Pre-Event
You could spend Thursday sitting in your hotel room waiting for Theology Beer Camp to start...
Or you could spend it nerding out with Tom Oord, Ilia Delio, Brian Zahnd, Jonathan Foster, and a room full of theology geeks talking about love, freedom, process thought, spirituality, and the future of faith.
Exploring the opportunities and tensions of open and relational theology.
Pre-Theology Beer Camp brings together theologians, practitioners, pastors, and curious minds for plenary sessions, breakouts, and discussions exploring ideas centered on uncontrolling love, relationality, freedom, creativity, spirituality, and the future of faith.
Whether you’ve read every Tom Oord book, recently discovered process thought, or simply want thoughtful conversations with people asking meaningful questions, this day is designed to create space for learning, curiosity, and connection.
Thomas Jay Oord and Jonathan Foster will facilitate sessions alongside theologians, authors, philosophers, and practitioners exploring topics like:
Open and relational theology and an evolving God
Preaching and ministry through an ORT lens
Theology centered on love and relationship
Whitehead, Teilhard de Chardin, and process thought
Neuro-relational theology
Faith, freedom, science, creativity, and the future
Speakers include Tom Oord, Ilia Delio, Brian Zahnd, Andrew Davis, Shaleen Kendrick, Casey Sigmon, Matt Segall, Jonathan Foster, and more.
What if There is More? Queerness, Fugitivity, and Finding Sanctuary in Unsettling Times
In an era marked by injustice and upheaval, where can we turn for grounding—for sanctuary?
What if queerness, contamination, and fugitivity aren’t threats to stability but pathways to resilience? What if embracing these lived realities could help us navigate—and even thrive—amid the uncertainty ahead?
It’s Hard to be Human: A Neuro-Relational Workshop for our Times
We are living in an evolutionary mismatch that extends beyond individual overwhelm into our collective spaces. Our organizations, communities, and institutions operate with outdated models that treat humans as machines rather than live-wired living systems. The symptoms we see — toxic workplaces, polarization, burnout culture, systemic oppression — are not inevitable. They're evolutionary signals calling us to participate in creating new cultural soil.
The Art of Becoming: Contemplative Practice and Process Theology
What if the Divine isn’t somewhere else, but unfolding in real time—through relationship, creativity, and the quiet moments in between? This immersive pre-event invites participants into the living intersection of process theology and contemplative practice, led by spiritual practitioners and thinkers Tim Burnette (Way Collective) and Danny Prada (Heartway Church).
Organizing for Political Action as People of Faith
Join Doug Pagitt and Tim Conder—national faith leaders and veteran organizers—for a powerful, participatory day of training, inspiration, and practical equipping at Theology Beer Camp. In this full-day interactive session, we’ll explore how people of faith can organize effectively for political action rooted in love, justice, and community care.
Issues in Open and Relational Theology
Open and Relational theology offers a unique vision of a loving God and complex world. That vision is constantly being worked out in relation to contemporary issues. In this pre-camp workshop, leading voices in Open and Relational Theology share their latest work and participants explore that work together. Come expecting to hear radical ideas, ask fresh questions, and dialogue with intriguing people.
Pre-Event Details
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Cost: $99
Who comes to the Pre-Event?
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You’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, and want the deep conversations.
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You’re already coming to Theology Beer Camp and figured spending the day in conversation beats hanging out in a hotel lobby.
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You’ve heard people talk about open and relational theology and want an accessible way into the ideas.
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You know why you’re coming.