Plenary Speakers' Summaries
View the Plenary Speakers’ videos here.
(click "Visit show page" on the top right to see all theAM videos)
Opening Ceremony and the Chairman's Address
Fueled with expectancy, some 1400 people gathered for the opening ceremony of the 10th Annual Anglican Mission Winter Conference on Wednesday, January 27 in Greensboro, NC. Answering the call to Join the Journey- this year’s conference theme – many travelled round trip to the venue by chartered bus just to participate in the opening service that celebrated ten years of fruitful ministry and charts a new course to “Build up the Highway” in the next season.
Andy Piercy, Director of Worship Development, and a gifted team of principal worship leaders from around the Mission ushered in the presence of God as worshippers prepared their hearts to receive a message from Archbishop Kolini who will retire from his position at the end of 2010.
Thanking God for the journey over the past ten years, Archbishop Kolini compared theAM to giving birth and raising a child saying, “We celebrate because the baby was born alive and thank God for those who were there in the beginning; we also celebrate the responsibility of protecting the baby because the Lord has been with us in times of joy and difficulty.”
Likening theAM history with that of Paul’s single-minded focus on the Road to Damascus, the Archbishop challenged listeners by asking if they “believe this journey is from the Lord” and then prayed “that we will remain obedient and never keep silent until the last one knows the Lord Jesus Christ”.
In his traditional Chairman’s Address to open the second day of the conference, Bishop Chuck Murphy also pointed out how theAM history parallels Paul’s missionary journey and made correlations between changes in our culture and the way in which theAM has approached Anglicanism.
He explained that “new things have taken place in this decade that have shaped us and changed us in concrete ways”, pointing out that the creators of IPod, iTunes, YouTube and Facebook didn’t invent music, videos or social networking, but noted that they created new ways to deliver them that have dramatically changed our lives. He emphasized that in each case, “these individuals saw a need and an opportunity and took action”.
“We didn’t invent Anglicanism in North America, but we created a new way to approach Anglicanism that has radically changed our world,” Bishop Murphy explained. “We saw the opportunity and took action, and we celebrate it. It is hard work, tiring, expensive, rarely done, and yet God has drawn you into this and that is remarkable. We are assembled for a remarkable movement of the Spirit that requires an anointing of the living God.”
Wrapping up his talk, Bishop Murphy retold the story of four African American college students that were refused service at a business in Greensboro 50 years ago and led a sit-in that resulted in the Martin Luther King walk three years later. He emphasized that these young men were unaware that their action, resolve and commitment would change history and made the point that the same is true of St. Paul.
“The same could be said of the Anglican Mission if we keep that kind of resolve,” Bishop Murphy said. “Fifty years from now people will remember that we met here in Greensboro, we stepped out and went for it!”
Batterson Encourages theAM to Maintain Relevance,
Think Long-Term and Dream Big
The Rev. Mark Batterson – church planter, author and entrepreneur – understands that failure actually presents greater possibilities. In his Winter Conference plenary session, Mark explained that his first failed attempt at church planting in Chicago led him to Washington, DC where he planted National Community Church (NCC) in a movie theater.
“The best thing that can happen in church planting is to fail so we come to the realization that God will pick us up,” he notes.
Today, NCC is reaching emerging generations with the Gospel through nine services in five locations and at their postmodern “well” – Ebenezer’s coffee house on Capitol Hill.
Outlining his “philosophy of ministry in a nutshell” from Matthew 10, Mark underscored and expanded these timeless truths in the context of church planting.
“Some people may need to be reminded that they are called,” shared Mark. “God wants us to remember what He has done in our lives and why we are doing what we are doing. I don’t have time for a sense of entitlement – we don’t have to do this, we get to do this.”
As we seek to fulfill the call to reach the lost through church planting in North America, Mark encouraged theAM to maintain relevance, dream God-sized dreams, think long-term and remember that personal spiritual growth takes precedence over church growth.
“Sometimes we feel that relevance is optional,” explains Mark, “and I am not talking about dumbing down the Gospel. This next generation wants to be challenged, and we cannot do it the same way it has always been done.”
Mark challenged theAM to “find ways of doing church that no one has even thought of yet and to find new ways of doing old things”.
“If we’re not careful,” he warned, “we’ll stop doing church out of right brain imagination and do it from left brain memory. May God sanctify your right brain imagination so that you will have holy imagination and dream God-sized dreams.”
Kinnaman Takes Cues from Culture to Reach the Lost
David Kinnaman, President of the Barna Group, shared sobering statistics about how our contemporary culture, especially those under 30, views the church and offered practical suggestions on how theAM can be part of changing negative perceptions.
