Perfection as Protection: Rooted 2010

Check out Dr. Ashley Null's first keynote address, "Perfection as Protection", from the Rooted Conference in August of 2010.  


Don't miss out on Rooted 2012!  Registration information can be found here.

Last Day to Register With Early-Bird Price!

Are you coming to Rooted August 9-11? Sign up NOW to get the Early-Bird price break!


You can access all registration details by clicking HERE. We hope to see you in August for a time to enjoy the Gospel and to consider how our ministries can be more effective in fostering mature, life-long disciples of Jesus. 

Rooted Conference Price Break Ends May 31!

Are you coming to Rooted August 9-11? We would love to have you for this exciting event. Please note that the price for Rooted increases on June 1. You can access all registration details by clicking HERE. We hope to see you in August for a time to enjoy the Gospel and to consider how our ministries can be more effective in fostering mature, life-long disciples of Jesus. 

                                   

The Magic Bullet

Every week, I receive another postcard for a new youth ministry conference pledging to have the magic bullet for today’s youth. Nearly all of these ministries and conferences have much value for this field - I wish I could go to a dozen per year. Amidst the many options, I still feel passionately that Rooted has an important place in youth ministry.

When I was a junior in high school, our varsity football team played Central-Tuscaloosa in the quarter-finals of the state playoffs. Central had the #4 team in America and had not lost in two years. They had three players who would start at Alabama as freshmen and nine players who went on to earn Division 1 scholarships. My Spartans were slow and small and lacked a single D1 player. Among Central’s cadre of studs stood Alabama’s Mr. Football, Antonio Williams, the top running back in the South. In the first half, Central ran Williams to a ten-point halftime lead; we looked virtually helpless against him.

However, in the second half, Central seemed never to give Williams the ball. We all were dumbfounded. It was obvious that the Spartans had no chance of stopping Williams. He was virtually invincible. Unfortunately for Central, their coaches did not realize this fact, and he carried the ball only a handful of times. Eventually, the Spartans marched back, shut down Central, and we toppled the national powerhouse.

In the full Gospel of grace, we have The Magic Bullet. The message that God perfectly loves desperate sinners is The Message that will redeem the world. It is not instructions to help us live better or some padding for our self-esteem. The Gospel rescues people from judgment, heals ultimate wounds, and brings dead people to life right now and forever.

Doing ministry without centering all things on the Gospel is like having LeBron James on your team in a pick-up game at the YMCA and never passing him the ball. We need to pass the Gospel the ball at every turn, in every relationship, and in all circumstances.

With Rooted, our mission is to reflect on how everything we do in ministry- missions, relationships, measures, discipline, lessons, messages, counseling, recruiting, volunteers, etc.- can be more deeply anchored in the message of Cross and God’s grace. Hopefully, engaging in this consideration will yield deeper, more vibrant ministries that offer life and that foster life-long disciples of Jesus Christ.

Consider joining us at this year’s Rooted Conference in Birmingham, August 9-11, as we take an in-depth look at how the theological doctrine of adoption offers hope to a desperate generation.

About Rooted: A Theology Conference for Student Ministry

Check out the 2012 Rooted Conference - "Adoption: The Beauty of Grace" - which will explore how the theological concept of Adoption speaks to this generation of teenagers.

2012 Rooted Conference: Adopted - The Beauty of Grace

­ Rooted: A Theology Conference for Student Ministry is thrilled to announce and unveil our next conference which will take place August 9-11, 2012 in Birmingham, AL at the Cathedral Church of the Advent. Our theme, Adopted - The Beauty of Grace hits at the core of the theological crisis in youth ministry, the emotional state of youth culture and the centrality of the Gospel of grace. Those interested can REGISTER NOW.

It is no secret that youth ministry in America is failing. We have all heard the statistics. According to some statistics, 70% of youth group alumni will not return to church after high school. Christian Smith, Kenda Creasy Dean, and others have been champions for youth ministry in the way that they have identified theology - the message - of youth ministry as the problem. The general theology of religious, American teens is encapsulated in the term therapeutic, moralistic deism. The message of much of youth ministry centers on what students do - performance and behavior - and less on what Jesus did on the Cross. As Adam McLane aptly writes, there is little Good News in the Gospel of youth ministry.

