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Faith Factors Connected with Church Revitalisation

29 May 2024 | Ed Stetzer

Faith is the indispensable, foundational ingredient for true growth in the church, both spiritually and numerically. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). In this talk, we consider several faith factors that are essential in church revitalisation, including a renewed belief in Jesus Christ and his mission for the church, a renewed attitude for servanthood, and more strategic and focused prayer.

Questions: The Ultimate Apologetics Tool

26 May 2024 | Mihail Stefanov

When it comes to apologetic conversation methods, most apologists today look like faithful disciples of Aristotle. They spend their days in search of the perfect argument that is both logical and persuasive. Before Aristotle, however, there was Socrates, the first of the great philosophers, who had a secret weapon - questions. In this talk we will see how questions can become the ultimate apologetic tool, which prepares the soil of the mind for the seeds of our arguments in defense of the Gospel.

What Does It Mean to Be Human in a World of AI and ChatGPT?

25 May 2024 | Sharon Dirckx

The capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to accelerate, seemingly at an alarming rate, in both efficiency and ability to mimic qualities and behaviours that were previously considered to be uniquely human. How do we navigate such developments? Is there anything unique about being human, or are we merely neurochemical machines that one day will also exist in silicon form? This talk examines questions of human identity in the light of AI, philosophy and modern neuroscience.

Understanding Your Spiritual Gifts

27 May 2024 | Dave Patty

The Bible teaches us that spiritual gifts are more than just personality traits or natural talent. When we trust Christ, every believer is empowered by the Spirit in unique ways to serve the body of Christ as a channel of God’s power and grace. How can you know what spiritual gifts you have been given? Can you ask for additional spiritual gifts? How can you discern the spiritual gifts of others and serve in such a way that all the needs of Christ’s body are met?

Prayer: A Dialogue with God

26 May 2024 | Jerry Root

Jesus taught His disciples to pray. This would indicate that prayer, at least in part, is a learned discipline. To the degree that any human is engaged with God, every feature of our soul is at play: the mind, the emotion, and the will. Prayer allows a believer to reach into the depths of himself and disclose to God what He already knows about us: our sins (in prayers of confession); our fears and sorrows (in prayers of lamentation); our joys and thanksgiving (in prayers of adoration and praise).

Pastoral Care: How to Give Guidance Without Being Controlling

28 May 2024 | Paul Coulter

Pastoral care is shepherding care, and shepherds give guidance to their sheep. But many Christians are nervous about the idea of giving guidance to others. The influence of non-directive models of counselling and experiences of manipulative 'heavy shepherding' combine to feed our doubts. In this talk, we learn from Scripture that guidance is an essential aspect of pastoral care and also seek some practical principles to help ensure that we can give it without controlling people.

How to Be a Christian in Academia: The Three Mandates

28 May 2024 | David Sandifer

In our engagement with the world, evangelicals often wrestle with the tension between the 'creation mandate' and the 'gospel mandate'. But there is a third mandate for the people of God that is just as central to our witness: the 'holiness mandate'. This talk unpacks the three mandates and explores applications to the particular context of Christians working in the academic sphere.

Music and Worship in the Life of the Church

28 May 2024 | Natalie Meeks

How are music and worship intertwined, and what roles do they play in the life of the Church? This dialogue, taking the form of a panel discussion with musicians, explores the practical outworkings of music and worship.

Religious Freedom: The Challenge of Living as a Minority

27 May 2024 | Stefan Gustavsson

For more than a millennium Christianity, at least in its cultural form, was the foundation of the Western world and provided the context for the local church as well as for the individual Christian. All that has now changed. As followers of Christ, we find ourselves being a minority within an increasingly hostile environment and with culture wars being fought on all sides. How should that new situation, a pluralistic culture with a secular majority, affect our perspectives and our priorities as Christians who still want to be involved in society?

Evangelism in a Changing Culture: How Under-30s Understand Their World

29 May 2024 | Kay Carter

The past two decades have seen rapid change in European culture, dramatically affecting the outlook and attitudes of young Europeans and the questions they ask about God. This talk looks at what research can teach us about the worldview of young Europeans, to help us present the unchanging truth of the gospel in a way that makes cultural sense to them.

The Intricate Complexity of Human Reproduction

29 May 2024 | Štěpán Rucki

Reproduction of organisms, including humans, is a critical condition for evolution. Without offspring, there is no evolution. Human reproduction consists of many steps, some of which are critical moments (including fertilization, implantation, immune toleration, hormones, and birth). These steps are potentially susceptible to many perturbations that can lead to fetal loss. It could be argued that these potential failures are evidence of an imperfect trial-and-error process of blind evolution.

Communicating the Gospel with Boldness and Relevance

26 May 2024 | Ania Greenwood

This talk teaches principles and models for relevantly sharing Jesus and making disciples among young people who would not usually walk into your church. How can we communicate the Gospel to them when they have such a negative view of God? When you have the boldness to step outside the Church and share your faith, people are open and ready to hear the Gospel. This talk equips, inspires, and challenges you to reach a lost generation.

Using Scripture Immersion to Catalyze Discipleship

27 May 2024 | Lindsay Olesberg

Scripture is central to discipleship, yet common forms of Scripture engagement (such as personal Bible reading and expository preaching) do not necessarily result in spiritual maturity. This talk explores how periodic Scripture immersion experiences can shift peoples’ posture towards Scripture and help them to be doers of the Word and not merely hearers.

Interview: The Teenage Brain and Digital Wellness

29 May 2024 | Kristy Williams

In this talk, Emanuel Tundrea interviews Kristy Williams about the teenage brain and digital wellness. Adolescent brain development is highly sensitive to particular inputs, including social media. Research has shown a decline in adolescent mental health since 2012, the same year that key changes occurred with the large social media platforms. This talk looks at the effects of social media and persuasive technology on brain development and addiction in order to consider how we can better shepherd the next generation.