Apprentice Gathering 2024 Speakers
James Bryan Smith
Biography
(BOTH SESSIONS ARE FULL) Friday Workshop #1 & #2 - Essentials for Living Deeper in the Kingdom of God: Teaching with Matt Johnson (Same Workshop Offered for Both Sessions)
Emily P. Freeman
Biography
With over 26 million downloads, her short-form narrative podcast, The Next Right Thing, ranks as one of the top 50 Religion and Spirituality podcasts in the country, offering clarity and direction for anyone who wants to move beyond the pro/con list.
Emily holds a master’s degree in Christian spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University, where she also serves as a residency lecturer. She lives in North Carolina and, together with her family, finds her current spiritual home among a local group of friendly Quakers. You can learn more about Emily on her website at emilypfreeman.com or join The Soul Minimalist community on substack.
aTalk - How To Walk Into A Room
Friday Workshop #1 & #2 - A Framework for Practical Discernment (Same Workshop Offered for Both Sessions) (BOTH SESSIONS ARE FULL)
Brian Zahnd
Biography
aTalk - A Tale Told by an Idiot
(SESSION IS FULL) Friday Workshop #1 - The Wood Between the Worlds
A theopoetic and kaleidoscopic approach to the cross.
(SESSION IS FULL) Friday Workshop #2 - One Ring to Rule Them All
A radically Christian perspective on the pursuit of political power.
Heather Thompson Day
Biography
Heather is an Associate Professor of Communication at Andrews University. She is passionate about supporting women, and runs an online community called I’m That Wife which has over 270k followers.
Heather’s writing has been featured on outlets like the Today Show, and the National Communication Association. She has been interviewed by BBC Radio Live and The Wall Street Journal.
She believes her calling is to stand in the gaps of our churches for young people. She is the author of 8 books; including It’s Not Your Turn, and I’ll See You Tomorrow. She resides in Michigan, with her husband, Seth Day, and their three children, London, Hudson, and Sawyer Day.
aTalk - The Heart of a Lion
In this talk Heather will walk you through what it actually means to live out our Christian faith as image bearers. Is relationship to others an essential component of our relationship with God? Heather will explain why Jesus is called “The Lion of the tribe of Judah” and what having a heart of a lion means for us today. In a world of conflict, division, and controversy, this talk will invite you to remember your identity in Jesus Christ.
Friday Workshop #1 - Give Me Your Hand: A workshop on connecting with Generation Z
Gen Z is the loneliest generation in U.S. history and yet, human beings are wired to want to exist in relationship with other people. This is not just a Christian teaching. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs places “belonging” as the third most important need for human beings only following food, water, and safety. So, what happens to our ability to pursue dreams and goals, what happens to our focus, in a generation of increased isolation? In this presentation, Communication Professor Dr. Heather Thompson Day will focus on who is Generation Z, what challenges are facing them, and how can we build relationship with them as a church. Give Me Your Hand, will refocus all of us on what matters; healthy, positive relationships with each other.
Friday Workshop #2 - Enter the Marketplace: A Workshop on Social Media
For over 15 years Dr. Heather Thompson Day has studied how we use language to exchange ideas, and for six years she has been teaching a course in social media, designed to help churches and creators better navigate digital discipleship.
In this talk, Heather will provide you with basic tools that will help you understand what social media is, why building relationship and community through online platforms is the goal, and why she believes it is so important for Christians to not give up their seat in the online marketplace.
Our message matters. And Heather believes we should use every available tool to reach audiences with it.
Ken Shigematsu
Biography
aTalk - Becoming Your True Self
(SESSION IS FULL) Friday Workshop #1 - Meditation: How Silence Makes Our Mind and Soul Whole
This workshop will explore how meditation awakens us to a fresh encounter with God’s presence and helps us experience more inner peace and joy, better mental recall, and less anxiety and depression.
(SESSION IS FULL) Friday Workshop #2 - Sabbath: A Palace in Time
This workshop will explore how the Sabbath helps us realize our value does not come from what we produce but from the glorious fact that we are cherished as a child of God. We will be invited to find joy on the Sabbath as “palace in time” by delighting in God, life, the beauty of life, and the most important people in our lives.
Skye Jethani
Biography
aTalk - Sin, Certainty, & Stupidity
Friday Workshop #1 - What If Jesus Was Serious About the Church? (SESSION IS FULL)
Friday Workshop #2 - What If Jesus Was Serious About Heaven? (SESSION IS FULL)
Rebecca Letterman
Biography
(MORNING SESSION IS FULL) Thursday Intensive - Rightly Discerning the Body: The Sacramental Nature of Human Physicality (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
Our God-given physicality is more than a “spirit taxi” or “tool” for doing God’s work: being a body is a kind of sacrament, a visible means of grace. Wisely discerning the body is a powerful key to spiritual discernment, repentance, and transformation – to becoming more like Jesus. In this experiential workshop, we will explore together ways in which being a body can serve as a gateway for God’s grace and truth in our lives. Scripture and classic spiritual practices will be coupled with practices designed from embodiment research to create experiences of discernment, paths of repentance, and prayers for transformation as we seek to “glorify God in our bodies” personally and communally.
Friday Workshop #1 & #2 - Embodied Conflict: How Your Body can Serve Grace, Glory & Truth in the Invitations of Conflict (Same Workshop Offered for Both Sessions)
Alan & Gem Fadling
Biography
(BOTH SESSIONS ARE FULL) Thursday Intensive - A Non-Anxious Life: Experiencing the Peace of God’s Presence (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
Do you, like so many of us, see anxiety as an incentive to perform? Or a proof of how much you care? Or is anxiety simply an unwelcome shadow over your days, bringing with it clenched teeth and an upset stomach?
Alan and Gem will share personal stories of how anxiety has gripped them and how God’s presence and care moved them toward freedom, grace and peace.
The Fadlings will help you discern a posture from which you can rest more deeply, live more fully, and lead better. Fixing our minds on grace and peace, we can begin to see the benefit of loosening our grip and operating from a sure foundation.
• We’ll address six anxiety metaphors that can shine a light on your own inner dynamics.
• We’ll show you how three simple virtues can pave the way to a more peaceful heart.
• We’ll invite you into a life “for the birds” and that can lead to greater receptivity to God’s love.
Friday Workshop #1 - Non-Anxious Work: Integrating Our Active and Contemplative Lives
Friday Workshop #2 - Beyond Numbing: Discerning True Rest From the Counterfeit
Bill & Kristi Gaultiere
Biography
(SESSION IS FULL) Thursday Morning Intensive - Through The Wall: Going Deeper With Jesus in Emotional Health
At various points in our spiritual journeys we hit a wall of spiritual dryness, burnout, deconstruction, or another crisis. At these times our faith doesn’t work like it did before and God feels distant. Many people try to keep trudging on for years, feeling like that’s all there is to the Christian life. But God has so much more for us! In their book Journey of the Soul Bill and Kristi unpack their research-based and field-tested model of six CHRIST stages of emotional and spiritual growth, interrupted by The Wall. In this intensive they go deeper into what happens when you hit a wall and how it can become a soul pivot into spiritual renewal through emotional honesty and cultivating intimacy with Jesus. They explain how the Inner Journey (I Stage in the CHRIST stages) prepares us for Spirit-Led Ministry (S Stage) which features a fresh anointing and increasing joy through serving God as a Wounded Healer. You will be encouraged in your personal growth and equipped to better care for and guide others. You can get started now by taking their free Spiritual Growth Path Assessment here.
