Workshop Registrations 2017

  • Instructions

    Any who attend the main studies (this may include those from 14 years and older) may attend workshops. However, we do have sport and craft activities organised for young people up to and including 14 year olds during workshops. We would encourage 14 years to take that option.

    Parents of younger young people please note that some workshops have been noted as most suitable for young people. Please consider carefully if younger young people indicate a desire to attend a workshop which is not marked as “Young People Suitable”.

    Workshop selections are pre-booked to facilitate arrangements for the workshops.

    Numbers per workshop are limited to 25-30 to facilitate discussion and discovery among participants. The rooms we use are classroom-size. We do not use the main hall for workshops.

    Places will more or less be allocated on a first come, first served basis, so BE QUICK with your response. We will aim to ensure that everyone gets at least one first choice.

    There are 2 groups of 8 workshops each during the Week.  The workshops are series that run for 2 or 3 sessions. Workshops A run over 2 sessions on Sunday and Monday mornings. Workshops B run over 3 sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. 

    Workshops A

    • 1st Session Sunday
    • 2nd Session Monday

    Workshops B

    • 1st Session Tuesday
    • 2nd Session Wednesday
    • 3rd Session Thursday

    We ask that you give us your top three preferences (1, 2, 3) for each group of workshops.

    Also, note the workshop you most want to attend and we’ll aim to ensure you don’t miss that due to rostering on children’s activities.

  • Attendee Information

    Please register each workshop attendee separately.
  • Use primary contact's email address if workshop attendee does not have an email address
  • Use primary contact's mobile phone number if workshop attendee does not have a mobile phone.

  • WORKSHOPS A – Sunday 11 am, Monday 10.50 am

  • Craig & Nicky Blewett

    In 2006 we began a campaign in South Africa with a goal to transform how we were preaching. Now, over 10 years later we are blessed with many new lightstands around the country. However, the goals we achieved and the lessons we learned were not what we expected. And herein lies many valuable lessons. 

    Part 1 - Touching Others - In this first session we will firstly look at what has happened with outreach work in South Africa over the past ten years and then look at the types of approaches that were successful, as well as those which were not. By sharing this we hope to open up conversations around new approaches for reaching out within other parts of the world.

    Part 2 - Touching Us - The second session will look at the unexpected rewards and challenges that outreach has on those who get involved. In this session we will look at the many amazing benefits we have realised - some quite unexpected, plus many issues and challenges we have had to deal with as together we slowly discover the real reason we are called to preach.

  • Ken Chalmers

    Peter describes the Lord's house, His temple, as being made up of "living stones" (1 Peter 2 v 5). Fitting 'living stones' together to make up a habitation in which the Father and His Son can dwell (John 14 v 23) involves challenges which we all experience in ecclesial life. Sometimes we may wonder why it is that we are closer to some of our fellow disciples than we are to others. Why are we drawn to some, and sometimes, seemingly, almost repelled from others. Is it us? Or is it them? Through a series of exercises over two workshop sessions, we will explore some of the reasons why personal relationships in ecclesial life can be both enjoyable and challenging. Ken is not a psychologist, but now retired, he has gone back over corporate training sessions for senior and middle managers which he experienced and reflected on how some of the lessons learned have both their basis in God’s teaching, and also provide valuable insights into personal relationships and how they may influence ecclesial life and our commitment together in the service of our Master, THE Living Stone.

  • Wendy Johnsen

    This is the grand theme throughout Scripture – God works through people to bring them into relationship with him. People continually fail to understand this and strive rather to keep others out, putting ‘walls’ up, in the form of rules and notions of purity and exclusivity. God keeps reminding people in the OT that he’s more interested in how people take care of each other, i.e. social justice, than in the rituals of religion and, in the NT, Jesus radically teaches this through his altruism. How does the cultural context of those times contribute to our understanding of this topic? In the current context of inter-racial tensions worldwide, how is a ministry of reconciliation relevant?

    We will examine the scriptural teaching and discuss its relevance for us today.

  • Trevor Nichols

    These workshops explore how and why Biblical history has been written the way it has.

    There is an art in the telling of history: to make it interesting, to make it relevant, to make it consequential. There is a science in the telling of history: to make it accurate, to make it honest, to make it comprehensive and comprehensible. In the telling of history, sometimes the art and the science find themselves at cross purposes.

    Much of the Bible is historical writing of one sort or another and these histories pose a number of problems for the reader: internal contradictions, implausible accounts, conflicts with secular history.

