Nadia Bolz-Weber, self-described lover of Jesus, Crossfit, tattoos, and dark chocolate, will offer an afternoon presentation at Montreat Conference Center on January 5, 2016, where she’ll address “Millennial Culture and Christianity.” Bolz-Weber, a Lutheran pastor and founder of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, CO, is author of Pastrix: The Cranky Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint and the newly released Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People, both New York Times bestsellers. Her writing can be found in Christian Century, Lutheran Magazine, and Patheos, and has also been featured in The Washington Post, and on NPR’s Morning Edition and CNN, among others.
The afternoon presentation, which is open to all and includes lunch and a book signing, will explore the increasing authority of vulnerability, experience, and participation as those things relate to millennial culture, Christianity, and what that means for church institutions and their leaders. “Nadia is such an inspiring and interesting speaker that we wanted to ensure that people in the surrounding area had a chance to hear her,” says Tanner Pickett, vice president for sales, marketing, and communication at Montreat Conference Center. “I heard her speak a couple of years ago and she has an amazing ability to draw you into the conversation by breaking down very complex spiritual matters in a way that is applicable to your life.” Tickets to the afternoon event are $35, which includes lunch, and can be purchased at www.montreat.org/nadia.
Bolz-Weber will also be the keynote speaker at the conference center’s annual College Conference, where over 1,000 college- aged students from across the country will gather for a weekend of worship, community building, and to be inspired and
challenged to go out and serve their communities and the world.
A sought-after speaker and preacher across denominational lines, Bolz-Weber is likely not what one thinks of when they picture a Lutheran pastor. Tall at 6-feet-1-inch, heavily tattooed, and “a little bit sarcastic,” as she describes herself, she’s also a recovering alcoholic and drug abuser who felt the call to ministry in 2004. In 2008, she was ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She’s emerged as a significant voice in the progressive church movement, one that represents the pairing of evangelicalism and the inclusiveness of mainline Protestantism:
“I need a God who is bigger and more nimble and mysterious than what I could understand and contrive. Otherwise it can feel like I am worshipping nothing more than my own ability to understand the divine.”
by Lauren Mathews, Montreat Conference Center
