Conference Host

Ross Hastings

BSc (Hons) (Witwatersrand, South Africa), PhD (Queen’s, Kingston), MCS (Regent College), PhD (St. Andrew’s, Scotland)

Ross Hastings teaches in the areas of the theology and spirituality of mission, pastoral theology, and ethics. He has served as a pastor in Kingston, Ontario; Burnaby, British Columbia; and Montreal, Quebec. For eleven years, he was the senior pastor of Peace Portal Alliance Church in White Rock, BC. He has earned two PhDs, one in organo-metallic chemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, and the other in theology at University of St Andrews in his native Scotland. His theological dissertation is a comparative study of the trinitarian theology of Jonathan Edwards and Karl Barth and is in the publication process. Dr. Hastings lost his first wife Sharon to cancer in 2008; he has two adult children. He was recently married to Tammy Carrillo and together they now have five children. He enjoys sport—especially rugby, cricket, soccer, and squash—as well as music of varied genres.

Fri May 9, 11 am: Communion Service: "Participating in the Transforming Gospel (Hebrews 10:19-25)"

Preaching the Transforming Gospel

Drawing on the apostle Peter’s second epistle, Mark will argue that making every "moral" effort is not an attempt to earn anything, but rather a response to having already received everything. Holy living is how we spend the wealth that a good and generous God lavishes on us.

Mark Buchanan

BA (University of British Columbia), BFA (University of British Columbia), MCS (Regent College)

Mark Buchanan and his wife Cheryl live in Calgary, Alberta, where Mark is associate professor of Pastoral Theology at Ambrose Seminary. They have three children. Educated at UBC and Regent College, Mark is a pastor, teacher, speaker, and the author of seven books as well as the forthcoming novel, David. He has also written numerous articles for Christianity Today, Faith Today, Leadership Journal, Discipleship Journal, Conversations, Seven and several other magazines. He enjoys scuba diving, fishing, and motorcycles.

Tues May 6, 11 am: “Having All You Need (2 Peter 1:1-4)”

Wed May 7, 11 am: “Making Every Effort (2 Peter 1:5-7)”

Thurs May 8, 11 am: “Increasing the Measure (2 Peter 1:8-11)”

Understanding the Transforming Gospel

Mariam Kamell

BA (Davidson College), MA (Denver Seminary), PhD (University of St. Andrews)

Mariam Kamell joined the faculty at Regent College in 2010 in a three-year postdoctoral fellowship. This rather unique position allows for a thoughtful transition from a research life to a more active teaching role. Mariam Kamell has recently been appointed Assistant Professor of New Testament for a five-year term. The appointment is effective in August 2013 at the conclusion of her postdoctoral fellowship at the College.

The majority of Mariam Kamell's research has centered on the epistle of James, with an MA thesis on the role of "wisdom" in the epistle and a PhD thesis on the soteriology of the epistle. Both of these projects involved extensive work in both Jewish wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible and Intertestamental period as well as in the Gospel of Matthew.

Mariam Kamell has co-authored a commentary on James (Zondervan), has published several articles in books and journals, and is currently working on a biblical theology of social justice (for Zondervan). She has a diversity of interests including music (both making and listening), hiking, skiing, backpacking, art (painting and now pottery), and hanging out with her nephews and niece. She grew up in a Conservative Baptist church in Western New York, was on staff at Scum of the Earth Church in Denver, and attended a Scottish Episcopal Church in St. Andrews.

Thurs May 8, 9 am: “Living the Kingdom: Loving Your Neighbours as Christ Loves Them”

Fri May 9, 9 am: “Endurance in Faith(fulness): The Certainty of Hope”

Rikk Watts

BSc (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), MA, MDiv (Gordon-Conwell), PhD (Cambridge)

Initially trained as an aeronautical engineer, Rikk Watts worked for a number of years with IBM in large retail systems engineering while undertaking a degree in philosophy, art history, and sociology. He later joined a parachurch organization engaged in Christian awareness projects in public schools and in providing crisis accommodation and various rehabilitation programs for the urban poor. He was a founding member of On Being, a major Australian Christian magazine, and supported himself and his family as a professional drummer.

