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A “Hopeful Imagination” seminar hosted Oct. 22-23 by First Baptist Church of Wilmington brought together more than 300 church leaders from eight or nine states, all hoping to find help in imagining a new and brighter future for their congregations.

The conference, a joint effort of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina (CBFNC), CBF national, and the Columbia Partnership, sought to provide just that. In plenary sessions, leaders of FBC Wilmington (like Jayne Davis, at left) told the story of their church’s remarkable transformation, and more focused groups offered nuts and bolts advice for redreaming music, missions, Christian education, worship, and other aspects of what makes a dynamic church — well — dynamic.

You can watch for a story on the event by Steve DeVane on the Associated Baptist Press website.

My intent here is not so much to report on the meeting as to praise the two words that make up its name: Hopeful Imagination.

Many congregations, like some of the individuals who make them up, seem to have given up any hope of ever growing, developing, ministering, or making a difference in their community. Some churches seem to exist for the sole purpose of being their for the current members until they die, and nothing will change if those members have no passion for Kingdom work, no hope of greater ministry.

A story from Religion News Service reports that if someone could gather up all the Bibles either being used or gathering dust in American homes, the stack would be 29 million feet tall — a tower that would rise more than 5,400 miles. For comparative purposes, the International Space Station‘s orbit is only 278 miles at its highest point.

Why do we have so many Bibles? The growing number of new translations and niche versions is one reason. Bibles generate huge profits for the publishing industry, so they’re constantly trying to capture new markets with specialty versions for people of different ages and with different occupations or hobbies (think teens, truckers, fishermen, etc.).

I’m sure that’s not the only reason we own so many Bibles, however. Unlike many other books, it’s hard to throw away a Bible. I mean, who wants to put a Bible in the trash can? Wouldn’t that bring down the wrath of God? It’s hard enough to donate one to Goodwill or another charity. Somehow, getting rid of a Bible feels like admitting that we don’t really read it or use it.

I’ve done my part to contribute to the high population of Bibles. Those in the photo above are what I have at home; there are nearly that many more in my office. The Barna Group says the average American Family owns three: I probably own more than 30 print editions in English alone, along with versions in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and a variety of modern languages. I could add more than 100 additional Bibles if I counted those I have access to in Bible software programs, but they wouldn’t add much to the stack.

I’m having a hard time getting the high sense of entitlement that has led to hundreds of street protests in France, some of which have turned violent. More than a million people have been rallying in the streets, going on strike, shutting down transportation systems and generally making a very loud ruckus because the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants them to work until the advanced old age of 62.

Sarkozy, it appears, is simply trying to be financially responsible. The national pension system is going bankrupt because people are living longer and fewer people are paying into it. To make the fund more viable, Sarkozy is campaigning to raise the retirement age in France from 60 to 62.

That’s right — those poor, tired folk, not sufficiently rested from their already-short work weeks and eight-week vacations, may have to remain employed until 62 in order to qualify for the benefits they had expected to start rolling in at 60. This in a country where, it seems, productivity already takes a backseat to leisure.