New Oak Hill initiative aims to ‘bottle the buzz’ of engaged learners
A new series of flexible learning courses has been launched at Oak Hill – opening up the college’s expertise in theological training to many more Christians.
The initiative came about after Dan Strange, director of Oak Hill, noticed something exciting happening at a Christian conference earlier this year.
‘As a speaker, you can sense when people are engaged or not, and the buzz around the marquees was exciting!’ he said. ‘It made me think how great it would be to bottle that buzz – not just once a year at a campsite but throughout the year, and throughout our nation?’
The initiative – which includes 26 courses in all – makes it possible for Christian believers to pursue study in areas such as apologetics, preaching, biblical theology, cross-cultural ministry, New Testament Greek, missiology, and other subject areas. Those who enrol for individual courses will enjoy the experience of learning alongside Oak Hill’s full-time and part-time students, as they participate in lectures and seminars on the Oak Hill campus. More information will be available at Oak Hill’s stand in the Study Zone at CRE National 2019.
Participants on the courses are able to choose the level of study which suits them best, either by simply attending the courses or by taking them for credits which are nationally recognised and transferable.
Each course is taught by a member of Oak Hill’s world-class faculty and teaching staff. All the courses are now open for enrolment, and can be found on the Oak Hill website.
Says Dan Strange: ‘Our hope and prayer is that flexible learning at Oak Hill will make theological education more widely available, enabling believers to be effective and engaged wherever they are serving God – in the home and the house group, at church and at work. We want to see Christians grow in faith, serve the church, and reach the world.’
• Oak Hill College is on stand SZ2 (in the Study Zone) at CRE National 2019
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Goodbye gremlins, hello problem-free acoustics
The end of the one-man, church sound system operation is nigh – along with those pesky gremlins.
An annual MOT of your system, along with emergency repairs and training for several volunteer operators at once, is part of a new Beat the Gremlins scheme launched in March at CRE North by Novum AV. It has already been taken up by many churches.
‘We have instituted silver, gold and platinum packages for sound and vision systems in any church with the option of a thorough check on one, three or five-year contracts. We make sure the system works and that any hiccups are dealt with quickly on an emergency phone call system,’ said David Sharpe, installations manager of Novum AV, a Midlands-based company with a history of installing new systems and sorting out problems in established ones throughout the UK.
‘Churches are now able to trust their system to be problem-free. If something does go wrong we will provide expert help to put things right. We can also offer training facilities in churches where we use a particular system, providing extra helpers when the expert is on holiday or ill.’
One of the constant complaints from volunteers is ‘gremlins in the system’.
‘There has been quite a remarkable uptake by churches to our Beat the Gremlins scheme,’ continued Dave. ‘Some installations even allow us to remotely monitor the health of the system so we can let you know about certain problems and repair them before they are even noticed. We understand the pitfalls of working in historic churches, listed buildings or new builds – especially when that means making the screen and speakers “disappear” into the fabric of the building to protect the building’s aesthetic charm.’
Novum are committed to retaining the visibility of stained-glass windows, or elegant carvings, and at the same time enhancing the experience of worship and the communication of the gospel message.
‘Our dedicated team specialises in managing projects and carrying out sound and video installations on a daily basis,’ said David. ‘They have a passion for delivering systems with minimal impact and maximum efficiency and clarity. Our new maintenance packages give churches the support they need by forming on-going relationships, not just installing a system and letting people fend for themselves.’
• Novum AV are stand S55 at CRE National 2019
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Former church warden scoops prestigious energy award
A CRE exhibitor has won the Industry Expert Award in the 2019 Energy Live News consultancy awards – the first time it has been given to an independent operator.
‘I was thrilled and delighted,’ said Andrew Silley (pictured above, centre), who started his company, Independent Utility Specialists, eight years ago in his dining room in Amersham. ‘The award usually goes to someone within a large company so it was a real surprise.’
The news will also delight many churches and companies whose utility bills Andrew has helped to reduce. A former churchwarden, he knows the problems faced by treasurers given confusing offers by competing companies.
‘Only yesterday I was in touch with a church who wanted to switch energy supplier but were told they were under contract for a further year,’ he said. ‘I knew it couldn’t be the case and now they are saving money by moving to another provider.’
Andrew, a popular exhibitor at CRE, has built up a wealth of knowledge about the various energy companies and how to switch from one to another.
‘Householders can change quite easily now,’ he pointed out, ‘but it is more complicated for churches and companies. Church volunteers often have other jobs and do not have enough time to understand the problems of switching accounts and take the easy way out, leaving things as they are. But with my experience I can make the switch easier, look after the complicated paperwork, and save them money in the process. It also leaves them more time to attend to Kingdom matters.’
The name might be Silley but Andrew’s business is certainly not. A visit to his stand at CRE National 2019 might result in your church saving a lot of money.
• Andrew Silley is on stand S45 at CRE National 2019
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Chris Bowater to lead Worship Wednesday at CRE National 2019
Worship tops the list of resources sought by visitors to CRE but what are they looking for – and why?
Chris Bowater, a long-established composer and a father of the modern worship movement, will attempt to answer these questions – and many more – during Worship Wednesday (Wed 16 Oct) at CRE National 2019. Among those joining Chris will be:
• Roger Jones – composer, teacher, leader of CMM (Christian Music Ministries), receiver of 2019 Thomas Cranmer award from the Archbishop of Canterbury
• Lou Fellingham – songwriter, worship leader
• Roy Francis – former producer of BBC TV’s Songs of Praise, record producer and author
Beginning at 11am, there will be four sessions:
What on earth is worship? – Establishing an agreed definition and understanding
Who on earth is worship for? – Discussing our relationship with God and each other
How on earth should we worship? – Validating differing styles and genres of worship
Worship: heaven help us! – ‘Angels help us to adore him!’ Worship in spirit and truth requires the help and leading of the Holy Spirit
‘Entertainment has become the dominant discourse of our age,’ said Chris. ‘While the church must recognize this fact, it shouldn’t capitulate to it. Our services don’t have to feel like a concert or TV show, even if those modes of discourse define the manner in which postmodern people experience the flow of ideas. Rather, we have the opportunity in our services to model a different type of discourse, one that begins with the self-revelation of God.
‘Our worship – whether contemporary or traditional, high church or low – should eschew man-focused experientialism and embrace the transcendent God. We’ll be attempting to show you how to do that in your church during Worship Wednesday.’
• Worship Wednesday runs from 11am on Wed 16 Oct at CRE National 2019
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