Rikk Watts has served as an instructor at Gordon-Conwell (Boston), Wycliffe Hall (Oxford), Latrobe University (Melbourne), and the Bible College of Victoria (Melbourne). He presently attends New Life Community Church Burnaby where he is the main speaker at a service for university-age young adults. Rikk Watts is married to Katie, a primary teacher, and they have two adult children, Steven and Rebecca. In addition to a newly acquired obsession with sailing (he recently crewed his first Vic-Maui race), he enjoys movies, good restaurants, music, reading, and going for long walks with Katie.

Tues May 6, 9 am: “Being Human: Embodying God’s Character”

Wed May 7, 9 am: “The Spirit and the Cross: The Gospel and Christian Character”

Tough Issues

Keith Krull

Clinical Supervisor of the Peace Portal Counselling Centre in South Surrey
BA (Alberta), MA (Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology, Rosemead, California), PsyD (Biola University)

Until January 2014, Keith Krull served as Executive Director of the Vancouver Christian Counselling Centre Society (VCCCS) for twenty years. He has been a Bible school instructor, youth pastor, and interim pastor prior to doing doctoral studies in clinical psychology. Before taking over the directorship of VCCCS, he was in private practice in California and Alberta.

Tues May 6, 1:45 pm: "The Sexually Healthy Pastor”
Comedian Steve Martin once commented, "Desire modifies morality." None of us is immune to the pull of emotional desires and wishes as they conflict with our ethical and moral judgments. This session examines a number of issues that impact our "emotional theology" and behaviour in relation to a pastor's sexuality.

Soohwan Park and Jonathan Wilson

Jonathan R. Wilson is Pioneer McDonald Professor of Theology at Carey Theological College. Prior to joining Carey, he taught at Westmont College in California, USA and Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia. Between study at Regent and Duke, he pastored a Baptist congregation in Burnaby, BC. He has authored several books including the award-winning Why Church Matters: Worship, Ministry and Mission in Practice and Living Faithfully In a Fragmented World which sparked the New Monasticism Movement in North America. His most recent book is God’s Good World: Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation. In addition to his work with several local congregations in Vancouver, Jonathan chairs the board of CityGate Leadership Forum and volunteers with REED (Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity).

Soohwan Park is a freelance consultant focusing on international NGOs in relief and development. Soohwan’s passion led her first to work among Dalits and Muslim poor in urban slums of Bangladesh, then to start a holistic ministry training network among urban churches in Korea, and finally, to Bangkok, Thailand to head up global training and human resources for Food for the Hungry. Following the completion of her MCS at Regent, she worked as a senior staff member at the Marketplace Institute of Regent, and volunteered at the Listening Post on the downtown east side of Vancouver. Drawing on her experience in Thailand during the Asian tsunami in 2004, Soohwan led a consortium of international NGOs to innovate local church-based holistic relief work in Fukushima, Japan after the devastating triple disaster of 2011.

Jonathan and Soohwan live in Vancouver and are actively involved in their local church and community. Their common passion and call—which brought them to the covenant of marriage—is to equip local churches to be God’s chosen agent to share God’s love with the poor and marginalized around the world

Wed May 7, 1:45 pm: "Ethical Living and Social Justice”
The vision and practices that we call social justice must be rooted in our life with God, in the redemption of creation through Jesus Christ, and in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit through communities of disciples. To ground this in the reality of pastoral life, we will tell the story of a Japanese pastor whose vision and calling was transformed following the triple-disaster in Fukushima, Japan.

Kevin Boonstra

Partner at Kuhn LLP

BA Economics (University of Victoria), LLB (University of British Columbia)

Kevin Boonstra is a partner with Kuhn LLP and works in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. He practices in both litigation and commercial/charity matters for a broad spectrum of business and non-profit clients.

Mr. Boonstra serves as a director for local, national, and international charitable organizations. He is also a past member of the Abbotsford Police Board. He has published articles in a variety of trade, academic, and general media publications in the areas of construction law, constitutional and human rights law, and religious freedom issues. He has lectured on a broad array of topics across Canada, has given seminars for many groups—including the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia—and has been a commentator in print and television media.

Thurs May 8, 1:45 pm: "The Church and the Law: When Does a Pastor Need to Call a Lawyer?”
Every Christian ministry will encounter legal issues that have the potential to divert the Church’s focus from where it needs to be and/or place the Church’s assets at risk.  It is important for pastors to identify when there are legal issues and be able to quickly seek advice that will keep the ministry on track and avoid liabilities.