2027 Bible Teachers and Preachers (Advanced) Network
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James is one of the most practical, punchy, and provocative books in the New Testament — and one of the most misunderstood. Famously dismissed by Luther as an “epistle of straw,” it has often been sidelined by preachers unsure how it fits with the rest of Scripture, or unsettled by its blunt ethical demands. In this year’s Advanced Network, we will dig into the book of James together, wrestling with its theology, its place in the canon, and its uncompromising call to a faith that works.
James writes as a pastor to scattered, suffering believers, confronting favouritism, unbridled speech, worldly wisdom, and quarrelsome hearts with a vision of “wisdom from above.” Is his emphasis on works a genuine tension with Paul’s gospel of grace, or a necessary complement to it? How do we preach a book that reads more like proverbs and sermons than sustained argument? And what would it look like to actually live out the faith James describes?
Join us as we explore the book of James together in the Advanced Network 2027. All those who teach the Bible, whether in a local church setting, on university campuses, or elsewhere, whether from the pulpit or not, are welcome.
The Advanced Track is for those who have either attended a previous ELF Bible Teachers and Preachers Network, participated in the Year-Round Mentoring Preachers track, a Cor Deo preaching course, or a Langham Preaching seminar in Europe.
For those who have proven success in these areas and would like to be considered for the Advanced Network, please email ksaylor@euroleadership.org with a description of your background, experience in Bible teaching, and an explanation of why you would like to move up into the Advanced Network.
Prior preparation will be set for all applicants.
What Network Participants Are Saying
- "Here at the European Leadership Forum, I attend the Bible Teachers and Preachers Network because it is a very good opportunity to learn a lot. The last years, it has been a great help to me to develop my skills and knowledge from the great Bible teachers here. I use what I learn in preparing for my sermons." - Istvan Horvath, Mission Worker, Hungary
- "At the Forum I heard brilliant teaching and I learned a lot from talking with other leaders from different parts of the world. I regularly preach in my church and I receive invitations from other churches and organisations to preach and teach, so the Bible Teachers and Preachers Network has been an incredible blessing to me." - Istvan Horvath, General Secretary of the Hungarian Evangelical Alliance, Hungary
- "I am preparing to be a pastor. For three years, I served as a pastoral intern and in a few months I hope to be ordained. It is an important time for me, thinking and planning and praying about my future, both in ministry as well as the possibility of further education. The Forum's Bible Teachers and Preachers Network provides me with the opportunity to grow, receive encouragement, learn, and hear stories of God working in Europe and around the world. I am tremendously grateful to be at the Forum." - Filip Kegel, vicar of EXE Church, Poland
Applicants should be those who either attended a previous ELF Bible Teachers and Preachers Network, participated in the Year-Round Mentoring Preachers track, a Cor Deo preaching course, or a Langham Preaching seminar in Europe. The aim each year is to consider the challenges and opportunities presented by different biblical genres, building on the key skills gained in the Foundational Track.
Network Leadership
Network Speakers
Mike Chalmers is a mentor with Cor Deo, a ministry training programme, and co-host of The Biblical Preaching Podcast. He is also UFM Worldwide’s Short-term Mission Coordinator. Previously, he was a Staff Worker in Wales with UCCF. He enjoys preaching and discipling, and continues to support and… Read more
Andy Hamilton is originally from Northern Ireland but has lived in Italy for most of his life. Andy obtained a Master of Theology from Queen’s University Belfast through Belfast Bible College and a Doctor of Ministry degree in preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He lives in the… Read more
Peter Mead is the director of Cor Deo, a ministry training programme in Chippenham, England. He is also part of the leadership team of Trinity Chippenham, a church Peter helped to plant back in 2014. Peter is a lecturer for Union School of Theology. He studied at Multnomah Biblical Seminary… Read more
Steve Mitchell is part of the leadership team at Cornerstone Church in Swindon, a small church plant in the rapidly expanding north of the town. Steve is passionate about seeing God’s people equipped to share God’s Word no matter what context they are in. Previously, he worked in the IT industry… Read more
Andy Oatridge is currently a pastor at their church and in leadership at their new church plants just outside of Budapest. He has recently been appointed as the European director for Langham Preaching, responsible for Europe and the Caribbean, and has been involved in the Langham leadership in… Read more
Network Programme
Sunday, 23 May
We will set the stage for our time together by getting to know James himself: his identity, his audience of scattered and suffering believers, and the pastoral concerns that shape his letter. We will trace the structure and flow of the book, get a feel for its wisdom-literature style, and preview the major themes we will explore across the network – trials, wisdom, speech, wealth, and a faith that works.
Martin Luther notoriously called James “a right strawy epistle,” troubled by its apparent tension with justification by faith alone and its comparatively thin Christology. In this session we will zero in on James 2 and its claim that “faith without works is dead,” reading it alongside Paul’s teaching on justification. Is this a real contradiction, two different questions being answered, or two complementary halves of a single gospel vision? We will consider how to hold James and Paul together with integrity, and why this matters for how we preach grace and obedience side by side.
Monday, 24 May
Together we will analyse the text, study the flow of thought, and wrestle with James’s stark contrast between wisdom “from below” and wisdom “from above.” This manuscript study will press us to examine the fruit of our own hearts and ministries, asking what it looks like for good conduct to flow from a wisdom marked by purity, peace, and mercy rather than envy and selfish ambition.
James is full of direct commands — control your tongue, care for orphans and widows, don't show favouritism, be patient — and preachers often default to either bare moralism ("try harder") or explaining the commands away. In this session we will think through how to preach imperative-heavy texts like James in a way that is gospel-shaped: rooted in grace, aware of our inability, and still genuinely urgent in its call to obedience.
Tuesday, 25 May
Together we will analyse the text, study the flow of thought, and feel the force of James’s diagnosis of the quarrels and conflicts that arise from disordered desire. This manuscript study will take us from the sobering language of spiritual adultery to the tender invitation to draw near to a God who “gives more grace,” and will press us toward genuine humility and repentance.
James is not written as sustained argument but as a series of pastoral exhortations, held together by recurring themes rather than a tight logical chain. In this final session we will consider the particular challenges and opportunities of preaching wisdom literature and hortatory material: how to preach individual units faithfully, how to trace James’s major themes across a preaching series, and how to call our hearers to the same kind of lived, active faith that James demands of his readers.
Wednesday, 26 May
This combined session with the Foundational Network will allow us to hear and learn from Peter Williams. We will explore the plenary sessions that Peter has shared with us, as well as related biblical ideas to encourage us in our study and preaching of God’s Word.
Preaching and teaching are not skills we learn once and repeat forever. There is always more to learn. In this final session, we will think together about growing as a preacher and teacher. What plans can we put in place to continue growing in the ministry that God has given us? For this session, the foundational and advanced networks will be combined.