Tracks

Session One
Understanding marketing in light of the Bible's big story.
Peter will briefly trace the development of marketing thought as a management discipline, its place alongside innovation as one of the two core functions of a business as advocated by Peter Drucker, and its inherent orientation towards serving and creating value for customers. He will touch on how and why this more noble purpose has become corrupted and in some respects lost its way in modern practice, using a Scriptural perspective. He will conclude with a call for rediscovering true virtue and "doing the right thing" in the practice of marketing as a positive force in society.

Session Two
Addressing professional and practical issues within marketing in light of Scripture.
Peter will introduce and explore the key professional issues facing marketers in modern business practice, and how these can be engaged within a Biblical worldview. The work of Alford and Naughton in their book "Managing as if Faith Mattered" and Blamires in his book "The Christian Mind" will be used to provide a framework for discussion and dialogue. Particular attention will be paid to product development, marketing communication and sustainability issues.

Session One and Two
Over the last thirty years, the criminal justice in New Zealand has become one of the most punitive in the western world. It is characterised by high rates of imprisonment, conditions which breach international human rights standards in prison, and increasing intolerance toward the treatment of offenders and their families and whanau within the community. Kim explores why this has happened, what the gospel has to say about justice, and what we can do to achieve the redemptive and restorative justice envisioned within the gospel.

Session One and Two

“How do we understand social movements in light of God’s big story and what might he be calling us to next?”

Over many centuries God has powerfully worked through movements of people committed to bringing together social justice and spirituality. This workshop will explore social movements - their history, characteristics and impact on the world. It will examine why the evangelicals, who historically were at the forefront of these movements, have in recent years allowed themselves to be marginalized and intimidated. The session will workshop God’s big story for this world and practical ways that we can once again spark a generation of New Zealanders committed to social justice and spirituality.

How do we address key professional and practical issues within our profession in light of Scripture

How do we deal with the modern day professional challenges we all face in our careers? Is Scripture still insightful and how do we decide the right thing to do in the face of competing world views, personalities and the every day realities of the workplace? Participants will be invited to share their own “war stories” of seeking to bring faith to their work – the triumphs, failures and painful lessons learned. We will then meet some biblical characters who wrestled with similar challenges. The session will conclude with participants helping develop a framework for thinking Christianly about professional issues and practical ways of staying healthy (salt and light) in the workplace.

Session One
Being a pastor—convictions through a biblical lens.
The biblical metaphors that matter - like shepherd, servant and parent - and their reappearance right through the biblical story. Examples of pastors. The participation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the pastoral calling. The role of pastor in the mission of God, leading the church as it gathers for worship and ministry and scatters for work and mission.

Session Two
Being a pastor—questions for a Kiwi context.
What can be done about the diminished respect for the pastor? How can building-trust and sharing-power become the key ingredients of pastoral leadership? What priority should vision-casting and value-setting have in the skill set? Why do law and medicine and education keep stealing so many good pastors? How do you find faithfulness amidst the numbers game? What can be done about the salary which the calling attracts? How do you cooperate with competitors? How can theological education add something to the calling - rather than subtract from it? What has happened to the art of building a team? How advisable is it for it to be an interim call, rather than a lifelong call on a person's life?

Session One and Two
The Architecture track will aim to balance theory with practical application. We will start by laying some Biblical foundations and gaining an overview of historical and current Christian thinking about architecture and the built environment.

We will look at the purpose and meaning in the Bible story of creative endeavour generally, and of our buildings and cities specifically. From past and present examples we will look for evidence of the reality of the Fall and redemption, in how and what we build. We will put together a critical toolkit from a Christian worldview, as a basis for reflection on our own work and for dialogue with others.

On the practical side we will briefly explore some challenges that are common to all professional and business endeavours. Issues more specific to the practice of architecture, will include: the tension between ego and service; problems with adequate remuneration, continuity of employment and life balance in a cyclical industry; meeting the challenges of a high-risk profession in an increasingly litigious environment.

We will conclude with some opportunities—how can we be “salt and light” to our profession and the wider community?

I hope that we can shape the content around the interests and needs of the participants. I also hope that this track might be the start of an informal network that might continue beyond the conference.

Session One
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Later he created people to have dominion over the earth under his authority, or in other words, he created engineers! At its fundamental level, engineering is humans working to transform our surroundings in a way that benefits society and honours God as King. What does that mean? Join the 'Gospel and Engineering' track at Catalyst Conference 2010. God willing, I will be presenting two seminars on how the gospel and engineering relate to each other. In the first seminar we'll dig into a theology of engineering, tracking through the Bible and understanding God's plan for engineering.

Session Two
In the second seminar, we'll take a more practical look at how some real world problems can be analysed from a Biblical perspective. We'll all learn more of what it means to be an engineer committed to God's kingdom.

Session One
Jenni McIvor and Dennis Fountain are intending to work together for the first session as there are many issues which are common to all teachers whether pre-school or university. We want to discuss together and work towards a Biblical understanding of sues such as:
- understanding human beings/students,
- what are we aiming at? What do we intend our students when they finish at our school to be like? What is Christian maturity?
- teaching in a ‘secular’ school.
- deschooling society. Does society expect the school to do too much?
- Biblical ethics in the classroom/school?
- thinking Christianly about assessment

Session Two
How do we follow Christ in primary education? How is the gospel applied to curriculum development? How do we integrate prayer into our teaching experience? What's a Christ centered approach to choosing a school to work in? We are going to be looking at these issues and a range of others. There will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and input.

Session One and Two
Our first responsibility and occupation was to work the land. What relationship does the ancient mandate from God, to steward the land in Genesis, have with our contemporary responsibility of managing our agricultural resources well? In the farming track we are going to explore how farming fits into God's eternal purposes and humanity’s place in them. We are also going to see how these biblical issues impact our day to day farming.

Session One
How do we understand nursing in the light of the Bible’s big story?
Nursing is a profession that just fits the theme of this session. The Bible provides a rich resource for nurses as they strive for greater understanding of what it means to be a nurse and to practise nursing. Always, there is encouragement and guidance to reflect on the being of nursing – the nurse person; the act of nursing – nursing practice; the process of nursing – nursing partnership; the actors - the nurse, the “patient”, the family, the health care team; the essence of nursing – nursing knowledge; the study of nursing – nursing education and research; and the quality of nursing – nursing ethics; as well as the contribution of nursing to the life and wellbeing of a community.

Session Two
How do we address professional and practical issues within our profession in light of Scripture?
Nursing abounds with “issues” – both professional and practical – and it is so easy to approach their discussion with a negative critical spirit – woe is me! However, this interactive session will challenge participants to enhance their understanding of how their growing maturity as a disciple of Jesus Christ shapes the way they reflect on professional and practical issues, as well as the ways they might respond. It is hoped participants will leave this session affirmed and assured of the essential God-honouring integrity between their personhood and their practice – and with some Biblically based strategies for action.