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Keri
Wyatt Kent's Speaking Topics
FOR
RETREATS
Simple Compassion: Making
a Difference
Do you feel God stirring
in your soul, asking you to start really connecting your
faith with your action? Do you wonder how your life can
reflect God’s heart of justice and mercy, his concern
for the poor? Learn how to turn those stirrings into
action, and jump-start your justice journey.
This
topic makes a life-changing retreat. It can also be a
great keynote for a fundraising event, or launch of a
justice initiative at your church. We look very
practically at how we can become people who make a
difference: who act justly, love mercy and walk humbly
with God. The group discussions and reflection times
will provide a safe, guilt-free environment for
discussing, asking questions, reflecting and
strategizing.
The
retreat consists of four teaching sessions. Each can
also be a stand-alone talk for an event, MOPS group or
Sunday School session, and can be customized for your
particular outreach focus.
Compassion Begins with You. every woman matters to
God, whether she’s in Sierra Leone or San Diego, in a
slum or a suburb. We’ll look at some biblical women who
stepped up to be difference makers, and how we can
follow their lead.
Compassion Grows in Community. The Christian life
was never meant to be lived on our own. We were made for
community—and sometimes, the people in our closest
circles are the ones who are challenging to love.
Compassion Extends Beyond Our Comfort Zones.
Although we can make a difference no matter where we
are, God calls us to truly see injustice around us, and
not insulate ourselves from it. There are people who
need God’s love and tangible help—things like food,
clothing and shelter—within an hour of your door.
Compassion Offers God’s Love to the World. It is
impossible to talk about God’s heart for the poor
without looking at the situation in the developing
world. We will look at some big issues like human
trafficking, poverty, lack of clean water and others.
1. How to Read and
Understand the Bible
Do
you want to improve the biblical literacy of your group?
So often we read the Bible out of obligation, but
secretly feel we don’t get much out of it. Or we get
frustrated and so ignore the discipline of Scripture
study because it seems difficult to understand.
This
talk gives an overview of how we got the Bible, how to
read and study it, and why that’s important. It
introduces some basic study tools: a concordance, Bible
dictionary and commentary, which will greatly enhance
your experience of the bible. A very practical and
helpful talk.
Rest: Living in
Sabbath Simplicity Does your
life feel busy and chaotic? Does it seem you are you too
busy to ever stop? Do you work and rest, or only work?
In the Old
Testament, God commanded us to “remember the Sabbath and
keep it holy.” In the New Testament, Jesus got in
trouble with religious leaders because he kept breaking
the Sabbath. Is Sabbath-keeping still relevant? If not,
why did God include it in the Ten Commandments? What
does it mean to live in Sabbath Simplicity? These are
the questions we’ll explore together. This interactive
retreat, based on Keri’s newest book, looks at how
Sabbath allows us to rest, reconnect with our faith, and
revise our scattered lives. We’ll learn to pause, play
and pray, which are all a part of Sabbath Simplicity.
Watch a video of Keri teaching on this topic
here.
Soul Oxygen An interactive workshop or retreat,
Soul Oxygen offers hands-on learning about six spiritual
practices. All six are designed to breathe new life into
your relationship with God by offering fresh approaches
to Scripture. Keri teaches on and then guides
participants as they practice Deep Listening, Breath
Prayer, Being There, Journaling, Solitude and Kindness.
Based on Keri's book of the same title.
Listen Based on Keri's book, Listen: Finding God
in the Story of Your Life. This topic can be given as an
interactive workshop, weekend retreat or a keynote
speech. Participants learn how to develop not only
listening skills but also to cultivate a listening
heart. They will come away inspired to engage in the
ministry of listening, empowered to grow spiritually,
and encouraged to hear God's voice. We look at three
ways God speaks to us: through the circumstances of our
lives (both joy and pain), through the words (and
attentive listening) of others, and through spiritual
practices such as listening prayer and meditation on
Scripture. Download the workshop outline
here.
Breathe Are you living your life at a sane pace?
Or are you hurried, worried, stressed and overwhelmed?
Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened." But how, exactly, do we do that? Wouldn't it
be nice to just have a little space to catch your
breath? That's exactly what the Breathe retreat is all
about. You'll look at the physical, emotional and
spiritual damage that a hurried life can cause. Then,
you'll look at very practical ways to create space for
God in your hectic life. Learn to slow down, breathe
deeply, simplify, and even take a real rest. Learn what
it means to live in Sabbath Simplicity, but still live
your real life.
The Garden of the Soul How does growth happen?
Like a flower, your spirit needs proper care and the
right conditions to grow. How can you provide proper
care and create the right conditions? This retreat
includes teaching sessions, small group discussions and
individual spiritual exercises, all designed to provide
you with the tools to cultivate the garden of your soul.
Learn how to work with God, and open yourself to his
work in you, so that your soul can become like a
"well-watered garden." (Read what people are saying
about this retreat.)
FOR SHORT EVENTS
All retreat topics above
can also be presented as keynote speeches at short
events.
The Gift of Christmas Present Planning a holiday
event? Whether it's a Christmas tea, holiday brunch or
year-end event, you want a speaker who will engage
audiences with laughter and fun, but also remind them
about the real meaning of Christmas.
Keri's newest talk, "The Gift of Christmas Present,"
looks at how we often don't enjoy Christmas because we
are thinking about all we have to do, or all the stress
we associate with the holidays. This talk looks at how
we can be fully present (rather than focusing on past
problems or future to-do lists). By being present, we
can receive the gift of Christmas present--Jesus
himself.
Here are some excerpts from the talk:
"When we are stuck in Christmas future, we widen the gap
between our ideals and our reality. We say we want to be
compassionate, but we get competitive. We say we want to
focus on our priorities, but instead we become
perfectionists. We say we want to look for true meaning,
but we get up at 4 am to get in line for the $17 DVD
player."
"Jesus didn't live in the past and didn't worry about
the future. He told people, 'Don't worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow has enough worries of its own.' And He
lived that way. Jesus was fully present with people. He
listened; he focused on them. When He talked with
someone, he wasn't just smiling and nodding, while
secretly planning the next day's miracles. He was
there."
Keri shares several biblical examples of how Jesus
interacted with people and invites us to interact with
Jesus--to be fully present with Him, and then to be
fully present with our family and friends. Her
presentation ends with a non-threatening,
seeker-friendly invitation to receive the ultimate
Christmas present by asking Jesus to forgive our past
and secure our future.
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"Keri's message was just what this hurried heart needed
to hear--and at just the right time. It helped me to
look at Christmas in a different way, a quieter way, and
to really choose what I spend my time on, and when I am
spending it with someone, how present I am in the moment
with them. I would highly recommend her for any women's
event as she is comfortable with believing and seeking
audiences alike. Our women just love her." Elizabeth
Corcoran, Director of Women's Ministries,
Blackberry
Creek Community Church |
God's Whisper in a Mother's Chaos This talk focuses
on helping mothers learn, in very practical ways, to
listen to God's still small voice. Moms will come away
refreshed in their souls, encouraged in their calling,
and equipped to continue to listen to God's whispers.
Letting Go of Guilt So You Can Grow Based on a
chapter in God's Whisper in a Mother's Chaos, this talk
can be presented as a workshop or keynote. Understand
what guilt is, why you feel it, whether guilt is ever
good, and how you can create new benchmarks for growth
that will enable you to let go of guilt.
A Mom's Day with Jesus Learn how to invite Jesus
into your ordinary moments, so that you can draw on His
strength to get you through the day. Learn to recognize
teachable moments with your children, and to incorporate
spiritual disciplines into your daily routine. The focus
of this workshop is not to give you more things to do,
but to teach you how to do everything in Jesus' name.
Solitude & Other Impossible Dreams What are
spiritual practices? How can they help you satisfy your
desire to grow closer to God? How can you ever find the
time to incorporate them into the crazy daily life of a
mom? Learn about simple steps you can take to grow
spiritually.
Putting the Quiet Back into Quiet Time What can
you learn from the contemplative traditions of the
Christian faith? This talk focuses on practices like
prayer and meditation that can draw you closer to God,
as well as on the importance of silence and listening in
your prayer life. Includes practice of lectio divina and
the Jesus Prayer.
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