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National Pastors Convention 2009 Speakers Announced!

Zondervan is pleased to announce the first National Pastors Convention 2009 speakers: Rob Bell, Shane Hipps, Margaret Feinberg, Shane Claiborne, Ruth Haley Barton, Christopher Wright, Scot McKnight, David Anderson, and AJ Jacobs.

More speakers will be announced every week on the brand new NPC Blog, so check there often. We are already getting excited for NPC 2009 and want to make sure you are a part of it. Don't miss your chance to hear these great speakers (and even more). Sign up before May 15th for our Best Deal rates and save up to $170!

National Pastors Convention 2008 MP3s

Did you miss a session at National Pastors Convention 2008?  Or did you miss the conference altogether?  Don't worry, because nearly all of the sessions are available online at www.npcmp3.com.  You can download an MP3 or have an audio CD mailed to you.

The most popular MP3s currently on www.npcmp3.com are:

1. General Session 7: Bishop N.T. Wright
2. General Session 6: Bishop N.T. Wright
3. Seminar Series #5: Bishop N.T. Wright
4. General Session 1: Erwin McManus
5. Seminar Series #2: Scot McKnight
6. General Session 5: John Ortberg
7. Late Night Options: Shane Claiborne
8. Seminar Series #3: Jeff Lucas
9. Seminar Series #1: Andy Crouch
10. General Session 4: Brenda Salter McNeil

National Pastors Convention 2008 article

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.

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.”

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.

NPC Live Blog: NPC 2008 in Pictures

NPC Live Blog: Last Day

National Pastors Convention 2008 is wrapping up this morning with a Communion service led by N.T. Wright.  All around the conference you can see conference attendees hugging and shaking hands farewell to old and new friends.  It has been an incredible week of learning and refreshment for everyone.

Thank you for following NPC 2008's Live Blog this week!  Stay tuned to www.Zondervan.com/blog next week for more audio clips from N.T. Wright and others.  Also stay tuned to this blog for more conference photos and reflections.

NPC Live Blog: John Ortberg, Carolyn Curtis James, J.P. Moreland, and Greg Boyd. Up Next: N.T. Wright!

John Ortberg led a terrific General Session #5 this afternoon!  You can listen to a 5 minute clip of his talk at:  www.sermonconnect.com/npc .  You can buy a download of the entire session at:  www.npcmp3.com. 

At both links above you can also find from earlier today J.P. Moreland's session "Sex and Secularism: Why Islam May Win the West", Carolyn Curtis James' "Looking at God from Ground Zero: When Leaders are Hurt and Broken", and Greg Boyd's "The Myth of a Christian Nation."

NPC 2008 conference attendees are a buzz today about N.T. Wright's Bible study this morning, where he took participants through the book of Acts in just 45 minutes!  N.T. Wright will also be speaking at tonight's General Session #6.  Look for an audio clip from this session tomorrow morning.

NPC Live Blog: Chair Giveaways & Free Discussion Guides

One of the best thing about National Pastor's Convention 2008 is the chair giveaways.  At each General Session a book or two is given away to every attendee of that session.  Chair giveaways this year have included The Faith by Chuck Colson and The Fisherman's Testament by Cesar Vidal.

To not only NPC attendees, but to anyone anywhere, Zondervan is also offering free discussion guides for both of these books on our website.  You can download the free discussion guide in PDF formats for The Faith at this link and for The Fisherman's Testament at this link.

NPC Live Blog: General Session #2 Photos

Mark Oestreicher, Youth Specialties:

Daren Streblow, comedian:

Stephen Newby, worship leader:

Richard Hight, artist:

Les and Leslie Parrott:

Bishop John Rucyahana, speaker:

NPC 2008 Conference attendees:

NPC Live Blog: Chuck Colson & Brenda Salter McNeil MP3s

At National Pastors Convention 2008 Chuck Colson delivered an incredibly strong General Session #3 message about the importance of knowing the tenets of the Christian faith.  He stressed the need for Christians to not only do good deeds, but to know our creeds.  Chuck discussed how Christians needs to stay grounded in Scriptural Truth, or we can be at risk of losing our bearings.  Chuck's new book on this topic, The Faith, was given away free to all attendees yesterday, which brought great joy to everyone who heard his powerful general session.  Chuck will be embarking on a 10-day blog tour for The Faith next week, which you can learn more details about at this link.

Chuck later participated in a panel discussion hosted by Krista Tippet from Speaking of Faith.  Krista interviewed Chuck, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne in a moving conversation about politics and Christianity.  Other highlights from yesterday included Brenda Salter McNeil's General Session #4 last night, Greg Boyd's seminar on "How to be Evangelical without being Conservative," and Shane Claiborne's seminar "Jesus for President." 

You can listen to 5 minute segments from all of the sessions mentioned above at www.sermonconnect.com/npc and you can purchase MP3's of each of these sessions at www.npcmp3.com.