Can We Change the Course of the New Millennium?

Christian Leadership Ministries has long been committed to encouraging a two-pronged approach to ministry. We have seen the strategic need for equipping professors in practical ministry skills so they can reach out to students and colleagues with the gospel. But we have also honored the need to be an agent for changing the very culture of the university by integrating faith and academic discipline.

Tim Downs addresses the importance of honoring both paradigms in his new book, Finding Common Ground: How to Communicate with Those Outside the Christian Community While We Still Can [Moody Press, 1999]. Downs reminds us of the importance Jesus placed on "reaping" a spiritual harvest; however, he also reminds us of the vital role that "sowing" plays in this harvest.

He explains it this way:

"By harvesting, I mean what we traditionally refer to as evangelism: the attempt to communicate the complete gospel message to a listener and to lead that person to Christ. By sowing, I mean the slow, gradual, behind-the-scenes work that prepares a listeneror an entire cultureto be able to hear the gospel. Many evangelicals, convinced that these are the last days, believe that we are living in the time of the Last, Great Harvest. In our enthusiasm for the harvest we have forgotten the role of the sower."

Christian Leadership Ministries in partnership with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries will host the God and the Academy conference this summer in Atlanta is an attempt to honor both of these essential elements. We will be bringing together some of the best thinkers to help equip you to make a significant difference right where you are. But is it really possible to chart a new course for the university during this next millennium?

Let me share some of the things we will be doing at God and the Academy that make me believe we are in a unique position to do just that. First, there will be some inspirational messages during the main sessions. Plenary speakers include Ravi Zacharias, Phillip Johnson, Lilian Calles Barger, Alister McGrath, J. Budziszewski, Robert George, Ken Elzinga, Krister Sairsingh and Elaine Storkey. Add to that a daily Biblical exposition by D. A. Carsona powerful combination.

But the real heart of the conference will be the workshops each day. The workshops will be discipline-related each morning and topically-related each afternoon. The discipline workshops will be facilitated by a chairperson in each field of study. The chairs will be discussing issues relevant to each discipline and then breaking for "working lunches" to continue the discussion. Workshops will also be available for spouses who would like to discuss and discover ways of working as couples in ministry on campus.

In addition, you will have a wide variety of afternoon workshops to choose from each day. The topical workshops will deal with issues of cutting-edge apologetics, professional development, networking and practical ministry ideas.

The conference will also include time for "poster sessions"short abstract presentations.

Conferences are nice, but can they really have a lasting impact? We are praying and planning that this one will. How? By tying together all of these elements with an easy way to maintain contact with colleagues after the conference. We will be introducing an exciting new Web-based tool that will let the discussion and collaboration continue no matter where you are.

Won't you be a part of this history-making event? Together we can shape the face of the futureone in which Christ is sown abroadly throughout our universities.