Brian Nixon with ASSIST News Service (ANS) just published an article about last week's National Pastor's Convention titled "A Change of Scenery: The National Pastor's Conference" Below is the full article, re-published with permission from ANS from the article's original link.
Monday, March 3, 2008
A Change of Scenery: The National Pastor’s Conference

By Brian Nixon
Special to ASSIST News Service
SAN DIEGO, CA (ANS) -- Every now and then, I like a change of scenery: visually and theologically speaking, to be exact. You see, I live in central Orange County, California, and other than the beaches, we are a huddle of concrete and buildings.
At the same time, I consider myself an evangelical- the Sola Scriptura variety. So, when the opportunity comes for me to hear new voices in the world of Christian thought, I usually jump at the chance, a type of mental scenery change- if you will.
With this said, it came as bright news when I found out that this year’s National Pastor’s Conference was being held at the Town and Country Resort in San Diego, California.
As a one-time resident of San Diego County, I always look forward to an opportunity to go to the land of sun, rolling hills, zoo’s, and beaches. And besides, it is only an hour and fifteen minutes drive south to reach my destination.
So, “why not,” I thought. This would be a great place to go to be able to put together my yearning to see some new scenery- visually and mentally- with the opportunity to hear some unique voices in the Church.
This year’s conference was a first for me on several fronts. It was the first time I attended the National Pastor’s Conference. This was the first time I heard many of these particular speakers. It was also the first time I took both a pastor friend of mine, and my wife, along.
The line-up of speakers was a mix of old and new. On the one hand there were the young bucks, and in my opinion, still finding their voice. Speakers such as Erwin McManus, Dan Kimball, and Shane Claiborne filled in this area.
On the other hand, there were the stalwarts, the “sages,” as they were called at the event: Charles Colson, Calvin Miller, John Ortberg, and Mike Yaconelli filled the bill here.
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N.T. Wright |
Then, there were those who transcended the event; these individuals were able to bring something to the conference that was sublime, thought provoking, and stimulating. Those that fell in this category were Bishop N.T Wright, Bishop John Ruchahana, Jim Wallis, and J.P. Moreland.
It was this last grouping of men that made the conference worth it for me. And to do justice to their ideas and lectures, pages would need to be given. But sadly, I do not have the space to do that. Yet, simply put, I will give you some thoughts of the time I spent listening to them. It must be said that I didn’t agree with all the statements of points made by these gentlemen, but I did find their ideas to be thought provoking.
N.T Wright, Bishop of Durham, in northern England, left me with ideas and images. The ideas he shared were concerning the Kingdom of God, and our ability to live in it and it to live through us. The images were of what we, as the Church and believers, are to be like in the world:
“We are like windows in which people of the world can see through… to the see the pastures and reality of God’s kingdom.”
“We are like stone builders, building an edifice that is the Kingdom of God.”
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Bishop John Ruchahana |
Bishop John Ruchahana, pastor in Rwanda, Africa, challenged me to make Jesus central, not Church growth programs or new church movements: “Jesus penetrates us; we should yearn for more and more of Him.” His exposition of 2 Peter 1: 1-10 was marvelous.
Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourner’s Magazine, reminded me that all great social and political movements (Wesley’s England, Edwards’s America, etc.) started with spiritual revival. His call for both personal, mass revival mixed with social action was a wonderful memento of the dual nature of the Christian life: knowing and doing, or put another way- the understanding our faith, and the acting upon our faith.
J.P Moreland’s idea of the Kingdom Triangle (recovering the Christian mind, renovating the soul, and restoring the Spirit’s power) was a penetrating look at what it means to live a Christian life in the post-modern era, and ultimately, a call for radical reliance upon the Holy Spirit, expecting the gifts to be used in power and urgency in our contemporary world.
To be fair, there were so many speakers, events, and activities going on that I possibly could not attend all of them. As a matter of fact, I missed some of the main sessions on two of the days. So I am sure that there were other wonderful speakers and ideas presented. I will, however, have to leave those thoughts and ideas for another person to report on.
Yet, just the four mentioned above gave enough food-for-thought, further reading, and pondering to last until next year’s conference.