Common Ground Conversations

I’m proud to announce that The God Article is partnering with Be Secular in their “Common Ground Conversations.”

I participated in the first ever such conversation this past year at Johns Hopkins University. The outcome was exceptional. I joined in conversation with former Pentecostal minister turned secular humanist, Jerry DeWitt, about the importance of finding points of common ground between human secularists and progressive Christians. The goal was to begin envisioning ways to intentionally bring these groups together in order to have a larger impact on common goals such as LGBT rights, women’s reproductive rights, separation of church and state and more.

The conversation was even better than I expected. It was engaging, honest, respectful and frequently amazingly humorous. The audience participated heavily in the discussion and we ended with some remarkable points of common ground and, what I believe was, a much clearer understanding and appreciation of each other.

Here’s just a couple of examples of the conversation. First up is Jerry on why these conversations are important.

Common Ground – Why Are These Conversations Are Important? from Mark Sandlin on Vimeo.

Next is a clip where we both consider what’s at the core of being able to find common ground with someone with whom you may disagree deeply about topics you both hold as very important.

Common Ground – How Do We Begin To Find Common Ground? from Mark Sandlin on Vimeo.

As you can see, while we had a lot of fun, our conversations were serious and backed by a great deal of heart. This particular gathering ended with us imagining new ways we might begin working together as progressive Christians and secular humanist atheist.We are planning for our next conversation to take place in North Carolina, my home state, a little latter this year. I truly hope you’ll join us.