Zondervan - Critical Concerns Courses

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Critical Concern Courses are only $79! You can register for a CCC when you register for NPC. Since CCCs are all offered at the same time, you may only sign up for one. If you are already registered for NPC, log back into the reg system and add a CCC. If you would like to go to a CCC ONLY, the cost is $129. If you need help, please call customer service at 866-429-0828.

Women and the Church: A Broken Past, a Tender Present, and a Hopeful Future
Sarah Cunningham, Margaret Feinberg, Jonalyn Fincher and Jeanne Stevens
The relationship between women and the church has all the makings of an Oscar-winning film, or at least the potential for a mini-series on HBO. Join us as we probe through the rich history of women and church, including present day opportunities and tensions. If you are a woman in ministry or a pastor looking to support the women on your team, come hear a fresh angle on creating a church-ethos where women can bring their talents to expression.

Redefining Power: Finding Our Place in a Global Church
Mark Labberton, D. Zac Niringiye, and others
Our central Christian affirmation makes a claim about power: “Jesus is Lord.” This alone means followers of Jesus should be especially alert to issues of power. At this time in our North American culture and in the state of global affairs, the collisions, claims, and counterfeit ideas about power are everywhere. They affect the church around the world every day, as well as right here at home. North American pastors and churches particularly need to think again about power. We need to consider how the Gospel, and the global church, can help us see power redefined in order for us to live and preach the gospel more faithful power. This seminar brings together a set of outstanding pastoral and theological leaders from churches in the Majority World, to reflect and challenge us.

Facing A Leadership Shortage? First Make Disciples!
Greg Ogden and Daniel Meyer, Facilitators
Where have all the leaders gone? There are few issues as frustrating for pastors as finding people who will step up and assume leadership responsibility. But is the answer to a leadership shortage, just better leadership development programs? The foundational assumption of this seminar is that leaders are made from disciples. We have a leadership deficit because we have not had an intentional disciple-making focus. Come to consider together how we tie the development of leaders to an approach to growing a disciple-making farm system. Though all disciples are not leaders, all leaders had better first understand discipleship. The seminar leaders are co-authors of Leadership Essentials.

Emerging Critical Issues Facing the Church: Religious Pluralism, the Role of Scripture, Homosexuality and Political Involvement
Andy Crouch, Tony Jones, Scot McKnight and Phyllis Tickle
This course is intended to wrestle with the difficult issues facing churches today. Four hot button issues will be discussed by representatives from mainstream evangelicalism, emergent village and mainline denominationalism. You will hear diverse perspectives on such questions as: What is the role of Scripture in the church today? How do we deal with the plethora of religious beliefs in our culture? How should we be involved with the political process? What place does the homosexual have within the church? Each participant will espouse their view based on their understanding of Scripture and you will be intrigued at how Christians can agree and disagree in a charitable way.

They Like Jesus, But Not the Church
Dan Kimball
Ask members of today’s emerging generations—roughly age 35 and under—what they think of Jesus and chances are you’ll get a glowing response. Ask their opinion of the church and the reply will probably be less favorable. Why? Taking both questions to the streets, Dan Kimball returns with critical insights for church leaders that will help them understand this emerging generation. With characteristic frankness, Kimball looks at six common objections that younger people have to the church. Institutional and politically motivated, judgmental, homophobic, female-repressive, narrow-minded … how accurate are these perceptions? How off-target? Exploring these objections in this course, Kimball helps church leaders understand why emerging generations say they like Jesus, but not the church. Every participant will receive a free copy of They Like Jesus curriculum.

Practicing the Presence of Jesus: A Spiritual Retreat
Mark Yaconelli
Percy Ainsworth once wrote, "I'm afraid that too often we leave the deeps of life untouched not because we remember they are sacred but because we forget they are there." This simple retreat will invite you to return to "the deeps" of your life in God. Through silence, classical prayer exercises, and meditations on scripture we'll seek to return to our central calling as companions of Jesus and lovers of God.

Revolutionizing Group Life in the Church
Henry Cloud, Bill Donahue and John Townsend
How can you make group life a positive experience for everyone? Can groups actually train themselves to become healthy groups? Henry, Bill and John will be sharing their expertise in helping groups become safe, transforming places. In this workshop you will also see how the ReGroup tool, a new small group DVD from Zondervan, is used to train small groups right in the context of their regular meetings, guiding them to be healthy, authentic communities of spiritual growth… You will see how creative dramas and group exercises can be used to guide your small groups toward healthy habits and practices. Every participant will receive a free copy of the ReGroup curriculum.