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The 2022 Forum Program
Main sessions: “Ministering to Others from the Inside Out”
Leading our main sessions for the 2022 Forum will be Drs. Michael and Kari MacKenzie and Patrick and Mindy Crowder all from Marble Retreat, an intensive counseling center for pastors and missionaries located in Marble, Colorado. Focused on Jesus’ greatest commandments in Mark 12:29-31, and drawing on their extensive experience working with those in ministry, they’ll be leading us in a look at the foundational issues of ministering from the inside out.
Drs. Michael and Kari MacKenzie have specialized in caring for Christian leaders for over 20 years and for the past ten years they have been therapists and directors at Marble Retreat. They are also the supervisors of the Doctorate of Ministry track in Pastor Care at Lincoln Christian University.
Michael’s recent book Don’t Blow Up Your Ministry: Defuse the Underlying Issues that Take Pastors Down shares there is hope and help for pastors to deal with and heal their own personal brokenness that plays into potentially blowing up their lives and ministries.
Patrick and Mindy Crowder serve as lead pastor care therapists at Marble. They have served as full-time pastor care specialists since 2015, initially caring for about 250 pastors and church planters in the Southwest with both proactive and crisis care. Their ministry grew into extending care more broadly to leaders throughout the US and abroad which landed them at Marble in 2021. Their newly formed non-profit: Healthy Pastors and Leaders, Inc. healthypastors.net envisions developing an extension of proactive care to pastors and leaders building upon the lessons learned from the thousands of hours sitting with leaders in crisis.
Leading our times of Worship will be Brian Felten
Brian was the producer for Radio Bible Class and the television program Day of Discovery for 24 years. He directed the Discovery Singers and founded Discovery House Music while serving at RBC, producing music for artists Damaris Carbaugh and Wintley Phipps among others. His heart is for the church, having been actively involved in both bi-vocational and full-time pastoral work. He is currently serving at South Orlando Baptist Church as the interim Pastor of Worship.
Other key program components as always will be:
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Small Groups
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Optional workshops on topics of interest for those just starting out and those with years of experience in caregiving, from the nuts and bolts of leading a non-profit to the deeper issues ministry leaders are facing.
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Time to connect and network over meals and in free time.
Join us! Registration starts May 1.
This Year's Location
We’re returning to Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, North Carolina. Conference registration includes accommodations in modern hotel-style rooms in Mountain Laurel West and buffet meals Sunday dinner through Wednesday breakfast.
Find directions to Ridgecrest here.
Tentative Schedule
Conference registration is Sunday afternoon from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with rooms available after 4 p.m. Activities begin with dinner 5:30-6:30 p.m. and the first meeting at 7 p.m.
Departing: We'll be having our traditional communion time together at the end of the Tuesday night session and end our gathering after breakfast on Wednesday, October 26th. We do strongly encourage you however to stay through breakfast and even linger a bit for a few last conversations before leaving.
Please allow adequate travel time when making any flight arrangements.
