This is not a guide on how to plan a Christian conference. It is a suggested format on how to attend one.
Back in late June eleven board, pastors and staff from the Baptist Union went to a conference called Hitting The Bullseye with author Paul Borden and others. The conference was held from a Sunday to a Tuesday in San Francisco, California (ok it was 45 minutes south of San Francisco but I never got to see any of San Francisco and San Mateo sounds less exotic doesn’t it?). The conference was about re-structuring denominations around core values like vision, accountability, outcomes, healthy churches becoming healthier and out of that health being a catalyst for our churches. It had the added cache of having as a speaker a cross-cultural content; a New Zealander working in the States with international experience. The speakers’ name was Paul Borden (which will make sense of the attached memo).
I wanted each Union participant to pray about what we were going to experience, ask God to influence us and for us to examine why we had to come to this conference. We were not tourists. While some of us needed a little rest we were there representing the denomination (and using precious money) to discover where God would lead us.
The attached outline gives a suggestion of a rolling agenda of a meeting that could be conducted at least twice but ideally three times during a conference. It compels people to pray before, during and after an event. It balances organizing our thoughts and opening ourselves to God.
I give you the outline in its raw form. Feel free to ask these questions of God anytime and use the ongoing questions of a day long seminar, week at camp, a worship conference, assembly or anything. This type of stuff builds a team approach and fits our polity of conscience before God while co-operating together as a covenant people.
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1. Opening Prayer
2. Introductions…any (1 minute) comments on the conference?
3. Comments on why this is an important conference for us; vision, direction, governance, outcome measurement, accountability
Initial comments on these topics
4. Please pray about the following both before the conference and continually
4.1 What does God want me to learn personally; from Him, the conference and from this Baptist Union group?
4.2 What does God want for the Union at this time?
4.3 What conference themes do I embrace?
4.4 What conference themes do I need to be cautious about or reject?
4.5 What transitional work do we need to do as a Union to resource where we need to go?
5. We are part way down the conference road… a brief discussion.
5.1 What we have:
5.2 What we are missing: (accountability, goals, etc)
6. How do we make the most of the rest of the conference?
6.1 Who should we talk to?
6.2 Do we attend seminars strategically?
6.3 Take some personal space!!!
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Note – it might be good to ask the four Zonal questions
- What has God called you to as a church?
- What resources has he given you for that call?
- What resources do you still need to meet the call God has given you?
- What outcomes and goals do we covenant together as churches over this next year?
and the Mennonite Question “Is it well with your soul?” “Well it is”.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy