Harbor, Pepperdine Bible Lectures: Recent Episodes
Pepperdine University
Christian scholars and church leaders at Harbor, Pepperdine University’s annual Bible Lectures, inspire listeners with this collection of topics on Christian living, relationships, ministry, and biblical insight.
Fri May 9, 2025 - 11:00 AM
Presenter(s): Tim Spivey
This sermon emphasizes the importance of Matthew 25, particularly the parable of the sheep and the goats, highlighting the call to compassion and service to others. Tim suggests true service comes from one's identity as a follower of Christ rather than fear of judgment. Service to the needy should be motivated by the understanding of being served by Christ during our times of need. Christians serve the poor and marginalized as a natural extension of their faith, rooted in their identity as followers of Christ. Believers should live out a Kingdom Christianity that integrates both personal faith and social responsibility, engaging actively in good works as a reflection of their faith.
Fri May 9, 2025 - 9:45 AM
Presenter(s): Bob & Liz Perez
Come and explore the Parable of the Sower from the perspective of the three gospels. Digging deeper into the scripture, we will tether back and forth between Matthew's focus on the soil, Mark's emphasis on the seed (the Sower), and Luke's take on perseverance. Thomas Long calls this "a 3-D reading of the gospels." Wow, so much to plow through. So, come with your 3-D lenses (metaphorically speaking) and ask God to open your heart to what He wants you to dig up during this experience. We hope you walk away asking, "What soil am I living in?"
Fri May 9, 2025 - 9:45 AM
Presenter(s): Alan and Sharon Beard
A married couple serving as leaders of two churches share what they've learned about simultaneously investing in an aging legacy church of Christ while planting a new one on Pepperdine's campus.
Fri May 9, 2025 - 9:45 AM
Presenter(s): Rudy Hagood
This session will discuss what I call the four stages of racial integrity. Although we will be discussing unity, unity does not happen merely because we discuss it. Christian unity only happens when we are on mission. My friends, we haven’t won, until we are all ONE. Jesus made unity with us his mission. That is the only reason we are unified with Christ. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” ~ John 1:14. We experience His grace and truth, because the Word (Christ) took the intentional step to dwell (tabernacle), with us. Jesus made residing and relating with us his mission. The truth just may be that the only way to be unified, is for us, like Christ, to make unity our mission as well. I fear that a lack of racial unity, is ultimately a lack Christian integrity. My hope is that we will all be ONE, showing that we have finally WON.
Fri May 9, 2025 - 9:45 AM
Presenter(s): David Fraze
If this title drew you in, this class is for you. There are great lessons learned from practicing in competitive sport. However, the benefit of these lessons can be replaced with damage caused by a lack of balance, reality, and common-sense practice from both adults and student athletes. Taken from the work of "Practice Wisdom for Families with Athletes: Winning Isn't the Ultimate Goal," Dr. Fraze will daw from his years in youth ministry and coaching to help church leaders and families better navigate and provide counsel for families journeying through the world of competitive athletics.
Fri May 9, 2025 - 8:30 AM
Presenter(s): Host: Audrey Jackson / Panelists: Alan Phillips, Mike Shepherd
Fri May 9, 2025 - 7:30 AM
Presenter(s): Jack Williamson
Psalm 23 has long been a favorite of believers who seek an intimate relationship with God. It is beloved for its comforting imagery of God as a shepherd, guiding and protecting His people. It speaks of peace, provision, and unwavering divine care, offering reassurance in difficult times. Its message of hope and trust in God’s presence make it a timeless source of peace and strength. Each morning during Harbor we will reflect together on this great prayer and worship together to start our day.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 8:45 PM
Presenter(s): Gregg Marutzky
This class will examine scripture and scholarship regarding participatory leadership in the Christian community to foster healthy, spiritual churches. The goal is to emulate the leadership of Jesus. Overcoming tensions, conflicts, and differences is vital for unified, spiritual Christian communities. Inclusive leadership fosters vulnerability, transparency, and communication to produce unity without uniformity. Churches with minimal drama maintain membership and attract new members. Biblical principles and proven practices can provide a model for emotional healthy churches. Research and cases studies will be referenced.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 3:15 PM
Presenter(s): Roy Knight
Our Focus is to encourage all brothers and sisters and students listening to this session to serve in oneness with the great Commission & Passion of Jesus Christ Our Lord .
Thu May 8, 2025 - 3:15 PM
Presenter(s): Host: Drew Baker and Steve Staten / Panelists: Kevin Withem, Robert Carrillo, Jennifer Konzen, Rudy Hagood, Caleb Kaltenbach, Jennifer Konzen
Common Grounds Unity hosted a conversation between five diverse members of the Restoration Movement while demonstrating the principles of Receptive Ecumenism. Rudy Hagood, Jennifer Konzen, Kevin Withem, Robert Carillo, and Caleb Koltenbach shared their thoughts on a variety of topics from baptism to gender identity and politics. The conversation was facilitated by Drew Baker and Steve Staten.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Mark Oestreicher, Mike Shepherd, Dudley Chancey
Thu May 8, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Kelly Haer, Dee Dee Mayer
Join us on a journey as we cast a vision for family legacy and raising mature Christ-followers. Research consistently demonstrates that parents and grandparents are the most essential component in passing faith to future generations, but we all know that in this cultural milieu parenting is no easy task. In this workshop, you’ll be inspired to grow in your own faith and learn skills to share your faith in a way that lasts. You will leave understanding the goals for each stage of development and how to facilitate growth and maturity in your child, empowered to step into the most important role of your life.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Christina Littlefield
This class will briefly explain Christian nationalism, based on the 2025 update of Christian America and the Kingdom of God, by Richard Hughes and Christina Littlefield. Attendees will learn how Christian nationalism is both unbiblical and undemocratic, and how they can help counter this ideology to better work for the inbreaking of God's kingdom today.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Host: Bobby Ross Jr. / Panelists: Audrey Jackson, Alan Phillips, Bobby Ross Jr., Sawmi Sektak
Thu May 8, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Josh Ross
Joy is a gift from God worth fighting for. Yet it is also an emotion the enemy is eager to strangle from us. If we lose our joy, we lose our witness. This two-part class will explore the richness of joy from faith, nueroscience, and sociology, with the hope that we gain a greater understanding of the emotion that can sustain us through every season of life.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 11:00 AM
Presenter(s): Jodi Hickerson
Teaching from Luke 5 - the parable of the wineskins.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 8:30 AM
Presenter(s): Tim Spivey
Contrary to popular belief, the next generation is hungry for missional and doctrinal clarity. This class encourages the church to be bold in claiming these six, "touchy," biblical truths in providing a firm foundation for tomorrow's church.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 8:30 AM
Presenter(s): Lars Coburn
In this session we will explore the Curb and Compass which are essential building blocks for engaging in the risky adventure of relationships as followers of Jesus, especially ministers and church leaders. We all need to develop our EmQ or empathy intelligence by slowing down to sit on the curb of life. Mentors act as points on the compass helping orient us to know which way is North, South, East, and West. But a compass is only useful if we know where we intend to go, so what core values act as the gravitational pull of your open hands (humility), being present with grateful positivity (gratitude), and seeing others with uncluttered clarity (simplicity) are the gravitational center of my relationship compass.
Thu May 8, 2025 - 7:30 AM
Presenter(s): Jack Williamson
Psalm 23 has long been a favorite of believers who seek an intimate relationship with God. It is beloved for its comforting imagery of God as a shepherd, guiding and protecting His people. It speaks of peace, provision, and unwavering divine care, offering reassurance in difficult times. Its message of hope and trust in God’s presence make it a timeless source of peace and strength. Each morning during Harbor we will reflect together on this great prayer and worship together to start our day.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Host: Doug Peters / Panelists: Dan Bouchelle, Bruce Bates, Tyson Moore
Wed May 7, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Rafael Lua
In the gospel of Matthew, we explore the gospel writer’s emphasis on scriptural fidelity in addressing a primarily Jewish Christian audience, while at the same time highlighting Jesus’ sparking of new imagination in how we view and apply scripture in this new Kingdom Reality. As church leaders and members, we will explore Missional themes and postures in these two emphasis’ in Matthew, as well as practical implications for the church today - an outpost of the in-breaking Kingdom of Heaven.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Lisa Parnell
The joys and blessings of intentionally developing intergenerational relationships in your family, your neighborhoods, and your churches.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Jerry Taylor
This class will explore how Paul discovered a peace that did not rise and fall with the unpredictable winds of life, whether he stood in need or sat in abundance. His journey to the inward center of peace was not merely a triumph of endurance. It was a sacred pilgrimage of spiritual formation, a deep and deliberate study in a curriculum not sanctioned by the Roman Empire, nor approved by the institutions of power. Paul enrolled in a school that could not be seen with the eye, a school of the Spirit, rooted in the suffering of Jesus. There, each trial became a chapter. Each hardship, a textbook. Each persecution, a major exam. His was not a theoretical faith, but a lived theology carved out in prison cells, shipwrecks, beatings, and betrayal. Through it all, Paul learned to quiet the noise around him by tuning his heart to the eternal abundance within. Through mindful meditation, he cultivated a vision sharpened not by ambition, but by surrender. It was a vision clear enough to see beyond the fleeting gains and devastating losses that this world parades before us, a vision anchored in the presence of Christ, where peace is not circumstantial, but constant.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Host: Bobby Ross Jr. / Panelists: Garret Best, Shelby Coble, Mike Cope, Audrey Jackson
Wed May 7, 2025 - 2:00 PM
Presenter(s): Josh Ross
Joy is a gift from God worth fighting for. Yet it is also an emotion the enemy is eager to strangle from us. If we lose our joy, we lose our witness. This two-part class will explore the richness of joy from faith, nueroscience, and sociology, with the hope that we gain a greater understanding of the emotion that can sustain us through every season of life.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 11:00 AM
Presenter(s): Jack Scott, Jeff Walling
Dr. Jack Scott has had a varied career as minister, college professor, college president, and state senator. In this interview session hosted by Jeff Walling, Dr. Scott will discuss his early life, joys, sorrows, family life, career, and religious thought.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 11:00 AM
Presenter(s): Dyron Daughrity
¿Qué nos enseñan los recientes incendios forestales sobre la naturaleza y el propósito de la Iglesia? What do the recent wildfires teach us about the nature and purpose of the Church?
Wed May 7, 2025 - 8:30 AM
Presenter(s): Dee Dee Mayer, Dan Burgess
Join us for an honest conversation about the state of ministry in our world today. Our churches are filled with real people struggling with real issues that impact lives and families. In this session you will learn a strategy for promoting an environment in the local church for healing and restoration. You will hear about the implementation of RelateStrong at the Landmark church of Christ and how it has helped them to walk alongside hurting people in their congregation and community.
Wed May 7, 2025 - 8:30 AM
Presenter(s): Tim Spivey
Contrary to popular belief, the next generation is hungry for missional and doctrinal clarity. This class encourages the church to be bold in claiming these six, "touchy," biblical truths in providing a firm foundation for tomorrow's church.
Tue May 6, 2025 - 8:45 PM
Presenter(s): Russell Heil
Modern slavery. Human trafficking. Violence against the poor. What does the work of justice look like for the church today? Informed by the insights of the International Justice Mission, we will examine how our faith intersects with the realities of injustice and the church's mission in dismantling oppressive structures. Come participate in a thought-provoking discussion on human rights and practical steps of faith to embody Christ's message of love. We will conclude with a reflective practice of stillness, allowing us to listen for divine inspiration as we recommit to justice in the Kingdom.
Tue May 6, 2025 - 8:45 PM
Presenter(s): Bobby Valentine
YHWH MALAK: Yahweh and God’s Kingdom in the Old Testament. When Jesus appeared preaching the “kingdom of God,” his fellow Jews did not ask what that meant. These classes will look at the overlooked teaching of God’s kingdom in the Old Testament.
Is it possible for followers of Jesus to reconcile faith with the violence of war? In this class, Dr. Vic McCracken will lead attendees through an exploration of the Christian tradition, exploring the church's nonviolent witness as well as the development of the Christian just war tradition.
Teacher:
Victor McCracken
If you feel you have been put through the wringer and nearly given up and you would like to know you are not alone, join me as I share my story of falling and getting back up again.
Teacher:
Summer Morris
In a letter addressed to Robert Hooker in 1675, Isaac Newton wrote what became one of his most famous statements, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Whether we care to admit it or not, we are who we are due in large part to those who have come before us. Some of them we can picture. Others we can name, though having never seen their faces, even in a photograph. Then there are the rest, the majority, whose names and faces we never knew. Their impact endures in us even when we can’t remember them. It's humbling to think that one day we will be just like them…forgotten. But there is a name that will never be lost to the turning pages of history. It is the name that is above every other name.
Teacher:
Jason Pagel
"We must learn to suffer what we cannot evade; our life, like the harmony of the world, is composed of contrary things, and one part is no less necessary than the other." ~Michel de MontaigneIn a world filled with suffering, one may feel it unfair or unnecessary to go through life's turmoils. Maybe it's a terminally ill loved one. Perhaps you feel that systemic conditions have unfairly burdened your life. Why did your marriage dissolve? How is it that your beautiful kids have turned to substance abuse? When will this grief stop? Is there a purpose in our pain? As believers, we must allow the Word to inform our worldview when the world around us makes no sense. In this session, we will look at what it means to Suffer Well.
Teacher:
Alvin Edington
Have the past few years left you not just tired, but weary? Me too! Let’s talk about it.
Teacher:
Ben Fike
Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family. Sex is a pervasive topic in our society and a very relevant issue for young adults. Statistics show dishearteningly high rates of unmarried young adults and teens are sexually active. Young adults need a safe place to talk about sexual issues, and they need adults in their lives who are willing to talk, listen, understand, and guide. There is so much in our culture that is untrue about sex. God has given us a beautiful gift in our sexuality, and we need to talk about how He does want us to use this gift. Join us as we discuss helpful ways to talk about sex in a way that young adults are likely to hear and understand.
Teacher:
Dori Lansbach
Every week, preachers face the pressure of coming up with something new to say about a book that has been talked about for 2000 years. Originality is an essential element for effective communication – but what can we possibly say that hasn’t already been said before? In this class, we will explore how and why good preaching endeavors to gain a fresh hearing for an old, old story.
