CONTACT US

To contact Leaving Salem or Ronnie McBrayer, email us at: ronnie@leavingsalem.net

(Note: Some AOL and Yahoo based e-mails have difficulty receiving replies from Leaving Salem; contact your internet provider for assistance)

The following are suggested talks/presentations that Ronnie can give at your retreat, conference, or meeting. Talks are 45 minutes or so, and all material can be adapted for multiple settings or sessions.

BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD: LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF JOSEPH (1-6 Sessions)

Based on Ronnie's book by the same title, and excellent for retreat settings! Ronnie says, “I first met Joseph somewhere in my childhood. He burst onto the flannel graph board of my Sunday school classroom, that infamous ‘coat of many colors' flapping in the Palestinian breeze. But I've learned that his account is more than a quaint children's story. It is a story of injustice, perseverance, and forgiveness." For those wondering what God is doing in some far away heaven; for those who have been deeply wronged by those closest to them; and for those trying to bear up beneath a load of injustice: These will find But God Meant it for Good to be an encouraging breath of fresh air.

THE JESUS TRIBE: BEING THE UNIQUE PEOPLE GOD IN THE WORLD OF EMPIRE (1-3 Sessions)

Ronnie grew up just minutes from New Echota, the last eastern capital of the Cherokee Nation. When confronted by the crushing power of colonization, aboriginal Americans either reacted violently, were consigned to reservations, assimilated into the broader culture, or in more recent years, discovered the casino business. In the chaos of a post-Christian world, Ronnie contends that the Jesus Tribe is now in the same place the native tribes once were. Confronted by the crushing power of empire, we will react with violent rhetoric, be pushed out of the American mainstream, swallowed by the larger culture, or, as in recent years, strike gold in the mega-church business. Ronnie explores how followers of Christ can hold onto distinct Jesus-like language and actions that both confronts and invites the culture around us.

THE JOURNEY: LEAVING RELIGION, FOLLOWING JESUS (2-8 Sessions)

The Good Samaritan, the Great Banquet, the Prodigal Son, the Rich Man and Lazarus: All these parables were told, in Luke's gospel, on Jesus' Great Journey to Jerusalem.These are blistering encounters with the day's religious leaders, and the storm only intensifies as Jesus heals on the Sabbath, welcomes the marginalized, and pronounces sentence not on traditional sinners, but on the arrogant religionists. Religion's ideas about God are misguided, and its leaders' interpretations of Scripture are so unyielding, not even a resurrection will spark a reevaluation of their conclusions. As Jesus moves toward Jerusalem the land beneath our feet begins to shake, and we are invited to trade in religion for a world-shattering way of life. We cannot remain where we are. Jesus is on the move and he calls us to join him.

KATRINA: LESSONS LEARNED FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP (1 Session)

Ronnie's work with a Habitat for Humanity affiliate took him to the little town of Pearlington, Mississippi – ground zero for Hurricane Katrina's landfall. Using his post-hurricane experiences as a guide, Ronnie explores the celebrated successes and glaring failures of leadership in this most extreme context. Ronnie says, "I don't think I led very well at times. The task was overwhelming and no one had a point orientation for such a daunting task. If I could go back, I'd do a lot of things differently. Still, I think I learned a few things in this process. I'm no expert; just a sharer of a story."

IT TAKES A SIMPLE FAITH (1-4 Sessions)

"Christianity is so complicated." This is the feeling of more than a few people. But what can we do to pursue lives of faith and build communties of faith without reducing spirituality to the lowest common denominator? If we simplify faith too much, will there be any faith left? Ronnie examines simple but deep faith drawing from the Bible, the experience of Jesus-followers, and his own involvement with a Christian community called A Simple Faith in Seagrove, Florida. "We need much more than complaints about what is wrong with the faith establishment," Ronnie says. "We need a way forward."

Other presentations can be made as well. Contact Ronnie McBrayer at ronnie@leavingsalem.net to make scheduling arrangements.