Christian Faith and the Future of Work (audio)

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Christian Faith and the Future of Work (audio)

The certainty, longevity, and predictability workers once felt no longer exist as technological advances, the economy, and shifting social and economic realities contribute to an unsettling and unpredictable experience. How might Christians engage these changing dynamics? In what ways do gender, race, social location, and the American work ethic affect our career path and development? This pathway discusses ways Christians might engage the changing landscape of work with greater compassion, curiosity, and imagination.

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Churches: It’s Okay to Be Small (audio)

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Churches: It’s Okay to Be Small (audio)

Small churches are wonderful precisely the way they are, yet there often remains a frustrating belief that, for these churches to be what God wants, they must become larger. Certainly, growth would be nice, but it is God who makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:7). Let us remove this pressure and simply be the church, regardless of size.

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Living Out the Gospel in a Secular Age (audio)

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Living Out the Gospel in a Secular Age (audio)

Examining Charles Taylor’s assertions about living in the 21st century provides insights about how disciples must healthily navigate this secular age. This pathway scrutinizes how our journey shouldn’t be seen as a battle. Instead, we should recognize all the persistent longings for transcendence that characterize our secular age. To proclaim the gospel in such a context is not a matter of guarding some fortress; it’s an opportunity to invite our friends and neighbors to meet the One they didn’t even realize they’d been longing for.

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Comfort When the Shadow Falls (audio)

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Comfort When the Shadow Falls (audio)

Eddie Sharp and Cheryl Mann Bacon lead two sessions based on their book, Comfort When the Shadow Falls: Encouraging the Dying and Those Affected by Grief, offering a reflective, compassionate, and holistic examination of how Christ calls us to minister in the shadow of death. Not only do the speakers consider the biblical foundation for life, death, and hope, but they also offer seasoned, practical advice on how to serve the dying, come alongside grieving families, lead in funeral services for expected or sudden losses, and minister to the grieving unchurched in our communities.

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Growing Young (audio)

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Growing Young (audio)

For more than 30 years, traditional models of youth ministry have leaned toward tendencies that fail to consistently invite young people to lifelong service in the body of Christ. Recently, the Fuller Youth Institute researched congregations that have discovered effective ways for inviting young people to enthusiastically participate in every area of church life. Their research is published in Growing Young. What are these habits and how might they also revitalize an entire congregation?

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Spirit Shake-Up (audio)

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Spirit Shake-Up (audio)

The Holy Spirit is no tame Spirit. When the people of God grow comfortable, satisfied, and sleepy, when the call of God’s mission to the whole world recedes, the tendency of the Spirit is to shake up the church and dislodge it from its ease and self-satisfaction. This shake-up is happening to many churches in the West. Many will die, and through the shaking, many will renew or discover a sense of the expansive mission of God and new openness to the Spirit of God. Today the doctrine of the Spirit remains no longer the awkward stepchild of theology but has risen to the center of attention. Why has this happened? Our answer may surprise you.

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Hope for the Sorrowful (video)

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Hope for the Sorrowful (video)

Life isn’t lived under Eden’s tree of life or beneath the healing leaves of the tree in the new Jerusalem. It is lived between them. Life is often hard. In spite of this reality, Shane Wood challenges us to embrace hope, love, and the beauty of reconciliation provided freely by God. There is indeed hope for the sorrowful.

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Wreck My Life: Journeying from Broken to Bold (video)

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Wreck My Life: Journeying from Broken to Bold (video)

Mo Isom delivers her keynote address, “Wreck My Life: Journeying from Broken to Bold.” Brokenness is the place God meets us most often, where we acknowledge that each of us walks with a limp. The real heartbeat of ministry is courageously communicating our brokenness to God and authentically and compassionately sharing life, grace, and hope with others.

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From the Depths I Cry Out! (video)

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From the Depths I Cry Out! (video)

Since the untimely death of her daughter and because of her own recent battle with a serious illness, hope has become the intentional concentration of Beverly Ross’s life and professional counseling ministry. Reflecting on Psalm 71, Beverly challenges us to come boldly before God, expressing the depths of our pain and our hope with full confidence that he not only hears our despair and prayers, but acts on our behalf.

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Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot (video)

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Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot (video)

Mo Isom speaks at a special Sunday evening session for students, drawing on her book, Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot. Young people today have heard the purity talks, heard that porn is bad, heard they should just wait for the right person to come along. They’ve heard all of the prescriptions. It’s time to cut the clichés and the purity rings, and give them the truth. Isom has been there, and she’s here to have real conversations about it.

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My Life with the Psalms (video)

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My Life with the Psalms (video)

Mike Cope reflects on his (and our) relationship with the Psalms. The Psalms provide us with the hymnbook of the Bible and assist Christians today when in the peaks and valleys of everyday life, with expressions of deep emotions such as sorrow, hope, and joy. Like the psalmists, we can become encouraged and empowered to express all the emotions life brings our way.

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