Stephen is a husband, a dad, and a founding member of the Melbourne Victory Football Club. He is involved in leading missio Dei, a missional community in Melbourne’s north east. He is employed by Tear Australia as National Youth Coordinator and as a sessional lecturer at Tabor College Melbourne and ACOM. In addition, he is part of the Forge Mission Training Network’s national team.
As National Youth Coordinator with TEAR Australia, Stephen’s focus is on education and public speaking (in both Christian and secular contexts) on issues of social justice, poverty, consumerism and the work of TEAR internationally, as well as facilitating short term exposure experiences for young adults.
As a sessional lecturer, Stephen focuses on spiritual formation in contemporary culture, ethics, gospel culture dynamics and missional leadership. He writes for numerous Christian paper and e-zines, and blogs regularly at www.neurotribe.net/blog and collaboratively with an incredibly insightful cohort at advoc8.tear.org.au.
Stephen has been involved in youth and young adult ministry initially in inner suburban Melbourne and for the last 15 years in the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne. With a background in IT and new media, and armed with a degree in Missiology, he spends most of his time helping Christians come to terms with being disciples "in" Pop Culture, rather than disciples "of" Pop Culture.
Stephen is sought after regularly to speak, write and incite people in the first world to consider holistic missional responses to the challenges of the emerging global culture.
(Wednesday 2:00pm)
“God created man in His own image and man has been returning the favor ever since.”
I have a sneaking suspicion that Jesus was not white, did not have long flowing hair, and his sole mission in life was not trying to turn humanity into nice people who regularly attend church services. The Jesus who loved passionately, spoke of freedom and equality, befriended the outcasts at the cost of his own life and lived an life of revolutionary grace and acceptance doesn’t seem to get much mention in sermons or Sunday school. Have we turned Jesus into someone he is not?
This workshop will explore the Jesus of the gospels. A Jesus who simultaneously inspires us and frightens us with a dream of a transformed world, a Jesus who invites us to participate with him in making that dream a reality, as well as leaving you with tools to ensure that the Jesus who is at the core of your discipleship agenda, is not simply a construct of Australian aspirations, but a living, breathing radical God-Man.
Bring your New Testament with you!
(Thursday 8:30am)
How are you shaping the young people in your youth ministry? What do you hope they will be and do? What is your grand plan?
For the average youth worker, the vision of a discipled young person is little different from the kid on the street. This workshop explores the cultural dynamic know as syncretism, a process where popular culture disarms the gospel and remakes Jesus to be just like us, turning youth ministry into a pale imitation of the culture that youth live and breath. It will also leave you with some basic missional tools to start making disciples within Pop Culture, rather than Disciples of Pop Culture.
(Thursday 4:00pm)
“So I give my life to Jesus and then what, wait to die?” – Year 11 Student
When we invite unchurched Australians to become followers of Jesus, what is at the centre of our message? Is it simply an invitation to a restrictive moral and ethical code? Inclusion in our “club” like meetings?
What if people were called to heal relationships, transform cultures and alter the destiny of nations? What if we enlisted people into an agenda that called for nothing short of the total redemption and restoration of the entire created order?
This workshop is a call to youth workers to examine the larger theological story within which they do ministry, and an invitation to spend some time reflecting theologically on a framework that just might breathe life into your preaching, teaching and evangelistic ministry once again.
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