VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 3/16/11)—Just announced, “The New Normal” is a pre-Biennial event for church leaders that will reflect on the impact of culture on ministry. The Ministers Council, ABC Region Staff, Mission Resource Development and American Baptist Women in Ministry offer this opportunity to learn about coping with current cultural changes in the day-to-day work of ministry. “The New Normal” will precede the American Baptist Biennial on Thursday afternoon, June 23 and Friday morning, June 24, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We are living in the most accelerated period of change that the world has ever known and God has placed us here for a reason,” writes Soozi Whitten Ford, stewardship facilitator for ABCUSA’s Mission Resource Development office, one of the four American Baptist organizations that have joined forces to sponsor this event.
“Our goal is to provide an experience in which ministers will acquire both enhanced understanding and practical tools for ministry in our rapidly changing culture,” states Joe Kutter, executive director of the Ministers Council.
“The New Normal” will feature Dr. Peggy Kendall, associate professor of Communication Studies at Bethel University, and author of Reboot: Refreshing Your Faith in a High Tech World. Dr. Kendall also hosts a website on Technology and Faith (http://pkendall.squarespace.com). Friday morning’s session will feature Dr. Gary Nelson. An urban missiologist, Dr. Nelson is President of Canada’s Tyndale University College and Seminary, former General Secretary of Canadian Baptist Ministries and author of Borderland Churches: a Congregation’s Introduction to Missional Living. Both sessions of “The New Normal” will encourage conversation among Dr. Kendall, Dr. Nelson and those in attendance.
Jeff Woods, associate general secretary for Regional Ministries and one of the planners for “The New Normal” says, “I am excited about the possibility of bringing together persons who touch ministry from several different angles to focus upon the one aspect that is changing all of our lives, technology.”
For more information and to register, visit the ABC Biennial website, www.celebrate2011.com.
American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.