(SESSION IS FULL) Thursday Afternoon Intensive - Hidden Hurts & Addiction: Growing in Healthy Attachments through the Enneagram
Hidden hurts are a primary reason for overeating, drinking too much alcohol, using pornography, codependency, and over-working. If we don’t address these compulsive patterns than our spiritual growth will be sabotaged. Bill and Kristi cast new light on addictions, emotional health, and spiritual formation in Christ. They explain the “Cycle of Addiction” which fosters unhealthy emotional attachments and contrast this with the “Cycle of Loving Relationships” which fosters healthy emotional attachments to God and others. Then they draw on their Enneagram & Emotions model from their book Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith to show you how each of the nine Enneagram types has its own vulnerability to compulsive behavior (unhealthy attachment) through its root sin. They teach you how each type can use it’s emotional alarm and soul care practice to grow in healthy attachment and nurture the positive emotion their type especially needs. This intensive will help you in your personal growth and equip you to better care for and guide others. You can get started now by taking their free Enneagram & Emotions Assessment here.
Friday Workshop #1 - Healthy Boundaries: Accepting Your Needs and Limits to Flourish in God’s Love
Friday Workshop #2 - Relaxed: Soul Care Practices to Calm Anxiety and Cultivate Intimacy with Jesus
Michael J. Cusick & Brian Boecker
Biography
Brian Boecker holds a Masters degree from Denver Seminary and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. He is trained in Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Internal Family Systems, and a number of temperament personality assessments. He brings extensive missionary experience and past intensive counseling experience working with individuals, couples, pastors, missionaries, and other Christian leaders. Brian served with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) for 27 years in a variety of leadership capacities primarily throughout East Asia where he oversaw 800+ staff from 10+ sending countries in 10 different regions. Since leaving staff with CRU, Brian has served with multiple ministries and partnered with many churches and organizations. He is also a clinical supervisor at Denver Seminary. He has a deep love of entering the stories of people in ways that move them toward restoration, healing, and wholeness. Brian enjoys a good time with friends, being outdoors, and finding empty nest adventures with his beloved wife Crystal. They enjoy living in Colorado and have two adopted adult daughters.
(BOTH SESSIONS ARE FULL) Thursday Intensive - Take Me To The River: How Neural Integration Informs Our Understanding and Practices of Spiritual Formation: Teaching with Brian Boecker (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
(SESSION IS FULL) Friday Workshop #1 - Holiness and Wholeness - Why Integration (not cleanliness) Is Next To Godliness
Holiness and wholeness are two sides of the same coin. Truly holy people are whole people, and truly whole people are holy. We will explore classic scriptures around holiness and see how the modern church in the west has been left with a “legal” understanding of holiness. In contrast, we will consider a “relational” understanding of holiness, as modeled and exemplified by Jesus with his emphasis on outpouring, inclusion, and embrace.
Casey Tygrett
Biography
Casey Tygrett (D.Min.) is a pastor and spiritual director who has lived in the spiritual formation conversation for the last two decades. He is the author of The Practice of Remembering: Uncovering the Place of Memory in Our Spiritual Life and The Gift of Restlessness: A Spirituality for Unsettled Seasons. He is passionate about the soul health of leaders and the recovery of the transformational way of Jesus that is spiritual formation. He, his wife Holley, and daughter Bailey live in Chicago, IL. www.caseytygrett.com @caseytygrett
(MORNING SESSION IS FULL)Thursday Intensive - A Good Grief: The Way of Loss as a Way of Spiritual Formation (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
What do we do when we lose something that is dear to us? Is there any goodness in loss, grieving, and the pain of what can no longer be the same? In this intensive, we will explore how the stages of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension can be a path into and through our grief for the sake of our formation and the formation of others. We’ll talk about the various characters in the crucifixion story, the stages of grief, and the practices that help us deeply embrace the way of formation through our losses.
