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This traveling “act,” which Publisher’s Weekly said “reinvented the book tour,” set up soap boxes in thirty-two U.S. cities to preach, perform music, and peddle ideas with old-time revival flair.
Tony, Doug and a third friend, Mark Scandrette, rolled into church sanctuaries and basements across the country where religious thinkers lined chairs and stretched out in aisle-ways to talk, argue, laugh, and craft new ways of living faith together. The roadshow brought new allies together and became the first of many efforts to come that combined innovative content with relational events.
Since then, the scope of JoPa’s events has grown to include several annual events and a host of other offerings.
Each year, Church Planters Academy and Christianity 21 will add to the national faith conversation by inviting smart, progressive, and often provocative thought leaders to share their latest ideas and practices.
In addition to these two staple conferences, JoPa is always crafting the next innovative event to meet a topical, regional, or national need. This has led to a series of inventive, relational gatherings such as Big Tent Christianity, The Great Emergence, and Funding the Missional Church.
And it won’t stop there.
In the coming months, JoPa’s newest ventures – Progressive Youth Ministry and a national gathering of church leaders yet to be announced – will gather and resource some of the ministry world’s sharpest and most compassionate thinkers and doers. In addition, we recently announced the launch of Learning Adventures, a new undertaking at the intersection of theology, education, and travel.
Just like the Church Basement Roadshow, all of these events find life because of the many socially conscious partners and bright, articulate people who fill both the stage and the seats. JoPa continues to be shaped by attendees who share their own learnings and points of view to help discover better and more hopeful ways of expressing faith in the future.
Tony is a trained theologian, blogger, and the author of multiple books. But when he isn’t bringing people together in heated online discussion around some theological issue, Tony’s living at a slower pace: escaping to the woods where he hunts ducks, turkeys, and pheasants with his yellow lab, Albert.
Despite his role as undying provocateur on his blog, one might quickly ruin Tony’s image by mentioning he’s also—less fiercely—a gardener, cook, little league coach, seminary professor and the developer of a humorous iPhone app called Ordain Thyself. In real life, he also enjoys consulting with a diverse range of organizations across the theological spectrum.
Tony graduated from Dartmouth College, Fuller Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Courtney, and his three kids live in Minnesota less than a mile from where Tony spent his childhood.
You can learn more about Tony on his website, youtube, or vimeo or by connecting with him on the social networks below.
Doug is an author, speaker and organizational consultant who recently completed his first twenty-four-hour running race. (Yes. It was twenty-four hours long. Literally. And yes, Doug admits his relationship with running may qualify as an obsession.)
But even though you’ll undoubtedly find yourself looking up to him (either because of his many accomplishments or because he’s extraordinarily tall), a few minutes listening to Doug’s radio show will reveal he’s more inviting than intimidating. As he talks with guests from all over the religious and social spectrum, Doug’s love for friendly banter encourages lively conversation with nearly everyone he meets.
Born and raised in the cold land of Minnesota, Doug graduated from Hopkins high school, Bethel University, and Bethel Seminary. He and his wife, Shelley, have been married since 1988 and have four children.
You can learn more about Doug by visiting his website, vimeo, or youtube page or by connecting with him on the social networks below.