    We ask ourselves "how can we reconcile these?" when the more interesting question is "why are they different?"

    The most extensive biblical retelling of history is found in the book of Chronicles, so we will begin there, but our attention will be turning to many other narratives, from Genesis to the gospels.

    Ask yourself this question: if a modern American historian was writing a history of Europe in the 1930's, how might his or her account differ if Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 U.S. Presidential election?

  • Anthony Oosthuizen

    Matthew’s Gospel is very different from the other three. It is characterised by a series of discourses or sermons delivered on mountain tops and we need to investigate the reason for this. The ministry of our Lord is also bracketed by the two discourses reported in the greatest detail, and we shall concentrate on the second of these ‘bookends’. At the close of the public ministry, the disciples ask Jesus three questions relating to signs of the times and his second coming, which he graciously answers. However, disciples’ focus appears to be misguided and so the Lord, characteristically, asks them a question which highlights the real issue they should be considering (Matt 24:45). He then proceeds to answer the question himself in four noteworthy parables, which are all linked together and each of which reveals an important aspect of loyal service in preparation for the Kingdom. We can learn a great deal about the demands of discipleship from our Lord’s comprehensive answer.

  • Carryn Oosthuizen

    Psychologists have concluded that the need to feel loved is our deepest emotional need. This should come as no surprise; we are commanded “to love one another as I have loved you” John 13:34. Considering God designed us and made us in his image, he would obviously know exactly what we need.

    The actual actions of loving in a way that is appreciated by our loved ones is however not always that easy as people express and receive love in different ways. Dr Gary Chapman, a Christian Psychologist, devised a framework a number of years ago to help people to learn and express what he identifies as the five unique languages of love.

    Our first session will look at identifying and understanding both our unique love languages and those of our spouse and children. We’ll look at practical applications of the theory and hopefully come away with a strategy to express our love in a way that is meaningful to our loved ones. Our second session will look at how God uses these languages so that we can deepen our understanding of how to feel and reflect divine love.

  • Jake Pogson

    In the era that Jesus was on earth, the Hebrew people were "filled with anticipation for the Christ" (Lk 3:11). Yet, "he came to his own, and his own people did not receive him" (Jn 1:11). This workshop will consider the past accounts of who, how, and when people came to recognise or refuse that Jesus was the Christ they were expecting. Our purpose in exploring and reflecting on the experiences of those from the past is to gain insight into receiving and recognising Jesus today and in the future.

    This will be achieved by considering people’s relationship between the tangible experiences of Jesus and the intangible spiritual meaning before and after his resurrection. For example, John recorded specific tangible miraculous signs, "so that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ" (Jn 20:30). He described his own multi-sensory experience; “That… which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — the life was made manifest…” (1 Jn 1:1).

    Ironically, it was the people who were declared demon-possessed, and not the spiritual leaders, that consistently publically declared their recognition (Lk 4:34,41; Lk 22:66). The people from his hometown wanted to throw him off a cliff (Lk 4:29). His own family, and others, thought he was mad (Mk 3:21; Jn 10:21). But Jesus asks individuals to make up their own heart and mind (Jn 1:12; 9:35; 12:48).

    How do you think you will recognise Jesus today and in the future? What are your expectations?

  • Estelle Southall

    Changing long held attitudes or behaviours can be really difficult. We often get ‘stuck’ in a way of thinking and it is usually hard for all of us to see things from a perspective that is free from personal, cultural, linguistic and historical bias.

    Jesus ‘flipped’ the personal, cultural and spiritual norms and beliefs held, by good people - individuals, religious scholars and the masses. He threw light onto what mattered most in a way that set people, in every circumstance, free. So powerful was this freedom that Paul says, ‘So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery.’ (Gal5:1)

    Flipped thinking will not be a traditional presentation. It will be a collaborative exercise, an opportunity to consider our beliefs and bible teaching from a fresh perspective, through shared inquiry and reflection. This session will look at the powerful impact Jesus had on his society and consider what his revolutionary teaching might mean for us.

  • WORKSHOPS B – 3 Session Workshops – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

  • Tim Hughes

    The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5).

    For a moral life we need to tell right from wrong, do the right thing, and repent when we fail. We have this ability to stand alongside ourselves and as Paul states “accuse or excuse” ourselves. The exercise of conscience is one of the most important aspects of a life lived with true integrity. Should conscience always be our guide? These interactive workshops will engage our consciences and inform them from the Scriptures.

