Save the Dates: January 31- February 2, 2025
Volunteer at Resist the Drift 2025! Your time and talents can help make the Contend Conference an extraordinary event. We’re looking for volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks including setup, guest services, and breakout sessions. Please provide your top choices for volunteer positions and join our mission to inspire and equip others at Millington Baptist Church. Contact Sue Turner for Volunteer opportunities.
Volunteer Registration: If you will be registering to volunteer at the event, please make sure you register to volunteer before registering to attend. This will give you a discount code for your registration to attend.
Resist the Drift:
Contend Conference
Something is happening in our world … can you feel it? Do you see it? It’s not surprising if you don’t. The change is slow, almost unnoticeable. Like a swimmer floating in the ocean, the waves can carry you far from shore. It doesn’t feel like you’ve moved until you open your eyes and look.
Culturally speaking, this “drift” has been happening for a long time. However, recent events have caused people to open their eyes and see how far the waves have taken us. What was once considered truth is now questioned. People we work with, go to school with, and live near have no understanding of the Gospel and the truths of the Bible. Their view of Jesus is skewed. These assumptions have made their way into the church. Leaders and institutions we once trusted … have drifted.
What Now?
On January 31 – February 2, 2025, Millington Baptist Church will be hosting its second “CONTEND” Conference. The theme for this conference is resisting the drift. It is so easy to be carried along by the cultural waves. It is so easy to drift. The writer to Hebrews was combating this same issue. In a culture—and church—filled with compromise, Hebrews exhorts us: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it (Heb. 2:1).”
We must pay closer attention to what we have heard. This weekend conference will help you recognize the drift and resist it with clarity, boldness, and conviction.
Are you ready to Resist The Drift?
Conference Schedule
6pm- Bookstore, Food, Connections Lounge
7pm- Conference Open, Worship
7:20pm- Welcome Address: “Recognize the Drift ” (Bob Erbig)
7:35pm- SESSION ONE KEYNOTE: “Progressive Christianity: A Biblical Response to a Growing Movement” (Alisa Childers)
8:45pm- Worship, Next Day Activities
9:00pm- Dessert Social
8:00am- Bookstore, Breakfast, Connections Lounge
NOTE: Childcare and Kids Programming Available During Morning Sessions (8:45am-12:15pm)
9am- Day Two Open, Worship
9:20am- Short Talk: “Spiritual Formation to Resist The Drift” (Dave Henstchel)
9:35am- SESSION TWO KEYNOTE: “Parenting and Social Media” (Jason Thacker)
10:45am- BREAK
11:00am- Short Talk: “Helping Teens Resist the Drift” (Johnny Graves)
11:15am- SESSION THREE KEYNOTE: “Live Your Truth” (Alisa Childers)
12:30pm- LUNCH!
1:30-2:30pm- BREAKOUT TRACKS (Local Leaders)
2:30-5:00pm- Break
5:00-6:30pm- SESSION FOUR KEYNOTE: “Critical Theory and Social Justice Ideology” (Neil Shenvi)
NOTE: This session includes a sit down dinner and requires REGISTRATION.
7:00-8:30pm – Panel and Q & A + Worship (Bob)
- Short Talk: “Music of The Revolution” –Pastor Bob
8:30am- Bookstore, Lounge and Food available in FH Ministry Center.
9:00am- “The Gospel as an Apologetic” Neil Shenvi
NOTE: Alisa Childers Interview in Both Services.
10:45am- “Wisdom and Discernment in a Chaotic Public” Jason Thacker
Speaker Resources
Alisa Childers is a wife, mom, author, and speaker. She was a member of the award-winning CCM recording group ZOEgirl. She is a popular speaker at apologetics and Christian worldview conferences. She is the author of Another Gospel? and Live Your Truth and Other Lies. She has been published at the Gospel Coalition, Crosswalk, the Stream, For Every Mom, Decision Magazine, and the Christian Post.
Neil Shenvi is an apologist, author and follower of Jesus Christ. He has written two books: Why Believe? and Critical Dilemma. Neil has an A.B. in chemistry from Princeton and a PhD in theoretical chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked as a research scientist at Yale University and Duke University and has published over thirty peer-reviewed scientific papers. In addition, his writings on critical theory have been published by the Journal of Christian Legal Thought, the Gospel Coalition, Eikon, Ratio Christi, and the Liberty University Law Review, among others. He is married and currently homeschools his four children.
Jason Thacker serves as an assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Boyce College and Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He also is a senior fellow in bioethics and director of the research institute at The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is the author of several books including Following Jesus in the Digital Age and The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. He also serves as the editor of The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society and co-editor Baptist Social Ethics and the Essentials in Christian Ethics series with B&H Academic.
SESSION INFORMATION
SESSION ONE, Friday, 7:35 pm.
“Progressive Christianity: A Biblical Response to a Growing Movement” (Alisa Childers)
In this talk, Alisa will walk the audience through the history, key beliefs, and key figures of the movement of progressive Christianity, and ultimately show how progressive Christianity is at odds with historic Christianity and even disagrees with Jesus on what the Bible is, what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and the definition of the gospel.