Teacher:
David Ayres
Trophies. Promotions. Raises. Power. Authority. Honor. Credit... These are all things that the world around us values, pursues, and covets. This year we have yet another election cycle where individuals will be jockeying for votes, offices, and power. We can’t turn on the TV, listen to a podcast, get on a website, or even walk out our front door without being bombarded with the temptation to seek after the same type things. And yet… rather than grasp worldly power, fame, or authority Jesus actually shunned them. Instead he used words like humility, sacrifice, service, and submission. So how do we as Christians in the 21st century, follow the way of Jesus that teaches that an upside down ethic that teaches other first and us second? And how in the world do we get our churches to turn off the political pundits and spend more time living out the Greatest Commands and the Great Commission?
Teacher:
Jeff Hubbard
In this panel presentation, three women will discuss the challenges and opportunities of church and campus ministry planting in America.
Teacher:
Bruce Bates
Panelists:
Gina Isaziga, Brenda Woods
Did you know that there are four simple elements that make a good conversation great? Join Scott and Kim Lambert as they explore Hebrews 10:24 and share Heather Hollerman’s four mindsets that everyone should consider when having a conversation. This class will have a practical hands-on element so come ready to participate!
Teachers:
Kim and Scott Lambert
Chris Goldman, NWChurch Worship Band
A musical and spoken word worship experience built upon Isaiah 40 - 43, music by the NW Worship Band, and a desire to breathe spiritual energy into all who participate.
Teachers: Scott Lambert, Jim Martin
Spiritual leaders need encouragement to keep pressing forward in challenging Kingdom work. Approaches and tactics to wrestle with burnout, stress and anxiety will be accompanied by words of blessings, courage and prayers over each person in attendance. Both nights will offer practical insights as well as the feeding of each leader's soul. End the Harbor day with a time of encouragement to stay courageous in serving God and His people.
Teachers: Jason Locke, Tod Vogt
Panelists: David Berry, Charles Kiser, Ryan Smith, Chale Wesson
In this Reimagining Church workshop, the panelists will look at how to move beyond the tired and futile hamster wheel of worship improvements, revolving
preachers, rebrandings, facility improvements, and the like. Instead of just rethinking how to improve the weekly hour of worship, what if we as churches
rethought how to do life together? What if Christian communities both new and old could imagine and live into a new future of being the church in the
world? This session will look at concrete ideas for how to break out of existing frameworks.
Teacher: Stanley Talbert
This class explores theological perspectives on love, justice, and hope. If “God Loves Forever,” what are the implications of human love for God, the neighbor, and the self in the 21st century? The class will think with theologies of love, justice, and hope while constructing an ethic for the church’s engagement in our contemporary world.
Teacher: Esau McCaulley
Words have meaning in context. What should the Christian mean when he or she speaks of justice? What are its foundations, aims, and purpose. Related to this question is the doctrine of sin. Is sin personal, corporate (systemic), or some combination of the two? This seminar will outline a Christian definition of justice rooted in the vision for the Kingdom of God that emerges across the canon.
Teacher: Rubel Shelley
The message of Scripture is that same-sex activity is outside God's will, but our culture tells us that "authentic personhood" and "one's true identity" must not be denied. The role of the Holy Spirit is to empower virtue and to enable Christians -- whether heterosexual or homosexual by orientation -- to live in chastity and fidelity as we are transformed into Christ's likeness.
Teachers: Josh Ross, Chris Seidman
Life and ministry is much richer when we’re not the only ones doing the talking. We’ll pull on the thread of the Lord’s voice that runs throughout Scripture and talk practically about the challenges of discerning and following His voice in our lives today. We’ll also enjoy a few testimonies, and laugh (or cringe) over a few misguided experiences along the way.
Teachers: John Barton, KIBO Group
John will share experiences and lessons learned in his work with Kibo Group International, and his thirty years of involvement in cross-cultural church work and community development.
Teachers: Sharon Hargrave, Dee Dee Mayer
Many of us worry from time to time, but those who suffer from anxiety often experience fear that limits daily life and activities and makes it hard to find joy. Anxiety also impacts our ability to relate to one another in healthy ways. Over the last decade, mental health issues have been on the rise, with anxiety and depression taking the lead.
The National Institute for Mental Health reports that 31 percent of adults in America experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. These numbers are not different for people in the church. In fact, research shows that approximately one in five people sitting in congregation each week are struggling with a diagnosable anxiety disorder, and pastors are not immune to this statistic.
Join Sharon Hargrave and Dee Dee Mayer as they share new resources created through the RelateStrong Leadership Series to support people seeking to constructively address anxiety personally or in those they lead and serve. Whether a lay leader or a minister, this session is for you.
Teachers: Greg Anderson, Grady King
In 2022, Hope Network Ministries facilitated a nationwide Compelling Preaching survey on behalf of Pepperdine University's Office of Church Relations. The purpose of this class is to review some of the key takeaways from the data, process where we are aligned and where we are disconnected, and offer suggestions to church leaders on how to equip their congregations for more compelling preaching.
Teacher: Cliff Barbarick
The parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 grapples with a universal human experience: sometimes the loving God responds to our cries for justice with silence. How do we understand such moments, and what do we do? To explore this story, we will learn it by heart and tell it to one another. It's possible—and fun!—to learn the story quickly, and the process deepens our appreciation for this deceptively simple parable.
Teacher: Michael Chaffin
The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with superlative language describing the faithfulness of God. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases," or "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever." These are words of protest as well as praise; words offered in the midst of suffering, not simply once it has passed.
What might these extreme expressions of inexhaustible loyalty mean for God's groaning creation? What are the ultimate implications for a God of such character?
Psalm 139 shifts our expectations of God's promises by expanding our experience of his presence.
Teacher: Kindy De Long
"God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). God's love is at the center of the story of Jesus. It is why the Word was made flesh, why Jesus died rather than conquered, and why we experience grace through Christ. Focusing on God's love in the New Testament, this class will explore what it means to be loved by God and how being loved by God changes us.
Teacher: Bryn Valencia
There is a gap between believing women are fully welcomed to lead in the Church, and seeing that liberty realized in our local churches – how do women and men live healthy, vibrant lives of faith and leadership in this in-between season? Rooted in the fundamental belief of the Imago Dei residing within every person, this class will help us unlock creative solutions for reclaiming hope, empowered soul care, and active engagement while in a season of waiting.
Teacher: Jovan Barrington
You're invited to attend this class that focuses on how to make Sundays meaningful, fulfilling, and enjoyable. We will discuss topics such as the importance of gathering with your church, participating in spiritual practices, and alleviating anxiety and disappointments while cultivating celebration and joy. This class is open for ministry leaders and anyone who wants to make Sunday a great day and create a deeper connection with God. Join us and discover how Sundays can be your best day of the week.
Teacher: John Mark Hicks
As congregations process pastoral leadership and the inclusion of women, one of the most frequent barriers is three Greek words traditionally translated “husband of one wife.” These two classes explore the interpretation and practice of this “qualification” in the history of the church (with emphasis on the Restoration Movement) and offer an understanding of this Greek idiom that does not exclude women in the context of 1 Timothy 3.
Teacher: Charles Kiser
Many people leave churches and faith because they have experienced spiritual abuse and trauma due to toxic religious narratives. In this session we explore the concepts of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, and present pastoral leadership practices and postures that foster congregations that are healing for the spiritually traumatized.
Teacher: Mark Mayo
Learn how to share your faith with gentleness and respect. In a world that is dark and divided, we will discover new ways to bridge the gap
and bring the one true answer to hope and peace-Jesus Christ.
Teacher: Carlos Isaziga
What do you do when you can’t shake the feeling of being tired? Maybe it’s a simple all too common physical depletion of energy, or are you dealing with a weariness much deeper than that?
Society is feeling the effects of fatigue on many different levels, Jesus makes an invitation to a life of rest and refreshment.
Teachers: Dudley Chancey, Josh Griffin, Mike Shepherd, Jeff Walling
In a world of ever-increasing and -invasive technology, which way should youth ministers turn? How can we reach teens who live in a digital world yet desperately seek authentic relationships? Sharing truth in imaginative ways has never been more important. Come hear some recent research and fresh ideas on how to leverage technology to give you more time to lean into relational ministry from experts and creative voices in the field of student ministry.
Teacher: Pat Bills
We are living in a time where churches are struggling with their attendance and morale is low; things just aren’t “what they used to be.” But what if churches actually embraced a strategy that measured success in different ways than before? Join me as we explore specific strategies that have “grown” our church into becoming a smaller more faithful and focused community of disciples.
Teacher: Nick Zola
The Gospel of Mark is likely the earliest surviving written story of Jesus. It’s fast paced and action packed, revealing some rough language yet real literary artistry, with an abrupt start and a surprising twist at the end. In this workshop we will explore the good news Mark conveys to his listeners and how to relate that good news ourselves, if we dare.
Teacher: K. Rex Butts
This class will explore the participation of the local church in the mission of God among college contexts. The operatives of transforming and planting will shape this discussion.
Teacher: Cheryl Russell
Dialogical preaching and the opportunities and advantages it provides for churches in the new missional era.
Teacher: Dori Lansbach
Romantic relationships are in the forefront of every person’s mind at some point in their life. So much of our lives including our identity, our past, and our future are impacted by the partners that we choose to become involved with romantically, but how do we navigate these relationships in a broken world? How do we prepare our individual emotional and spiritual health to be ready to be in a relationship? How do we date in a way that brings glory to God? How do we navigate the dynamics of marriage to reflect God’s vision for a holy partnership? How do we
discern the unhealthy dynamics of relationships? Whether you’re single and preparing yourself to date, actively dating, or are married, this session will help you consider different aspects of relationships that are so often overlooked or misconstrued in today’s world.
Teacher: Jeanette Duval
A straightforward look at these three vital aspects of God and how our understanding of them impacts every level of our spiritual health. Especially relevant for our younger adults, teens, and children!
Teacher: La Shonda Coleman
At times it can be challenging to love and show compassion for self in the many ways that we so readily do for others. We may have bought into the myth that self care is selfish. Yes, I named it a myth and if this is something you have bought into, extend yourself grace--while leaning into an opportunity to believe differently. An opportunity to experience love starting with Jesus and YOU. In the scriptures, Jesus models for us the practice of self-care and compassion. The truth is, Jesus loves you and gives us permission to love ourselves as well (Leviticus 19:17-18). This love can be expressed through self-care practices and through the practice of self-compassion. The question now is, how does it look to love and show compassion for ourselves? This class will prepare participants to create a self-care plan and to experience a variety of sensations that flow from self compassion. Through education, embodied practices, guided reflections, prayer, meditation and dialogue, participants in this class can expect to have a wholehearted experience!
Teacher: Karl Ihfe
The table is significant. It’s where Christians have broken bread, found fellowship, and extended compassion for centuries. It’s the place we still gather weekly to be reminded of our shared life in Christ. It’s also been the source of much controversy and contention, springing from the question, "Who gets a seat at the table?"
That question almost split the church at the very beginning, and in a culture as fractured and divided as ours, threatens to split the church again. It’s time to look again at the example of Jesus, who shared a table with all kinds of people, and it got him into all kinds of trouble. Let’s consider how God might be challenging us to stretch and grow beyond our comfort zone as he asks us once again that famous question: Guess who’s coming to dinner?
Teacher: Danny Quintero
Unlimited knowledge, unlimited power, unlimited love. Billions of followers, billions of lives impacted. People talk about Him, but do they walk with Him? If you are interested in knowing the importance of planning with the Spirit and the change that you can experience in your life and even in your church, I invite you to join us in this class.
Teacher: Sara Young Jackson
I have always loved the song sung by Miranda Lambert, “The House That Built Me,” because it so poignantly reminds me of the people in my life who have influenced who I have become today. In this class, I will reflect on the women, both in Scripture and in my personal history, whose lives of faith have “shaped” me.
Teacher: Kent Jobe
This class will look at the underlying spirit that defined the early church and how intentional congregational care can transform the local church from the inside out.
Teacher: Kelly Haer
60:40. Why are there so often more women than men on college campuses and in your young adult ministry? How does this "man deficit" impact both men and women? What does faithful living look like amidst the current economics of dating? Demographics, statistics, game theory, and ambiguous loss will be used to make sense of--and provide a guide to navigate--the dating climate at school and life after college!
*Date-Onomics coined by Jon Birger
Teacher: Tim Spivey
Even prior to the pandemic, the church was changing in dramatic ways. This class discusses, humorously, the expiration of several popular leadership principles, and offers a look at the prevailing church of the rest of the 21st century.
Teachers: Jacob Parnell, Bryan Schackmann
Q: What do you get when you cross a Church of Christ preacher and a stand-up comic? A: Better punchlines than this one! Give your brain a break and come enjoy some all ages stand-up comedy. You'll learn absolutely nothing but you will laugh! (Notice: Laughs not guaranteed.)
Teacher: John Barton
John will discuss his new book, Better Religion, and explore the following questions: How should Christians interact with followers of other religions? How would Jesus have us do interfaith work? Where are the lines between faithfulness and compromise?
Teacher: Chais DeMaggio
A look into the research on religious trauma, and pathways to creating healthy and safe religious communities. After demystifying the subject of religious trauma this class proposes a transparent and inclusive approach to building religious community.
Teachers: Leonard Allen, Lauren White
The Authority of Scripture in a Different Key: Incarnation and Sanctification
The doctrine of Scripture’s authority and inspiration has tended to be distorted in two directions, the fundamentalist and the modernist. We propose an older view that is
neither: that the Holy Spirit has sanctified or made holy the processes of Scripture’s incarnational production and preservation, setting these texts apart for the Trinity’s
service.
Teachers: Leonard Allen, Lauren White
Signs of the Times: Modernist and Postmodernist Readings of the Bible
Modern critical studies of the Bible tended to fragment its unity and question its historical
accuracy. Postmodern approaches tend to deny the text any stable meaning and depend
on the reader to create it—so now we commonly hear of “queering the Bible.”
Teacher: Esau McCaulley
This session will examine New Testament passages that might inform how the police force ought to engage the populous. In the course of our time together we will analyze Romans 13, the ministry of John the Baptist, and the arrest and trial of Jesus, all of which have encounters with agents of the state.
Teacher: Rubel Shelly
The church bears significant responsibility for hounding and humiliating gay people – thus leading them not only to be skeptical of Christians but to avoid and despise the church. We have been disrespectful in too many settings. Told too many denigrating jokes. Perpetuated ugly stereotypes. Can we reopen dialogue with the LGBTQ+ community?
Teacher: Andy Wall
In every generation, God’s people must wrestle their way through a variety of faith tensions: pursuing justice versus practicing forgiveness; caring for personal needs versus caring for communal needs; prophetically challenging shortcomings versus pastorally tending hurts; enjoying God-given freedoms versus foregoing freedoms for the greater good; honoring time-honored traditions versus pursuing healthy innovations. Join us as we reflect on the wisdom Scripture offers as we navigate faith tensions, learning to hold a firm center and soft edges as we wrestle through challenging issues together.
