In her most recent book, Grateful, Diana helps us to see that although most of us know that gratitude is good — and good for us — there is a gap between our desire to be grateful and our ability to behave gratefully. The implications of the gap are bigger than we realize, affecting both our personal and public lives. In Grateful, Diana weaves together social science research, spiritual wisdom, and contemporary issues as she calls for a richer understanding and practice of gratitude. What emerges are surprising insights about the power of thankful living to change how we treat one another, and how we might transform our world.

Join the Way Collective for a public forum on the Future of the Christian Story: Conspiring for Common Good in Santa Barbara & Beyond w/Brian McLaren & David N. Moore. In this gathering, we will explore the six stories that dominate our world and how Jesus offers us a different story and way to be together in community. Brian will present on this topic, and David will respond and dialogue, helping us catch how this "Seventh Story" can be lived out right here in the city of Santa Barbara. There will also be a discussion for everyone to participate in and some Q&R with Brian and David to follow. If you are carrying questions about the future of the Christian story and life, and are genuinely interested in how we can work together for the common good in Santa Barbara, then this event is for you! Feel free to join in, invite your friends, as this is a free event that is open to the public.

Time: Saturday, April 14th @ 7PM
Place: First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 1915 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Join us for a special Way Collective only workshop with Brian discovering how we can continue on our journey of being a community that lives the Jesus way of life together. This will be an intimate time with him to explore what it looks like to be a community of faith focused on living well for the common good. Topics for discussion will include Brian's Way of Life curriculum that corresponds with his book The Great Spiritual Migration, spiritual peacemaking, and life together. Childcare, coffee, and refreshments will be provided. If you are or have wanted to be a part of our community, you definitely won't want to miss this!

In his new book, The Great Spiritual Migration, Brian argues that— notwithstanding the dire headlines about the demise of faith and drop in church attendance—Christian faith is not dying. Rather, it is embarking on a once-in-an-era spiritual shift. And that, for millions, the journey has already begun. Drawing from his work as global peacemaker, pastor, and public theologian, McLaren challenges readers to stop worrying, waiting, and indulging in nostalgia, and instead, to embrace the powerful new understandings that are reshaping the church. In The Great Spiritual Migration, he explores three profound shifts that define the change:

Healing Suppers have the potential to be many things - a resistance to the constant pull of work, organizing, protesting and the stress of living with marginalization - by providing time to sit down, actually chew food, look into the face of others and share a time of rest and refueling. They can be an opportunity to build resilience by tanking up on nourishing conversation, healthy and delicious food, and making or solidifying relationships. And each of us knows that strong, dependable relationships, self-healing, and care for one another provide a critical layer of support during times of more extreme struggle. As we continue to move through a time of renewed public intolerance, a rapidly changing political landscape with real consequence and a need for stronger alternative networks, we need those relationships and the spaces that cultivate them more than ever. 

The Way Collective is beyond stoked to welcome acclaimed author, teacher, speaker, and podcaster Rob Bell for a special one-night-only intimate event at the Narrative Loft (right off the Funk Zone) in Santa Barbara. Rob will be working his midrashic magic with us for an evening of teaching and dialogue around his reflections on spirituality, culture, and Christianity in an ever-evolving world. Rob has always been a leading voice in the conversation around the future of faith, and we hope that you'll join us for what is sure to be a beauty-full experience!

Parables are a type of discourse that knock us off course and onto radically new ones. They tactically confront us with probing truths we might otherwise miss and reveal what lies beneath the surface. At turns funny, poignant, and shocking, they cut into us with surgical precision, reaching deep into the hidden recesses of our souls, operating on those parts of our being that more direct speech can't touch. Over the years, Peter has written dozens of parables and collected hundreds more, deploying them in both his books and public presentations. In this intimate event, he'll be offering some of his favorites along with some reflections and conversation.

Tripp is just finishing up teaching a 4 week course on “Questions for the Believing Skeptic,” where he taught that the new postmodern situation is that we all hold both our beliefs and our skepticisms together. Whereas in the past, atheists and believers from separate camps would debate in the public sphere, today we often see hints of both schools of thought within the same person! Plus, as religion (especially Christianity) is changing all over the place, we need more conversations like this that help us stay tuned-in and promote more compassion!