South East Region
South-East Discipleship Conference - Following Jesus in the midst of all life brings
On the 28th April 2012 nearly 20
0 people gathered at the FBC Centre in Finchampstead for the Navigator South-East Discipleship Conference.
Martin Cooper was the main speaker and gave two talks. In the morning he spoke on recapturing Jesus' vision for discipleship today. This was followed in the afternoon by a talk on the reality of living the vision.
There was the opportunity to attend a seminar in the afternoon. The seminar subjects ranged from life after uni, God in the workplace, mentoring 1-1 to parenting, retirement, leading small groups and living with brokenness.
There was a great atmosphere during the day with a mix of people of all ages. For some there were reunions as they reconnected with old friends. Others made new friends over the coffee breaks and lunch. FBC led us in sung worship and there were some inspiring interviews with individuals who shared their stories of following Jesus today.
Some of the talks and seminar materials from the day are available on this page as free downloads so please scroll down if you would like to take a look.
MAIN TALKS:
Recapturing Jesus' vision for discipleship today Martin Cooper
Slides to come
The reality of living the vision Martin Cooper
Slides to come
SEMINARS:
Life after uni - Making choices and handling change Rob Wood
The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, ‘ … where you are right now is God’s place for you, LIVE and OBEY and LOVE and BELIEVE right there.’ (1 Corinthians 7:17 - Message). We make many transitions in life and one of the biggest is from a life of study at school and uni to . . . whatever comes next . . . This transition brings huge change, is unique to each individual and can cause us to be both excited and terrified. However, the message of Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:17 remains the same. In this highly interactive workshop, we :
* Looked at how to handle transition and change, and how to make good choices
* Heard from others who recently went through this transition and what helped them
* Looked at how to find a church that will help you to continue to grow in your faith
* Looked at how The Navigators can support you in this transition
* Looked at other ways, including online resources and books, that can help
The parenting years - Growing a discipling family Emmie Bidston and her mum - Wendy Greenwood
Being a parent – it’s the most amazing privilege and yet so incredibly hard at the same time. The one part of our lives that we feel so desperate to get right - and yet are so aware of our own limitations and failings in. Parenting is tough. How do we maintain our own faith and discipleship through the pressures of sleep deprivation, terrible twos and teenage traumas? How do we help our families grow into God-knowing, grace-receiving, servant-hearted disciples – adults and children together? Surely good parenting is more than adopting certain techniques - it’s about living as part of God’s story and letting God’s good news shape our values, attitudes and behaviour. This seminar allowed individuals to come, discuss and explore these issues in a safe environment. There were plenty of real family stories from Emmie and her Mum that made you laugh and think!
God in the 9 to 5 - Impacting your workplace Paul Valler
How can Christians be agents of transformation in a politically correct workplace, hostile to expressions of faith? How can we be the gospel and share the gospel at work? Are forgiveness, grace and justice alive in today’s working world? Can we manage the pressure of a performance driven culture without opting out? What is Christian fruitfulness at work? This was an interactive seminar exploring faith at work.
Re-tyre-ment – Making the later years the most fruitful Tony Rogerson
God's promise is "The righteous ...will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green." (Psalm 92:14). However, Richard Morgan points out "Third and Fourth Agers have three major temptations - to whine, recline or decline. Temptations exist to wall-paper the empty spaces with meaningless activities . . ." Which quotation is/will be true of us? Does it matter? Is the choice really in our hands? After all, retirement years contain probably the biggest challenges of our lives, including finishing full-time paid work, the loss of loved ones, and our own declining abilities. This seminar seeked to look at these questions realistically and yet with hope, with the ultimate aim in mind of helping us move nearer to hearing Jesus' words one day - "Well done good and faithful servant . . . enter into the joy of your Lord."
Living with brokenness – Restorative ways to handle life’s adversities James & Barbara Sherwood
When we look at the troubles going on in the world around us or we face personal challenges in our lives, it is easy to doubt God’s power to control his creation or His goodness in letting it happen. We may ask does God really love us. James and Barbara looked at the questions of the power and the goodness of God and restorative ways to handle life’s adversities.
Leading transformative small groups Thompy Wright & Steve McClure
The Holy Spirit does His unique work of changing us to be like Jesus in ways of beauty, grace and freedom. Nothing else refreshes the heart quite like it. We cannot change like this without Him. However, we believe that well-led small groups can create an environment where the Spirit is released effectively into our lives through the word of God. So, in this seminar we looked together - with lots of interaction - at a number of important factors, including:
* Essential ingredients of group dynamics that activate transformative encounters.
* Crystal clear purpose for our group(s)
* The life cycle of small groups - forming, storming, norming, performing....
* Leading skills: asking good questions, handling difficult people, etc.
Without endorsing any formula, nevertheless we will show how can co-operate expectantly with the Spirit in His transformative work in our lives.
All things mentoring - A crash course in meeting up 1-to-1 Paul Wilcox
According to Rick Lewis, an Australian church leader, mentoring is 'An ancient art for a post-modern context'. This seminar explored the Biblical basis for mentoring, giving some practical guidelines and principles for setting up good one-to-one relationships for effective discipleship in contemporary contexts. There was the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the information being shared.
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