Meeting with Jon & Cherie Werner - Christofuturism, Alpha Schools, and Community Building

Overview

Gary Sheng and Ron Roberts visited Jon and Cherie Werner at their home in Austin's Mueller neighborhood for an extensive conversation about faith, technology, education reform, and community building. The meeting revealed deep alignment on the need for Christians to lead in technology while maintaining proper priorities, and explored potential collaboration opportunities around Alpha Schools and faith-based initiatives.

Key Participants

• Gary Sheng: Alpha Schools strategic advisor, Christofuturism advocate
• Ron Roberts: Alpha Schools Head of Strategy, Co-Director
• Jon Werner: Co-founder of Fiesta networking events, tech entrepreneur
• Cherie Werner: Co-host of Fiesta, education advocate, former homeschooler

Major Topics Discussed

1. Fiesta Networking Events

The Werners run monthly networking events that have become a cornerstone of Austin's startup ecosystem:

• Recent event had 226 attendees
• They collect detailed data on all attendees through their software
• Jon mentioned dealing with a critic who questioned women-only networking events
• Cherie's response: "women are already struggling with funding"
• They've been asked to expand Fiesta to Romania through a connection

2. Alpha Schools Introduction

Gary and Ron explained their roles at Alpha Schools:

Gary: "We are the heads of a special projects division that basically anytime... we help identify the problems that need to be fixed in general, but also we put together really special events for high-level people that care about alpha."

Key Alpha initiatives discussed:

• Bill Ackman potentially visiting that week
• Alpha Family Summit planned for June 14th
• Alpha Labs division for government contracts
• First Step Act educational contracts
• Plans to speak in Romania about education
• Revelation that the First Lady of China wants Alpha Schools

3. Christofuturism Philosophy

Gary spent significant time explaining and refining his Christofuturism concept, even editing a blog post during the meeting:

Core principle: "God reigns supreme, Humans serve God, AI serves humans"

Gary: "I think a lot about, as a Christian, how to... what it even means, what kind of relationship we even want to have with technology as Christians."

Key points:

• Christians should be at the "bleeding edge of technology, but not mindlessly"
• Technology should enhance rather than replace human connection
• AI is a tool, not a god
• "Everyone innately craves a master narrative. Without the true narrative, people latch onto false ones"

4. Gary's Personal Story

Gary shared his powerful family history:

• Great-grandfather was a Christian pastor in China during persecution (1920s-1940s)
• Both grandfathers were sent to re-education camps during Cultural Revolution
• Father's father imprisoned for 6 years just for owning land
• Family name changed by CCP as punishment
• "Sheng" means "prosperity, abundance, golden age"
• Wouldn't exist without Nancy Pelosi and George H.W. Bush's Chinese Student Protection Act after Tiananmen Square
• Father was in first computer science class at Peking University

Gary: "People were literally getting killed for being Christians. So this is just like, this is so easy for me. Like, a random mean tweet or whatever, I don't care."

5. Education Philosophy & Reform

Extensive discussion about problems with traditional education:

Cherie's homeschooling experience:

• Started when it was "uncool" because she hated traditional school as "out-of-the-box thinker with ADD"
• Observed young boys forced to do "busy work" while teachers worked with reading groups
• "When you try to serve everyone you serve no one"
• Successfully advocated for daughter told she'd "probably never go to college"
• Created co-op with 5 families, hired teachers
• Used 3-year biblical worldview curriculum

Gary on education reform:

• "Every parent wants [to brainwash their kids with their worldview]"
• Advocates for "open market for paths that ultimately have their own biases"
• Vision: educational ecosystem with "millions of schools and billions of kids"
• Parents should be able to query what curriculum produces desired outcomes
• "There's basically infinite demand for actually good education that helps our kids flourish"

6. Faith and Church Challenges

Discussion about modern church issues:

Werners' church experience:

• Feel disconnected post-COVID: "churches have changed a lot"
• Cherie: "I used to go to church and it would be like, you were there, you'd go have lunch... Now everybody just goes and they leave"
• Jon: "It doesn't feel like fellowship"
• They feel like "the old people" at churches full of 20-30 somethings
• Use their home as "Secret Jesus Church where all the founders we meet"

