Winter Theology Conference 2012

We want to encourage you to mark your calendars for the evening of Friday, January 27 and the morning of Saturday, January 28. In addition, we will have a special Fellowship Meal on Sunday, January 29 immediately following our worship service (see the Faith calendar and our Facebook page).

We will be hosting Pastor Rob Rayburn from Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Tacoma, Washington. Rob has been the pastor of Faith for more than 30 years; amidst his shepherding duties and writing and speaking obligations, we are delighted that he has made time to visit us in Anchorage. In addition, we extend our thanks to the congregation of Faith Tacoma for going without their senior pastor for a weekend.

Rob holds a doctorate in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen. He has also been a sought-after leader within the Presbyterian Church in America (see the denominational magazine) since its inception and, in addition to caring for the congregation of Faith, has written and ministered widely. Having written a great deal on the nature of the church from a theological perspective, we have asked him to speak from more of an historical perspective regarding the American Protestant experience as well as some of the distinctives of Reformed theology.

As to the Friday evening talk, having been a pastor and scholar for more than three decades, he has witnessed many shifts in the state of Evangelical church in America and we have asked him to share, candidly, some of his observations. As to the Saturday morning talks, Rob has mentored many young men in pastoral ministry and, as our congregation is happily “Reformed,” it seemed appropriate to have Rob describe some of the unique aspects of our theology, especially to those new to a Reformed church. Both events take place at Tanglewood and are open to the public.

You can learn more about Rob by checking out, “Who is Rob Rayburn?” Some of Rob’s recent publishing activity can be found here and here.

Those who should attend:

For Rob’s Friday evening talk, the majority of attendees will have some kind of positive background with American Evangelicalism. These individuals are likely to be worshippers in an Evangelical church. However, we would be gratified if some of Rob’s audience were individuals whose experience with Evangelicalism has been mostly negative. These individuals are not likely to be in fellowship with an Evangelical congregation. This event may be a surprising opportunity for them to hear that some of their critique of Evangelicalism as outsiders are also shared by individuals within Evangelical ranks.

For Rob’s Saturday morning talks, we suspect that the majority of the audience will be Evangelical worshippers who, nonetheless, have some misgivings about Calvinism. And some may be Evangelicals who already sense an uncomfortable resonance with Calvinism and would like to more closely examine what they are already experiencing (see “What’s ‘new’ about Calvinism?”)! We assume that both sets of individuals will be interested in hearing Reformed theology winsomely defended and discussed.

Schedule of events:

• Friday, January 27 (7:00pm – 10:00pm): The State of the Evangelical Church in America  |  This talk is open to the public and will be followed by a Q&A period; light refreshments provided.
• Saturday, January 28 (10:00am – noon): What is Distinctive about Reformed Theology?  |  These two talks, with a short intermission, will open with light refreshments
• Sunday, January 29 (11:00am – 12:15pm): Worship at Faith Presbyterian Church
• Sunday, January 29 (12:15pm – 3:00pm): Fellowship Meal and an informal interview/Q&A session with Rob at Faith Presbyterian Church.