Christopher Smith
C. Christopher Smith is a writer and community developer, who is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books and the author of Reading for the Common Good (IVP Books, 2016). He is also co-author of Slow Church: Cultivating Community in the Patient Way of Jesus. He lives and works as part of the Englewood Christian Church community on the urban Near Eastside of Indianapolis.
Reading for the Common Good (Slowly, Intentionally, and in Community)
Reading widely immerses us in new lives and new ideas, making us more compassionate while helping us understand our own stories better. But going further – discussing with others the books that are stirring our imaginations – has the potential to actually transform churches and neighborhoods. In this session, Chris Smith and John Pattison, coauthors of the bestselling Slow Church, will lead a discussion on reading as a formational practice for communities of faith. To begin, John will briefly interview Chris about Chris’s new book, Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Churches and Neighborhoods Flourish (IVP, 2016), which is being launched at this conference. Following this interview, session participants will be invited into a deeper conversation about the virtues of reading slowly, intentionally, and in community.