Pastors' Conference
READING GOD'S WORLDLY WORD: PREACHING AND WITNESS FOR POSTMODERNITY

God reveals himself through his creation and our culture—even though both also groan under the weight of sin. As preachers we need to preach, teach and witness to God's revelatory activity in a manner that resonates with postmodern ears. This day will give pastors opportunity to:

• Communally develop a sermon outline beginning with God at work in creation
• Probe the theological strands underlying this approach
• Ask questions and consider applications.

Speakers & Facilitators | Schedule | Morning Workshops | Afternoon Workshops
Pre-Work | Register | Questions

Speakers and Facilitators

Nik Ansell is Sr. Member in Theology at the Institute Christian Studies (ICS), where his focus is on the revitalizing of our web of beliefs in light of the spirituality of existence and the authorizing of Scripture.

Ken Boonstra is Sr. Pastor at Willoughby Christian Reformed Church (CRC), Langley, BC.

Mark Davies is Sr. pastor serving Second CRC of Lynden, WA. He also serves as Chair of the Board of ICS.

Mike Goheen is Geneva Professor of Reformational Worldview Studies at Trinity Western University, Langley, B.C.

Phil Reinders is Sr. Pastor at First CRC in Calgary, helping an established congregation embrace and engage its culture and community.

John Suk is President of the Institute for Christian Studies, a pastor and former editor of the The Banner.

John Van Sloten is the Pastor of Preaching at New Hope CRC in Calgary. A former real estate developer, he has spent the past 9 years developing a new kind of culturally relevant ministry.

Schedule

Morning: Telling the Story
Pastors Reinders and Van Sloten will tell the story of how the "creational preaching" idea was planted, grew and developed in Calgary. To get us all on the same page, a quick overview of the theology will be presented, along with several practical illustrations. You will then select a workshop for which the pre-work has been done, and together with a facilitator develop a sermon outline.

Afternoon: Probe the Theology
Nik Ansell and Mike Goheen will discuss the various theological concepts underlying this approach to ministry. John Suk will moderate the discussion. Bring your questions. You will then select a workshop that enables you to probe a given theological strand or aspect more specifically. For a copy of "Preaching Culture", a paper written by a Calgary peer-learning group that introduces related theological concepts, click here (pdf, 91kb).

Evening: Deepening and Widening the Application
Just a cool sermon hook? Hardly. God's revelation in creation and culture is far bigger. What about discipleship curriculum? Or small group studies? In this session, we'll explore other horizons of church life where we can interact with God's worldly word. We'll also make room to ask further questions arising from the day.

Morning Workshops

A Child Shall Lead
We understand that where God is present there is the promise of a peaceable kingdom (cf. Isa. 11).
Many of us believe we find that kingdom expressed in the innocence of youth. Really!? What is there that we discover about God and God's ways in children's literature? We'll take a look at some books, to tease out where we see God, what God is like and what this means for us. We'll settle on one book that we can build a sermon around; wondering together how we're going to preach it.
Ken Boonstra

Gourmet God
"Since Eve ate apples, much depends on dinner" Byron in Don Juan said it, and Emeril, Giada De Laurentis, Wolfgang Puck and the Naked Chef know it too. There's so much more to eating than mere consumption; the preparing and enjoying of a meal is a spiritual activity rife with the presence of God. In this sermon workshop, we'll dive into the gastronomic world of good food, fine cooking, and real life, exploring the revelation of God in a meal.
Phil Reinders

Islam for Christians
Visit an Islamic website and see your self, your nation, and your religion through the eyes of Muslims. It's not always a pretty picture, and it's certainly not always an accurate picture. Still, as Christians who believe that God has set eternity in the hearts of all humans; we should be listening for the truth, even here. In this sermon workshop, participants will build a sermon through close reading of Islamic websites.
John Suk

God and Science
Scientists are often on the leading edge when it comes to knowing the God of the Cosmos, whether they know it or not. From Quantum Physics to Quasars, our world is full of his revelatory handiwork. What exegetical instruments can we use to better understand the text?
John VanSloten

Afternoon Workshops

Moving Beyond The Image Of God: Humanity Between Creation and Eschaton
We will aim to open up our understanding of what it means to be human by asking whether the Genesis language of being made in the 'image' and 'likeness' of God is saying the same thing twice. We shall also explore how the idea of creational gift and eschatological promise might expand our notion of common grace.
Nik Ansell

The Word of God: One Cord, Many Strands
We will use an old analogy to delve a bit into the pluriform character of the reality called "The Word of God." What are the obvious and not-so-obvious reasons why the Scriptures have often monopolized the preacher's exegetical activity, sometimes at the expense of being responsive to the other ways in which God reveals himself to us? What besides "general and special revelation" are some of these other ways? How can attention to the many forms of God's Word actually enhance our use of the Scriptures? How can issues of subjectivity and objectivity in one's address to the Scriptures confuse rather than enhance a full-life response (by preachers and hearers) to God's Word?
Mark Davies

Preaching with Relevance: The Gospel, Cross-Cultural Mission, and Common Grace
How does one preach the gospel with relevance as good news yet without being absorbed into the idolatry of a culture? This has been a burning question for cross-cultural missionaries for centuries. Especially drawing on the insights of J. H. Bavinck, Lesslie Newbigin, and Hendrik Kraemer we will explore the relationship between common grace, creational revelation, cultural idolatry, and the gospel in Scripture, missionary practice and the Reformed confessions.
Mike Goheen

Does the Rhetoric of Preaching Really Matter?
Historically, some Christians deny that the power of the Gospel rests in the eloquence of the preacher, the technique of the evangelist, or the persuasion of rational argument. If this is true, however, why bother with contextualizing the Biblical message in a culturally apt and compelling way? Or, why suppose that where the gospel is heard--whether in scripture or creation or culture--makes any difference at all for those who hear it? In this workshop we'll survey theologians from Augustine to Barth to Calvin to Finney on the relation of the persuasive art of sermons to the power of the gospel.
John Suk

Pre-Work

A Child Shall Lead, Ken Boonstra
Please try to read the following:
1. Runaway Bunny (Margaret Wise Brown)
2. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (William Steig)
3. Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak)
4. Good Families Don't (Robert Munsch)

Gourmet God, Phil Reinders
Participants should:
1. Watch a food movie (either Like Water for Chocolate, Babette's Feast, or Eat Drink Man Woman) and
2. Enjoy a food experience (either go out for a good meal with your spouse or have people over for a meal you've prepared).
While doing these, keep asking "Where is and how does God reveal himself in the preparing and enjoying of a meal? In your movie/meal, what was the most numinous moment?"

Islam for Christians, John Suk
Participants can prepare for this workshop by reviewing three very different websites.
1. http://www.whyislam.org/877/
2. http://www.montrealmuslims.ca/main.shtml
3. http://www.islamicawakening.com/
As you peruse these websites, following links and reading articles, ask yourself this question: What does God want me to hear in these voices?

God and Science, John Van Sloten
Take a science story or two from your local paper and ask the following questions
1. What are you saying about yourself through this, God?
2. Why are you saying it now?
3. How does what you're saying connect to your self-revelation in the Bible?

Register Online (VISA or Mastercard)

This is for Nov. 6 2006, Sumas Washington only.
Please register before October 30, 2006 to ensure meals.

Questions?

Please contact Jenny Krabbe by email at or by telephone at 403 803 4387