Crosslands Training recently held their winter conference in Newcastle, three days in which all the parts of Crosslands come together for a brief moment.
John Woods was there and writes: I was staying with the family of a 3rd Year Crosslands Seminary student. The light was on in his office at 5am; that is when he does his course work and assignments. This exciting programme brings out that kind of commitment in people.
Crosslands Seminary has over 150 students (trebled in the last 7 years), but is not a traditional residential seminary, nor is it an online seminary. Students have creative online material to help them work on four core modules each year. In addition, students attend two in-person residentials, supplemented by five in-person seminar days for 4-8 students with their own assigned tutor. There are 22 groups with 18 tutors working alongside the Crosslands faculty to tutor these.
The residential began with a 24-hour development session for the team of tutors. The tutors are a mixture of seasoned pastors and Crosslands’ graduates from around the UK and Europe. After lunch on day two the seminary students arrived for 24 hours on the doctrine of the Church. The first speaker was FIEC Director John Stevens who navigated the choppy waters of various forms of church structure and government. The rest of the time was led by Crosslands faculty member Dr Jonathan Norgate, who with faithful imagination unfolded the wonder of church that flows out of the eternal love and wisdom of the Triune God. Jonathan unpacked the doctrine of the church with crystal clarity, penetrating practical application, and moments that felt like worship.
Alongside the Seminary teaching track, around 20 experienced leaders joined the Lifelong Learning track, spending 24 hours working together on preparing to preach Colossians and Philemon under the leadership of Anthony Billington, a church pastor and Crosslands tutor.
The final part of the week saw the visit of Prof John Wyatt, spending a day teaching on Technology, Healthcare and the Future of Humanity.
A high point was the graduation of 21 MA and 7 Certificate students. I was impressed by the range of ages, academic ability and nationalities of those who graduated. One of the standout moments for me was a student who began his studies with very little academic experience yet caught the study bug and ended up with a master’s degree!
163 people were present at the conference, mostly from the Seminary programme but also some on the Crosslands’ Basecamp, Cultivate and Lifelong Learning programmes, and several one-off guests: this is a diverse and welcoming learning community. Being there felt like being part of a fleet of submarines that spend most of their time under the ocean but from time to time all come to the surface to be seen together in their collective splendour.
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