"Waking to the Passions of God" Conference
In March 2009, the Adult Spiritual Formation and Discipleship committee and Missions Department sponsored the “Waking to the Passions of God: Seeing and Loving a Suffering World” conference. The conference, featuring Dr. Mark Labberton, was designed to provide participants with an “aha” experience of integrated discipleship training, offered a time of learning that wove together biblical themes of justice, mission, evangelism, Christian community and spirituality. In addition to Mark’s plenary sessions, there were numerous breakout seminars with FPC pastors, staff, and adult instructors.
About Our Featured Speaker
Mark Labberton (B.A., Whitman College, M. Div., Fuller Theological Seminary, Ph.D., University of Cambridge) began his association with First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley in 1981, when he became the pastor to university students. Earlier he had been an assistant to Dr. John R. W. Stott in London, and he returned to England in 1987 for graduate work. Upon completion of doctoral studies at Cambridge, Mark came back to the states and pastored a church in Pennsylvania before moving again to Berkeley in 1991 as Senior Pastor of First Pres Berkeley.
- He serves as a senior fellow with the International Justice Mission
- He has written a book, The Dangerous Act of Worship, and is working on a second book to be published by InterVarsity Press
- In January 2007, Mark taught a month-long course on Theology and Hermeneutics at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo
- He spent several weeks in Kampala, Uganda, during a sabbatical in the summer of 2005 with David Zac Niringiye, the Anglican Bishop of Kampala
You may access Dr. Labberton's tallks from the weekend by clicking on the icons below:
| Friday, March 6, 2009 |  |
| Saturday morning, March 7, 2009 | |
| Saturday afternoon March 7, 2009 | |
| Sunday morning, March 8, 2009 | |
Seminars
- Jane Filkin and Lindsay Waymire “Gifted to Lead”: Each of us has a unique set of experiences, gifts, passions and relationships that influence who we are. Join us for a time of teaching, reflection and discovery as we seek to better understand how God has shaped and equipped each one of us to connect to him and lead out of our strengths. Click on the icon to listen to Jane and Lindsay's talk.
- John Hess “The Foundation and Goodness of Justice In Our Lives”: Jeremiah, Micah, Amos and Jesus. What are the implications of justice in our everyday lives? This will not be an exhaustive study but a time to look at root meanings and a time for reflection and conversation.
- Carl Hofmann “Grasping the Good News Again for the First Time: Exploring Jesus’ Gospel of the Kingdom Today”: Jesus’ message is certainly “good news” but why, exactly? We will explore the enormous and profound dimensions of the gospel—leading us to joyous personal freedom, passionate engagement with our world, and winsome witness to others. Click on the icons to access the audio and handouts from Carl's talk.
- Rupali Hofmann “Becoming ‘Front Porch’ People": Bringing God’s Welcome to a Hurried World” The front porch used to be a place where people could slow down, where stories were told, songs sung, and traditions passed down. Now there’s no longer much space for that kind of replenishment. Our call is to be hospitable in a world that desperately needs the welcome of Jesus. Come to this seminar and learn how to create a front porch ministry in your community.
- Keith Vandegrift “Reaching Out: Discipleship, Missions and Evangelism”: This class will explore biblical material that points us toward the full orb of following and sharing Jesus. We will look at some distinctions between what has come to be called“ mission” and “evangelism” and try to clarify their role in the process of discipleship. Click on the icon to listen to Keith's talk.
- B. J. Walton “Responding to Injustice”: B.J. will talk about how groups of college students in Berkeley, CA, are responding to injustices and how God’s people in Boulder and around the country can follow suit. (B.J. is a college intern at First Pres, Berkeley, and “son” of First Pres, Boulder).
- “The Dalit Freedom Movement: An Update from Up Close”: Sushma Parmar of the Dalit Freedom Network in India will give an update for the struggle of the Dalit (Untouchable) castes for freedom and justice in India. Sushma has been on the leading edge of this movement and is visiting the U.S. to educate Christians here about the movement in India. Click on the icons to access the audio and presentation from this talk.