I recently found out that a paper of mine got accepted at a theology and philosophy conference
in Rome. The University of Nottingham’s Centre of Theology and Philosophy is hosting the conference and is bringing together today’s leading theologians and philosophers for one week near the Vatican City. Now, I am by no means on par with the likes of Stanley Hauerwas, Graham Ward, John Milbank, Fergus Kerr, David Bentley Hart, Slavoj Zizek, or Peter Van Inwagen, but this young boy from Iowa is quite honored to have this
opportunity to humbly read his paper within earshot of these giants.

I can see how it might not be immediately clear just what this has to do with church-planting, and therefore what this has to do with my work in Ancona.  First of all, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting out and being involved in the Italian community, whether it’s with local business owners in Ancona, or the larger academic community in Italy.  Additionally, I have found that in pursuing these kinds of opportunities, some of my friends here in Ancona who have more intellectual objections to faith in Christ are more willing to listen a bit longer to what I have to say to them.  So while directly, being a part of something like this may not get a church established overnight, it does however show me how God is letting me and my team find respect and favor among the Italians here in Ancona. The conference isn’t until September, but I’d thought that it would be a good idea to let people know beforehand so they could be praying for me.