The Church's mission is to reconcile the world to Christ, both bringing people to know to know the Lord and then to grow with him. Unfortunately, the American church is failing at this mission. Transfer growth has caused the appearance of perhaps doing well in areas, but this is not our mission. Across the country, it seems our culture is harder to reach than it was before, but we need to be careful to avoid the faults of the emergent church and other responses. The answer to this problem is not to dilute the gospel and avoid the hard truths, nor is it not to create a fortress around us, walling believers off from the world of temptation. We must stay relevant with our culture without changing the gospel, and we must make sure we are faithfully and boldly preaching God's Word.

How can the church incorporate new Christians into the body of Christ? John Cleary talks about how to help new Christians get more involved in the body of Christ including: identifying who new Christians are, what the body looks like, and what our role is in this effort. He lays out 4 aspects of our role in this: developing our own depth and ownership in this area, building personal relationships, encouraging increasing involvement, and recognizing obstacles in winning people to more involvement.\r\n

Small groups pastor Ken MacGillivray, discusses the process of transitioning from what he calls a traditional church (pastor-centered, program-based, church-campus-oriented) to a cell-based church. Frequently drawing from experience he has gained in doing just that, MacGillivray provides a blueprint for making this shift and answers a variety of questions from audience members about making the transition!\r\n

In recent history, the evangelical church has done a poor job of being involved in meeting the needs of the poor. This only further adds to the view of evangelicals as hypocritical and judgmental. Caring for the poor is a Biblical command, however, and we must be willing to meet not just the spiritual needs of people but the physical needs as well.

As D.A. Carson exposits Psalm 1, a few blaring questions come to mind. For one, the stark contrast between the righteous ones who meditate on God's Word and the wicked may seem too black and white for our modern experience. Through this lecture, however, Carson presents seven steps to process and think through Psalm 1. This includes understanding the different literary forms of the Bible, understanding how each genre works, describing Jesus' own parallel thinking, etc. Through this deeper, intellectual look through this psalm, we can truly gain understanding of meditating on the word. \r\n

The percentage of student involvement in a church is decreasing at a staggering rate. Today's youth are growing up in an age of extreme cynicism toward everything from people and institutions to knowing truth. In order to effectively reach high school and college students, it's essential to look at the culture they were raised in and be able to both critique what the world has taught them about significance and replace that with God's perspective.

Because our culture is becoming increasingly postmodern, Christians need to learn to contextualize the gospel in a way people will understand. This does not involve straying from truth, but it might mean changing the focus of our witness to action rather than words. By looking into the effects of postmodernism on the culture at large and the church, we can better understand the perspective people are coming from as well as how to more effectively dialogue with them about the gospel.

Community is an integral and vital part of the Christian faith, but being a community of truth is something that often gets overlooked. We are called to be open with one another, as well as with God, not living double-lives or living in darkness. We need to be accountable to one another in healthy ways and in an environment that supports sharing what is really happening in our lives. Through regularly being involved in this kind of community, we can experience true growth and deep relationships.

The Kosmos, a world-system set up by Satan in contrast to God's way of living, is well taught on throughout the Bible. Christians should recognize this system and fight against it, in contrast to how the American church has fed into this system, causing many people to compromise their faith. Far too often, Christians look no different from non-believers in this area, falling into greed and materialism along with the rest of our culture. We cannot serve two masters. Therefore, we must take a stand against this system and its damaging effects.

Doug Patch shares his personal experience in adult discipleship relationships to show how this sort of intimate and intentional relating within the body of Christ changes lives. The pros and cons of three different adult discipleship models are discussed. Though discipleship models may vary, the definition of discipleship should not. Discipleship is a Christ-centered friendship with the main goal of helping one another to reach spiritual maturity through character transformation and a ministry lifestyle. No matter the model, discipleship should include Bible study, ministry, counsel, and prayer. If done right, discipleship is certainly not easy, but it is eternally worthwhile.\r\n

Paul's letter to Titus sets forth a lifestyle of adorning the Gospel with good deeds. Four key questions are discussed in this teaching: 1) What are good deeds? Who should do them? To whom?, 2) How important are good deeds for Christian leaders?, 3) How do good deeds affect the spread of the Gospel?, and 4) What will motivate us to embrace and sustain a lifestyle of good deeds? The success of a sacrificial lifestyle in prospering the Gospel is emphatically supported by history. This sort of lifestyle starts with the individual. Each of us should commit to being a good neighbor, volunteering in our community, and investing our resources in serving the community.\r\n

The Jesus from Bethlehem to Calvary is a unique being. This time period includes the time from Jesus' human birth to his death on the cross. Is he God? If so, does he have the attributes of God? How is it that things could be true of God and not true of Jesus? These questions are addressed and through this discussion we can gain a deeper understanding of who exactly Jesus was and what his relation was to the Father.

How can we gain more insight on the issues of poverty and what we can do about it? Jeff Gordon talks about what the issues surrounding poverty look like, and the issues surrounding relief and development. He addresses how we can help, and how helping helps us! He terms it the philosophy of generosity; in essence, it is the fact that giving to others helps us in a deep and live-changing way. He lays out 4 aspects to understanding poverty and stirring up change: God's generosity, God's truth, pressing needs, and effective solutions.