Four12 news image for 'RSA Conference Day 3: The A-Z' about the final day of the 2015 Four12 Conference in Cape Town

RSA Conference Day 3: The A-Z

A is for Aware, Alert and Awake.
Andrew Selley kicked the morning off with two sessions on not being unaware of the devil’s schemes, taken mainly from the book of Revelation (see: R). Sobering.

B is for Bret Bevan’s Beard.
Some call it a beard, some call it awesomeness escaping through his face.

C is for Coffee.
Let’s be honest: We’re all preparing ourselves to joyfully endure the confiscation of our property and the loss of our freedoms, but if someone took our coffee away, there would be a full-blown violent riot.

D is for Dancing in worship.
Not really dancing; it’s more like hopping up and down on the spot. Out of time. But it works for us.

E is for Equipping.
Every session this week was about equipping the body, and that’s what Ephesians 4:12 is about. It’s not about leaders looking great, it’s about the church being mobilised.

F is for Four12.
What an honour to be partnering with these churches, and all for…

G is for the Gospel.
That good news that turned our lives around. May we always live up to it.

H is for Hosts.
Josh Genners, you’re awesome. Thank you for hosting and feeding us. Hope you don’t mind that we took your towels.

I is for Ivan van Vuuren Sr.
80 years old, and he’s just planted a church in Hoedspruit that’s grown from 0 to 55 people in four weeks. Retirement? Not when there’s hill country to take.

J is for Joy.
No matter what. And that joy is Jesus.

K is for Kids.
As a first-time father, I was at the back during the conference with all the parents. High fives all round, moms and dads. But not too loud – it’ll wake the kids.

L is for Lanyards.
Don’t forget to hand them in so they can be re-used for next year.

M is for Mike d’Offay.
Knocked it out of the park in the morning’s third session with a preach about wisdom. “The wisdom of God is found in the person of Jesus and the cross of Jesus.”

N is for NIV vs. ESV
Here’s Mike on reading from the NIV version of the Bible on the screen, and not his usual ESV: “I’ll go down a notch – down to Andrew’s level.” Zing! Your move, Andrew.

O is for “Oh, isn’t Mike d’Offay from PE originally?”

P is for Pit.
More specifically, the armpit of South Africa. That’s what Mike called PE when describing where he was from. You cut us deep, Mike. Real deep. And we have long memories.

Q is for Quote of the day:
“Love Warns.” The antithesis to the Love Wins movement, and far more accurate.

R is for the book of Revelation.
When we were younger, it used to be that weird book at the end of the Bible. We’re seeing many things in it beginning to happen, though, and knowing it is more important than ever.

S is for Sunningdale.
The setting for the conference this week, and home to townhouse complexes that look like they’re from the set of a Disney movie. Has anyone else noticed this?

T is for Timothy Ministry Training.
Before the evening session the TMT promo clip was shown on the big screen. Seriously, it’s brilliant.

U is for U should come to the conference next year.
It’s gr8, and not 2b missed, k?

V is for Volunteers. 
Parking, ushering, helping, directing – and all with big smiles. Champs, all of you.

W is for Will Marais.
Took the final session, and didn’t throw any sugar to the birds. We’re blessed to know the guy, never mind hear his insight into the things of God. And if you missed it, ask him to explain the background of Psalm 23. It’ll blow your mind.

X is for Xylophone.
An instrument not found on the worship team, and with good reason. No one has ever said, “I feel that as you play your xylophone, God is going to bring breakthrough.”

Y is for YouTube.
That’s where you’ll be able to watch the preaches from this week, except the parts with controversial content. Not saying whose preaches that would be, but his name rhymes with Schmandrew Schelley.

Z is for Zero.
That’s how many blogs I have left! The 2015 Cape Town Four12 conference is over, and it was fantastic to be together. The great thing is that our relationships continue, and our hearts are always together.

Shaun played punk rock for a living, worked for a chicken company, and then wrote copy for adverts. Now he’s a full-time lead elder in Oxygen Life Church in Gqeberha, South Africa. He is married to Sammy Jane and they have three children. Follow him on Facebook for more.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

RELATED NEWS

PRIVACY POLICY

We respect your privacy and freedom to choose, so if you continue to use our Website then you agree to be bound by the terms set out in this legal notice & Privacy Policy