Conference Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Dr. James Kok

How to Become a Happier Person
Something very important is underway in the way we must think about the call to good living.  Careful research is confirming Jesus’ call to “love one another” is behavior that is good for us, as well as those being cared for. It is guidance that will bring happiness and satisfaction into our personal lives.

Looking at the Average Man or Woman
Rethinking the long history of class systems and divisive attitudes towards other people is long overdue in our Christian communities. We will take a fresh look at the correct way to think about, and relate to, the stranger, the “worldly” neighbor, the clerk at the drug store.

God is Love. Love is God.
The Biblical text “God is love” is familiar to all of us.  The logical follow-up is to turn it around and say ”Love is God”. That means that when you are touching someone in a loving way, it is touching them with God’s love. It means that all people are instruments of God, whether or not they are believers in God.

Dr. James Kok has been an ordained minister for 50 years and is the founder of Care and Kindness Ministries, which presents conferences throughout the United States to train and motivate people in the Vision of Care and Kindness. His book, The Miracle of Kindness is the virtual textbook for this vision. He speaks extensively throughout the United States and Canada.

Dr. Kok was Director of Care Ministry for the Crystal Cathedral Congregation of Garden Grove, CA for 29 years. As a certified Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisor, he trained churches, pastors and telephone counselors in care methods.

He writes for the Care Capsule and is the author of six books. The most recent one, Transform Belief Into Behavior, has just been released.

Other Speakers

Dr. Beverly Battaglia

Changing Lanes; Redefining Retirement
This workshop will guide couples in maintaining productive and healthy relationships as they age. Dr. Battaglia's book is a boon for anyone seeking advice, support, education, and creative approaches to a successful and satisfying retirement.

Dr. Beverly Bottaglia, a social psychologist and a popular teacher of college courses, has dedicated her career to the study of change, cultural and generational nuances of age, gender and ethnicity. She has published two books and a long-running subscriber newsletter, "Cross Cultural Connection”, about improved interactions between diverse cultures.

Rev. Jeff Funk

Coping With Loss
The death of a loved one changes our lives forever. And the movement from the "before" to the "after" is almost always a long and painful journey. From my own experiences with loss, as well as those of the many grieving people I have worked with over the years, l have learned that if we are to heal we can't go round the outside edges of our grief. Instead, we must journey through all of it, even the dark valley.

There are six steps we need to take on the road to healing the hurt of our loss. This workshop will help you walk through each of those steps. After attending this workshop, participants will: (1) understand the difference between grieving and mourning, (2) be able to describe the cycles and waves of grief, and (3) be aware of the six steps on the journey of grief and gain hope for healing.

Rev. Jefirey Funk has served as a hospital chaplain for over 20 years where he has been confronted with morbidity and mortality on a regular basis. Prior to that, he spent 13 years as a grief counselor in the funeral industry. He and his wife, Kathryn had five children; only two are living on earth. His wife had two miscarriages. His first-born son suffered for 24 years with kidney disease before dying. His adopted son has serious mental illness and may never be able to function on his own in society. Jeffrey is a fellow struggler who comes alongside us as we wrestle with coping with loss.

Dr. Sande Herron

Listening: Much More Than Words Can Say
Do you wonder what to say when someone is grieving? Do you cringe and go blank when someone is upset or angry? We care, but we don't know how to express our caring! The solutions are simple and easy to achieve. You can makeadifference in the life of others simply by learning to communicate with the eyes and ears of your heart. More than a lecture, participants will demonstrate techniques in a practical and 'care'-full way.

Dr. Sande Whitacre Herron teaches communication/homiletics at the California Graduate School of Theology and is a mentor to doctoral students. She has a private practice as a Life Skills Coach, and often presents seminars. She had problems deciding what she wanted to be when she grew up; her many careers include being a teacher, speech pathologist, psychotherapist, speaker/trainer and minister.

Sandra teaches faith and she practices that faith as she flies around the country with her husband, Jim, in an airplane that he built out of spare parts! Life is a series of victories and struggles, but Sandra has emerged victorious, joyfully answering her calling to serve Jesus Christ.

Dr. Vicki Orr

From Forgiving to Blessing Those Who Hurt You: A Special Journey
This teaching will move from being forgiven to forgiving to living for God to a life of prayer to living in the flow of blessing.

Dr. Vicki Orr served for 20 years as a pastor at Presbyterian Church of the Master in Mission Viejo, California. Vicki, a former LOGOS Bible teacher, earned her Master of Divinity in 1985 and her Doctor of Ministry in 1994 from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. She wrote her dissertation on prayer and healing—her own story of the many difierent ways healing comes through the power of God released in prayer. An important part of her education was an intensive one-year Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.) Internship at the Crystal Cathedral in 1985-86, under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Jim Kok.

Abbey Nishimoto, Lon Wagner

How Do We Help?
While many of us are well-intentioned in our desire to help the less fortunate in our midst, we are often paralyzed by not knowing how to help. This workshop will focus on how to demonstrate care and kindness to the stranger in our communities, without causing dependency or damaging dignity. Participants will be exposed to a Biblical worldview for poverty, and will learn best principles for ministering to the marginalized, especially those in the homeless, immigrant, and low-income populations.

Abbey Nishimoto is a program director at Kingdom Causes Bellflower, a local faith-based non-profit whose goal is to mobilize Christians to love their neighbors well. Abbey loves to see Christians engaged with their under-resourced neighbors, and is excited when churches work together to minister to "the least of these".

Pastor Lon Wagner is the Minister of Discipleship at Bethany Christian Reformed Church. He is a Commissioned Pastor and has years of experience working with the community in a ministry setting. His loving and compassionate approach to helping has made a real difference in our local area.

Fred Wind

Telling the Story
Writing memoirs in a group setting is a magical way of sharing and touching people's lives. Starting or joining a group is easy and rewarding. Make sure your children, grandchildren, etc. are aware of their heritage, and stop the loss of continuity between the generations of our families. Previous writing experience is not necessary, and knowledge of grammar is not important. I firmly believe if you can talk, you can write.

Fred Wind is a retired teacher who, for six years, has inspired a growing group of memoirists at Bethany Christian Reformed Church. He also serves as president of the Creative Writers Club of Leisure World, and has published a book of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a family history.