If you teach the Bible as part of your ministry responsibilities, the upcoming Fall Teaching Conference is for you.  You may teach formally or informally, in front of a large gathering or one-on-one over coffee.  Either way, the Fall Teaching Conference is for you.  Or you may be a church leader who rarely teaches, but you hunger to know and apply The Book of Acts to your life and ministry.  The Fall Teaching Conference is for you.

On October 3-4, in the casual and relaxed atmosphere of Camp Shamineau, men and women, lay and staff, pastors and ministry leaders, singles and marrieds will join for fellowship around Jesus Christ and what he teaches us in The Book of Acts.

The Book of Acts—probably a favorite of us all.  We are rightly drawn to its vigor, its courage, its hope, its Christ-centeredness, its Holy Spirit power, its advance of the gospel, its heroes and anti-heroes.  There are so many things to aspire to in this book, and so many perils to avoid.  No wonder it’s a frequent focus of our sermons, lessons, personal meditation, and strategic methods.

Yet do we know how to read Acts well?  We tend to read portions of it with great care, extracting principles for this or that aspect of following Jesus.  But do we read it as a whole?  Do we understand its unfolding message from beginning to end?  Do we read it in light of Luke’s first volume, The Gospel of Luke?  And what about our pick-and-choose method of applying Acts?  We seem to be quick to use it to support such things as deacons, disciple-making, regional gospel influence, team ministry, and missions.  But we are slow to use it to support choosing of leaders by lot, speaking in tongues, pooling of personal possessions, healing, and visions.  On what basis do we choose?  How can we know if we are applying Acts soundly?

These are some of the issues we will be considering at our Fall Teaching Conference.  Doug Huffman, who has thought hard and written well on Acts, will be our teacher.  His messages will be these:

• Session 1: Luke—The Man and his Message
• Session 2: Special Issues with The Book of Acts
• Session 3: Luke’s Focus on the Community of the Church (Acts 2:42–6:7)
• Session 4: Luke’s Focus on the Unity of the Church (Acts 15)

Click here for more information on each of these messages.

If you’ve heard Doug teach, you know he combines careful study, clear communication, an earnest heart, and a love for Christ’s church and mission.  Together with Brian Farone, our new superintendent, the NCD staff and board, I invite you to come be enriched personally and ministerially.

(Click here for registration and brochure.   The conference is on Tuesday-Wednesday this year.)