Afternoon Seminars

Church Planting: Emotionally Healthy Movement-Making with Drew Hyun

In today's Christian culture, "health" and "movement" are often not used together. We tend to believe that movement-making is driven, exhausting and requires more from us rather than less. However, what if there could be a path forward toward movement-making that required less of us while generating from a healthy core? Join us for a discussion around healthy movement-making and the lessons we've learned in New York City.

Soul Care for Clergy with Doug Shirley

Part 1: COVID & Beyond – Here we'll pay attention to the realities of what it has meant for many of us to minister in and through a pandemic, tending particularly to the complications of serving in such a difficult season. We'll track patterns from multiple perspectives: biblical, societal, counseling and research. We'll also discuss some of the common problems faced by clergy and other helping professionals in seasons of such high demand.  

Part 2: Stewardship Considerations – Here we'll review our previous discussion and then imagine together how we might steward that which has been given to those of us called to serve and to minister to others, even when what we've been given may seem less like a "gift" and more like a "burden." COVID has opened opportunities for all of us to tend differently amid the world(s) around us.  Stewardship and sustainability of ministry will be our focus.

The Heart of the Preacher with Mary Hulst

This two-part seminar will focus in on the heart of the preacher and reflect on questions like: What does self-care really mean in a selfless profession, and how does that affect our preaching in a pandemic? How do we begin to think about preaching in a post-COVID world? Come with all your questions and fears, and we will work together to fine tune your preaching craft.

Panel Discussion: Faithful Witness in an Era of Racial Tension

The past year has brought the issue of race to the forefront of the church. While many pastors and ministry leaders have followed these conversations closely, it can be tough to consider how to take action in our unique contexts – many of which feel insulated from the issue at hand. In this panel we hope to help you consider what it means to be a faithful witness to Jesus in the midst of our current climate of racial tension. Some questions we will consider: What does racial justice look like in majority white churches? Biblically, how does change really happen? Where have advances been made in the fight for racial justice, in and outside of the church? Join Esau McCaulley, Inés Velásquez-McBryde, Drew Hyun, and local pastor and panel moderator Rob Fairbanks for this discussion.