Teacher: Mike Cope
Mike Cope will tell stories that help understand who Churches of Christ are. Mike is Pepperdine's Director of Ministry Outreach. In addition to being the Director of the Harbor Lectures, he directs three Lilly-funded initiatives for Pepperdine focusing on: ministers, congregational leadership, and preaching. He was a senior minister for thirty years, and taught freshman classes of 300 for Abilene Christian University for fifteen years.
Teacher: Ron Clark
Panelists: Carlos Isaziga, Daniel Jarchow, Addison Weaver, Brendin Williamson
In Luke 10 Jesus encourages his disciples to pray for the Lord to ‘kick out’ workers into a field where the fruit is ripe; so ripe that the harvest is urgent. This panel discussion will explore stories from the ‘field’ as church and campus planters discuss the urgency of mission, evangelism, and outreach for Jesus.
Teacher: Monte Cox
In a culture steeped in pluralism and the relativism it brings, what are some "points of contact" with our non-Christian neighbors? Can we still claim that the Gospel is unique?
Teacher: Josh Graves
Jesus' understanding and commitment to love is what separates him from many of the great teachers in human history. This session will explore Jesus' passion for love--including the rejection of lame expressions of love-- and what it means for us today as local churches seek to embody love in a culture bent towards shame, deceit, competition, division, and hostility.
Teachers: Scott Lambert, Jim Martin
Spiritual leaders need encouragement to keep pressing forward in challenging Kingdom work. Approaches and tactics to wrestle with burnout, stress and anxiety will be accompanied by words of blessings, courage and prayers over each person in attendance. Both nights will offer practical insights as well as the feeding of each leader's soul. End the Harbor day with a time of encouragement to stay courageous in serving God and His people.
Teacher: Zac Luben
What might ministers learn from the ways poets view the world? This class will explore that question by looking at the work of Charles Taylor, Hartmut Rosa, and Andrew Root.
Teachers: Luke Norsworthy, Suzanne Stabile
We haven't met anyone who doesn't want to belong or have meaning. Yet many of us seem to miss out on both. Drawing upon on timeless wisdom from the Living Word, Enneagram Master teacher Suzanne Stabile and Luke Norsworthy will discuss how to find both.
Teacher: Taylor Walling
Restoration churches have always claimed to model themselves after the New Testament church. The church that started on Pentecost. The church that prayed and walls shook. The church that added to their number daily. Among the many characteristics of the Spirit-filled early church, future generations have to reclaim a counter-cultural unity, unceasing prayer, and a living witness to the world. We must disciple tomorrow's church in daily dependence on and communion with God's very Spirit, for the sake of all generations to come.
Teachers: Luke Norsworthy, Suzanne Stabile
We haven't met anyone who doesn't want to belong or have meaning. Yet many of us seem to miss out on both. Drawing upon on timeless wisdom from the Living Word, Enneagram Master teacher Suzanne Stabile and Luke Norsworthy will discuss how to find both.
Teacher: Taylor Walling
Here's a thought experiment: you ask a teenager in your church what it means to be part of the churches of Christ or the Restoration Movement. How do they respond? The answer depends on the story they've inherited. Too often the story handed to the next generation has been either so narrow it strains against adaptation or so broad it lacks a clear identity. This class will present a framework for telling a story of restoration more lasting and helpful to future generations.
Teacher: Mallory Wyckoff
What we believe to be true about God informs
what we believe to be true about everything and
everyone else. When God is conceived solely
through masculine language, metaphors, and
imagery—whether in sermons, religious art, or in
private prayer—we are robbed of countless ways
to experience the Divine, to consider ourselves
as humans, to order our communities in ways
where everyone has the ability to flourish. In this
workshop, we’ll inventory our functioning image(s)
of God, explore feminine imagery and metaphors,
and seek to live into a fuller expression of the
Divine—and of ourselves.
Teacher: Dewayne Winrow
I will provide a candid and personal assessment of the pre-pandemic conditions, pandemic challenges to being the church, and post-pandemic rebuilding based on these challenges.
Teacher: Ken Cukrowski
What is going on in Ephesus? Some women are misbehaving ("Eves"), and other women are ministering in diverse ways. We'll do a deep dive into the Pastoral Epistles and explore the various gifts that women bring to ministry.
Teachers: Marian and Tim Parker
Created from longing itself, humans are born
with a longing to connect. Children are naturally
open to a connection to our Creator. Coupling
this curiosity to an exploration of the Word
through the many facets of who we have been
created to be allows for deeper understanding of
our place—our connection.
We will consider the idea of taking God’s stories
and learning through a rotation of understandings
or methods—science, art, games, drama, history,
and how we can serve others. Taking a deep
dive into the richness of God’s gifts of learning
methods, children can begin to discover their
place in God’s story. Come explore with us and
discover your place in God’s ultimate story.
Teachers: John Mark Hicks, Mac Ice, Jerry Rushford
Photographs are windows into our stories. Join us for an interPhotographs are windows into our stories. Join us for an interactive conversation about historic photographs from the Restoration Movement and the stories to which they bear witness. The timeline for the photographs begins in the middle of the 19th century and concludes in the present day.active conversation about historic photographs from
the Restoration Movement and the stories to which they bear witness.
Teacher: Candace Nicolds
Class 1: The Brookline Church of Christ in Massachusetts is a 100-year-old congregation, but communal life looks different than it ever has before. Church members are located all across the country! The worship services are "fusion": some people attend in the building and some via Zoom, yet it is very much a single community as the two groups interact with one another. In a time when people increasingly find community online, Brookline is tapping into that to create a new type of church. Come hear how this church is reimagining being "all together in one place" and what they have learned so far.
Teachers: Susan Giboney, Mary Alice Reed
This class will focus on how to best serve our growing population of senior citizens in our churches. Wisely using church funds for our elderly will be discussed as well as understanding the needs of this special age group. The class will also give suggestions on how to help this population to finish life well. Ministers, families, and seniors will benefit from this session.
Teacher: Gregg Marutzky
What was the leadership style of Jesus when he was on earth? Many describe Jesus as a Servant Leader or an Upside Down Leader. Jesus has also been described as a Transformational Leader, Inclusive Leader, or Collaborative Leader. Arguments can be made for all these labels. Unfortunately, when we use organizational terms to describe the leadership of Christ, the descriptions fail to capture the leader of leaders fully. Becoming a Jesus leader or Christian leader means transfiguration by the Holy Spirit to become an imitation of Jesus. Jesus' leadership embodies the Cross and becomes the servant of all. Leadership is not exercising authority over others but rather joining with others. Leadership is at the intersection of leaders and followers. Without followers, there are no leaders. Leadership in the 21st century has significant challenges and requires leaders in the church to understand transfiguration. Let's explore together going beyond transactional leadership and transformative leadership to transfigurational leadership.
Teacher: Tiffany Dahlman
Class 1: Preachers, have you been frustrated with your elders over matters of theology or mission? Elders, have you felt anxiety or confusion over your pulpit minister's theology? Very often Churches of Christ hire pulpit ministers with advanced degrees in Bible and ministry while the elders do not have any such formal training. Elders may be rich in faith and love for the flock, but the formal training distance between them and the preacher can wreak havoc on a congregation. Some have called this an "upside-down polity" where those without formal training in Bible and ministry are the authority over the ministers who do have such training. As a result, conflict ensues, misunderstandings abound, and church growth stymies. This class will offer several ways for churches to overcome the dark side of the upside down polity system so that ministers and elders can work together and the formal training gap can dissolve without compromising a plurality of leadership or the greater gifts.
Teacher: Dee Dee Mayer
Pastor burnout is real. Vocational ministry is challenging, particularly in our current cultural climate. The Barna Group released research that communicates that 42% of pastors have considered leaving ministry in the past year. Some factors impacting this rise in pastors questioning their call to ministry are stress, loneliness, and politics. Please join Dee Dee Mayer as she shares strategies for sustaining wellness and flourishing across a lifespan of ministry. In this class you will leave with tools that will help you assess both your own wellness as well as the wellness of those you lead and serve.
Teachers: Judy and Woody Square
We have had an exciting journey these past two years partnering with the City of San Leandro and our immediate neighbors to develop our church into a Resilience Hub for the community. A resilience hub is a neighborhood center that integrates disaster preparedness, community care and belonging, and sustainability to be "ready for anything." We have a steering committee made up of 4 church members and 8 Lewis Avenue neighbors. We meet about every six weeks to plan block parties, work on an emergency communication system, prepare the church building to serve as an evacuation center, and address the neighborhood’s top concerns (crime, traffic calming, etc.) The immediate neighborhood sees us as a valuable resource and asset, and we are building many new connections throughout the city.
More and more cities will be starting Resilience Hub initiatives, and they will be reaching out to communities of faith to serve in this capacity. Come and learn how your church can bless your surrounding community in this way.
Teachers: Jacob Parnell, Bryan Schackmann
Bryan and Jacob are Church of Christ preachers who also do stand-up comedy on the side. (Think of it as a mid-life crisis people are forced to watch!) In this session, they will share stories about their time in the bars and comedy clubs of Los Angeles and the California Bay Area trying to share the light and hope of Jesus in a pretty dark world. They’ll also each perform some of their original stand-up material! (So laugh good.)
Teacher: Jack Williamson
This famous chapter, where the Apostle Paul describes love in so many facets and virtues, is a staple of Christian ceremonies. It is used over and over at gatherings, from weddings to memorial services and everything in between. There is nothing wrong with this, but so many of the references to this great treatise miss the context and meaning that it seems Paul intended to convey. This chapter on Love is actually Paul’s conclusion to a section of teaching on the gifting of the Holy Spirit. This class will explore that idea.
Teacher: Kyle Sapp
With the rise of popular hits like Stranger Things on Netflix and the amazing success of podcasts such as Critical Role and the Adventure Zone, Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) has carved a hard to ignore chunk in the cultural zeitgeist. However, the Church has not had such a friendly history with this game, at worst calling it a gateway to Satanism and at best looking at it’s players with confusion and disdain. In our session, we will talk about why millions of people play Dungeons and Dragons, discuss the ways it helps improve social, emotional and spiritual health, and even brainstorm ideas for how the church can be more inclusive to DnD’s fanbase. You won’t have to roll a character to join but it couldn’t hurt.
Teachers: Alex and Eleni Melirrytos
"... preparing a feast of rich food..."
Theme verse: (Isaiah 25:6) "... the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines." Please feel free to "arrange" as you see fit.
Teacher: Dyron Daugherty
Your neighborhood probably has Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. Your kids and grandkids probably go to school with Jews, Sikhs, and Taoists. You may have members of other religions working in the office down the hall from you. Let's get real: the world's religions are all around us. So now what? What should you do, as a Christian, about that fact? In this class, we explore Christian responses to the world's religions. And you probably already know the answer to the class question!
Teacher: Dusty Rush
Exploring some subtle shifts in the ways we measure good preaching.
Teacher: Stanley Talbert
This class explores theological perspectives on love, justice, and hope. If "God Loves Forever," what are the implications of human love for God, the neighbor, and the self in the 21st century?
Teachers: Liz Perez, Robert Perez
What is your Individual Ministry Plan (IMP)? How do you happily navigate in ministry in adversity (God's way), especially when you are a woman? Come see how godly women in the Bible and women of today are using their God given talens and calling in today's world. God has an IMP for everyone, which includes both men and women. I Peter 1: 13-16
Teacher: Phil Brookman
The average American watches a staggering 4.5 hours of TV per day. Other than sleep and work, we will spend more time watching TV over the course of our lives than any other activity, making it one of the most powerful forces in our formation as people. This class will offer a perspective as to how we might approach the shows we watch as disciples of Jesus. What metrics of evaluation might we employ in our discernment? How do we know the differences between helpful and harmful?
Teacher: John Mark Hicks
As congregations process pastoral leadership and the inclusion of women, one of the most frequent barriers is three Greek words traditionally translated "husband of one wife." These two classes explore the interpretation and practice of this "qualification" in the history of the church (with emphasis on the Restoration Movement) and offer an understanding of this Greek idiom that does not exclude women in the context of 1 Timothy 3.
Teachers: Jessica Knapp, Rick Krug
Many churches face hard times for many reason, and while struggling to make the right decision for each unique congregation, many church leaders are finding the future is far less certain than ever before. The search for congregational identity, what to do with the church properties that when first developed were worth a fraction of what they are now, and how to serve a rapidly changing social and economic demographic have many congregations wondering if they should even exist at all. To help bring the hope of God back to the people, Rick Krug and Jessica Knapp bring insights and admonitions designed to help churches and their leaders navigate the unknown future.
Teacher: Cliff Barbarick
God has revealed to his people over the generations that he is a generous and merciful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. When God extends his loving forgiveness to those who have hurt us deeply, however, it can be a bitter experience. The prophetic works of Obadiah and Jonah, which appear in sequence in the Book of the Twelve, offer God's people a way to process this better experience. For this session, Cliff Barbarick will perform Obadiah and Jonah from memory and lead a discussion about how these books help us wrestle with our relationship with our enemies.
Teacher: Brock Paulk
The combination of social division, political partisanship, and an ongoing global pandemic have made community - including church community - uniquely difficult. Many of our churches have experienced significant attrition among members and even leaders as we wrestle with pressures and problems that seem to have caught us flat-footed. Together we'll explore principles and practices to address anxiety and burnout so that we can help one another stay the course.
Teacher: Allen Wai Jang
The popular 1963 book by Dr. S.I. McMillen, MD revealing health "secrets" from the Bible, has gone through several revisions and, after his passing in 1990, was expanded by Dr. David E. Stern, MD. Adding insights from TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), we can unlock further insights that illustrate the universality and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures!
Teachers: Doug Crum, Lance Havens
"I used to go to the wildest, craziest, most awesome parties ever - but now I go to church instead." A testimony can tell an amazing story of how Jesus is transforming our lives: it can also glamorize sin, glorify the sinner, and present God/Christianity as a boring afterthought. How can we use such a powerful tool to help our members tell His story? Come share your ideas and mull over a few of ours. If you only attend one class . . . then this will be the best on you go to.
Teacher: David Ayres
Religious trauma is an occupational hazard for ministers. But how do you heal from wounds inflicted by the church when you work for one? Join us as we explore a framework for finding renewal and resilience on the other side of church-induced trauma in ministry.