Extensive research has shown that emerging generations share a common perception that the church is “no longer like Jesus intended”, describing it as “a photo copy, of a photo copy, of photo copy - distorted and unchristian”.
"Caring" at the Winter Conference
“They see Christians as more interested in closing the deal than caring for someone’s soul,” said Kinnaman.
While research points to 20 somethings being skeptical about Christianity, Kinnaman noted that some of the ways we practice our faith could actually help this generation “connect the dots and be Christ followers”.
Kinnaman proposed several specific ways for Christians to remain relevant to those outside the church: Respond in grace to those that view the world differently; be informed about pop culture; and pursue relationships with others instead of proselytizing. He also stressed the importance of our heart motivation.
“How much will you be motivated by love, how hard are you willing to pray and how far is this movement willing to go to obey the hard things God is asking you to do?” challenges Kinnaman.
“I believe that if we did a poll on the Anglican brand, it would show you have enormous opportunity because of your ancient future focus.”
Bishop Jones “Journey through the Jungle”
In his talk on Saturday morning, Anglican Mission Bishop Philip Jones, identified ten stones along the journey to “build the highway” (Isaiah 62:10) that distract the church from fulfilling God’s purposes.
Relating his own faith journey, Jones emphasizes that sharing the stories of our lives and being relational, not programmatic, is how we remove stones as we “journey through the jungle” in order to help people find Christ.
Changing a community "one child" at a time.
Affirming a sacred echo throughout the conference of “our tendency to overestimate short term success and underestimate long term value”, Jones gave thanks for the solid foundation and roots of St. Andrew’s Church in Little Rock, AR, because of a commitment by its founders to go deep and slow.
Jones cautioned listeners to remove stones such as hypocrisy, isolation and thinking small because “the church and local congregation are the hope of the world”.
“Whether in rented space, cathedrals or the open grounds of Haiti, a church full of strength, power and compassion can reach out to change a community one person, one child, one employee at a time,” declared Jones. “While others think we are irrelevant, when the earthquakes hit, marriages fail and unemployment rises, we are the people to whom they turn. It is always time to prepare the road, build up the highway and remove the stones.”
Margaret Feinberg Encourages "Scouting the Divine"
Margaret Feinberg, popular author and speaker, joined theAM again this year as a plenary speaker to share valuable gems from her new book, Scouting the Divine: My Search for Wine, Wool, & Wild Honey. In her powerful presentation, Margaret painted a word picture that offers insights into God’s character and our relationship with Him.
Margaret chronicled time spent with a shepherd, a beekeeper and a vintner, describing not only what these individuals do in their daily work but also how it relates to metaphors found in Scripture. Her adventure forever changed the way she reads the Bible.
Margaret shared insight gained while accompanying the shepherd as she tended her flock, noting that John 10 came alive for her in a fresh way. Her experience taught her that sheep are wired to respond to their shepherd’s voice, just as we are created to know and follow God as the Good Shepherd. In addition, she drew parallels with Psalm 139, noting that the Shepherd also has intimate knowledge of His sheep and hears every prayer we utter.
The beekeeper helps Margaret understand the importance of bees in the ecosystem as they pollinate a significant portion of the earth’s fruits and vegetables. Bees fulfill this function in a complex system in which each bee has a specific role in their hives, and Margaret drew parallels with the Body of Christ. “Within a hive when each bee does the job it is created to do, a natural sweetness abounds. So in it is in the body of Christ – when we each fulfill the roles and functions for which we are created, we fill the world with the natural sweetness of the good news of Christ.”
Finally, Margaret focused on lessons she discovered while shadowing a vintner in Napa Valley, California. Drawing from John 15, she focusing on the concepts of pruning and abiding, describing the gentle, careful snipping process vintners use to prune the branches that result in greater fruitfulness as well as the Lord’s “long-term perspective” in our lives, ministry and work. In the midst of our individual and local church vineyards, faithfulness and abiding will result in a future harvest. She also told participants that the best soil for growing grapes is stony ground which produces a distinctive character and flavor in wine, drawing an encouraging comparison with the lives of believers. Margaret’s time with the vintner reminded her that we are called to simply abide in the vine, trusting in God’s long-term perspective and allowing the “stones” of life to “produce Christ’s flavor” in us.
Summing up her presentation, Margaret called us to see God in the varied metaphors of Scripture, letting Him to shed new light and to reveal Himself in a fresh way. She encouraged us to “scout the divine” personally and corporately so He can “remind us of all He has done and all He has yet to do.”
