Elders often find themselves thrown into leadership and reacting to problems they didn’t sign up to address.
In our current age of compliance, entitlement and anxiety, how can elders recover their foundational, spiritual role as shepherds of the church?
We believe the way forward is discovered in community.
If you are an elder in a church in our network, you are invited to our annual Empowering Elders Retreat!
Held at The Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Tops, at this retreat elders will be led to connect with each other, share stories and wisdom, and engage in personal reflection, expanding in their spiritual leadership capacity.
This is an invitation-only opportunity for elders, board members, and leadership teams that provide spiritual health and governance for churches in our network. If you know an elder in our network that has not received an invitation, please reach out to us at hello@ccnswact.org.au
This Year’s Invitation
This year, the personal invitation for you to explore at Elder’s Retreat is: ‘Eldering’ Through The Lens of Our Spiritual Formation – Becoming Like Christ.
The work of eldership is permeated with joy and struggle, as we invest into, guide, and serve our communities. Churches of Christ recognises the great investment you make as an elder in the life of your church community! To sustain and grow your leadership, we believe you also need spaces that nourish your soul.
So here is your invitation, as Jesus first invited each of us, “… get away with me and you’ll recover your life.” (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)
We’re excited to have Bruce Hulme from Talking The Walk, guiding us as we explore how we are uniquely ‘shaped’ and what we are shaped for and how to discern the life of fulfillment Jesus intends for us. Our sessions will be interactive and practical, enabling spiritual reflection, learning and growth, feeding our hearts and souls as elders and image-bearers.
Hosted by Lloyd, Meredith, and Nathan, who lead the Empowering Elders work, and supported by members of the Network Resource Team, these experienced spiritual leaders want to create an environment to care, enrich, affirm, and value you as an elder.
The invitation is yours: come away with Jesus and recover your life! We hope to see you and your eldership team there.
COST
- Individual Registration (Shared Room) – $230.00
- Spouse Rate (2 people) – $420.00
- Individual Registration (Own Room) – $350.00
About Bruce Hulme
Dr Bruce Hulme is a freelance wisdom educator, consultant, retreat curator, spiritual director and professional supervisor, specialising in reflective practice.
Bruce has experience in and a heart for the breadth of expressions of the Christian church. After over 12 years in various Lutheran ministry contexts, Bruce developed as spiritual director, practical theologian, researcher and educator at Tabor College, Adelaide (2008-2023). He was the Head of the Ministry, Spiritual Direction and Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care programs during his time there.
Bruce’s PhD (2021), Talking the Walk, developed a simple yet deep way to contemplatively discern what God is up to in the journey of an individual or community, and courageously join in, for the flourishing of self, others and God’s world. His areas of expertise include Christian reflective practice, formation, spirituality, spiritual direction and pastoral/spiritual care.
Amidst the tumultuous change in culture and the church, and given his extensive background, Bruce now senses a unique call to come alongside individuals and communities as a soulful, robust and practical presence that cultivates reflective practice and formation for God’s good life.
