When?
Monday, 2 February 2026
Where?
Moore Theological College, 1 King St, Newtown, Sydney, NSW, Australia, and via live stream.
Main speaker
Simon Flinders
Church as Family
Simon will speak on what is at the heart of complementarianism, the ecclesiological concept of the church being the family of God. What can we learn from Jesus’ teaching about family as well as other ‘familial’ language in the Bible? How do we apply this as siblings, both male and female, within God’s family?
Simon is married to Tamara, and they have three daughters. He is the Archdeacon to the Archbishop of Sydney, assisting him in serving the work of the gospel across the Sydney Diocese. After graduating from Moore College, Simon served in parish ministry in Georges Hall, North Sydney, and from 2013 until 2022 he was the rector of Northbridge. Simon has also served as a volunteer chaplain to Cricket NSW and as a board member of Sports Chaplaincy Australia. He has been a Canon of St Andrew’s Cathedral since 2019.
Program
| Time | Session | Speaker/s | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00am-10:30am | Plenary session 1 | Simon Flinders | Talk 1: Discipleship as new love: Jesus’ invitation to radically rethink “family” |
| 10:30am-11:00am | Morning tea | ||
| 11:00am-12:30pm | Plenary session 2 + Q&A session | Simon Flinders | Talk 2: The apostles’ invitation to live as siblings |
| 12:30pm-1:30pm | Lunch | ||
| 1:30pm-3:00pm | Electives 1 | Matt Varcoe Michelle Varcoe and Moussa Ghazal Ros Ghazal | Serving Together: Seasons in Ministry for the Ministry Family |
| Mal York Kara Hartley | Domestic Abuse in the family of God | ||
| Lionel Windsor | Widows in the Household of God: A deep dive into 1 Timothy 5:3–16 | ||
| Tony Payne Kate Morris | Neurodivergence and the Family of God | ||
| 3:00pm-3:30pm | Afternoon tea | ||
| 3:30pm-5:00pm | Electives 2 | Caroline Lichfield Susan An | Seasons in Ministry: Serving as a Single Woman in the Family of God |
| Paul Williamson Sarah Balogh | Handling problematic texts (Ezekiel 16 and 23) both faithfully and sensitively | ||
| Mark Thompson Veronica Hoyt | Slots and Spots in the Church Gathering | ||
| Jono Squire Karen Lawson-Smith | Applying Complementarianism in a Changing Context |
