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The 2020 Brethren in Christ study conference was held virtually on November 12-13, 2020.

It focused on the theme "Re-focusing Our Faith: Re-Examining Brethren in Christ Core Values After Twenty Years."

Major conference sessions were recorded and will be made available in the coming weeks. Additionally, published versions of the sessions will be printed in the April 2021 issue of , the journal of the Brethren in Christ Historical Society. Please visit their website for more information.

About This Year's Conference

In May 1999, the Brethren in Christ Church in North America convened a consultation at Roxbury Holiness Camp to examine and articulate the core values of the denomination. The consultation resulted in that were adopted by the church at the 2000 General Conference. Twenty years later, the core values remain a vital resource for understanding and living out the Christian faith in the context of the Brethren in Christ Church, both in the United States and around the world. As the BIC Articles of Faith and Doctrine state, the 10 core values “convey the core convictions of our faith community—the values that touch our hearts, inspire our minds, and move us to action.”

This study conference sought to reflect on and look forward to the ongoing value of these core values for the church in our time. It addressed such questions as:

• What are the theological foundations for our BIC core values?  
• How do our core values hinder adaptation to our present contexts and/or empower us for relevant ministry?
• How can we use our core values in worship, preaching/teaching, education, assimilation, and more, within the local congregation?
• What’s the future of BIC core values?

Note: Due to ongoing uncertainties around COVID-19 and specifically around the viability of gatherings of more than 50 people, and out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of our community, the Sider Institute hosted its annual study conference virtually, via Zoom Webinars.

Core Values Resources

Below you can access several core values resources mentioned during the 2020 BIC Study Conference. We hope to add more resources in the future. If you are willing to share resources that you or your congregation has used to teach or explore core values, please send them to siderinstitute@messiah.edu. 

Books and Curricula

, ed. Terry L. Brensinger

Focused and Faithful: Living Our Core Values - A study curriculum based on the Focusing Our Faith book. Contact biccomm@bicus.org to inquire about availability.

Sermon Outlines / Resources

(Perry Engle)

Handouts & Other Resources

(Perry Engle)

(Bishop Perry Engle)

(Grantham Church [PA])

Major Conference Sessions and Speakers

In this session, speakers reflected on the enduring value of the BIC Core Values statement twenty years after its first formulation in 2000. Each speaker was asked to speak to the enduring value of the core values statement based on their particular location within the BIC U.S.: Leadership Council, General Conference Board, and individual BIC congregation.  

Presenters:

• Alan Robinson, BIC U.S. National Director
• Rachel Diaz, member-at-large, BIC U.S. General Conference Board
• Heather Brickner, senior pastor, Branch and Vine (Lancaster, PA)

In this session, speakers engaged one of the texts read and discussed by participants in the original core values consultation in 1999: Luke Keefer Jr.’s essay “The Theological Foundations for Brethren in Christ Core Values.” (This text was made available as “recommended reading” for all webinar participants.) Speakers analyzed the Keefer thesis by assessing the validity of his argument, pointing out additions or changes they might make, and suggesting areas for further conversation, investigation, and/or consideration.

Presenters:

• Zach Spidel, senior pastor, The Shepherd’s Table (Dayton, OH); member, BIC U.S. Commission on Ministry and Doctrine; PhD student in theology, University of Dayton
• Jose Rodriguez, senior pastor, Esmirna BIC (Miami, FL); member, BIC U.S. Commission on Ministry and Doctrine
• Christina Embree, Minister of Generational Discipleship, Great Lakes Conference (BIC U.S.)
• Peter Guinther, BIC U.S. World Missions

Pre-Session Reading:

• Luke L. Keefer Jr., “The Theological Foundations for Brethren in Christ Core Values,” Evangelical Visitor, July/August 1999, pp. 14-17.

In this session, speakers addressed how the ten core values equip pastors to lead their congregations in an ever-changing cultural context. Focusing on three major challenges facing congregations in the present moment—the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, and political partisanship—this session invited sustained reflection on the ways in which core values hinder adaptation to the present context and/or poise us to embrace it and capitalize on its opportunities.

Presenters:

• Hank Johnson, senior pastor, Harrisburg (PA) BIC
• Luke Embree, senior pastor, Plowshares BIC (Lexington, KY)
• Julie Hoke, pastor, Circle of Hope (Philadelphia, PA)

In this session, speakers described some of the ways that their congregations used the core values in worship, preaching/teaching, Christian education, assimilation, and other areas of ministry. The idea was for speakers to share what they have done so that participants will hear what others have done and be inspired to use the core values in new ways in the future.

Presenters:

• Perry Engle, bishop of the Pacific Regional Conference, BIC U.S.; teaching pastor, Upland (CA) BIC
• Lynda Gephart, pastor of congregational life, Harrisburg (PA) BIC
• Geoff Isley, lay leader, Grantham (PA) BIC

Pre-Session Reading:

• Geoff Isley, “,” Brethren in Christ History and Life, December 2013, pp. 412-432.

In this session, speakers projected and made suggestions for the next twenty years of Brethren in Christ core values. How do they inspire mission (or distract from it)? How might they be engaged/translated for our changing contemporary contexts and needs? How do we need to articulate the core values afresh? What else should we be doing to engage our core values in ministry?

Presenters:

• Layne Lebo, senior pastor, Mechanicsburg (PA) BIC
• Jeff Piepho, senior pastor, Revolution BIC (Salina, KS)
• Tracie Hunter, senior pastor, Western Hills BIC (Cincinnati, OH)
• Ryan Showalter, associate pastor, Solid Ground BIC (Rancho Cucamonga, CA); director of emerging leaders, Pacific Regional Conference of the BIC U.S.