Why hold a conference on trauma?
Trauma often overwhelms both bodies and hearts – it creates deep and varied wounds, which need compassionate tending. Scripture portrays many detailed, anguishing accounts of trauma in the lives of God's people, and so invites hurting persons in. And while each story of trauma in Scripture is embedded into the larger and better story of redemption, these accounts are never erased or treated as insignificant. God redeems, and he also remembers each tear.
As the church, we long to care as God does for his people. How can we embody Jesus for those suffering? In this conference, we will consider what trauma is, how it affects us, and how God compassionately tends to his people's wounds. We desire for the church to grow in loving care for those in our midst whose lives have been upended by trauma.
Is there a particular kind of trauma that the 2019 Trauma Conference will speak directly to?
What can life look like after a traumatic event?
How can helpers make unintentional mistakes with a traumatized person?
Schedule
Friday, July 19th
5:30pm-6:30pm: Registration
6:30pm-6:40pm: Conference Introduction & Worship
6:40pm-7:10pm: A Way Into Trauma (Ed Welch)
7:10pm-7:20pm: Break
7:20pm-8:00pm: Hearts Shaped by Trauma (Darby Strickland)
8:00pm-8:15pm: Break
8:15pm-8:45pm: Tenderness for Wounded People (Darby Strickland)
Saturday, July 20th
9:00am-9:15am: Worship
9:15am-9:45am: When the Body Has a Mind of Its Own (Ed Welch)
9:45am-10:00am: Break
10:00am-10:30am: Redemption That Remembers (Darby Strickland)
10:30am-10:45am: Break
10:45am-11:15am: Care for the Heart of the Helper (Darby Strickland)
11:15am-11:30am: Break
11:30am-12:00pm: Hope and Safety Found in Jesus (Ed Welch)
12:00pm-12:10pm: Break
12:10pm-12:50pm: Panel Q&A Session [submit questions here]
12:50pm: Dismissal
Ed Welch
Ed, M.Div., Ph.D. is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF where he has served for more than 35 years. He earned a Ph.D. in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and has a Master of Divinity degree from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed has been counseling for over thirty years and has written many books and articles on biblical counseling, including When People Are Big and God Is Small; Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave; Blame It on the Brain?; Depression; Running Scared; Shame, Interrupted; and Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love. He and his wife, Sheri, have two married daughters and eight grandchildren. In his spare time, Ed enjoys spending time with his wife and extended family and playing his guitar.
Darby Strickland
Darby has a Master of Divinity degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bio-psychology from the University of Chicago. She has been doing formal counseling for over a decade. In addition to serving as a missionary to Northern Ireland for two years, she has also supported the ministry of the church as a speaker at women's retreats, bible study teacher, and support group leader. While focused on marriage and family counseling, Darby has a special interest in working with abused and developmentally delayed children. She and her husband, John, have three young children. Her hobbies include photography, swimming, reading, and word games.
Location:
Location: Minneapolis, MN - Bethlehem Baptist 720 13th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Dates: July 19-20, 2019
Do you have a trauma related question you would like the Saturday Q&A panel to address?
Rates:
$50/person (through start of conference)
$25/student (student rate)
*Registration cancellations will receive refunds, less a $10 administrative fee, through Thursday, July 18th, at 5pm CT, after which no refunds will be given.
*Substitutions will be processed through Thursday, July 18th, at 5pm CT.
Session Descriptions
- A Way Into Trauma (Ed Welch) [Outline, Slides]
Our care for each other means that we both know the person and we know what God says. First we will consider how we can better understand the person who has gone through a traumatic event. If we don’t understand the person, he or she will never feel safe. - Hearts Shaped by Trauma (Darby Strickland) [Outline, Slides]
Trauma overloads a person, eliciting intense physical, emotional, and spiritual responses. It is essential to understand the particular wounds created by trauma. But it is equally important that we understand how each individual heart has been shaped by it. We will pay close attention to how trauma has shaped sufferers’ understanding of themselves, the Lord, and others.
- Tenderness for Wounded People (Darby Strickland) [Outline, Slides]
Trauma often overwhelms both bodies and hearts. It creates deep and varied wounds, which need to be tended to. In this session, we will look at how to care wisely and tenderly for the traumatized as we seek to embody Jesus.
- When the Body Has a Mind of Its Own (Ed Welch) [Outline, Slides]
Trauma leaves its tracks on the body. Sometimes those tracks are obvious and we know they go back into the past. But, more often, those who have experienced trauma feel as though their body is not their own and its feelings are foreign and unpredictable. As a way into these matters we will consider the popular book, The Body Keeps the Score.
- Redemption That Remembers (Darby Strickland) [Outline, Slides]
Scripture houses many detailed and anguish-filled accounts of trauma. These stories provoke deep questions about how God relates to us. And while each story is embedded into the larger and better story of redemption, they are not eclipsed by it. God redeems, but he also remembers. We will look at how this can guide us as we seek to draw out trauma-filled stories so that we can connect the sufferer to God and others. - Care for the Heart of the Helper (Darby Strickland) [Outline, Slides]
As we enter into the lives of traumatized people, we will be touched and affected by their stories. While it is a privilege to care for precious souls, hearing stories of profound loss, deep griefs, and evil perpetrated will have an impact on us. In the session, we will look at ways the Lord meets and sustains your heart as you become a witness to the acute effects of the fall. - Hope and Safety Found in Jesus (Ed Welch) [Outline, Slides]
Safety is elusive for those who have had traumatic experiences. If there were times of safety in the past, they are quickly forgotten, and the traumatic story dominates. We live before the God who acts against injustice, comforts those who have been scattered, and brings them into himself. We will look at Scripture passages that can serve the traumatized person.