    In our hearts: we all have some sense of right and wrong. In some, conscience is so well developed that we agonise over decisions. When it is ignored, sin is justified, and conscience numbed. In all of us conscience can become confused, and we all fail. What is a good conscience? Is it the same as a clear conscience? In Hebrews we are told of a conscience trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Jesus can perfect and cleanse our consciences.

    In society, when following conscience requires a stand: Daniels friend’s refused to eat the King’s defiled food, Peter refused the order to stop preaching, Christadelphians went to prison for refusing to fight. When does conscience overrule the law? What are the conscience issues we should stand up for today?

    In the Church: when my conscience differs from my brother or sister. Paul writes at length about this in 1 Corinthians 8-11 and Romans 14 & 15 because it was causing strife then, and it still does now. Should we ever impose our views on others? What if someone believes that what we are doing is wrong? Can we distinguish between matters of conscience and first principles of faith and behaviour?

  • Janine Hennig

    In previous generations the ecclesial platform, the Bible and the occasional Christadelphian writing provided our sources of information about theology and Biblical history.  But, this is no longer so.  Scholarly Biblically related material is now readily available in the form of user-friendly reference books, university lectures, podcasts, documentaries and theses from across the spectrum of Christianity and beyond.  Such information is also frequently shared on internet blogs and online discussion forums.  As a result, topics which were once kept under wraps because they were deemed troublesome are now out in the open.

    There have always been topics which produce tension and controversy in Christian circles, but the biggest for Protestant groups like ours is the topic of the Bible and how it came to be considered as “wholly given by inspiration of God in the writers, and are consequently without error in all parts of them...” (BASF).  These workshops will consider the Bible’s history and how we have come to embrace ideas that are difficult to defend.  It will incorporate a review of our Jewish, Early Christian and Protestant roots.  We will look at what canonical Scripture reveals of itself.  We will consider psychology topics like ‘cognitive dissonance’ and ‘confirmation bias’ in an attempt to understand how we respond to new information.  The ultimate purpose will be to establish a more realistic and workable platform upon which to stand without diminishing the sacred nature of the Biblical texts.

    It should be recognized that there is potential for conflict on this topic between those who feel unable or unwilling to confront new evidence and those who would like to openly work through the issues.  These sessions are intended for the open minded ‘explorer’ who has already begun considering such challenges and would like to continue doing so with the moral support of others.

  • Simon & Bev Morgan

    This workshop is about forgiveness.

    On 17 August 1980 on a camping trip at Uluru (Ayers Rock), 9 week old baby Azaria Chamberlain disappeared. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, claimed she had been taken from the family tent by a dingo. Azaria's body was never found. Rumour and suspicion grew quickly around the case, fuelled by a lack of understanding of the Chamberlains' Seventh Day Adventist faith and a perception that Lindy Chamberlain was not behaving as a grieving mother should. The initial coronial inquest supported the Chamberlains' claim. Investigations continued however, and a second inquest was held, which led to the Chamberlains being charged with Azaria's murder. In October 1982, Lindy was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    The chance discovery in 1986 of Azaria's missing matinee jacket at the base of Uluru, in an area full of dingo lairs, led to Lindy's immediate release from prison. A royal commission was set up in 1987 and the following year the convictions against Lindy and Michael Chamberlain were overturned. A third inquest held in 1995 recorded an open finding and listed the cause of Azaria's death as 'unknown'. The Chamberlain trial was the most publicised in Australian history and is now held up as an example of how the media can adversely affect legal proceedings.

    Lindy has spoken about her time in prison, and the lessons she has learnt since, in an inspiring DVD, which we will watch together in our second session. She talks about the real meaning and purpose of forgiveness and why it is so important to our mental health and well-being.

    This series of three workshops will incorporate discussion around: • Current research in Brain Science and Neuroplasticity, and how recent evidence supports what the Bible teaches. • How science documents the healing benefits of love, intimacy, community, compassion, forgiveness, altruism, and service. • How we are “transformed by the renewing of our minds”. • What forgiveness is all about, and it’s purpose. • Who is the tenant in your head?

  • Cathy Strachan

    Did Jesus preach a message of tolerance? Would you have an abortion? – why? How would you feel if your child or sibling told you that they were homosexual? How would you care for the spiritual health of family who have experienced a suicide?

    This workshops will be a challenging and perhaps confronting discussion forum on whether we have a choice and rights about life and death decisions, and/or whether this is our Father and Creator’s choice. 