First and foremost, the 2012 Rooted Conference will focus on the same old story, the message of the Cross. We will talk about how the Gospel of grace must serve as the axis of what we teach, how we minister, and how we relate to teens and youth culture.

Rooted believes that the game-changer in youth ministry is simple: it’s the infusion and influence of the Gospel of grace in everything we do and teach. The full Gospel - the reality that Jesus’s death on the Cross means He absorbed all of our shortcomings, sins, and flaws and, in turn, gives us His righteousness - is what kids need. Understanding how deeply and perfectly God loves them in spite of their sin is what will yield a desire for holiness, love, justice, and mission.

The Gospel permeates the essence of the 2012 Rooted Conference. We specifically will talk about how this message relates to the current emotional state of youth culture. More on that later.

BASIC DETAILS:

REGISTER HERE

DATES:
Thursday, August 9 – Saturday, August 11, 2012

COST:
$100 (before February 1)
$150 (before June 1)
$200 (after May 31)
The cost includes conference admission, light breakfast, and dinner on Thursday and lunch on Friday. Full refunds for cancellations will not be given after August 1.

LOCATION:
Cathedral Church of the Advent
2017 Sixth Avenue North
Birmingham, AL 35203

FOR WHOM:
People ministering to students, including youth pastors, college ministers, teachers, coaches, and volunteers who:

• Need to be refreshed by the message of God’s grace
• Want to serve students better with the Gospel
• Care about the Gospel being central in the Church
• Wish to connect with other student pastors
• Want to grow in theology

2010 Rooted Conference - Discussion Groups

The following links are the final recordings from The Rooted Conference in August.  Enjoy!


"Practical Theology in a Fallen World:  Guiding Teens Through Unexplainable Hardship or Disappointment" - Drawing from the book of Job, Gordon Bals does an exceptional job of providing a practical model for guiding teens through the brokenness of their lives in a redemptive, grace-filled way.
       Gordon Bals is the founder of Daymark Counseling in Birmingham, AL.


"Teenagers Can Handle the Truth: The Significance of Biblical and Theological Teaching for Today’s Youth" - Mark Gignilliat discusses the importance of basing our teaching for youth strongly in Scripture in a culture which .
       Mark is currently a professor of Hebrew, Old Testament Exegesis, and Biblical Theology at Beeson Divinity School.  Before coming to Beeson, he taught at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford.  
       

2010 Rooted Conference - More Recordings

The following are the remaining keynote addresses from the Rooted Conference in August.  Check back as we release the Discussion Group sessions by Gordon Bals and Mark Gignalliat.  

"Good News, Not Good Advice" - Dean Limehouse opens the Conference by discussing how the Good News that we are loved when we don't deserve it is what will ultimately change lives.

      The Very Rev. Frank Limehouse currently serves as Dean of Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, AL.

"Transforming Student Ministry" - Dave Wright discusses how his personal journey in ministry has influenced his views of ministry.
      Dave is Coordinator for Youth Ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and author of Fusion Musing.

"Rooted Discipleship" - Speaking from her vast experience ministering to High School girls, Sand Price discusses how expository Bible teaching must be the root of small group discipleship.   

      Sand is a wife and mother who has taught community Bible Studies to girls for many years in Birmingham, AL.

2010 Rooted Conference - Recordings

Dr. Ashley Null served as Chaplain for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, is a visiting fellow at Cambridge University, and is one of the world's leading experts on Thomas Cranmer and the English Reformation. We were thrilled to have him as a keynote speaker at the Rooted Conference in August.

Keynote 1: "Perfection as Protection" - Speaking from his experience ministering to Olympic athletes, Dr. Null addresses our tendency to seek perfection as a defense against our insecurities.


Keynote 2: "Preaching Morality Leads to Immorality" - Dr. Null addresses the importance of preaching a gospel of grace, and distinguishes between grace as unconditional affirmation and grace as unconditional love.


Keynote 3: "Love Changes Lives" - Dr. Null argues that it is the love of Jesus Christ which produces change in our lives and the lives of our students rather than condemnation and shame.


Check back in the coming weeks as we release the remaining talks from the 2010 Rooted Conference.