Teacher: Tim Spivey
Even prior to the pandemic, the church was changing in dramatic ways. This class discusses, humorously, the expiration of several popular leadership principles, and offers a look at the prevailing church of the rest of the 21st century.
Teacher: Rick Gibson
Being honest about things that may not belong in our lives or in our churches.
Teacher: Drew Dixon
"I am making a way in the wilderness." (Isaiah 43:19)
The church in America is in a wilderness season. Congregations are declining and fewer people profess Christian faith every year. But what if instead of looking back to "the golden years," the way forward is a divine invitation deeper into the wilderness? By looking at Jesus' wilderness season as well as the example of the ancient desert mothers and fathers, we can discover wisdom and hope in embracing the wilderness way.
Teacher: Caleb Grimes
Criticism comes with influence, leadership and changing lives. It's not fun but you're not alone.
Teacher: Bryon Fike
Sixty-five books of the Bible were written for the purpose of communicating God's Word to us. One book was written to help us communicate our words to God. the Psalms were written to be prayed. Come and learn one way you can pray all 150 Psalms.
Teacher: Amy Bost Henegar
Panelists: Candace Nicolds, Jess Lowry, Tiffany Dahlman, Cheryl Russell
You may have attended classes about woemn in ministry, heard from elders who have led change for inclusion in their congregations, studied the theology behind it with scholars, even heard from churches with female elders. But this panel invites you in to a unique conversation with several of the women who are currently serving as pulpit ministers in our churches. a diverse array of questions will be asked and honestly answered, including the questions you bring!
Teacher: Rick Marrs
This workshop will look not only at the original context for the messages of these 8th century BC prophets but also at their contemporary relevance. What do they say about God, about faithfulness, about justice? How can they guide the church today during these challenging times? We will talk about teaching and preaching strategies that might help communicate these biblical themes.
Teacher: Sean Palmer
Although best known as an instructive personality typing system, the Enneagram is also a tool for communication and connection. Let's explore together how this ancient tool can help teachers, preachers, and church leaders increase their gospel impact.
Teachers: Chris Goldman, Piper Ditzler
Deconstruction of faith is a critical discussion in our time impacting everyone. Reconstruction of relationships seems out of reach to so many. Division and disbelief is running rampant. Avoiding the conversation is simply not an option. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the Northwest Church Worship Band and Chris Goldman will explore these two topics through scripture, story, music, live art, and suggestions for a more hopeful tomorrow. (Wednesday - Deconstruction; Thursday - Reconstruction).
Teacher: Jeff Walling
Everywhere we look student ministry is facing the changes and challenges brought by: technology, ecology, politics, and pandemics. Anchoring our ministry to students in the nature and teaching of Christ has never been more important. Youth ministry leaders from across the country will share current research and offer practical advice on keeping Christ at the center of ministry to teens in areas like identity, gender issues, and creativity in teaching.
Teachers: David Fraze, Walter Surdacki
Don't know how to be involved in youth ministry? David and Walter draw on over 60 years of youth ministry experience. They will help you see how you can partner with your youth minister and help your youth ministry thrive. You don't have to be a great public speaker or devote every weekend to be a small group leader either to get involved! They will help you see different "in front and behind the scenes" ways you can support and serve.
Teachers: Billy Curl, Tyson Moore
Passing the proverbial torch in ministry must be done carefully between ministers. Billy Curl served 40+ years as the minister of the Crenshaw church of Christ in Los Angeles, California and then successfully retired after having discipled, trained and prepared his successor Tyson Moore. Their story has encouraged many in the African-American churches of Christ across the nation.
Teacher: Dan Zink
The fast pace and high demands of today leave little time or energy for togetherness in our relationships. This workshop will focus on deepening connection in relationships with friends and spouses to better ground us in love for each other even when time and energy are limited. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Teacher: Lisa Parnell
I remember being taught as a child that prayer is our way of talking to God, and Scripture is how God talks to us. But each can seem so one-sided and separate. What if prayer could be more like a conversation, a dialogue between God and us? Prayer Trails are an interactive, experiential way of conversing with God while walking through nature. They have proven meaningful and memorable for teens and adults alike. This class will outline the process for making a Prayer Trail and allow you the opportunity to "walk" a virtual Prayer Trail yourself. God is waiting to connect with you...come and see.
Teacher: Andy Wall
God has always called his people to live in community. But God surely knows how hard it is for us humans to get along! If you’re aching for a greater sense of unity in our churches, come explore how Jesus’ ministry, the power of the cross, and the canon of Scripture provide a powerful rationale for unity in the midst of our diversity.
Teacher: Jim White
Often overlooked because of its brevity, the book of Philemon gives us a glimpse into Paul’s heart, psychology, and doctrine. Paul puts into practice his teaching from the Corinthians letter to bring together two former adversaries. Learn from this shortest of Paul’s epistles the way to gently restore one who has strayed.
In this session, American church historian Christina Littlefield will explore how one American pastor yoked the evangelical pietism of his Northern Baptist youth to the social justice platform of the Progressive Era, helping to develop the 1908 Social Creed of the Churches. Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918) was one of the leading voices of the early evangelically social gospel. However, he grew up in a conservative household in Rochester, New York and spent zero time thinking about the social conditions of the industrial age, until he began ministering to German immigrants in Hell’s Kitchen, New York in the 1880s. The frequency of funerals for children convinced him the Gospel should serve the whole person, body and soul, and the whole of society, not just the church. He grounded his theological vision in the social justice calls of the Hebrew prophets and the kingdom of God rhetoric of Jesus Christ.
Teacher: Kyle Sapp
There’s a thing that swallows you. It holds you together while it’s tearing you apart. Lately, that thing seems like ministry. In the midst of political division, pandemic madness, and the usual chaos, it has become increasingly difficult to believe ministry matters. In this class, we will discuss the intersection between ministry wounds, burnout, and the God who says, “My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is perfected in weakness.” Together we will discuss ways we can heal, rest, and be drawn closer to God in the midst of communal suffering and pain.
Teacher: Amy Bost Henegar
How do we proclaim the good news of Jesus in an increasingly complicated world? How can we craft sermons that speak words of life for weary hearts and troubled minds? We will ask these important questions and more, seeking God's wisdom for the sacred vocation of preaching.
Teacher: Nick Perez
Did God know about COVID-19 before it existed? Various models of divine foreknowledge seek to explain what God knows and when God knows it. This class will explore several of these models and apply them to the global pandemic.
Teacher: Martha Highfield
This is the remarkable story of how a series of determined missionary women initiated and shaped Church of Christ healthcare missions in southeastern Nigeria. The stories of nurses Glenna Peden, Mary Kelton, Grace Farrar, Iris Hays, and Nancy Petty reveal how each did what she could to overcome inexperience, conflict, and cultural challenges while relying on faith, family, and community.
Teacher: Bryan Fojtasek
If you had to describe God in a single sentence, how would you do it? Did you know there’s a passage in the Bible (Exodus 34:6) where God does exactly that? This description of God’s heart was so comforting for the Israelites that they kept repeating it for thousands of years in all kinds of adverse situations! This class will take a deep-dive into how God reveals his heart to Israel at a crucial moment in their history, and then make practical applications to church life, family life, and our relationship with God.
Teacher: David Ayres
Why are you still a member of Churches of Christ? It seems that, for many of us, that question has become increasingly difficult to answer. For those in our churches who are all too aware of our tradition’s shortcomings, it can be difficult to speak convincingly about the gifts our heritage has to offer. It often feels as though we escaped our bondage to rigid sectarianism only to wander aimlessly in the wilderness of relentless self-critique. Join us as we imagine what it might look like to offer our churches a positive vision for who we are and who we can still be.
Teacher: Bryan Schackmann
Scripture invites us into a world where we are encouraged to create alongside our Creator. Unfortunately, we often spend more time consuming instead of creating. How can you reclaim God's call on your life to create meaning in deep and profound ways?
Teacher: Jonathan Guevara
El ministerio de Jesús y del apóstol Pablo tuvieron una singularidad, la persecución. Es común encontrar en el nuevo Testamento las dificultades que atravesaban aquellos que decidían llevar el mensaje de salvación. ¿Qué los motivaba? ¿Por qué estaban tan apasionados? Hoy en día la predicación del evangelio se ha tornado opcional para muchos creyentes. ¿Qué los desmotiva? En esta lección encontraremos la magnitud del mensaje que Dios ha encomendado a los creyentes y motivos para llevarlo por doquier.
Teacher: Caleb Borchers
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most financially successful film franchise in the history of Hollywood, and 12 years from its founding continues to be a major shaper of popular culture. These superhero tales not only entertain and distract, but they also have a moral vision which shapes cultural understandings across the globe. In this session we'll look at some of the spiritual lessons that one can derive from this franchise and evaluate the ways these lessons support and challenge a Christian understanding of the world.
Teacher: Bradley Steele
Since their inception, the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper has remained a distinctive practice in Churches of Christ. However, though most congregations remain unified in the practice of weekly celebration, their actual execution of that celebration varies rather widely. This class constitutes a call to a renewed celebration of the Eucharist through the retrieval of the Eucharistic theology of Scripture and the early Church.
Teacher: Ron Clark
During the Covid pandemic Kairos was faced with a dilemma concerning church planters, campus leaders, and assessing future leaders. We quickly pivoted and witnessed our planters develop hybrid models of ministry. Kairos also developed online assessment labs (Discovery and Strategy Labs) and continued to train and prepare leaders to begin new ministries in 2022. This online format opens the door for global assessment, training, and planting throughout the world. In this session we will discuss how the digital age affects leadership development, discernment for calling, and preparing future leaders in Jesus’ kingdom.
Teachers: Scott and Kim Lambert
We cannot shy away from difficult conversations that matter and we need safe places to have them. Join Scott and Kim Lambert, co-founders of The Conversation Group, to discover why Christian leaders around the world are actively seeking mentorship relationships and leaning into impactful conversations. You will be encouraged by the four principles above and discover how they can impact the relationships you are navigating.
Teacher: Shon Smith
These days few guarantees seem to be worth more than the paper they are printed on, but in 2 Peter 1 we find a guarantee that one can take to the bank. It is the guarantee that one can make a profound impact on this world for the glory of Jesus. This guarantee, however, hinges on a growing faith. Join us for this class to discuss qualities that every disciple must allow the Holy Spirit to form in them to make the greatest impact through them.
Teacher: Ghavinn Crutcher
Texting rather than talking. Gathering likes and followers. Making friends via a gaming console. Unrelenting 24/7 news cycles. Ready or not, the rise of social media, and 24/7 Internet access has changed the way we relate to one another (and ourselves), leaving in its wake a whole new set of challenges for those who use it.
Teachers: Everett and Earlene Bryson
The world system in which we all live has many different theologies and principles when it comes to serving seniors, the sick and shut-in, the poor, the needy and others. Some think that there is no value in taking care of these individuals. However, Jesus Christ teaches the value in serving and meeting the needs of indigent people. In this session “Senior Ministry: Taking Care of Jesus, we will examine the principles of serving those in needs and the ultimate benefits of this type of service through the message of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-40. This session is part of the Sunset Haven Senior Ministry Series.
Teacher: Candace Nicolds
Do you sometimes struggle coming up with texts for your next sermon series? Perhaps you find yourself defaulting to some of your favorite texts, or those that seem “easy” to preach. In this class, we will discuss some of the positives (and negatives) that come with following a lectionary, look at some of the different lectionaries available, and explore some of the resources that are available for preachers and/or worship-planners who use a lectionary.
Teacher: Ben Fike
We knew there would be disagreement in church, but nobody warned us about the alternate realities! And yet, doesn’t it sometimes feel as if we’re living in a completely different world from those around us? Many of the conflicts we deal with these days seem to have much less to do with what we see than how we see it. Modern psychology gives us a helpful label for identifying how otherwise similar people might arrive at wildly different interpretations of what they see: cognitive biases. This class will explore several common biases and how awareness of bias in ourselves and others can help us communicate more effectively and others, even and especially those with whom we disagree.
Teacher: Allen Wai Jang
Health is viewed as a gift from God and a way of relational living in community. Health promotion and religious beliefs are integrated into the normal cycles of life to celebrate life, enhance coping, wholeness, and improve community well-being. I will use Tai Chi and Qigong exercises as a model to illustrate intentional contextual practices that can foster a congregation’s sense of mutual dependence and foster persons’ ability to both give and receive care.
Teacher: Dave Altizer
A very personal reflection from a man with two sons; one an alcoholic and one an aspiring chemist/neuroscientist. For parents and churches dealing with two sons, and with Luke 15 as a backdrop, this session aims to offer hope, partnership, and encouragement from a man who is still on the journey with his two sons.
Teacher: Cheryl Russell
A message from Ephesians 2 about the possibility of cultivating a new Kingdom imagination that reflects the fullness of God.
Teachers: Chris Goldman, Piper Ditzler
Deconstruction of faith is a critical discussion in our time impacting everyone. Reconstruction of relationships seems out of reach to so many. Division and disbelief is running rampant. Avoiding the conversation is simply not an option. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the Northwest Church Worship Band and Chris Goldman will explore these two topics through scripture, story, music, live art, and suggestions for a more hopeful tomorrow. (Wednesday - Deconstruction; Thursday - Reconstruction).
Teachers: Greg Anderson, Grady King, Doug Peters
HOPE Network leaders discuss leadership structure in Churches of Christ: assumptions, frustrations, and a biblical model of gift-based shared leadership. Polity angst is one of the top reasons for a minister’s transition resulting in congregations yearning for solidarity, health, and growth.
Teacher: Richard Beck
Surveys declare that America is now officially a "post-Christian" nation. Churches are in numerical decline and the faith is failing to pass on to our children. How do we proclaim the gospel to a skeptical, disbelieving world? Join Richard Beck to learn how recovering sacred wonder and radical amazement can revitalize faith in a faithless world.
Teachers: Melvina Brown, Hannah Parmelee
As campus ministers, we generously give students our time, emotional energy, and wisdom, and our life with God. Our lives with God must be constantly refreshed with the Divine Life. When they aren’t, we are weary, burdened, and burnt-out, and our families and ministries suffer along with us. “Campus Ministers’ Waters of Life” is time to renew in the abundant waters of God. We will look at the soil of our souls, the care they need, catch a vision for more of life with God, and pray for one another.
Teacher: Pat Bills
Panelists: Sara Barton, Randy Harris, Amy Bost Henegar
That churches have been through an unprecedented season of heartache and turmoil is no secret. And preachers have felt the weight of loss, the challenge of meeting high expectations, and a pressure to hold “all the things” together. Join us for a workshop that will offer you hope and encouragement for the task of preaching and leading. Come and be reminded of your call and gospel conviction.
