel mission.

We hope you enjoy it!