It has been a while since I have blogged and I wanted to start again by writing something about a conference I was at two weeks ago: The 2005 Canaada Conference. I attended this conference as a community leader (I am co-chair of a Parent Advisory Committee) rather than as a religious leader (clergy). It was an incredible experience to sit with and next to people that I don’t normal rub shoulders with (I sat next to an International Trade Relations expert, a Canadian water expert, a Canadian Historian, was in ear shot of Premier Ralph Klein, etc). It was very informative to learn about the issues facing Canada’s future including immigration, aboriginal issues, and fresh water (environment). I was most shocked to learn about the dismal state of fresh water in Canada and how much of that environmental problem is going to play into our future as a country.

But that all leads me to an observation I want to make and feel I am in a unique position to make it. Being in church leadership for about 9 years and active and somewhat informed in the area of Postmodernity when it comes to the church, I was shocked to hear the similarities between the dialogue of my generation at this non-religious conference speaking to the current (modern) generation of leadership and that of a church leadership conference. I heard young leaders (18-35) continually calling on older leaders to be more authentic, honest, and genuine. I was shocked but to be honest also saddened, it seems to me that when it comes to the non-religious world of “modern” leadership, they seemed to be entering into dialogue about it with emerging leaders and moving forward acknowledging the need for change and even renewal.