ICS Conferences

See the Corresponding
BC Conference

Crossing Thresholds, Blurring Boundaries
What Next for the Christian Community?

“Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths where the good way lies.” -Jeremiah 6.16

What's next for the Christian community?

Jesus founded a movement of people to be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth”. For two millennia, faithful believers have gathered for prayer, fellowship, teaching and the breaking of bread.

As we enter a third millennium following this call, what happens next?

Our world has changed and yet has stayed the same: technology, consumerism and postmodern culture have made people more focussed on satisfying individual needs and more cynical of claims to authority. Denominational boundaries are blurring, and if young people come to church at all, they often come based on the meeting of personal needs-“spiritual fast food” for an increasingly fragmenting culture.

What next then for believers who continue to form Christ-like communities? What is the role for Christian community in the midst of this emerging world? This conference will explore what is at the heart of the experience of Christian community:

• what heeding the call to be a community bearing witness to hope means in the midst of fragmentation and apathy.
• what the role for doctrine is, and will be, in the emerging church, and what the challenges and opportunities of an ecumenical understanding of church brings
• how the arts, media, public justice, the environment and other areas inform our understanding of Christian community

Keynote Speaker

George Vandervelde is Emeritus Professor of Theology at the Institute for Christian Studies, where he has taught systematic theology since 1977, where the focus of much of his work has been issues of ecclesiology, gospel and culture, and ecumenism.. He is the co-chair of the World Evangelical Alliance - Roman Catholic Consultation, and has been a member of a number of committees of the World Council of Churches and the Christian Reformed Church. He is the author of Original Sin: Two Major Trends in Contemporary Roman Catholic Reinterpretation.

ICS Conferences: Toronto 2004 Workshops & Plenary

Hosting the Holy
Prayer may appropriately be considered the practice of hospitality towards God. This workshop will explore hospitality as one metaphor for schooling and deepening our life of prayer. The emphasis will be practical, focussed upon the habits, and habitat, of our praying, and particularly upon those practices that can keep us from getting, or staying, stuck.
Ansley Tucker is the Associate Academic Dean of ICS, and an Anglican priest. She is an experienced workshop and retreat leader, and a sought after speaker.

Hell: The Nemesis of Hope?
If hell is the nemesis of hope, can it be part of the Gospel? Should the fear of hell keep the church in business? If not, what on earth does "hell" mean in the New Testament?
Nik Ansell joined the faculty of the Institute for Christian Studies as Senior Member in Theology in August 2004. He is also biblical commentary editor for the British magazine Third Way.

Christianity in the Hands of the Developing World
The church today is growing faster in the developing world then it ever has. More Christians go to church on a Sunday in Africa than in the entire Western world. Most Christians today live in poverty with large numbers facing persecution for their faith. Leaders of the church in the developing world are becoming strong voices not only in their respective countries but also internationally within their respective denominations. What impact will all of this have on Christianity? How will this influence the church here in Canada? How should we respond as Christians in the developed world?
Dirk Booy has spent the last 20 years working in Africa as part of the christian humanitarian community. He now serves as the Vice President for World Vision Canada.

Getting to the Art and Soul of the Church
There are times when it seems the church does not know what it thinks about the arts, and isn't too bothered either. And yet, the arts and the aesthetic are an integral part of our human existence, as much within as outside the church. How can the Church (yet again) connect with the arts and what are some of the ways in which the Christian Community can make a contribution to the arts? This workshop will explore some of ways in which this can be achieved, and how the arts can illuminate truth, hope, pain and redemption.
Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin is Senior Member in Aesthetics at the Institute for Christian Studies and co-author (with Hilary Brand) of the book Art and Soul: Signposts for Christians in the Arts (IVP)

Saying "Yes In My Back Yard"
At one time, residents' groups tried to keep Jews and people of colour out of their neighbourhoods. Today, much-needed housing is routinely blocked because the people who will live there are poor, or disabled, or have a mental illness, or are refugees. This workshop analyzes the line between public consultation and human rights abuse, and demonstrates practical ways you, your family, or your church can "welcome the stranger."
Joy Connelly has worked in non-profit and co-op housing her entire adult life. She is a member of HomeComing, a coalition that believes people with mental illness have the right to live where they choose - just like everyone else.

Christianity, the Church, and Creation Care
Christians are often seen as conspirators in the destruction of Creation. Indeed, there is often a misconception that Christianity is useless in any conservation movement. This workshop will examine these problems, and will suggest a relationship between Christianity and the natural world that promotes environmental stewardship. Emphasis will be put on finding practical ways the church community can engage in Creation care activities within the church and throughout society.
Justin Renkema has a MSc in Environmental Biology at the University of Guelph 2004. While at Redeemer University College he started the "Green Team", a student environmental awareness and action group. He is currently employed on an organic farm.

Reading the Mystics for Fun and Profit
People today have rediscovered the Christian mystics. One feature of mystical writing is its use of contradiction whereby what one affirms of God whom one subsequently denies. It even has a name - the negative way. This workshop explores the following thesis: Whereas postmodern fascination with the negative way derives from suspicion that the God we seek is the same as the Monster we fear, the mystics themselves underwent the "desert" of the negative way because they knew in their bones that it was there in the desert, along that way, that they would meet God and not any one of his counterfeits.
Bob Sweetman holds the H. Evan Runner Chair in the History of Philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies.

Charity and Justice: Two steps of Christian service
In an interactive format, participants will reflect on the Christian community's role in charity and justice. Tackling a current and relevant issue identified by the group, we will determine the possible responses our own communities could undertake. At the same time we'll reflect on charity and justice as two steps of Christian service.
Harry Kits has been executive director of Citizens for Public Justice and the Public Justice Resource Centre since 1988. A frequent speaker at public meetings and conferences, Harry also conducts workshops and seminars on public policy issues.

How then shall we live? Christian Community in the Coming Century
If the church is to thrive, not just survive in the 21st Century, then what needs to happen? This discussion featuring a panel of believers with different experiences of the church universal will examine what the church could, and should, look like in future, and what needs to take place for that to happen.
Panelists include Allyson Dziedzic, a second year student in the Institute for Christian Studies MPhilF program, Rachel McGuire a first year student in the ICS PhD program, and Graeme Burk, Manager of Communications and Alumni Affairs at ICS. Moderated by Ron Kuipers, incoming Senior Member in Philosophy of Religion at ICS.

Afternoon Plenary

"What Next for the Christian Community"
A panel discussion examining the past, present and future of Christian Community. Featuring:
Bill Van Groningen, Director of Ministry Development with the Home Missions Division of the Christian Reformed Church in North America
Henry Lunshof, Senior Pastor at New Life CRC in Guelph, Ontario
Shiao Chong, CRC Campus Minister at York University in Toronto, Ontario
Moderated by Harry Fernhout, President of the Institute for Christian Studies