    In a mutually respectful but open conversation, the workshop will consider different topics each day looking at God’s principles regarding life and death & our rights and choices, past and present secular views on these subjects, and suggestions regarding our care of those struggling with these very personal decisions in their lives, within the spiritual family and outside.

    Part 1 – Suicide Part 2 – Abortion and Assisted Dying  Part 3 – Other social-medical-ethical choices. e.g. LGBTI, assisted reproduction, surrogacy

  • Darren Tappouras

    The Apostle Peter wrote – “Always be prepared to give an answer (Greek: “apologia”) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1Pet 3:15).

    In discussing our faith with others, the emphasis has dramatically shifted over the past several decades from doctrinal issues to questions relating to the existence of God and the reliability of the Bible. Social researcher Hugh Mackay reports that less than 15% of Australians now attend church at least once a month and that an increasing number of Australians are now classifying themselves as having “no religion”. Our society is far more secular today than it has ever been and added to this is the active campaign by the “New Atheists” such as Richard Dawkins to discredit the Bible and ridicule the idea of a God.

    These sessions will provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the evidence available to us when engaged in such discussion. The sessions will focus on (1) The Existence of God – looking at moral, philosophical and scientific arguments, (2) The historicity of Jesus Christ and the evidence for the resurrection. (3) The reliability and trustworthy nature of the Bible. We will draw on arguments from some of the best thinkers on these subjects including William Lane Craig, John Lennox, Hugh Ross, C S Lewis, etc., as well as taking time to view extracts of actual debates between these writers and opposing atheist thinkers to understand both sides of the argument and evaluate their respective positions.

    These sessions are not just to equip us to talk about our faith with others, but also to help strengthen our own faith as we live in a culture where belief and commitment to God is sadly declining.

    (Darren holds a Certificate in Apologetics from Biola University)

  • Patrick & Stephanie Tappouras

    “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” - Psalm 150:6

    Praising God through song can be so many things: uplifting, inspiring, spine tingling, expressive, acknowledging, reverent, joyful. It is so deeply integrated into many of our formal and informal gatherings together, so much so that perhaps it’s become an everyday aspect of worship that we take for granted at times.

    The three Music for Praise Workshops aim to be a bit of a ‘pause and reset’ as we think about not only why we’re praising, but how we can make the most of this incredible gift.

    Lead by Patrick and Steph Tappouras, the workshops will be sharing thoughts around music in the praise context, including but not exclusive to:

    • praise outside of Australian context • the origins of praise • writing praise music • how to play well with other musicians • how to lead the congregation effectively

    The workshops will be fun and collaborative, with an aim to get a well-rounded and informed view of praise as well as some practical tools we can implement into our communities. And who knows if this might lead to a little creativity.. Bring your instrument, ideas, singing voice, or even just your listening ears as we discuss and celebrate the gift of music.

    Stay tuned for a survey once you sign up - your preferences and ideas will help shape the workshops!

  • Ben & Roxy Topham

    The qualities of endurance and consistency enable someone to complete a race. Roxy and Ben, having completed eight ultramarathons between them, will share their physical, emotional and spiritual journey. Each runner has different needs and experiences even though we are all in the same race. Many scriptural references use the running metaphor and we will aim to discover why.

    The ultimate runner was our Lord Jesus Christ. He tore through the ribbon. He won the race. He endured to the end. How did He prepare for the run of his life? How was He sustained? "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" You will go on a journey over three workshops and ask many questions of yourself. Rarely do you find a person who has a strong relationship with Jesus that has not suffered pain in their life. We aim and hope that all will be inspired to continue our run with Jesus and help each other on the way

  • Geoff Watson

    In these workshops I want to explore a theme that has not been as well developed in our community as it might be but has deep implications for understanding that we are IN Christ. Jesus' sacrificing life and death remains a watershed moment for all people. As the 'last Adam' he bore and exhausted the entire affliction of our humanity but in so doing he opened the way for blessings that offer us eternal hope and abundant new life now. In the unsearchable wisdom of God the cross is where: death has been exchanged for life; condemnation for grace; separation for acceptance; enmity for reconciliation and love; sickness and disease for healing; poverty for the true riches...and so the blessings unfold. These are just a sample of elements we can consider from the Divine Exchange - which is truly wonderful news! Yet the challenge of our workshop is also to explore ways we can live these blessings and share them with others.

  • The workshop I have to attend!

    Due to limits in workshop capacity, it is difficult to give everyone their first choices. Please select your "most wanted" 1st choice - and we will do our best to get you into it - but we can't guarantee it.
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