• Your thoughts matter

The Salvation Army’s South Pacific Theological Forum (SPTF) is inviting abstracts from across several fields for the upcoming Thought Matters Conference being held in October.

This year’s theme is ‘Theologies of work, play and rest​’, and will explore questions such as whether achieving a balance between work and other aspects of life is really possible, what does it mean to live life to the full and flourish in every aspect of life and does this change, how and why do we work, how does our theology inform our understanding of how we live our lives, and how might different cultural perspectives expand our thinking about vocation, recreation and restoration.

Thought Matters is an annual conference organised and facilitated by SPTF and exists to provide a platform for theological discussion that informs ministry practice. ​It includes representatives from territories across the South Pacific region, including Australia, Fiji and Samoa, among others.

The conference will be held from 10–12 October, with registrations closing on 19 September. Registrations open on 4 July.

The team welcomes diverse perspectives, with abstracts welcome from fields such as practical theology, missiology, biblical studies, church history and lived experience.

Some possible topics include:

• Spirituality in work, play and rest​

• Viewing work as vocation​

• Time-out, sabbath and retreat​

• Is the “Protestant work ethic” with its focus on hard work, discipline, self-control, frugality, and individual responsibility alive today, and does it help or hinder the Christian life?

• Cultural, sociological, theological, psychological, generational, environmental and/or economic constructs of the meaning of work, play or rest​

• People who are excluded from the workforce​

• When identity is wrapped up in work​

• I’m retired, now what?​

• Play is not just for children​

• How might the practices—prayer, work, study, hospitality, and renewal—associated with the Benedictine “rule of life” teach us something helpful?​

• Living the embodied life​

• Theologies of wellbeing​

Abstract submissions are due 18 July 2025.

To find out more about Thought Matters, see here.

To read abstract submission criteria and other information, see here.