Friday Workshop #1 - Why Your Memories Matter in Spiritual Formation
Friday Workshop #2 - Spiritual Formation Will Save the World
Wendy Mohler-Seib
Biography
Thursday Intensive - Mentoring Young People in the Practice of the Presence of God (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
Friday Workshop #1 - Thinking Theologically with Young People
Friday Workshop #2 - Youth Sports and the Spiritual Formation of College Athletes
Bette Dickinson
Biography
Thursday Intensive - Seeds of Hope: Surrendering to God in the Unseen Journey of Loss and Waiting (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
Friday Workshop #1 - Praying with the Imagination: Experiential Encounters with Divine Beauty
Friday Workshop #2 - Praying with the Body: Nurturing Your Soul Through Movement and Meditation
Tim Loftin
Biography
Thursday Intensive - Future Faith: Passing on a Vibrant Faith to Future Generations (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
In a chaotic world, what if the church, God’s people, you and me, were the ones that pointed them to something better? What if we had ways to invite the present and coming generations into a transformational community that would give each young person purpose and true identity in Christ? Let’s journey together in practices, prayers, relationships, actions, and words that will transform our own lives and the lives of the young people we encounter each day.
We will look at teen culture and discuss practical ways to engage with it with wisdom and positive discernment. We will also look at spiritual practices that could help guide us on this journey. Finally, we will examine how scripture provides a roadmap to guide us in passing faith to the next generations.
Grace Pate Pouch
Biography
Thursday Intensive - Slowing Down Childhood: Helping kids of all ages form a deep connection with God
Who is it for? Parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, and church family… Anyone who wants to steward Christian wisdom about life with God to the next generation.
What will we do? Together we’ll look at false narratives about time that infiltrate family and church life. Then, we will workshop simple but powerful steps we can take to help ourselves and our children slow down and experience greater freedom, connection, and depth.
Debbie Swindoll
Biography
(BOTH SESSIONS ARE FULL) Thursday Intensive - Effective Formation in The Local Church (Same Topic Offered in Both The Morning and Afternoon)
The global events of the last four years have set the stage for a major shift in the metrics and practices within the local church setting in America. Combined with the intensity of stimulation and entertainment at every moment in our day, we have become a culture of weary, numb, and distrusting people. This is a great opening for those who believe that a deeper focus on spiritual formation is the answer to these needs. But given the opportunity, do we know what changes need to be made to offer our church family experiences that are truly effective toward the formation God is calling us to?
This intensive will invite participants to listen, reflect and engage in group discussions around what we have found to be the core elements of effective formation experiences:
1. How do you define success for the formational experience in your local church setting? What is your end goal?
2. What does it look like to normalize the time required for a formational experience in a world hooked on speed and efficiency?
3. Is dismantling (disruption, destabilization) a required step leading to self-knowledge when experienced within a healthy community?
4. What values and practices make an effective small group community?
5. How do we encourage and propagate effective practices, the creation of new habits, as a new normal in our church experience?
Friday Workshop #2 - The Cost of Formation for You and Your Church
Often our attempts at discipleship fall short because it requires more from us than we are willing to give. Bonhoeffer had it right decades ago in his honest work, The Cost of Discipleship. True spiritual formation is personally, and communally costly. It requires the loss of life as we know it for us to embrace the better life that Jesus invites. But it seems that honesty about what formation really takes is not in vogue. What drives us as leaders to water down the process, simplify it until it is ineffective, or reduce it to a week-, or month-long program rather than a lifetime pursuit? Our models for life change have left us woefully inept at creating an environment of real change. How can we foster an environment that supports the Holy Spirit’s work in a person’s life?
John Carroll
Biography
As Executive Director of Dallas Willard Ministries, John Carroll directs DWM’s operations, finances, and programs. He is also the founding director of the School of Kingdom Living, an immersive spiritual formation program designed to help its students put on the character of Christ and experience the fullness of God’s Kingdom here and now. He holds a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary and is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. John resides in Melbourne, Florida with his wife, Amber. Together, they have two teenage kids.
