In the heart of Manhattan, the Atrium at American Bible’s Society’s headquarters is a space where people can encounter the Scriptures in unexpected ways: through iPads, smart tables, community and conversation.

As part of its effort to engage people through conversation, ABS featured its first Q Cast in mid-June. Gabe Lyons, founder of Q Ideas, partnered with ABS to offer online viewers and Atrium visitors a chance to participate in the conversations Q is known for: exploring the intersections of individual/corporate faith and how these play out through individual/corporate lives in culture.

Lyons hosted Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, author of The World is Not Ours to Save: Finding the Freedom to Do Good. The book explores the array of causes Christians can pursue, including the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Christian activists, who are passionate about saving the world, will find that doing so is much harder than they first realized, Wigg-Stevenson states. “The road is longer, the work is harder and the results aren’t what they want them to be.”

As these Christians experience the complexities of global problems, their enthusiasm often wanes. Disillusionment and compassion fatigue can replace enthusiasm, the author says.

But in the Q Cast, Wigg-Stevenson emphasized that the world isn’t ours to save. It was already saved by Jesus Christ, whose “own body became the Temple of God.”

We cannot do it alone, but we can seek the assistance of the Church, says Wigg-Stevenson, who believes in its power of corporate action. To that end, we need to “think less about the problems at hand, but instead to think about the gifts the Church can give to the world.”

Lyons and Wigg-Stevenson discussed other topics in the book as well, including vocation and the role of peacemaking in society.

In closing, Lyons said Wigg-Stevenson “provoked a good conversation.”

Plans are under way to make Q casts a monthly experience at the ABS Atrium.