Teacher: Jerry Rushford
Panelists: Wes Crawford, Dyron Daughrity, Jamey Gorman, John Mark Hicks, Loretta Hunnicutt, Stanley Talbert
This workshop will encourage a conversation on the many different categories in Restoration history that attract us and compel us to research and write about them. It might also lead to a discussion about which categories have been neglected in our storytelling, and make suggestions for new categories in future publications.
Teachers: Marian and Tim Parker
We are all born with a desire to connect to The One who desires us the most. The richness and diversity in God's creation speaks to each child, but not every child experiences or learns in the exact same way. We will explore the ideas and truths in the stories found in scripture using a variety of different methods—science, art, games, drama, history, and storytelling—to help you, your volunteers, and your students find their unique place in the greatest story of all.
Teachers: Leonard Allen, Darryl Tippens
The weekly observance of the Lord's Supper has long been a key identity marker of Churches of Christ, yet even as the practice has been forcefully defended as an essential ordinance of the church, for many believers the spiritual power and purpose of communion have been mysteriously reduced. “When Jesus Comes to Dinner” will explore the Bible’s and the ancient church’s rich and multifaceted understanding of the Eucharist with a call to restore its fuller meaning. The session will invite participants to join in crafting fresh language for creative communion services.
Teachers: Sandy Johnson, Dusty Rush
Ministry in 2022 is hard. Many church leaders are overwhelmed with the, now seemingly impossible task of gathering Christians for one hour each week. Creating onramps for engaging these same Christians in substantive discipling can seem all but impossible. In this session, we want to claim that discipling is not dead while exploring together practical ways churches can train followers of Jesus to fully participate with God in missional living.
Teacher: Claire Allensworth
How does the soul develop and change? Do we have a vision for how intimacy with God can grow throughout our lifetime? How can we assist others into a more soul-full life with God? Join us as we consider the journey of the soul as modeled by Saint Teresa of Avila and consider key questions, challenges, and opportunities at each stage of our dynamic life with God.
Teacher: Jay Hawkins
Christians have become more comfortable talking about the Holy Spirit yet something is amiss. Why has our current church and cultural situation caused an increased thirst for the Spirit? What practical steps forward can we take?
Teacher: Rhonda Lowry
Characteristics of Christian community that can sustain itself while rowing against the current
Teacher: Jim Martin
Many Christians, including ministers and other church leaders, describe the last two years as being very hard. Yet, this is the time to be intentional regarding practices and habits that can give us strength and courage. This class will offer something helpful for all us who want to live as a people of hope.
Teacher: Todd Lollar
Todd shares his discovery of the three roots of discrimination found within the church. In his bestselling book, Weak is the New Strong, he guides readers down the path of self-discovery as he shares his personal story of revelation upon realizing that God’s power is displayed through his weakness, Cerebral Palsy. In this session, Todd will not only help attendees discover how God’s power is displayed through their own weakness, he will also discuss the implications of not viewing others in that light. As he shares in his book, he experiences the most discrimination within the church, and in this session he will help you learn how to heal the roots of that discrimination for all involved.
Teacher: Falon Barton
While reading the Bible for information is important, the story of the Bible is meant to help us experience the living God. We will learn five spiritual practices that give us a more holistic understanding of the Bible and, most importantly, draw us deeper into the presence of God. For anyone who leads small groups or teaches Bible classes — or who wants to breathe new life into their own Bible study — these practices will help the Bible come alive in whole new ways.
Teacher: Tiffany Dahlman
Tiffany is the pulpit minister of a church with an open pulpit. How does this work? What are the benefits of equipping a variety of voices from within the congregation to preach the Sunday sermon? These and other questions, like, "How do I convince my elders that I'm not taking a week off if we open the pulpit?" will be answered in this session that has applicability for church members, church leaders, and preachers alike.
Teacher: Kelly Haer
Are differences polarizing your relationships with family, friends, or co-workers? Are you struggling to interact with others and make sense of situations when you don't see eye-to-eye? This workshop will equip you to categorize types of differences and identify the varied relational impacts amidst these dynamics. Having named the relational landscape, you’ll learn to apply a framework for emotional-relational health that will empower you to maximize relational connection and satisfaction among polarized relationships. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Teacher: Jacob Parnell
"90% of ministry is stealing other people's good ideas."–my buddy Allyn Bradley. If you're doing ministry in a church with a small team (or no team), come hear some ways that you can multiply ministry resources and opportunities simply by being connected with other ministers and helping organizations. I'll share some stories of how networking has blessed the 75-member northern California church where I serve and give attendees the chance to share their networking success stories as well. It's a collaborative session about the value and necessity of collaborating!
Teacher: Janet Ray
For decades, people of faith have been told that that evolution is a lie. In order to sustain the ruse, scientists must hide evidence for creation and refuse to publish intelligent design articles in journals. If we believe that scientists aren’t telling us the truth regarding evolution, it is not a stretch to believe that scientists are trying to deceive us in other things. We are now reaping the consequences of decades of science denial in the response of far too many Christians during the COVID19 pandemic. This presentation explores the impact of science denial on the Christian witness.
Teacher: Grace Hall
In 2014, the Campbell Church of Christ made the decision to add an instrumental service on Sunday mornings. In preparation for this move, the preaching minister gave a sermon that wrestled with the Biblical, theological, and doctrinal history of the a cappella tradition in the churches of Christ. This session will break down the rhetorical strategies used to navigate such a charged topic and provide a roadmap for others who need to address similarly difficult topics.
Teacher: Jessica Knapp
One result of the financial insecurity of the last several months has been an increase in the number of homeless and at-risk families. We will explore what steps we as the church can take to help our neighbors in need. We will talk about the difficulties of dealing with mental health issues, systemic struggles faced by our friends as well as finding the balance between helping and hurting.
Teacher: Jack Williamson
At the beginning of Jesus' ministry years, both Matthew and Mark tell us that he began saying: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Teaching his disciples, he famously prays, ”Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Within a few years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Paul is writing letters and planting churches. Standing on the shoulders of Jesus, he carries on this message of a Kingdom that has already come with power but has not yet been fully realized. It is God’s kingdom. It is the legacy to which we are called. It is the power to set us free and change the world one faithful person at a time.
Teachers: Woody and Judy Square
Questions and doubts fill our minds when we discover that our adult child has left the faith: What did I do wrong? Will I lose my credibility as a church leader? How do I respond when people ask about my child? Do I keep trying with my child? How? This class is an honest exploration of the thoughts, feelings, and struggles we have when our children reject the faith of their childhood and some coping skills/strategies from a couple who is in the thick of this difficult journey.
Teachers: Jeff Garrett, Jim Johnston, Ray Meadows
This session will explain the amazing impact that Jesus Christ is having in Huntington WV, the city that CNN, in 2016, called “America’s Drug Death Capital.” God is doing amazing things in The Movement that is transforming the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Hundreds of people who were suffering from addiction have given their lives to Christ, enjoy extended periods of sobriety, get their children back, obtain employment, and become productive members of society. Rocky, Jim, and Jeff will describe what grace looks like through the eyes of recovering alcoholics and addicts. God is doing amazing things in Huntington WV. He can do the same in your city!
Teacher: Joe Neal
In a world longing for justice, poets and musicians become prophets seeking the divine shalom. They long for what is broken to be made right in the world. In this class, we will examine stories and songs of injustice as they point to the Gospel of Jesus and help us communicate the Kingdom of God to a world hungry for redemption and peace.
Teacher: Jason Burnett
Last September I finally went to my Elders and said: “I’m not ok.” Part autobiographical, part instructive, part group “therapy,” we will spend our time in this session looking at burnout in ministry, the terrifying moment of vulnerability to say “I’m not ok,” and how church leaders can help their ministers.
Teacher: Wilson McCoy
Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you ever felt stretched thin by too many errands, demands, and responsibilities? How do we navigate stressful seasons in faithful ways? Join us as we explore Scriptural insights, the latest research in psychology, and spiritual wisdom to learn to move through overwhelm towards a more grounded and godly life.
Teacher: Drew Dixon
Spiritual direction has grown in popularity in recent years. Is it a new fad or an ancient practice? Is it for the spiritual-but-not-religious crowd or can it serve followers of Christ? This session is an opportunity to learn about spiritual direction—what it is, where it came from, who it's for, and how it can be a critical resource for both church leaders and those who are wrestling with the church and their faith.
Teacher: Mitchell East
The Church Fathers taught that God has perfect joy, which means that God, in his divine nature, cannot suffer. But this teaching flies in the face of a recent idea that God suffers alongside us. Which teaching is more faithful to Scripture? Which teaching holds good news for the suffering of the world?
Teacher: Jarrod Robinson
In a world that is always changing (at what feels like an ever-increasing speed), how can the church find new ways to remain faithful? This class will explore four key shifts that we need to make as followers of Jesus in order to empower our faith communities to effectively reach the outside world around us.
Teacher: Susan Giboney
This class is developed for Seniors and those who minister to our senior citizen community. It will focus on understanding the thoughts and needs of our vital and precious Senior members and how to wisely tap their experience and skills. The content is developed from research and surveys of current Seniors, who will hopefully be enlightened and encouraged by the topic. This session is part of the Sunset Haven Senior Ministry Series.
Teacher: Holly Allen
Our Covid experience has confirmed what we had already guessed: all children need resilience. This presentation builds a bridge between resilience studies and children’s spiritual formation, showing how spirituality intersects with most of the protective factors resilience scholars have suggested. It will also demonstrate four ordinary ways parents, grandparents, teachers, children’s ministers, and others can nurture children spiritually—ways that also foster the resilience children need to face the common troubles of childhood and to persevere when facing more serious adversities that may come their way.
Teacher: Michael Chaffin
Of all the methods Jesus could have chosen to implement his messianic mission, he chooses...mystery. Jesus teaches wisdom in the Sermon on the Mount. Then he steps down and embodies his sermon. But he does so in surprising and even shocking fashion. Matthew 8-13 contains constant confusion over Jesus and his understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven. What does this teach us about the Father and the Kingdom? And what are the implications for discipleship today? Come participate in a discussion of our erudite, yet elusive Jesus.
Teacher: Robert Perez
After 32 years, Santa Paula Church of Christ (SPCC) has appointed and confirmed two elders. This class will focus on the process of how we moved to being a church with elders, as well as lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid.
Teachers: Jeff and Kera Hubbard, Bret Morris
We aim to highlight that through the grace of Jesus we are new creations. Our old rhythms, habits, or addictions will be exposed for the false security and comfort that they are. Instead, through the grace of Jesus we can be made new, seeing and experiencing the world in new ways. The old is gone and the new has come. There is no other answers than Jesus in regards to who can comfort, forgive, empower, and lead us into the way life was intended to be.
Teachers: Josh Ross, Joshua Graves
Love is the only legacy that matters. This two part class will explore what it means to love well and be loved. Howard Thurman wrote, "Love or perish." No human prior or since Jesus exemplifies what it means to live this kind of beautiful life like Jesus of Nazareth. If you want to be a better practitioner of love, these two sessions are for you!
Teachers: Josh Ross, Joshua Graves
Love is the only legacy that matters. This two part class will explore what it means to love well and be loved. Howard Thurman wrote, "Love or perish." No human prior or since Jesus exemplifies what it means to live this kind of beautiful life like Jesus of Nazareth. If you want to be a better practitioner of love, these two sessions are for you!
Teacher: Soong-Chan Rah
We are living through a once-in-a generation moment. The complex and myriad challenges we face as a church and as a Christian community requires a deeper theological reflection. In this session, we will engage in the necessary social analysis to better understand this historic moment. We will examine the lost spiritual practice of lament as an essential ecclesial expression that provides wisdom necessary for this moment.
Teacher: Soong-Chan Rah
We are living through a once-in-a generation moment. The complex and myriad challenges we face as a church and as a Christian community requires a deeper theological reflection. In this session, we will engage in the necessary social analysis to better understand this historic moment. We will examine the lost spiritual practice of lament as an essential ecclesial expression that provides wisdom necessary for this moment.
Teacher: Ron Highfield
What does the Bible mean when it says, “Jesus died for our sins” and proclaims Jesus as Savior? Believers often repeat these words without deep understanding. Many popular explanations of how Jesus saves, especially the role of his death on the cross, appeal either to emotions of pity and gratitude or present a cold theory of how a just and wrathful God punished Jesus in our place to “pay” for our sins. In these talks, I urge believers to move past both of these dead ends and view Jesus as our representative and champion who frees us from our wretchedness and enables us to realize our created greatness. He gives us a new beginning!
Teacher: Ron Highfield
What does the Bible mean when it says, “Jesus died for our sins” and proclaims Jesus as Savior? Believers often repeat these words without deep understanding. Many popular explanations of how Jesus saves, especially the role of his death on the cross, appeal either to emotions of pity and gratitude or present a cold theory of how a just and wrathful God punished Jesus in our place to “pay” for our sins. In these talks, I urge believers to move past both of these dead ends and view Jesus as our representative and champion who frees us from our wretchedness and enables us to realize our created greatness. He gives us a new beginning!
Teacher: Don McLaughlin
The world feels tired—too weary to care. Indifference is a word that is getting traction. People feel that they just don’t have it in them to care about war, politics, immigration, racism, or even re-engaging in a church. What do we make of the indifference we feel, and how do we overcome it to the glory of God and the good of the world?
Teacher: Don McLaughlin
The world feels tired—too weary to care. Indifference is a word that is getting traction. People feel that they just don’t have it in them to care about war, politics, immigration, racism, or even re-engaging in a church. What do we make of the indifference we feel, and how do we overcome it to the glory of God and the good of the world?
Teacher: Rick Atchley
The church of the future is going to look a lot like the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural church of the past. And the churches that have a future will recognize this sooner than later.
Teacher: Rick Atchley
The church of the future is going to look a lot like the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural church of the past. And the churches that have a future will recognize this sooner than later.
Teacher: Jeff Childers
How do we picture Jesus? How should we picture him? No portrait of the person Jesus survives, yet he is surely the most frequently depicted person from history. What are the benefits and dangers of our cherished images of Jesus, whether hanging on the wall, painted by our worship language, or held in our minds? In this two-part class, we will look at the most common ways of picturing Jesus down through the centuries, up to our present day, investigating the impact of those images on Christian faith and practice. What values or agendas are conveyed by different ways of picturing Jesus? How true and how healthy is our imagination, in picturing Jesus today?