SESSION TWO, Saturday, 9:35 am.
“Parenting and Social Media” (Jason Thacker)
Social media is a tool that can be used for both good and ill, but also is profoundly shaping every aspect of our hearts, minds, and souls. Recognizing this reality is one of the key steps in raising up the next generation in the pursuit of wisdom and virtue. We need more than simple tips and tricks on how to use technology better as we recognize that these tools have become one of the primary ways that we are being discipled today and transformed by the patterns of this world. Learn how to think deeply about the nature of these tools that never leave our side and how we might practically equip the next generation to wisely engage them as they seek to follow Jesus in a digital age.
SESSION THREE, Saturday 11:15 am.
“Live Your Truth” (Alisa Childers)
Popular slogans like “live your truth,” “follow your heart,” “you are enough” “you are the boss of you” and “you’re perfect just as you are” flood our social media feeds. In many cases, even materials marketed as “Christian” promote these ideas. But are they biblical? In this talk, Alisa will walk the audience through 3-5 cultural lies, demonstrate the bad thinking underneath them, and then turn to the Bible for a much better story.
SESSION FOUR, Saturday, 5 pm.
“Critical Theory and Social Justice Ideology” (Neil Shenvi)
Critical theory and its expression in fields such as critical race theory, critical pedagogy, and queer theory are having a profound impact on our culture. Contemporary critical theory’s ideas about race, class, gender, identity, and justice have dramatically shaped how people think, act, and view one another—in Christian and secular spheres alike.
BREAKOUT INFORMATION
BREAKOUT ONE: A Street Level Guide To The Morality Debate (Steve DiSebastian)
Whether we realize it or not, we’re all swimming in the waters of morality. Debates surrounding politics and cultural issues are unavoidably questions of morality. Even atheists who deny the existence of a transcendent moral law cannot escape making moral judgments. Join us to learn how to use these morally contentious times to both defend and share your faith in Christ.
Click HERE for Steve DiSebastian’s bio.
BREAKOUT TWO: Addressing The Realities of Sex Trafficking (Adrienne Livingston)
The purpose of this session is to delve beneath the surface of our world and uncover the harsh realities of sex trafficking. By its very nature, sex trafficking is deceptive, often hiding in plain sight. Three key factors contribute to this problem:
Perpetrators Disguise Themselves: Those who commit these crimes often appear as “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” making it difficult to identify them.
Consumers’ Blindness: Driven by lust, consumers are often unable to recognize their role in trafficking, choosing to see only what they want to see.
The Myth of Choice: The misconception that the sex industry operates on choice and free will further obscures the truth.
In this session, we will explore God’s heart for justice, discuss ways to prevent sex trafficking, and consider how we can best respond to this grave issue.
Click HERE for Adrienne Livingston’s bio.
BREAKOUT THREE: Sharing The Gospel Across Cultural Boundaries (Dr. Alfonse Javed)
Have you struggled to share your faith with someone of a different culture? Do you have friends who are Muslim or Hindu? This session will help us understand how the complexity of culture enables the gospel to spread powerfully within a culture. It will also explain why the Gospel message does not “jump” easily across cultural boundaries. At this end of this session, you will be able to articulate what culture is, how to understand it, and practices that facilitate the jump across barriers that have long obstructed the advance of the gospel among the least evangelized.
Click HERE for Alfonse Javed’s bio.
BREAKOUT FOUR: Teens Track (Andy Imbimbo)
In a culture sprinting away from the Gospel, teens are bombarded with conflicting messages about identity, truth, and purpose. “Resisting the Drift for Teens” is about anchoring your life in Jesus amidst all this chaos. This session will equip teens to recognize the culture’s pull, stand firm on the authority of Scripture, and experience how the supremacy of Christ transforms everything. Teens will discover how to live boldly for Jesus, even when the world says you’re missing out.
Click HERE for Andy Imbimbo’s bio
Kids Session (Pete Westerman)
Truth Explorers
Discover What’s Real
Get ready for an exciting morning filled with games, stories, and challenges! You’ll uncover the secrets of what truth really is, why it’s so important, and how to spot it in everyday life. Learn how God’s Word helps us navigate life’s biggest questions. Let’s embark on this journey to become Truth Explorers!
Click HERE for Pete Westerman’s bio
Brought to you by The Underground Sessions
Hotel Reservations
Hotel: Courtyard Marriott in Basking Ridge
Address: 595 Martinsville Rd, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
MBC has provided Contend Conference attendees with a discounted block rate hotel reservation opportunity. The fee for this hotel room is $125.00 (plus taxes & fees) and you can make that reservation through Courtyard Basking Ridge with the link below. Use the code MBRS for your discounted rate. Reservations are available until December 31st.
BREAKOUT INFORMATION
BREAKOUT ONE: Human Trafficking (Adrienne Livingston)
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
BREAKOUT TWO: Muslim Theme (Alfonse Javed)
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
BREAKOUT THREE: Teens
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
BREAKOUT FOUR: Kids Programming available Saturday, 9am-12pm
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
Brought to you by The Underground Sessions
