Abide Conference

Summer and I attended the 2024 Abide conference in Auckland this week, held at the Auckland Anglican Cathedral, hosted by Laidlaw Theological College. 

We were invited to attend alongside others from our Diocese, for which we felt a great sense of friendship and collegiality, to hope and long for what God can, might, and will do amongst us all. 

Guest speakers included Pete Grieg from 24/7 International and Mark and Trudy Sayers from RED Church in Melbourne; Mark is commonly known for his re-builders podcast, being a phenomenal reader of culture with a Christian lens, and pastor of RED Church, alongside his wife Trudy, who is also the Australian National Director for 24/7 prayer. 

Summer and I felt walking into the three days that we were open to what God might be saying to us through these different voices and trying to glean from what is happening in other parts of the Kingdom what might be good for us in this time. 

The three days were filled with worship led by musicians made up for Te Rautini, St Pauls Symond St, and St Augustines Auckland. (Feel free to see the music playlist here), Plenary talks and workshops, which were split into four streams: Presence, Formation, Misson, and Tikanga Maori, Networking over breaks, and lots of time for prayer and ministry. 

Pete Greig brought several messages with an overarching call for a desperate need for prayer and a hunger to see God's spirit move. Looking at the prophecy from Ezekial 37, Gods call to speak to the dry bones and see them turn to corpses, which is in of itself a great thing to witness, but it is the cry for God's spirit that brings them to life, are we happy with seeing dry bones turn to corpses or are we hungry for more to see Gods spirit move in a real and powerful way to bring those corpses back to life. He also shared a great number of stories from the 24/7 prayer movement.

Mark and Trudy brought a message around how the world and in this cultural moment is desperate and needs a people to stand firm with Good News of Gods transforming power. Mark unpacked much of our culture that can be helpful and hindering. They spoke of seeing God move in people's lives who are turning up to churches to find the truth through God's own intervention. They gave a powerful charge for us here in Australia and New Zealand to stop looking to the northern hemisphere for inspiration and to be confident that God is using us for this time with our people. Mark spoke of the way in society people are trying to find a platform to build and speak from, but that, in fact, rather than trying to find, establish, and build a platform, we are called to be pillars that create space for people to interact with the Kingdom of God. 

Summer and I felt an overwhelming sense of hope for our people in this age, A strong call for deepening prayer, for opportunities to pray, and longing for more than just bones to corpses. We felt an increased call and responsibility for deep biblical formation and discipleship within our community. How are we people who reflect the Kingdom of God and are expectant that God is on the move in people's lives? Let us be hungry and prepared. 

There is so much we can share, and no doubt through conversation, preaching, and vicars letters, we can share more. 

We are thankful for the resources to be able to attend and grateful for those who helped enable us to go. 

I had a conversation with a friend from 24/7 Prayer NZ, and in a moment of verbal processing, I said, "Leading our people is a phenomenal burden to carry but one that I desire, feel excited by and do not want to remove" What I mean by that is I wake up everyday with a heart to see our lives transformed in Christ, to see us reach those who dont yet know him, to see those in our communities set free from captivity and bondage. Come, Lord Jesus. 

With love in Christ,