Friday Workshop #1 & #2 - A Serious Look at the Discipline of Play (Same Workshop Offered for Both Sessions)
When you think of spiritual disciplines, what pops into your mind? You might say solitude, silence, fasting, worship, service, prayer, and confession. Those are all great answers. Dallas Willard found that working with a range of disciplines is beneficial for our life with God. So why don’t we include play as a means of grace? Perhaps that’s because work is prioritized – even celebrated – by our world. Consequently, play is viewed as devoid of meaning and simply a waste of time.
If authentic play is to regain its joyfulness, it must be separated from earthly powers and refocused on the Kingdom of God. In this workshop, we’re going to take a serious look at the discipline of play by exploring the theology of play, the Imago Dei found in playing, and its meaningfulness for the Christian life. This will be fun!
Chad Clemons
Biography
For over 25 years, Chad Clemons has navigated full-time ministry – from wrangling families as a ministry director to planting churches and now the deep waters of COO at Trueface. When he’s not developing clarity for Trueface or coaching churches on organizational development, you can catch him in the great outdoors: camping, off-roading, or casting lines for the big one. He’s all about challenging others to live with purpose! Married to his high school sweetheart, Kathy, for 33 adventurous years, they are now empty nesters exploring the world. Their travels often revolve around visits to their daughter, Sierra, now making waves in Brooklyn, NY. He invites you to join him in living purposefully and fully alive, remembering that every moment is an opportunity to make it count.
Friday Workshop #1 - The Lens of Grace : How we see God, ourselves and others?
Friday Workshop #2 - Environment and Process for Growth : How do we grow and engage our world?
• How you think about God will determine how you relate to Him.
• How you relate to God will determine how you view yourself.
• How you view yourself will determine how you interact with others.
Cheri Hudspith, Lori Shoults & Sibyl Towner
Biography
Cheri, for the past 11 years, has been helping pastors and lay leaders with the unique challenges and joys of bringing Spiritual Formation into the local church. Initially, this began by training Life with God leaders, a three-year journey offered through Grafted Life Ministries, and eventually expanded into other relationships developed beyond that organization. She completed her training in Spiritual Direction through Selah – LTi in 2013. She now enjoys training future directors as a Supervisor through the same program.
Lori Shoults:
Lori is the curator/designer of The Ignatian Journey: A Contemporary Approach to the Spiritual Exercises. She leads groups through The Ignatian Journey and is one of the retreat hosts for the Pastors, Priests, and Guides Retreat. She served for several years on The Practice team at Willow Creek Community Church and for three years was the Program Coordinator for the Spiritual Formation Certificate Program through Moody Distance Learning. She is passionate about spiritual formation, spiritual direction, and inviting others into a deeper intimacy with Christ.
Sibyl Towner:
Sibyl is the co-author of Listen to My Life, a resource dedicated to helping people review their life stories for the purpose of recognizing and responding to God. Her joy is believing in God for another; by listening to another or facilitating a group experience of listening to one another. She has served the pastoral staff at College Hill Presbyterian Church and Willow Creek Community. For the past 14 years, Sibyl and her husband Dick co-direct The Springs Retreat Center in Oldenburg, Indiana. She offers Spiritual Direction and trains Spiritual Directors through Sustainable Faith.
Sibyl enjoys listening to people’s stories, reading, walking in all seasons, opening their home, and facilitating retreats.
Friday Workshop #1 - Stages of Healing Faith: An Ever-Deepening Spiral of Grace
Friday Workshop #2 - The Art of Three-Way Listening: A transformative practice of spiritual listening and story Delivered by Sibyl Towner and Cheri Hudspith
Mike King
Biography
Mike King serves as President/CEO of Youthfront. Youthfront provides youth ministry programs, services, resources and training. Mike is an adjunct Professor at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City where he earned a Doctorate in Spiritual Formation. Mike’s book Presence Centered Youth Ministry: Guiding Students into Spiritual Formation (InterVarsity Press) has received widespread critical acclaim. Mike and his wife Vicki live in Kansas City. They have two sons and a daughter, all married, and eleven grandchildren.
Website – www.youthfront.com