Together

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The question of how to respond to the LGBTQ+ community is tearing our churches apart. Tensions are high, and the stakes are real. So how do we stay together when we don't agree? That's what we're exploring at the 2020 e3 Conference. 

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Through plenary and breakout sessions, you'll  be equipped, encouraged, and empowered to take this conversation back to your home congregation, family, and community. You'll hear a range of speakers, from academic scholars of biblical text who have devoted their lives to studying scripture and its application in the 21st century, to parents who just want to love their LGBTQ+ children well. At every session, we will emphasize the need to approach this topic with grace and compassion, with a goal of staying together in community. 

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Is this conference for me?

If you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community and looking for a place to belong, come to e3 and you’ll find it. If you’re a parent or family member of someone who identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, please join us at e3. Are you a friend or ally? Come and get involved with CenterPeace!

And if you’re a pastor, elder or other church leader, there’s no better place for you to learn from trusted teachers how to examine scripture, extend hospitality, and embrace those in your reach who long for spiritual community. 

2020 e3 

Conference

Start: Oct. 22

            Check in: 6-7 pm

           Opening session: 7 pm

           Oct. 23

            Dinner 

End: Oct 24

          Dismissal: 12 pm

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Check back soon for full schedule and speaker line up!

Highlights from 2018

e3 Conference

2018 Speakers

Justin Lee

Author of Torn and Talking Across the Divide

For the last two decades, Justin Lee has been an influential Christian voice for LGBTQ affirmation, best known for working across areas of theological disagreement to promote grace and mutual understanding. He is the founder of the world’s largest LGBTQ Christian advocacy organization, the author of two books, and an internationally known speaker on faith, sexuality, and dialogue.

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Justin’s first book, Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate, has been widely cited for its role in changing conservative Christians’ attitudes and helping Christian parents accept their LGBTQ kids. His newest book, Talking Across the Divide, offers strategies for having more productive conversations on controversial issues in a polarized society.

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Justin lives in Orlando, Florida, where he currently serves as the executive director of Nuance Ministries. He makes humorous videos on the Bible and other topics on his YouTube channel and blogs at GeekyJustin.com.

Don McLaughlin

Author of Love First

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Love First is not just a book to inspire more love; it's a revolutionary call to love better. "A terrible virus has spread across the planet and turned the human race into bloodthirsty monsters. Mankind's only hope for survival is . . .'' Originally part of the tagline for the sci-fi thriller I Am Legend, these lines describe the undercurrent of unrest and turbulence in our world. The virus we face is hate--an epidemic infecting social media, politics, neighborhoods, and homes. Communities of believers, which should be clinics with the cure, are instead suspected of being primary carriers of the virus.

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But there is hope. Hate, even in its most nefarious forms, is no match for the love modeled by Jesus. Love is his cure for the sick and dying world. But not just any love. This is not just a book to inspire more love; it's a revolutionary call to love better. Historians, sociologists, and theologians agree that we are experiencing the most fundamental changes in global society in the last five hundred years. And while the church has a lofty vision and mighty power, we are disastrously unprepared. Love First presents an understandable, practical, and doable approach to loving others with such clarity and conviction that the world will truly know the God who loves us first.