“Jesus didn’t coerce people into belief. He didn’t dominate the culture with a message of fear. He told stories. He paid attention. He asked real questions. ”
– Rev. Michael Gulker • Keynote Speaker • President, The Colossian Forum
“Love starts with attention. And attention—real, prayerful attention—is how we begin to recover our vision.”
– Rev. Jess Shults • Keynote Speaker • Pastor • Leadership Coach
“For many of us trying to follow Jesus, the real struggle isn’t whether we believe in God. It’s whether we can hold on to that belief—and act from it—when the world is so frustrating, isolating, disorienting.”
– Rev. Dr. Tanner Smith • Keynote Speaker • Podcast Host • Spiritual Director
A conversation for Christians who haven’t given up
Begin at the Impossible is a keynote and public conversation for Christians facing fatigue and division. It points toward a way forward shaped by communion, courage, and hope.
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We bring grounded insight to conversations about conflict, hope, and what it means to remain faithful together.
What if... disagreement isn’t a threat to avoid, but an invitation to grow?
We’re here to ignite the Christian imagination
We do this by helping leaders and communities remain faithful, present, and hopeful in divided times. Begin at the Impossible emerged from years of listening to leaders and communities navigating conflict, public pressure, and fear. Rather than offering prescriptions, this conversation invites reflection, honesty, and renewed imagination shaped by the life of the Spirit.
Rev. Michael Gulker
Rev. Michael Gulker is a pastor, thought leader, and keynote speaker who brings a calm, compelling presence to conversations at the intersection of faith, conflict, and public life. As president of The Colossian Forum, he has spent more than a decade helping leaders navigate polarization with courage, humility, and love of neighbor. His work has been featured in national media and explored in the documentary Leap of Faith. Michael holds degrees from Calvin University and Duke Divinity School. He lives in West Michigan with his wife and their two children.
Rev. Jess Shults
Rev. Dr. Tanner Smith
Rev. Dr. Tanner Smith is a pastor, spiritual director, and keynote speaker who helps leaders stay present and hopeful in the midst of complexity. He has a gift for naming what people are feeling — often with humor — and opening space for clarity, courage, and faithful imagination. Tanner facilitates The Colossian Forum’s WayFinder work and hosts the Practicing Hope podcast. He reads widely in theology, loves the rhythms of the church calendar, and is most at home fishing, hiking, or being outdoors with his wife and three children. He holds a doctorate in Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary and is an ordained minister.
For conveners and hosts
Begin at the Impossible is offered as a keynote or workshop for conferences, university chapels, churches, retreats, and leadership gatherings. We also participate in podcast and media conversations that make room for thoughtful, unhurried dialogue.
This conversation tends to resonate in spaces where people are carrying real complexity and are open to reflection rather than quick answers.
If you’re considering whether this might serve your community or audience, we’d be glad to talk it through with you.
What if... the place you feel most stuck is the place God is already moving?
About The Colossian Forum
Begin at the Impossible is a keynote address from The Colossian Forum, an organization that equips Christian leaders to stay rooted in love.
Our work spans churches, schools, nonprofits, and institutions, but the heart of it is always the same: helping people practice their faith in the very places it feels hardest to do so. We believe the Church still has a real choice to make — not between winning or losing, but between fear and love. This keynote is one way we help communities make that choice with wisdom, clarity, and hope.
This is not a call to sentimental love or easy agreement
If you are tired, grieving, or wondering whether love is still possible, this is a word for you. The impossible, Michael suggests, is often where the Holy Spirit begins the work of renewal.
What if... the wreckage isn’t where love gives up, but where it shows up?
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