Teacher: Jeff Childers
How do we picture Jesus? How should we picture him? No portrait of the person Jesus survives, yet he is surely the most frequently depicted person from history. What are the benefits and dangers of our cherished images of Jesus, whether hanging on the wall, painted by our worship language, or held in our minds? In this two-part class, we will look at the most common ways of picturing Jesus down through the centuries, up to our present day, investigating the impact of those images on Christian faith and practice. What values or agendas are conveyed by different ways of picturing Jesus? How true and how healthy is our imagination, in picturing Jesus today?
Teacher: Bobby Valentine
The story of Jonah tells the tale of a prophet locked in a controversy with Yahweh, the God of Israel. The heart of the controversy is Yahweh's love. Jonah find's God's love to be scandalous not because he has received it but because Yahweh carelessly pours it out upon the enemy not only of Israel but God's own self. Jonah is in full rebellion against love.
Teacher: Bobby Valentine
The story of Jonah tells the tale of a prophet locked in a controversy with Yahweh, the God of Israel. The heart of the controversy is Yahweh's love. Jonah find's God's love to be scandalous not because he has received it but because Yahweh carelessly pours it out upon the enemy not only of Israel but God's own self. Jonah is in full rebellion against love.
Campus ministers K. Rex Butts, Rusty Jordan, and Casey Coston share a vision for planting new university campus ministries that focuses on leading students to follow Jesus. Discussion includes how to be intentional in making disciples from a foundation of God’s grace that equips students to embody the gospel with intentional outreach as participants in the mission of God.
This message by Robert Perez explores accepting our calling and counting the cost, with a little “pinch of Latino spice” from 2 Timothy. May God make us all equal to the task of being called and sent.
Increasingly, we live in a world of walls. Divided and disconnected from our fellow humans, from our loving Father and even from our true selves, we need practices that can lead to wholeness, healing and integration. These three spiritual practices are a step toward tearing down the walls between you, your neighbor, your God, and yourself.
Senior Director of Let's Start Talking, Craig Altrock, shares truths that have guided LST through the pandemic.
Allen Jang shares insight into your Chinese and Asian neighbors as well as practical tips on reaching out to them for Jesus and some unexpected ways God has worked.
Allen Jang was baptized out of Buddhism/Confucianism by Dr. Carl Mitchell in 1970. Since then, he had served as a science teacher in a teaching career that has spanned 48 years at two public high schools and several Christian schools. He was honored by the U.S. Congress as a National Honor Roll Science Teacher in 1993, and as Ink magazine Teacher of the Year in 2006. He has published a Bible in Romanized Ping-Yam Cantonese and an English/Cantonese/Mandarin Hymnal available through Amazon. He now serves as the teaching minister of an Asian House Church of Christ in partnership with the Sierra Madre and Baldwin Park churches of Christ.
Christian identity is in moral and political crisis. One major reason Christianity in America has been made into a bad public joke is our failure to rightly understand what Christianity is. Refusing to reduce Christianity to any partisan agenda, we must embrace a Christianity that is neither right, nor left, nor religious, as well as the fact that the gospel is inherently political. Our calling as political witnesses requires, among other things, our insistence that “American hope” is an illegitimate form of Christian hope. The United States is not the hope of the world nor is it a Christian nation. Rather, “American Christian values” corrupt Christianity, and partisanship mocks the true scandal of the gospel. This does not mean, however, any ill-conceived withdrawal from, or apathy regarding sociopolitical concerns, nor does it entail a posture of being countercultural.
Political and national agendas rarely line up with God. Disciples of Jesus need to know how God wants his people to respond to this crisis. This class will give insights gained from Scripture, firsthand experience from ministry to people in detention and deportation and firsthand witnessing of what God is currently doing in various ways at the southern border of the U.S.
Some read the Sermon on the Mount as a list of impossible standards. Others see it as an essential blueprint for obedient discipleship. But what if it's really an invitation to come dwell in God's neighborhood? Drawing from the witness and wisdom of Mr. Rogers, this class helps us envision the Sermon on the Mount as a creative imagining of life in God's neighborhood. From the Beatitudes to the concluding proverbs, the Sermon on the Mount asks us: "Won't you be God's neighbor?"
The current landscape of many churches is one of uncertainty, anxiety, and anger about a changing world. How should the church respond to these difficult times? In this class we will explore how the early church navigated a similar landscape. Instead of choosing panic they chose a posture of patience. That attitude changed everything for the church then and has the potential to do the same for us today.
La espiritualidad es un mosaico de historias de la comunidad a través de varios contextos. Aprender cómo la Iglesia puede ganar perspectiva cuando se trata de emprender en una espiritualidad adecuada en la cultura, sin trivializar la fe.
Jesus listened to those who had no voice and made room for the vulnerable. This class calls us to do the same. Vulnerable children are at the core of God’s mission. Those who adopt God’s mission will listen and make room. Taking up that mission will prompt a revival in the contemporary church.
How is the Father in the Son? How is the Son in the Father? How is Jesus one with the Father? The answers to these questions are bold and confident revelations which were made by Jesus. The answers to these questions reveal for the understanding of the saints in Christ how and when deity, that is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit came to dwell in the believer. This is the boldness, confidence, and joy of the children of God.
For years we have heard about faith that can move mountains. What was Jesus talking about when He told His disciples to have faith and what was the reason He called them to this kind of faith? We will study this passage from Mark 11.
Jacob Parnell attended the We Are Church one-week intensive in San Francisco and came home with a lot of information, a lot of conviction, but not a lot of direction. Do their practices translate to an established church that isn’t ready to completely jettison its church building, paid ministers, and creature comforts? Is it an all-or-nothing model? What am I supposed to do now? This session will share some of the principles and practices learned from Chan’s house-church network and his reflections on which ones have impacted a 70-year-old California Church of Christ. The session will also share some encouraging guidelines for how to process and apply (or not apply) information learned at any conference or training session.
This session will explore how ancient Christians interpreted Scripture theologically and what we can learn from them. Early Christians took Jesus and Paul as models for how to read Scripture, but modern believers have often been trained to avoid such approaches. For premodern interpreters, everything in Scripture, even in the Old Testament, points to Christ. In modern times, especially among scholars, Christian and non-Christian alike, the Bible became more of a dead letter than a living word. What are those different approaches, and what can we learn from each? This session is based on the speaker's book, "The Letter and Spirit of Biblical Interpretation: From the Early Church to Modern Practice" (Baker Academic, 2018).
Increasingly, we live in a world of walls. Divided and disconnected from our fellow humans, from our loving Father and even from our true selves, we need practices that can lead to wholeness, healing and integration. This spiritual practice is a step toward tearing down the walls between you, your neighbor, your God, and yourself.
Richard Hughes
Frank and disturbing conversations based on the second edition of Hughes' book, Reclaiming a Heritage: Reflections on the Heart, Soul, and Future of Churches of Christ in light of current trends in American culture, white evangelicalism, and Churches of Christ.
Kindy De Long
A three-day session considering a biblical "big picture" of how God creates, sees, and interacts with people not as genders, but as unique human beings. The first session explores men and women created in the image of God in partnership with each other and redeemed into a community of Christ that fulfills this creation ideal. The second session focuses on women in the Bible who used their God-given gifts to lead God's people. The third session investigates the "limiting" passages in Paul's letters in light of this larger picture of Scripture.
Jennifer Rundlett, Adam Nettesheim
"Cultivating the Heart of the Artist in Your Fellowship"
Join author/musician Jennifer Rundlett and author/media artist Adam Netteshiem as they share their experiences of using paintings, poems, music, and storytelling to create devotional tools for greater connection with Scripture and in turn more imaginative prayer. Guided experiences and resources to revitalize the childlike wonder and imagination in your individual quiet time and corporate worship will be offered. Come and see what the Lord has done, is doing and may yet do as we allow God to speak to our hearts while we learn to seek him through the arts.
Landon Saunders
"How to Save Your Day, Your Life, Your Children, Your Church, Your World"
Who are we as human beings? Christians, world religions, humanists, the sciences, artificial intelligence advocates—all weigh in. People of faith are in great need for a vision that meets the challenges of our time, that is intellectually and existentially defensible, and that captures our passion, hopes, and dreams.
Larry Stalley
"A Neglected Witness for the Resurrection of Jesus?"
After 40 years of extensive research, the Shroud of Turin has become the most scrutinized artifact in history. What fascinating discoveries have scientists from numerous disciplines, historians, and theologians learned from their diligent research? Does the Shroud provide remarkable evidence of the most significant event in all recorded history: the resurrection of our Lord? Might the Shroud be the “sign of Jonah” Jesus promised (Mt. 12:38-40; 16:4)? Might it have been used as an evangelistic tool by the earliest Christians? “O foolish Galatians! Has someone cast the evil eye on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as having been crucified?” (Gal. 3:1). An extensive PowerPoint presentation will supplement the speaker’s talk.
Mitch East
"The Glamorization of Doubt Among Millennials"
If you have doubts, are you no longer a Christian? Are you an immature Christian if you don't have doubts? Is there any help for doubters or are they stuck with doubts forever? We’ll distinguish between different kinds of doubt in order to best serve doubters. Through the lens of the Psalms, we'll see the benefits and limits of doubt.
Josh Graves
"What Am I Supposed to Do With My Life?"
This class will explore the freedom and liberation promised by Jesus and taught by Paul.
Lauren Begert
Join a discussion of three core ideas for raising up emerging adult worship ministers and equipping them for successful ministerial leadership.
Buddy Bell
Most of us stay frustrated by lack of spiritual growth. Even if we are growing, we find it frustrating to foster that growth in others. In this class you will be introduced to some simple spiritual tools called Lifeshapes. They will not only spur your own spiritual growth, but will give your church a common language to spur that same spiritual growth in others, especially in discipleship groups.
Javier Villa
David experimenta el privilegio del perdón y explica el profundo sentimiento de su silencio sin darle honor a Dios ni dándole Su gloria. El también explica el remordimiento de su espíritu quebrantado, reconociendo su culpabilidad. Perdón es un alivio, es una bendición que nos trae paz a nuestro corazón avergonzado. Selah es un silencio, una pausa, es el tiempo de meditación antes del arrepentimiento. (David experienced the privilege of forgiveness and explained the deep feelings of his silence, not honoring God or giving Him praise. He also explained the remorse of his broken spirit, recognizing his guilt. Forgiveness is a relief, it is a blessing and brings peace into our ashamed hearts. Selah is a silence, a pause, it is a time for meditation before repentance.)
Doug Jacoby, Nick Zola
In the late 1980s, the International Churches of Christ (ICOC or Boston Movement) formally split from the Churches of Christ (COC). In 1992, the ICOC was labeled by Time magazine as one of the world’s fastest growing church movements. But by 2000, the ICOC was experiencing an internal upheaval that forced it to reevaluate its identity. Today dialogue and cooperation have reopened between the COC and ICOC. This series explores reasons behind the rift and recent moves towards its repair.
Kyle Sapp
A panel discussion about working in ministry while wrestling with mental illness. All panelists bring their own story and perspective of how they have lived with their mental illness. The discussion dives into how their mental illness has impacted their work in the kingdom in both positive and negative ways and focuses on practical ideas for how we can continue to love and support our friends and family who live with mental illnesses.
Doug Jacoby, Nick Zola
In the late 1980s, the International Churches of Christ (ICOC or Boston Movement) formally split from the Churches of Christ (COC). In 1992, the ICOC was labeled by Time magazine as one of the world’s fastest growing church movements. But by 2000, the ICOC was experiencing an internal upheaval that forced it to reevaluate its identity. Today dialogue and cooperation have reopened between the COC and ICOC. This series explores reasons behind the rift and recent moves towards its repair.
Jerry Rushford
"Women Hymn Writers in the Hymnals of the Restoration Movement"
Hosted by the Jerry Rushford Center for Research on Churches of Christ and the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
Don Rose, Corrie Rose
If you were to name some foundational qualities in a godly marriage, what might leap to the front of your mind? Love, respect, integrity, fidelity, and commitment are often named—and for good reason! But what about friendship? Can we find biblical direction about the importance of spouses being friends? In our opinion, yes and yes. Hear why we believe that friendship is, indeed, a fundamental value in a godly marriage, and how you can, even after years of being married, become better friends.
Kevin Reed
While hearing the Word is important, seeing the Word is also a valuable resource for gathered worship times. We will reflect on the importance of visual art in worship. We’ll also explore theological reasons for the use of art in gathered worship times, offer a variety of suggestions for its use, and provide examples (from services at the East County Church of Christ) of how to incorporate art during Sunday gatherings and beyond.
Mark Manassee
"Spiritual Vitality"
We will reflect upon how ministers can maintain spiritual vitality over the long haul of their ministry. Specific resources will be offered along with helping participants identify their unique spiritual makeup.
Scott Lambert, Kim Lambert
Never before have our churches had such easy access to the world. Join us today as we talk with church leaders and volunteers on how they have put Let’s Start Talking and FriendSpeak into practice at home and abroad.
Bee Bloeser
Bee Bloeser reveals a story few have ever heard and that resonates in today’s news. Her family moves to Nigeria during the Nigeria-Biafra war, and then to Equatorial Guinea, a country in the stranglehold of the Terror. Her husband was on the front lines in the battle between human and microbe, but for Bee and their two young children, the front line became the tension and isolation of life under an unhinged dictator. Sadly, she left God out of the picture just when she needed Him most.
Sean Palmer
Churches struggle to move, grow, and mature. We are often greeted by formulaic, de-contextualized, corporate ways to respond. This class charts a new path! From ministering in churches of less than 100 to preaching in a church with thousands and a worldwide footprint, come learn from a fellow sojourner what each size and kind of church can and must learn from one another. See how small churches can grow and how large churches can help members feel known and loved.
Daniel Rodriguez
The Bible instructs disciples of Jesus to honor parents, church leaders, government officials, and others as a way of honoring God. Agreed! But what if these people speak and act dishonorably? We’ll examine the life of King David, particularly 1 Samuel 24 and 26 to illustrate the challenges and opportunities Christians face in 2019 when called upon to honor those in positions of authority (Romans 13:7).