Gary's recommendations:

• The Ridge (first church he liked)
• Whitestone led by gospel singer Torin Wells

7. Trump Administration Faith Initiatives

Gary revealed significant developments:

Paula White's role:

• Trump's pastor for 24 years
• Working next to Oval Office
• Embedding faith office representative in every cabinet agency
• Gary: "Literally, I'm not going to tweet this anytime soon, he's [Trump] the person that's done the most to establish Christocracy in America"
• Reallocating DEI money into faith-based initiatives
• Focus on preventing discrimination against Christians, Jews, Muslims

8. Technology and Human Connection

Jon's key insight: "With AI, we're going to recapture a lot of margin of time. And what are we going to do with that time?... The margin needs to be filled with human connection."

Discussion included:

• Concern about AI companions replacing real relationships
• Story of founder who called his AI his "partner" for 4 years
• Need for privacy-preserving cryptocurrencies for revolutionary work
• Bitcoin as wealth preservation and removing government control of money

9. New Cities Vision

Gary's proposal: "You should create cities. New cities."

Key points:

• Start from scratch with everything learned about what works
• Apply "entire society stack" thinking
• Create experiments, iterate, proliferate
• Trump's "Freedom Cities" campaign promise
• Pitch to billionaires: "Do you want to be a re-founding father of America?"

10. 250th Anniversary & World's Fair

Gary's investigation revealed America is dropping the ball:

• 250th anniversary is July 4, 2026
• Trump promised year-long celebration but hasn't started
• America "way overdue" for a World's Fair
• Gary positioning himself to help lead these initiatives

Notable Quotes

Gary Sheng:

• "Christianity is timeless, not because it's traditional, not because it's comfortable, but because it's true"
• "I'm no longer explaining to people that God is real, right? It's just a waste of my time"
• "We need simple concepts, but it's also the truth. Because you cannot put AI as your God"
• "I feel like I'm a reincarnation of Mao Zedong here to repent for killing a bunch of people"
• "You don't we do not... homogenization. That's just such a non-issue"

Jon Werner:

• "I'm a fan of the separation of state from the church. But I'm not a fan of the church from the state"
• "We've lost touch with what it means to have deep relationships"
• "It's the best thing for me to be in [AR/VR], because we need a voice here"

Cherie Werner:

• "When you try to serve everyone you serve no one"
• "We did not allow the labels of the schools and the experts to define who she was"
• "I'm super collaborative. I like to elevate what other people are doing"

Ron Roberts:

• Brief interjections supporting the discussion
• Participated but let Gary lead most of the conversation

Action Items & Next Steps

1. Alpha Family Summit: Werners interested in attending June 14th event
2. Church visits: Potential to attend church together (Whitestone mentioned)
3. Romanian connection: Explore connecting Romanian entrepreneur with upcoming conference
4. Christofuturism feedback: Jon to review Gary's blog post and provide feedback
5. Continued collaboration: Clear interest in working together on education and faith initiatives

Key Insights

1. Shared Vision: Deep alignment on need for Christians to lead in technology while maintaining proper hierarchy (God > Humans > AI)
2. Education Reform: Both couples passionate about transforming education, with complementary experiences
3. Community Building: Werners' Fiesta platform could be powerful for Alpha Schools community building
4. Faith Integration: Mutual desire for faith-based education options within Alpha ecosystem
5. Action Orientation: Gary's approach of "not convincing but mobilizing" resonated strongly

Meeting Dynamics

• Held at Werner home in Mueller neighborhood
• Included brief interruption when someone picked up Ron
• Moved to Xi'an Famous Foods restaurant to continue discussion
• Jon and Cherie very hospitable, offering drinks and food
• Gary worked on Christofuturism blog post during meeting
• Natural chemistry and alignment between all participants

Conclusion

The meeting revealed significant potential for collaboration between the Werners' community-building expertise through Fiesta and Alpha Schools' educational innovation. The shared faith perspective and commitment to human flourishing over technological determinism created a strong foundation for future partnership. The Werners' experience with homeschooling and education reform, combined with their extensive Austin network, positions them as valuable allies in Alpha's mission to transform education while maintaining focus on human connection and divine purpose.