The International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry will be bringing its biennial international conference to Sydney in January 2017. This is a unique opportunity for lecturers and students in developmental ministries (children’s ministry, youth ministry, young adults ministry, Christian education) to engage with the international research academy in this field.

You are invited to the next meeting of the Brisbane Australian New Zealand Association of Theological Schools (B-ANZATS) from 1.30 to 3.30 pm on 7 March 2016 at Brisbane School of Theology at 1 Cross St, Toowong.

Guest speaker – Dr Les Ball

“A Pedagogic Paradigm for Integrating Theology (and hence cultivating transformation in the theologue)”.  The presentation will consist of a schema for approaching theological study and a (brief) review of some suggested methods for implementation.

This will be preceded by a Brisbane ANZATS business meeting of representatives from the college from 12.30 to 1.30. Please arrange for at least one representative from each college to attend the business meeting.

Les has held many posts including Field Education Director and Lecturer in Christian Education at BCQ, Academic Dean at QBCM/Malyon, Dean of Brisbane College of Theology, Director of Coursework at Sydney College of Divinity, and Research Fellow in Practical Theology at The University of Queensland.  In 2010-2012, he undertook a major research project on behalf of the Australian Council of Deans of Theology into student experience and transformative learning in Australian theological education, culminating in the publication of the monograph Transforming Theology (Mosaic Press, 2012). His research has been disseminated  by means of conferences, professional development seminars and the publication of a further work edited by Les Ball and James R Harrison, Learning and Teaching Theology: Some Ways Ahead (Morning Star, 2014). He was recently a keynote speaker at the ANZATFE Conference in Melbourne in December 2015.

Please pass this information on to the faculty and staff of our theological colleges and associated organizations.

Where possible, please let myself Sam Hey shey@citipointechurch.com or Mechile Bavas at BST mbavas@bst.qld.edu.au know of numbers attending so as to assist with catering.

THE SEVENTH  ACWR ANNUAL CONFERENCE, August 12-13, 2016

will be held at the Nazarene Theological College Brisbane

The theme is – WESLEYANS IN WORSHIP

The next ACWR Conference will be held at Nazarene Theological College in Brisbane from Firday evening to the Saturday evening, August 12-13, 2016. This year the theme is “Wesleyans in Worship” and the keynote speaker will be Rev Emeritus Professor Robert W. Gribben. Prof. Gribben is a liturgist and ecumenist who has published widely in the area of worship includingUniting in Thanksgiving: The Great Prayers of Thanksgiving of the Uniting Church in Australia(Melbourne: Uniting Academic Press, 2008) and the entry on The Uniting Church in the Oxford History of Christian Worship (Oxford University Press, 2006). He is Chair of the Standing Committee for Ecumenical Relations of the World Methodist Council and recently retired as Editor of The Australian Journal of Liturgy.