Melissa Symington
"Talking to Your Church About Healthy Sexuality and Intimacy"
Helping children and young adults learn how to appreciate healthy intimacy and sexuality is a must for both church leaders and parents. Mixed messages from TV, social media, and peers often cause confusion about healthy intimacy and open doors for unhealthy sexual relationships and faulty beliefs. Learn how to talk about intimacy at its best to encourage children and young adults to build a solid foundation for marriage. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family
Terry Smith, Larry Malone
It is a tragic reality that military veterans and active servicepeople take their own lives nearly every hour of each day. The reasons are complex, but trauma can penetrate the mind, heart, and soul in ways that even our best counseling, medications, and compassionate outreach cannot relieve. Suicide becomes the final option as hope for healing wanes and dies. Learn how to bring people without hope to a place of light, love, and healing. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family
Terry Hargrave, Sharon Hargrave
The number of people getting married today is shrinking, and the age at which people marry is getting older all the time. Many young adults don’t understand how marriage can be life giving and contribute to life satisfaction and happiness. Come learn five easy tips that promote marriage in a culture that, even though statistics show most people desire lifelong commitments in relationship, appears to be marriage wary. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family
Terry Hargrave, Sharon Hargrave
"A New Perspective on Marriage"
While we often believe that marriage is designed for us to help our partner see how he or she needs to change, the truth is that marriage changes us. Embracing the fact that change is good and leads to more peaceful and productive lives helps couples relax in their differences, conflicts, and struggles. This workshop is designed for couples who want to continue to grow in their own relationships or for those who work with young adults who lean toward cohabitation rather than marriage. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family
Dan Bouchelle, Caleb Southerland
"Practical Disciple-Making Steps Anyone Can Take in Any Church"
Disciple-making movements have been producing stunning numbers around the world, but can the same thing happen in North America? Too often when people hear about what God is doing around the world, they respond with “That sounds great, but it won’t work here.” Is that true? We will discuss the phenomenon of disciple-making movements and how churches in the US can begin to see similar things happening. Hosted by Mission Resource Network
Host: Jeff Walling
Ambassadors from Pepperdine's 2019 Next Gen Preacher Search share their messages.
Mark Hadley
"A Conversation on How Scripture Speaks to the LGBTQ+ Conversation"
Many Christians consider the biblical text to be the central and final authority in matters of faith and life. So what does the Bible say (or not say) about sexuality, particularly LGBTQ+ sexuality? Join us in exploring and asking questions about some of the most commonly discussed biblical passages.
Ann Bayliss
"Nowhere to Go but Up"
Moving from the “church prayer meeting” to meeting with God as the church.
Kevin Wilkinson
"A Navy Chaplain’s Ministry About Faith on the High Seas and Returning Home"
Do you want to better connect with military service members or veterans at your local church? Navy chaplain Kevin Wilkinson explores the world of military life, chaplaincy, and seeking faith overseas.
Steve Tyree, Daltrey Tyree
"How Faith Makes or Breaks Relationship"
This class explores the impact of faith on parents and children of blended families, using the family of David as a case study. The instructors will incorporate contemporary research regarding the dynamics of foster families, adoptive families, and families of re-marriage. This session will also offer practical applications for families in your congregation.
Mic Biesboer, Ben Fike, Eric Gentry
"Spiritual Friendships for the Sake of Ministry and Sanity"
Leadership is lonely, and for many, ministry is even lonelier. But it doesn’t have to be. Come hear the story of three ministers, separated by hundreds of miles, who set about to create a covenant community to guard their souls and nourish their ministries. Ben Fike, Mic Biesboer, and Eric Gentry will also provide practical advice for those eager to form their own spiritual friendships.
Luke Norsworthy
In a world that is messy and a church that is imperfect, it's easy to lose faith. But that doesn't mean we have to lose God. Perhaps our idealized expectations are just plain wrong. Join a discussion of how Christians and skeptics can trade their confinement of God to an anemic definition of good for confidence in the God who is present in everything, including our suffering.
Sheila Bost, Amy Bost Henegar
"How Two Congregations Navigated the Change"
Churches of Christ around the world are rethinking a Biblical view of gender. Many of these congregations have reached the conclusion that significant changes must be made—that churches must transition their leadership and worship styles from traditional patriarchy to a model of Spirit-empowered mutuality. And while a congregation may be thoroughly convinced that it wants to see more women in leadership, the process of change is complicated. It is helpful to hear from other churches who have made the journey and to learn from their experiences. A panel of leaders and members of two different congregations—one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast—that have made significant changes in the area of gender will share their thoughts and experiences. All panel members will be present all three days with the conversations continuing from one session to the next. Through these conversations, the panelists hope to encourage congregations that are in the midst of the change process.
Carlos Gonzales
Come join in a time of bilingual praise and worship. Experience this bilingual model that is being used by congregations seeking to becoming a fully integrated multicultural church. There will also be a time for Q & A for those who want to learn more.
Chris Buxton
College students represent the most available, moldable, teachable, and sendable group of people in our culture, and yet most churches devote few, if any, resources to campus ministry. Learn from a 20-year veteran how a strong presence on the university campus is mission-critical to God's kingdom, and how your church can get involved.
Randy Couchman
North American churches are experiencing dwindlization. No new news, right? Is there hope? Discover how coaching in churches can emancipate the longings, imagination, and faith of disciples— especially leaders—and ignite renewal for needed changes, resources, and commitments in the way forward. Authoritarian church management cannot equip disciples for crucial, creative “what could be?”exploration or action. Explore how spiritual coaching conversations can infuse a coaching culture in your church, renewing hopes and dreams for walking in mission with God.
Steve Cloer
"Stories and Pitfalls of an Established Church Trying to Be on Mission in an Urban Context"
Zach Sewell
Some sins are more deeply embedded in our behavior than others, and such visceral sins are difficult to cut out of our lives. Like other visceral problems we face, we often don’t know how to deal with visceral sin. Join us in a conversation about defining and confronting our own visceral sin and gently helping others address theirs as well.
Bryan Schackmann
The majority of churches around the world are what we would consider small. What does it look like to seek God in this context? How could we focus on God's unique calling for a smaller body of believers? Join us as we hear from ministers, elders, and others who have seen God's big work in a smaller context.
Buddy Bell
Most of us stay frustrated by lack of spiritual growth. Even if we are growing, we find it frustrating to foster that growth in others. In this class you will be introduced to some simple spiritual tools called Lifeshapes. They will not only spur your own spiritual growth, but will give your church a common language to spur that same spiritual growth in others, especially in discipleship groups.
Grady King, Jon Mullican
"Dead or Alive: Adaptive Leadership for Changing Your Church’s"
What is your church’s story? How do you tell it? Language matters. Just as we behave consistent with how we view ourselves, churches do as well. The key is adapting to the gospel for your story.
Tim Hall
"The Perspective of a Parent and Pastor of a Same-Sex Attracted Son"
How do you stay grounded in truth while showing love? Everyday, people close to us make decisions that create tension and discomfort. But because Jesus beautifully interferes with our understanding of how we live, you and I can make a better choice.
Cruz Hernandez
Antes de que David era un rey, era un pastor. Y su historia de triunfo más grande era y fue David y Goliat. Pero, antes de esta gran pelea, David tenía algunos atributos que le hizo el hombre conforme al corazón de Dios. Aquí, vamos a aprender cinco características que David tenía antes de esta gran batalla. Su hermosa relación con Dios le ayudará a derrotar a los gigantes en nuestras vidas hoy.
Phil Brookman
Busyness knows how to breed. And just like the weeds in our gardens, the multiplication rate is pretty alarming. Borrowing a title from Alli Worthington’s 2016 book, we will explore the roots beneath busyness, and the practical ways for Christians today to loosen its grip in the soil of our hearts by using the power of no and the practice of Sabbath.
Jonathan Storment
"Everyday Decisions and the Kingdom of God"
Preaching wisdom in an age of foolishness.
Rick Atchley, Chris Seidman
"Cultivating a Culture in Your Church for Those Far From God"
Rusty Tugman
"How One Ordinary Church Experienced Extraordinary Revival and How You Can Too"
Jeremiah Gibson
Our faith tradition's challenges with effectively discussing sexuality have contributed to numerous types of sexual conflict. Gain an understanding of consent that extends into providing couples with a process for improving their quality of communication and intimacy, and learn ways that we can improve our relationships by actively practice consent in sexual and nonsexual contexts.
Michael Bishop
In 1997 Michael Bishop discovered a hidden file about a legendary 1964 murder in Nashville, Tennessee. With the help of an investigator, he revealed the involvement of a group of powerful citizens in the murder and the framing of an innocent man. Hear the inspirational journey and difficult choices faced by a Christian and private citizen of whom the Washington Post wrote this way: “Determined to right a wrong that everyone else had looked away from, Michael Bishop became a one-man innocence commission.”
Sara Jackson, Emily Lemley
"Stepping Wholeheartedly into Your Future"
God is always ahead of his people, and yet so often we cannot see his purpose until we look back. We will examine ways to renew our faith and walk in hope, even when it feels like God has forgotten us. King David, who danced and wept before the Lord, points the way.
Stacy Jones
We will engage the familiar text of Romans 12:1-2 to gain a greater understanding of what it truly means to be a living sacrifice.
Greg Anderson
Performance evaluations that are anecdotal or are moving targets are a contributing factor to the challenges of effective organizational development. We discuss how to implement a development framework that increases accountability and provides a road map to help your ministry staff enter into a shared vision of desired organizational leadership outcomes.
Corey Trevathan
Under the heat of the Jericho sun, Jesus once asked a question that would forever change the life of one would-be disciple. Maybe it’s the same question that you need to hear today. How we answer this question could help us find our way back into full relationship with God and with each other. In a world where people have never felt more alone, where people are so divided, where people feel far from God, maybe we can learn something from this moment near Jericho when we pray, “I want to see."
Kindy De Long
A three-day session considering a biblical "big picture" of how God creates, sees, and interacts with people not as genders, but as unique human beings. The first session explores men and women created in the image of God in partnership with each other and redeemed into a community of Christ that fulfills this creation ideal. The second session focuses on women in the Bible who used their God-given gifts to lead God's people. The third session investigates the "limiting" passages in Paul's letters in light of this larger picture of Scripture.
Sheila Bost, Amy Bost Henegar
Churches of Christ around the world are rethinking a Biblical view of gender. Many of these congregations have reached the conclusion that significant changes must be made—that churches must transition their leadership and worship styles from traditional patriarchy to a model of Spirit-empowered mutuality. And while a congregation may be thoroughly convinced that it wants to see more women in leadership, the process of change is complicated. It is helpful to hear from other churches who have made the journey and to learn from their experiences. A panel of leaders and members of two different congregations—one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast—that have made significant changes in the area of gender will share their thoughts and experiences. All panel members will be present all three days with the conversations continuing from one session to the next. Through these conversations, the panelists hope to encourage congregations that are in the midst of the change process.
Luke Norsworthy
In a world that is messy and a church that is imperfect, it's easy to lose faith. But that doesn't mean we have to lose God. Perhaps our idealized expectations are just plain wrong. Join a discussion of how Christians and skeptics can trade their confinement of God to an anemic definition of good for confidence in the God who is present in everything, including our suffering.
Mic Biesboer, Ben Fike, Eric Gentry
"Spiritual Friendships for the Sake of Ministry and Sanity"
Leadership is lonely, and for many, ministry is even lonelier. But it doesn’t have to be. Come hear the story of three ministers, separated by hundreds of miles, who set about to create a covenant community to guard their souls and nourish their ministries. Ben Fike, Mic Biesboer, and Eric Gentry will also provide practical advice for those eager to form their own spiritual friendships.
Tiffany Dahlman
Are you an elder, or do you have a spiritually wayward adult child for whom you pray daily? Are you a Sunday school teacher, or a young adult who is discipling younger siblings? Guess what—you’re a shepherd. The church is full of shepherds, but what kind of shepherd are you—a good one, a hired hand, or a wolf? We will examine what David and Jesus have to say about shepherding and apply these insights to typical and unexpected shepherding ministries in the life of the modern church.
Ghavinn Crutcher
"Everything I Needed to Know About God I Learned from My Daughter with Disability"
Lila Earwood
"Tips, Tricks, and Tools"
Parents slow to pick up the kids? Preacher going long today? We’ve all had that extra 15 minutes of class time that can feel like an hour when you’ve already finished your lesson plan! Memory verse fun, games, trivia, riddles, and songs to keep the kids engaged, keep the Bible lesson going, and to keep you from going crazy! Join us as we put a few good ideas in our hats for any moment in children’s ministry when you need to keep kids occupied for a bit longer!
Linda King
Bathsheba we know (or think we know). But the Bible tells of other women whose lives influenced and intersected that of King David—Michal, Abigail, Tamar, and the wise woman of Tekoah. Their stories are intriguing, beautiful, heartbreaking, and instructive.
Jason Locke
"Race Relations in West Coast Churches and the Power of Untold"
What makes for a dysfunctional, dying church? More often than not, there are hidden, unnamed forces at work that create decay and decline. These forces shape the mythos—narrative, if you will—of a given church. Perhaps to the surprise of many, racism played an important role during the key, formative phase of many West Coast Churches of Christ. Renewing a church’s mission is often impossible until a church embraces a new, life-giving story sculpted by the Spirit’s work in its midst and in the world. Testimony and commentary from experts and church members illuminate the untold stories of the past as it seeks renewal and hope.
Mark Yarhouse
Definitions of sexual orientation, attraction, and identity will be discussed, as well as how stories about sexual identity can drive young people away from their family and their faith and steps churches can take to create a story of redemption. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family
Glenda Thomas, J.C. Thomas, Marie Thomas
"Receiving Beauty for Your Ashes"
Suffering plays a key role in the life of the child of God and it can serve as an incredible opportunity and impetus for spiritual growth. Join a family of ministers whose many difficulties—abuse and physical and mental illness— and times of despair have granted them the gift of coming to a deeper understanding of who Christ is and God’s intention for their lives. If you are ready to heal, grow, and receive beauty for your ashes, please join this session.
Jason Locke
"The Campbell Church of Christ and a Profile of Church Health"
What makes for a healthy, thriving church? While West Coast Churches of Christ have experienced three decades of rapid decline, the Campbell Church of Christ near San Jose has bucked this downward trend. What has been this church’s recipe for continued vibrancy? A panel of current and former Campbell Church leaders and recorded interviews examine some key characteristics of church health.
Craig Altrock, Ben Woodward
Learn firsthand how to equip your congregation through the Let’s Start Talking and FriendSpeak method to have life-changing conversations with those in your neighborhood and around the world. Your congregation can do this!
Tim Archer
Our churches must develop more ministries that function out in the community. Explore how leaders can encourage church members to discover the ministry that God has gifted them with.
Walter Pierce
In the Western church, it has become a standard position to be in alarm about youth and their continued fidelity to Jesus. As a result, many of us are in despair about the future and the church in America.The goal of churches is to do more than swell membership. It is to help Jesus be visible in the lives of its members. Learn how local churches can help our children and teens become "formed" into Christ followers.
