Winter School 2019
Winter School is an opportunity for alumni to access world-class educators and to take a deep dive in an area of vocation or issues of contemporary relevance. You will join a small group of learners and sit under two world-class educators, Paul Williams and Dr Rod Thompson. Both short courses are two days long and will run simultaneously. Places are limited, so be sure to register early.
Short Course One:
Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Kingdom of God
with Paul Williams
Businesses serve a unique and particular function in our lives together. They produce goods and services that are meant to contribute to the flourishing of our communities, while also providing jobs and incomes for people the world over. For those who are business leaders and entrepreneurs, there are countless questions that emerge around the purpose of business and entrepreneurship: How do we understand the function and purpose of business within the wider purposes of God for his good creation? How do we contribute to and participate in Jesus’ injunction to seek the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness? And, what are the implications for financing, relating to employees, undertaking sales, and the myriad of other responsibilities on any given work day?
Over two days, we will have the opportunity to reflect theologically on our vocations as business leaders and entrepreneurs. We will also have space to workshop current opportunities and challenges and to have robust discussion with fellow Christian business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Short Course Two:
Biblical Immersion and Cultural Engagement: Embracing the Tension of Faithful Witness
with Dr Rod Thompson
We are called to do life, with all its demands, delights, and disappointments, as people who flourish in relationship with the triune God and one another out of deep immersion in the Scriptures. But how can we realise such immersion without disconnecting from life more widely? And how can we engage in our cultural times and places in ways that are wise, incisive, and redemptive?
Over two days, we will immerse ourselves in Scripture and explore the commitment to embrace tension, experienced by all who seek to be faithful witnesses to Jesus in challenging and opportune times. What practices will shape us? What habits will characterise us? Together, creatively and intentionally, we will address such questions in this short course with a particular emphasis on the New Testament book of Luke.
DATES
24 – 25 June
COST
Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Kingdom of God
$230 per person, covering all teaching, materials, and food costs.
Biblical Immersion and Cultural Engagement: Embracing the Tension of Faithful Witness
$180 per person, covering all teaching, materials, and food costs.
VENUE
Cape Horn Lounge and Haybarn
TIMINGS
Monday, 8:30am – 5:00pm
Tuesday, 8:30am – 4:00pm
The two short courses will begin each day with coffee at 8:30am, before beginning the teaching at 9:00am. We will gather for morning tea and lunch together, and we’ll finish with drinks on Tuesday.
TEACHERS
PAUL WILLIAMS is a gifted leader, entrepreneur, and teacher, known for his visionary outlook and prophetic call to mission in contemporary culture. Paul is currently the CEO of the British and Foreign Bible Society and Research Professor of Marketplace Theology, Regent College. Previously, Paul served as Executive Director of the Marketplace Institute and the David J. Brown Family Chair of Marketplace Theology and Leadership, Regent College from 2005 to 2015. He was also the Chief Economist and Head of International Research for DTZ plc, a London-based multinational real estate consulting and investment banking group, and has been retained as an economic advisor for major international corporations and government agencies. Paul’s research and publications have focused on the relationship between Christian faith and global capitalism. Paul brings prayerful and critical consideration, leadership expertise, and a background in economics, political philosophy and theology to the Church’s missional engagement with contemporary culture. Paul is married to Sarah and they have two adult daughters.
DR ROD THOMPSON is a Bible scholar who is deeply passionate about Scripture, education, and biblical immersion. He has devoted his life to studying and teaching Scripture, starting his career working in Christian schools as a High School History, English, and Biblical Studies teacher, before training to become a Presbyterian Minister and serving in Mount Druitt, Australia for 12 years. Rod then furthered his study, earning a Masters in Education in 1999 and a PhD from Macquarie University in 2003, where he explored the foundational impact of the Bible on the Christian schooling movement in Australia. He served as National Principal/CEO of Laidlaw College from 2010-2015, before returning to Sydney to be closer to family and taking up a role as Presbyterian Minister on the pastoral team at Springwood Presbyterian Church in Sydney’s Blue Mountains. Many will remember Rod from his teaching on Summer Conference and the Internship, as well as his involvement on the board of Venn in the first few years of the organisation. Rod is married to Roseanne and they have four adult children and seven grandchildren.