BJU Seminary will host the 2020 CoRE Conference—“New Life: Hope & Help for an Addicted World”—to provide teaching on various subtopics of addiction including substance abuse, pornography, social media obsession and eating disorders. 

 This year’s conference will seek to educate and equip pastors, Christian school administrators and teachers, lay people and students about how to detect and deal with addictive behaviors.

“The goal of the conference is to make connections between people who come from the outside, pastors [and] Christian leaders, along with our people who are here,” BJU Seminary Associate Dean Dr. Neal Cushman said.

All students are encouraged to attend the Conference, and service absences are available if they choose to do so. “What students should get out of [the conference] is a biblical view of life-dominating sins,” BJU biblical counseling professor Dr. Jim Berg said.    

The acronym CoRE stands for connect, renew and equip. CoRE will provide biblical answers to address the real needs of people who feel that they have no hope. Conference speakers include both BJU faculty members and outside guests. 

Outside speakers include  Dr. Mark Shaw, founder of The Addiction Connection and a leading authority on biblical counseling for addiction; Dr. John Street, president of the board of trustees of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors as well as chair and professor of the master of arts in biblical counseling at The Master’s University & Seminary in California; and Julie Lowe, a faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation and a top women’s speaker on helping children and adolescents with addiction issues.

Both BJU President Dr. Steve Pettit and Dean of the Seminary and the School of Religion Dr. Sam Horn will also speak on the topic of addiction equipped by their evangelism and church ministry experiences. Biblical counseling professors Dr. Jim Berg, Dr. Greg Mazak and Dr. Steve Cruice will also speak from their knowledge of the subject based on counseling experiences. 

The CoRE Conference will consist of five general speaking sessions as well as three breakout sessions, each with five topics to choose from that will cover important issues such as temptation, social media addiction in young people and parents, biblical help for those struggling with eating disorders and for those struggling with OCD. 

Those planning to attend the CoRE Conference must register in advance in order to be admitted and will have access to free books provided at each session. Books will coincide with the topics addressed. Admission is free for BJU students and faculty, and the cost is $75 for outside guests. 

The conference will be held in various buildings at BJU on March 9 and 10 with sessions beginning at 9 a.m. Visit core.bju.edu to register and for more information about the conference speakers and conference schedule.