All-Church Equipping Conference, October 14-15, 2022
Who is God? And how important is it, for us as Christians, that we have a right perception of God?
Christian pastor and writer A.W. Tozer answered that question in this way:
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.
For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.
We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God.
A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: HarperCollins, 1978), 1.
How we think about God affects our worship of Him. What we believe about Him influences our praying, our parenting, our counseling, our evangelism, our working, our resting, our planning for the future. Every area of our lives is impacted by our perception and thoughts of God.
Because this is of such vital importance, not only for us as individual Christians but for us as a church family, we are planning an equipping conference for our whole church this fall, and the focus is on the doctrine of God. We are blessed to have pastor and professor Dr. Erik Thoennes come to teach us about this foundational doctrine, and our hope is that as we behold our God in deeper ways, our hearts and lives will reflect His glory more and more (2 Corinthians 3:18).
When our own Pastor Jeremy worked as an adjunct theology professor at Biola, he was privileged to serve under Dr. Thoennes, so he is super excited that all of us are blessed with this opportunity to learn from him as well. This is Pastor Jeremy’s introduction of him to us:
Dr. Erik Thoennes is a professor and chair of theology at Talbot School of Theology, Biola. He also serves as a pastor at Grace Evangelical Free Church, La Mirada. Dr. Thoennes is Biola's most sought after professor of theology as he is known for teaching theology in a way that connects biblical doctrine to practical life, discipleship, and missions. He has taught theology and evangelism at the college and seminary levels and has received the Biola University award for faculty excellence and professor of the year. In addition to teaching in the local church, and at Biola University, he is also an author and frequent speaker at various conferences and retreats such as Mount Hermon's Family Camp.
It's a joy to have Dr. Thoennes teaching us on the doctrine of God. I know you will be blessed at this conference as he helps us Behold our God.
COVID restrictions have interrupted our usual rotation of church retreats and we have not been able to have our all-church summer conference since 2018. Therefore, this equipping conference is designed to be an all-church event to gather us together around the Word of God in a manner more conducive to our varying degrees of health risk (i.e. less than 24 hours with no overnight accommodations). It will begin on Friday evening, October 14, and continue Saturday morning through afternoon on October 15, all on the Evergreen Church campus. So mark your calendar and plan to attend with the whole family! More details and registration coming soon.
Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”
Isaiah 40:9