The annual CBF Current retreat for young leaders (under age 40) will be held February 23-25, 2009 at College Park Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla. Join with other young Baptist ministers, leaders and seminary students for fellowship, networking, worship and dialogue with Brian McLaren.
Online registration is now closed. If you wish to register on-site, please bring a check for $90 payable to CBF. For questions, please contact
Patricia Heys or call (800) 352-8741.
Find a carpool. Find a roommate.
View the schedule. Reserve a hotel room.
Join the Current steering committe. Breakout sessions.
Child care: Childcare will be provided each day from 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. and during the evening worship. The fee for child care is $25 per child for the event. Please email your name and your children's age(s) to
Shannon Rutherford to register.
LEADERS:
Author, speaker, activist
Brian McLaren will headline the event. On Monday, Current participants will join together with CBF's True Survivor (Christian educators) attendees for three sessions with McLaren. McLaren served as the founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative, nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region, from 1986 until 2006. He is on the international steering team and board of directors for the Emergent Village, a growing generative friendship among missional Christian leaders.
Joy Yee, pastor of Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church in San Francisco, Calif., be available for 30-minute individual spiritual friendship sessions throughout the retreat. Yee previously served as moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Amy Butler, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., will preach at three worship sessions focusing on the theme of "Seasons of Calling."
Tracie Gray, associate pastor for worship and the arts at Willow Meadows in Houston, Texas, will lead worship.
Clarissa Strickland, CBF's networking specialist, will be available throughout the retreat for one-on-one sessions regarding
reference and referral.
Sign up for a time to meet with Strickland and bring a hard copy of your resume.
Chris Boltin, who facilitates CBF short-term service opportunities, will be available to talk with retreat participants one-on-one. If you are interested in learning more about missions service opportunities - for yourself or your church -
sign up for a time to meet with Boltin.
BREAKOUTS:
Life and Work in the Inner City with Christy Craddock
Come and discuss ways to work cross-culturally with those living in urban poverty, how a missional ministry is fleshed out in the inner city, and the cultural differences between those living in poverty and the middle class. The Rev. Christy Craddock is a CBF missionary at Touching Miami with Love. Christy works with the youth program. It's mission is Their mission is to mentor youth with Christ-like love to transform their lives, and empower young leaders to transform their community. Christy holds a Master of Divinity from Truett Seminary and a Master of Social Work from Baylor University.
Engaging Young Baptists Panel Discussion
Come and Dialogue with CBF leaders on what it means to be a young Baptist and what CBF is doing and intends to do to equip young Baptists for ministry and service in our changing times. Come with questions! Panelist include: Shaun King, Patricia Heys, Devita Parnell, Ray Johnson
Practical Ministry Helps with Shaun King
Come and dialogue with fellow ministers about the ups and downs of pastoral ministry. Bring your questions and insights. Possible discussion topics include: boundaries, friendship with congregants, sermon preparation, Sabbath, staff relationships, and dating.
Success or Failure . . . How Do We Know Which is Which? with Joy Yee
Am I doing a good enough job? Most ministers at one time or another have asked themselves this question. In the complex, mysterious work of ministry, how can we know we've succeeded? What happens when outcomes do or don't match our expectations? We plant seeds and water and weed . . . and sometimes we see God bring growth and there is a harvest. We feel good and think we know what we're doing. But sometimes when there isn't something definitive to measure, the internal and external pressures can build up until we lose our way. Are outcomes the only way to gage success in ministry? Come and find out!
The Road Less Traveled with Wanda Ashworth
Robert Frost's poem gives the idea that one moment, one decision, can determine your path for life. Wanda Ashworth challenges that idea, showing that God can use even our mistakes, our missed turns, to prepare us for ministry. Rev. Wanda Ashworth serves as the Director of Open House Ministries in Homestead, FL. She is one of CBF’s field personnel.
How to Keep Your Call Fresh with Brett Foster
Admitting upfront, that a "call into ministry" is both an event and a process, we'll examine a way of life that keeps our call fresh and new each day. Dr. Brett Foster currently serves as the Minister of Spiritual Formation and Mission at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL.
Ministering to Those in the Final Season of Life with Ann Taylor Owen
Oftentimes ministering to a person facing a terminal illness and his/her family is a brief paragraph in our pastoral care training. Join us as we explore the rewards and challenges of being present with terminally ill persons and their families. Rev. Ann Taylor Owen is a certified thanatologist and is the Senior Chaplain at Wuesthoff Hospice and Palliative Care, Melbourne, Fla.
Technological Tools at Work with David Cassady
Technology surrounds us, but what good is it to have tools at your disposal if you don't know how to use them? We will introduce you to some of the new technological tools available and how they might benefit your church's ministry.
SCHEDULE:
* Events are held together with True Survivor.
Monday, Feb. 23
8:30 a.m. Registration
9 a.m. Welcome*
9:30 a.m. Brian McLaren, Session I*
11 a.m. Dialogue Brian McLaren*
Noon Lunch*
1:45 p.m. Brian McLaren, Session II*
2:45 p.m. Dialogue with Brian McLaren*
3:45 p.m. Echoes: An Experience of Prayer*
6 p.m. Dinner at College Park
7 p.m. Worship
9 p.m. Fellowship
Tuesday, Feb. 24
9 a.m Devotion with Joy Yee*
9:30 a.m. Ministry Network Gatherings*
11:30 a.m. Lunch at College Park*
12:30 p.m. Breakout Session I
2 p.m. Breakout Session II
3:15 p.m. Free Time
6 p.m. Dinner at College Park
7 p.m. Worship
9 p.m. Fellowship
Wednesday, Feb. 25
9 a.m. Devotion with Joy Yee*
9:30 a.m. Breakout Session III
10:45 a.m. Closing Worship*
Coming soon: Details on breakout session opportunities.