Friday 1st September, 9:00am - 10:30am
The Possibility of Life in a Larger Story in the Midst of the Tangled Web of Human Stories (Richard Cook)
We’ll begin with a conversation around two key questions of spiritual theology: what is the Holy Spirit up to in lives? and how do we participate? Catching a glimpse of God’s Larger Story we’ll glimpse the blazing light of His one central will: intimate connection – kanohi ki te kanohi – face-to-face with God IN Jesus. In that union we can become increasingly FREE TO BE. We’ll develop our vision for releasing God’s Life from that liberation in our work with others.
Saturday 2nd September, 9:00am - 10:30am
The Impossibility of the World-Shaping Smaller Stories (Richard Cook)
What’s at the heart of the complex tangled web of smaller stories humans in communities live by? Here the important spiritual theology questions: what are we like? and what has gone wrong? will help us peer into the under-estimated slavery of self-focus, self-protection and self-promotion. Within the small stories we find ourselves under pressure, trying to be (rather than free to be), stressing to make life work as best we know how. We’ll explore how tapping into people’s longings and thirsts brings the world-shaping smaller stories out into the light of day.
Saturday 2nd September, 1:30 - 2:30pm
A Journey Through Impossibility Towards Possibility: “Becoming Little Christs” (Richard Cook)
What a challenging work we do… If we’re going to participate with the activity of His Spirit in the complex lives we walk with, then our own journey with God is the key resource! From that wellspring we travel the terrain with others. Jesus said that true change and potency come from the inside out. In the counselling moment of enormity … of people’s struggle… of our own inadequacy… how do we walk by faith rather than just by counselling modalities? How do we walk by the Spirit - rather than by confidence in our interventions? How do we walk in love - rather than by trying hard?