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Cultivating a Deep Love for Scripture

To help form a biblical worldview, we saturated our congregation with a rhythm of scripture memorization that has become a key component of spiritual formation. This workshop showed how this practice has transformed us and our worship.

January 1, 2009
Better Together: The Call for People with and without Disabilities to Worship, Serve, Learn, and Live Alongside Each Other

This presentation addressed practical ways congregations can have a real impact on the lives of people with disabilities and their families living in their community and to make worship more accessible to everyone.

January 1, 2009

Symposium 2009 - Worship and the Word

Many churches need to use the Scriptures more in their worship. This seminar explored why and how the Bible should inform, infuse, and enrich our worship planning and leading. It also looked at practical ways to bring the Word in all its richness into our worship services.

January 1, 2009
Too Deep for Words? Preaching in the Language of the Spirit

This session explored the possibility of discerning the presence of the Holy Spirit in preaching and then discussed some manifestations of the Spirit in sermons, particularly focusing on the expressions of lament and celebration.

January 1, 2009
Symposium 2009 - Leadership from Inside Out

In this session, RCA general secretary Wes Granberg-Michaelson explored congregational leadership that is built on and extends from the inner spiritual lives of leaders, and explored how this relates to the dynamics of organizational change. The presentation drew from his book Leadership from Inside Out.

January 1, 2009

Contextualizing Worship: My Journey to Worship God as a Navajo Christian

When the first Christian missionaries came to the Navajo people they unfortunately brought more than the Gospel. They also brought the message that God could only be worshiped through the Western culture. This workshop contained a collection of stories and lessons learned in my journey to understand what it means to be Navajo and Christian.

January 1, 2009 | 1 min listen
Worship in the Early Church: Unity in Diversity

This seminar explored the history of worship in the early church in the hope that we might learn about, accept, and apply different attitudes and practices in our own times.

January 1, 2009
Good Preaching Takes Good Elders

When preachers and churches talk about improving the quality of preaching, many approaches are considered, but one is frequently missing: the participation of elders. This workshop explores both the why and how questions of involving elders in supporting and encouraging preachers in their congregations.

January 1, 2009

Rediscovering the Lord's Supper: Growing Deeper into the Gospel

A renewed theology and practice of the Lord's Supper can help believers grow into a deeper and multifaceted vision of salvation. Come and explore the ways in which the Lord's Supper illuminates the gospel as participation in Christ by the Spirit.

January 1, 2009
Worship, Suffering, and Justice

This workshop explored the phenomenon of vibrant worship in communities in which there is much suffering, and engages participants in discussions around meaningful worship in such settings. It also explored how social justice can be part of worship while keeping the focus on God.

January 1, 2009
Worship that Renews the Me and Transforms the Us

Drawing from their diverse ministry experience, Jim and Rose Dekker --in Latin American ecumenical and spiritual direction-- and Jonathan Bradford --in a U.S. urban context-- explored the biblical concepts of knowing Christ the servant and serving Christ the Sovereign Lord. All of life must really be worship.

January 1, 2009