Who to invite? Who make the best Pigfesters?
Who among the friends in your network reminds you the most of C.S. Lewis? Be sure to invite him or her.
The chemistry of the people at the Pigfest makes or breaks the event.
If your goal is to mix up the worldviews a bit, then be sure to invite Christians who are outreach oriented. You need to find some Andrews.
John 1:35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. [7] 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Andrew was the guy who found the bread and ran and dragged his brother back to get some bread too. Your "Andrews" will bring others to the Pigfest. They are willing to take some risks and invite others to come and see this new thing. In fact, they can't wait to go find someone and invite them. Friendly Andrew-types usually have lots of friends. They are natural connectors. Not only will they get the word out ... but more importantly, they will get people to the Pigfest who wouldn't otherwise be there.
You will also need some Pauls there. By that, I simply mean that you need some knowledgeable Christian thinker types who will season the discussion with truth. These folks enrich the discussion and provide key comments at hinge points during the Pigfest. Without them, your Pigfest could end up as an exercise in how to collectively pool ignorance.
I like to mix up the crowd inter-generationally. I like to see some gray hair in the group. They bring perspective. The teenagers, college, and early career folk bring a spark of idealism. They light up the discussion and are often your best catalysts. Bring in some middle agers too. Those middle agers are schedule-challenged, typically. They are tired. But, you need them there. They have knowledge, experience, awareness of culture, and know-how. They are usually the ones who help the most with bringing food and making the Pigfest work.
Don't lose sight of the goal of your Pigfest.
If the goal is the blend Christians and non-Christians, make sure that you select the Christians who will get the non-Christians there. Don't select Christians who are content to sit back and surround themselves with another huddle of Christians. I would also be intentional about finding Christians who won't freak out when a non-Christian speaks his or her mind ... or utters an occasional cuss word ... or won't freak out if someone walks in with a nose ring. You are looking for missional kinds of Christians ... I don't know how else to phrase it.
If your Pigfest is designed to invite only Christians, then be sure to mix up the group with equippers and people who need equipping. If you have all equippers, then you have failed in your mission to equip those who need it. Even though your Pigfest is designed to invite 100 percent Christians, I still look for Christians who are more than simply thinkers -- I look for thinker-doers. I look for catalysts who will act on their worldview and engage their culture. If you are not intentional about it, your Pigfest will end up attracting only Christians who want to sit around and discuss intellectual topics. While that may interest you, that is not what a Pigfest is all about. I would suggest a Bible study if that is your goal ... not a Pigfest.
Dear Sir,
What a marvelous idea!
There is nothing I enjoy better than to find a group of people exercising their minds, hearts, and/or spirits in open and frank discussion. I learned as a college student to expand my horizons this way, and more important (then) - to learn - without opening my mouth until I found that my thinking had attained to the level of the others.
I seem to recall a time in past history, when authors would meet at one public place or other and would fall into interesting and intellectual discussions. In those times it was a common thing for one well-known author to hold 'court' - a thing that many others would know and exercise themselves to be present to share great thoughts with a great man.
Those great minds were associated later with pubs which they frequented often. (There is little desire here to 'freguent' pubs, so we must open homes instead!)
As Christians, we fail to recognize the value of such times, and often gather by two or three for bible studies over coffee, rather than make a personal decision to take dinner together for the purpose of mind-broading discussions.
I intend to attempt such a thing, first by directing some to this address.
This being said, do you suppose that you might simplify in one longish post all of the salient and needful points? My reasoning for this is that many, of those that I know that might be interested in a Pigfest, are already quite busy and would be overcome by the plethora of other items on this site to catch one's eye. This might defeat the purpose before it becames an allure or enticing idea.
Just a thought....
One in Christ,
Carl
Posted by: Carl D. Blyth, Sr. | March 26, 2007 at 12:58