*Scheduled to run at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.. You do not need to register your selection before the conference.

Sessions 1 & 2: Friday, November 13
2:00pm – 3:00pm

Counseling Couples Living Together
David Powlison, CCEF
Jesus met a woman beside Jacob’s well, asked her for water, amazed her by knowing the details of her domestic arrangements … and won her faith. “Living together” comes wearing a variety of labels: cohabitation, fornication, living in sin, trial marriage, domestic partnership, immorality, and common law marriage. This elective will consider how to minister, love, and talk with couples living together outside of marriage.

Mom and Dad...What's Sex?
Julie Lowe, CCEF
Parents often hesitate when it comes to this question. Our tendency is to ignore, minimize, teach anatomy or change the topic. How can parents be proactive in teaching children a redemptive view of sex before the world teaches them otherwise? What does a redemptive view look like? We'll discuss what it would look like to foster honest conversations with children and how to encourage on-going dialog in regard to sex and relationships.

Marriage, Adultery and God's Wrath: How the Prophets Express God's Passion
Mike Kelly, Westminster Theological Seminary
The Old Testament prophets use the metaphor of marriage and its sexual intimacy to express God’s love for his people and his wrath at their infidelity to him. Why does God use the good (marriage), the bad (adultery) and the ugly (graphic images of sex and destruction) to communicate to us, and what does that tell us about how he wants to be known? The Apostle Paul carries this metaphor forward to describe Christ’s relationship to the church. What does this tell us about our union with Christ and how this gospel truth should impact our lives?

Struggling with Same Sex Attraction
Ellen Dykas & Dave White, Harvest USA
This elective will teach biblical wisdom for understanding same-sex attraction as an aspect of fallen (broken) sexuality. It will outline how to bring the hope of Christ to a person who wrestles with same sex attraction, and encourage church leaders who desire to develop a community in which strugglers find grace and hope for change.

Truly Male, Truly Female: A Biblical View of Gender
Mike Emlet, CCEF
What does it mean to live life as a gendered being? Is there an "essence" of maleness or femaleness? If so, how should we define it and how does it relate to the concept of masculinity or femininity? This elective will explore a biblical understanding of gender as a subset of sexuality, and will speak to those who struggle with their gender identity and offer guidance to those who care for them.

Culture Clash to Culture Conscious: Different Views of Sex
Monica Kim, CCEF
Have you ever wondered why you and your spouse are so different when it comes to sex? Each person has been created individually and has been exposed to different cultures. The many differences in us and the culture that we have been soaked in affect our views on sex. Often these differences amount to clashes with others in our understanding of sex and confusion at best. This elective will explore how we can gain practical help through the Gospel to bridge these differences as we gain awareness and sensitivity.

Recovering from Sexual Abuse
Diane Langberg, Diane Langberg Associates
There are over 90,000 reported cases of child sexual abuse per year in the US. In the last ten years there has been an average of 70 child abuse allegations in American churches every week. Many who sit in our pews have suffered greatly as a result. It is critical that pastors and counselors understand the impact of sexual abuse on a life and know how to respond redemptively to those who are suffering.

When Sex in Marriage Doesn't Work
Phil Monroe, Biblical Theological Seminary
We live in a sex-saturated culture. Our media flood us with both images of fantastic sexual experiences and advertised solutions for a variety of sexual dysfunctions. Such a culture leaves many Christian couples wondering what to expect in the bedroom. Where should couples turn when sex doesn’t work right? If God ordains sex as beautiful and gives it to couples for their enjoyment then Christians ought to be able to guide others with sexual problems. This elective reviews common sexual problems within marriage and provides helps for counselors, pastors and lay leaders as they talk about these delicate matters with others.

Sessions 3 & 4: Saturday, November 14
2:00pm – 3:00pm

Solo Sex
Winston Smith, CCEF
Masturbation, sexual fantasy, and pornography are problems that often spin out of control and become addictions. But when we think of them only as addictions, sometimes we miss the most obvious problem of all - it is sex that is focused on self, instead of love. In this elective we will explore how loveless sex harms relationships and how the gospel of Christ provides direction and help to overcome the problems of solo sex.
Listen to Winston Smith talking about this elective (93 secs.)

Inside a Crisis Pregnancy Center
Jane Winn & Patty Comber, Amnion Crisis Pregnancy Center
This elective will provide an overview of the compassionate, gospel centered counseling that is available for those struggling with an unplanned pregnancy or suffering from a past abortion. We will show through case studies and real life examples how the client finds hope, help, forgiveness and healing.

Download Jan Winn's article, "Jesus Rewrites Our Stories: Counseling in a Crisis Pregnancy Center".

Sex on the College Campus
Rod Mays, Reformed University Fellowship
Hooking up, “sexting”, friendships with “benefits” – it's all happening on the college campus. The meaning of both friendship and sex has been lost on the college campus where physical proximity and lack of boundaries affect sexual relationships. Technology makes anytime gratification possible, and virginity pledges and purity rings trade on the fear of unwanted pregnancy and moralism. This elective will explore how a biblical view of sexuality can offer hope to college students who face confusing relationships and choices on campus.

How Church Leaders Should Respond to Sexual Abuse
Tim Lane & Aaron Sironi, CCEF
How should pastors and leaders respond to sexual abuse when it happens in the church? It’s easy to be shocked and there is often a lack of preparedness to face such a complex and painful situation. This elective will explore a biblical, gracious and courageous response to the abused, abuser and their families.

Lies the Church and Culture Tell Us about Sex
Lauren Winner, Author
This elective will address the messages and stories we encounter in both pop culture and the Christian subculture about sex, and will help sort out what's helpful and what's not, what's true and what's not.

When a Spouse Has a Headache
Ed Welch, CCEF
It usually goes like this: a husband wants sex on the hour and a wife would be okay with a nearly celibate married life. Of course, stereotypes are changing but the problem remains. What do we do with differences in sexual desire? This elective will offer effective ways to have helpful conversations that could easily get complicated.
Listen to Ed Welch talking about this elective (93 secs.)

What Does the Bible Actually Say About Homosexuality?
Robert Gagnon, Pittsburgh Seminary
Have you been confused by “biblically based” arguments justifying homosexuality? There are many of them. They range from assertions that Jesus was not concerned about maintaining the heterosexual character of sexual relations to citing the inclusive nature of the New Testament. It has even been argued that because the Bible has been incorrectly used to uphold slavery and oppress women, that it is now being used in the same way to oppose homosexuality. This elective will critique these and other arguments used to discount Scripture’s witness to a male-female prerequisite for sexual relations.

When a Position of Authority Is Abused?
Elliott Greene, Redeemer Theological Seminary, Dallas
Authority and influence are essential in pastoring and counseling; however it brings with it the burden of knowing people's intimate thoughts and opening the door to the vulnerability of leaders falling into sexual misconduct. This elective will explore how pastors and counselors can safeguard their integrity and that of the Cross, and outline a path of help and restoration for those who have been victimized.