Dan Bouchelle, Caleb Southerland
"What America Can Learn from the Global Church About Disciple-Making"
Disciple-making movements have been producing stunning numbers around the world, but can the same thing happen in North America? Too often when people hear about what God is doing around the world, they respond with, “That sounds great, but it won’t work here.” Is that true? We will discuss the phenomenon of disciple-making movements and how churches in the US can begin to see similar things happening. Hosted by Mission Resource Network
Josh Ross
The church is uniquely positioned by God to equip its people to engage culture. The challenge is in knowing how, when, where, and if to engage. To remain silent about the cultural climate isn't an option, but how do we navigate this tension? The good news is that the church has navigated this road before, and God is eager to help the church navigate this road now.
Thien Dang
"Flourishing in Spaces of Marginality"
How do we flourish when we feel like we don’t belong? What do we do when our very own church becomes a marginalizing space? How do we thrive when our Christian neighbors haphazardly lob painful microaggressions and rhetoric? For all types of minorities struggling to survive in their churches, and for those seeking to learn how to embody compassion toward those who feel marginalized, this session is for you.
Tim Willis
David is held up in the Old Testament as the model king, and the long-awaited Messiah is often called the “son of David.” Yet, David seems to come up short as a father. David’s life provides a good example of the challenges some face in balancing their public roles as leaders and their private role as fathers/parents.
Jen Hale Christy
Are you in transition? The transition from adolescence to young adulthood involves rumbling with questions of identity. Who am I? What does God desire for my life? You don’t just figure it out once and move on, though. These questions continue to surface throughout our lives as we go through various transitions. Whatever your stage of life, come explore how to be the person that God calls you to be.
Carisse Berryhill
"Stories of Faith and Courage: Remembering Our Foremothers in the Restoration Movement"
Hear inspiring stories of courageous women in our heritage who pioneered in teaching children, in missions, and in higher education. Hosted by the Jerry Rushford Center for Research on Churches of Christ and the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
Chris Doran
Experts propose that there will be between 200 million and 2 billion climate refugees attempting to relocate by the end of the 21st century. The vast majority will likely come from the regions where the world’s great cities are built next to ocean ports, and the tragedy and suffering that is likely to ensue demands a Christian response. The mindful and creative practice of Christian virtues like solidarity, hospitality, courage, and justice will provide hopeful ways for Christians to be the face of Christ to climate refugees wherever they might be.
Craig Brown
"Lessons from a Hospital Chaplain"
The good news of Jesus becomes overwhelming when one experiences overwhelming grief and loss. How do we respond to the unbearable? What do we tell others when it appears that God is nowhere to be found? How can we seek and find God’s presence in the midst of hopelessness?
Landon Saunders
"How to Save Your Day, Your Life, Your Children, Your Church, Your World"
Who are we as human beings? Christians, world religions, humanists, the sciences, artificial intelligence advocates—all weigh in. People of faith are in great need for a vision that meets the challenges of our time, that is intellectually and existentially defensible, and that captures our passion, hopes, and dreams.
Greg Daum
The significance of the first miracle to the ministry, death, and Resurrection of Jesus.
Bryan Schackmann
The majority of churches around the world are what we would consider small. What does it look like to seek God in this context? How could we focus on God's unique calling for a smaller body of believers? Join us as we hear from ministers, elders, and others who have seen God's big work in a smaller context.
Daniel Jarchow
"Keys to Creating Hospitable Environments"
Hosted by Kairos Church Planting Support
Phil McKinney, Ben Pickett
"Rising Above the Noise to Hear the Voice of Jesus"
Zacchaeus climbed a tree . . . as an adult. In fact, he chose to look undignified among a crowd of people for one purpose: to see Jesus! And Jesus is looking for tree climbers—those who are willing to climb above the noise of the world and allow Jesus to enter their hearts. This session is for those who are not satisfied with a surface level, crowd-based, noisy Christianity, but for people who are willing to enter into a risky encounter with Jesus in order to allow Him to confront them where they are most unChristlike. So, are you ready to climb?
Jovan Barrington
"Worship isn't just something we do; it is where God does something to us." —James K. A. Smith. Worship Full is when people meet God and leave changed. To facilitate a Worship Full culture, we need to practice worshipful values. Find out more!
Kelly Haer
Social media allows young adults to have more relational connections than ever before; yet this same group has the highest rates of loneliness, anxiety, and depression of any age cohort. Learn how to help young adults use social media and other technologies to build healthy relationships. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Leonard Matheson
The development of the human brain is best guided by character strengths, which research demonstrates are major contributors to adult quality of life. Christian character formation modeled by Jesus should be an important part of every family’s and Christian leader’s curriculum. Learn how to use Christian principles to nurture healthy adolescents and young adults in your family and congregation. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Connie Horton
Christian people are not exempt from the stresses, challenges, and trials of life. In fact, we are promised that in this world we will have trouble. Learn physical, cognitive, social, and spiritual practices that can help navigate those difficult times. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Andrew Hill
"Ethical and Moral Foundations in Healthy Judgment"
Understanding, respecting, and honoring the ethical and moral foundations of others allows you to have healthier relationships with less tension. These practices are especially important when engaging with those who you believe seek to harm you and your message, or who are training others in harmful conduct.
David Holmes
"Reflections on the Prophetic Spirit within the African American Churches of Christ"
Jeff Brown
The disciples met a stranger on the road to Emmaus. They welcomed him, and when they broke bread with him, they realized the stranger was Jesus. This story is our story, and it’s the story of our church's engagement with immigrants, refugees, and other "strangers." Our calling is not simply to be Jesus to people, but to see Jesus in all people.
Grant Azbell
"Why Churches Should Engage Families That Experience Disability Like Their Life Depends on It (Because It Does)"
Nearly 50 percent of parents of children with special needs refrain from religious activity because they do not feel welcomed or included. We will discuss how to think about disability theologically, offer tips for ministering to families that experience disability, and discuss some of the biggest challenges faced by special needs families, as well as equip churches to welcome families that experience disability. We will also discuss how those experiencing disability have essential things to teach us about the gospel.
Jonathan Storment
"Everyday Decisions and the Kingdom of God"
Preaching wisdom in an age of foolishness.
Steve Cloer
"Stories and Pitfalls of an Established Church Trying to Be on Mission in an Urban Context"
Grady King, Jon Mullican
"Why Your Church Must Change Its Story to Live"
What is your church’s story? How do you tell it? Language matters. Just as we behave consistent with how we view ourselves, churches do as well. The key is adapting to the gospel for your story.
Suzy Brown
The heartbreak of divorce is everywhere around us--in our pews and in our neighborhoods. God calls the Church to comfort the brokenhearted. We have everything they need, and we must answer the call to help. Come find out how.
Brad Voss
How do you share God's redemptive story with children who have been left out, left behind, and forgotten? It starts by showing them firsthand that God truly loves them. Come listen and discuss with those who are in the trenches loving and serving kids that much of the world has discarded and abandoned. Join members of the Made In The Streets team from Kenya in learning how we can all help fill the “holes” and share the love of Jesus in the darkest corners of the world.
John York
"Naming My Own Truths About White Male Privilege"
Join John York in an exploration of his own “broken hallelujah”: coming to terms with the myriad ways he’d been given power and privilege and advantage that he did not recognize--but certainly benefitted from. From growing up as a preacher's kid in Churches of Christ in the Pacific Northwest to his life in church and academy for the last 25 years in the South, he’s at last learning the realities of his own existence.
Jason Burnett
Our situations change. But God does not. He restores us, refreshes us, and leads us through the ups and downs of our journey. David describes God as the greatest of shepherds, leading him through the darkest valleys. Join us for a time of song, prayer, and reflection through Psalm 23.
Rick Atchley, Chris Seidman
"Cultivating a Culture in Your Church for Those Far From God"
Gilbert Kerrigan
"Why the Cross Is Good News for Everyone"
Exploring how our Scriptures talk about the work of God at the cross is like looking through a kaleidoscope. If we look closely, we will discover many different ways in which the cross of Jesus is good news for everyone. Join us in expanding the way we talk about the cross.
Kindy De Long
A three-day session considering a biblical "big picture" of how God creates, sees, and interacts with people not as genders, but as unique human beings. The first session explores men and women created in the image of God in partnership with each other and redeemed into a community of Christ that fulfills this creation ideal. The second session focuses on women in the Bible who used their God-given gifts to lead God's people. The third session investigates the "limiting" passages in Paul's letters in light of this larger picture of Scripture.
John Barton, Edina Lekovic
Maybe the best way for Christians to begin interacting with Muslims is with simple listening. We cannot love our neighbors unless we listen to them, understand them better, and understand ourselves in relationship to them. Friends John Barton and Edina Lekovic talk about faith, family, mission, and life together.
Claire Allensworth
"A Worship Experience for Those Who Grieve"
Join us in the sacred act of lamenting before our God. Together we will embrace the heart of David and discover how to grieve with one another for our personal and communal heartaches. There is a place for lament in the church.
Leslee Altrock, Scott Lambert, Ben Woodward
Non-Christian internationals are walking into churches to have life-changing conversations. Get a great overview on how Let’s Start Talking and FriendSpeak can help your church be a part of these conversations.
Collin Packer
Today, nostalgia wins political campaigns and keeps churches from imagining our best future together. Others in our culture believe God and the Scriptures God has inspired are behind the times. Is the best future a return to an imagined, pristine era when things were ideal, or is our best future actually in the future?
Dan Bouchelle, Caleb Southerland
"Is North America Immune to Disciple-Making Movements?"
Disciple-making movements have been producing stunning numbers around the world, but can the same thing happen in North America? Too often when people hear about what God is doing around the world, they respond with, “That sounds great, but it won’t work here.” Is that true? We will discuss the phenomenon of disciple-making movements and how churches in the US can begin to see similar things happening. Hosted by Mission Resource Network
Sheila Bost, Amy Bost Henegar
Churches of Christ around the world are rethinking a Biblical view of gender. Many of these congregations have reached the conclusion that significant changes must be made—that churches must transition their leadership and worship styles from traditional patriarchy to a model of Spirit-empowered mutuality. And while a congregation may be thoroughly convinced that it wants to see more women in leadership, the process of change is complicated. It is helpful to hear from other churches who have made the journey and to learn from their experiences. A panel of leaders and members of two different congregations—one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast—that have made significant changes in the area of gender will share their thoughts and experiences. All panel members will be present all three days with the conversations continuing from one session to the next. Through these conversations, the panelists hope to encourage congregations that are in the midst of the change process.
Piper Ditzler, Chris Goldman
What’s behind us hasn’t prepared us for what’s ahead of us.
Robert Perez
Generating trust between the English- and Spanish-speaking congregants at the Santa Paula Church of Christ has been a focus of Robert Perez’ ministry for the past three years. Hear about his recent findings from this D.Min. project.
Cory Legg, Greg Taylor
Journeytulsa.com preacher Greg Taylor and worship leader Cory Legg are working together to preach and sing their way through the Bible in four years. Join them as they tell humorous and serious Bible stories and sing songs from Scripture.
Victor Knowles
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Don DeWelt, evangelist, teacher, publisher, and unity advocate from the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Perhaps no man in our movement has done more to preserve sources from the early Stone-Campbell Movement through his College Press Publishing Company, or to call attention to the imperative of Christian unity through ONE BODY magazine and the Restoration Forum, both established in 1984. “He still speaks, although his voice was silenced by death” (Hebrews 11:4 Voice Translation). Hosted by the Jerry Rushford Center for Research on Churches of Christ and the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement
Ron Deal
Although 40 percent of American families are blended families, traditional family ministries and marriage education programs do very little to equip stepcouples for healthy stepfamily living. Come learn what stepfamilies need, the fundamentals of stepfamily ministry, and how your church can help break the generational cycle of divorce. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Annette Oltmans
The physiological consequences of covert emotional abuse are second only to life-threatening physical battery. Victims are speaking up. Media stories and movements like #MeToo, #ChurchToo and #SilenceIsntSpiritual are providing voices for those who suffer from Covert Emotional and Double Abuse®. Learn how to identify this kind of abuse and the most effective ways to help its victims and its perpetrators. Join us for recognition, response, and healing tools. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Terry Singleton
When we put together faith, relationship, time, and effort it is amazing what God can do. Vibrant Christian life is not discouraged by statistics of sagging attendance. Put the pieces together that make powerful faith lived in any generation and culture a reality.
Chris Doran
Experts propose that there will be between 200 million and 2 billion climate refugees attempting to relocate by the end of the 21st century. The vast majority will likely come from the regions where the world’s great cities are built next to ocean ports, and the tragedy and suffering that is likely to ensue demands a Christian response. The mindful and creative practice of Christian virtues like solidarity, hospitality, courage, and justice will provide hopeful ways for Christians to be the face of Christ to climate refugees wherever they might be.
Josh Ross
The church is uniquely positioned by God to equip its people to engage culture. The challenge is in knowing how, when, where, and if to engage. To remain silent about the cultural climate isn't an option, but how do we navigate this tension? The good news is that the church has navigated this road before, and God is eager to help the church navigate this road now.
Richard Hughes
Frank and disturbing conversations based on the second edition of Hughes' book, Reclaiming a Heritage: Reflections on the Heart, Soul, and Future of Churches of Christ in light of current trends in American culture, white evangelicalism, and Churches of Christ.
Tim Willis
David is held up in the Old Testament as the model king, and the long-awaited Messiah is often called the “son of David.” Yet, David seems to come up short as a father. David’s life provides a good example of the challenges some face in balancing their public roles as leaders and their private roles as fathers/parents.
Barry Fike
Have you ever wondered about Aaron's response to Moses when asked about the Golden Calf? It seems difficult to believe, especially when the next thing God did was make him High Priest over the people! We will explore what is really going on.
Ron Deal
Almost two-thirds of couples under 50 have a stepchild or stepparent. Healthy stepfamily living can be rewarding, even redemptive, but you have to sidestep the challenges and trust God with the journey. Join one of the country's leading experts on blended families to learn key qualities of godly, healthy stepfamilies. Appropriate for single parents, stepfamily couples, step-grandparents, and those who love them. Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family.
Nick Perez
Explore how the Davis Park Church of Christ began hosting worship services and meals for the residents at a local low-income motel in Modesto and the results of their sometimes improvised efforts.
Beverly Ross
How can we show up and be fully present for those in emotional pain and suffering while still maintaining healthy boundaries? Let's explore some practical guidelines to be in ministry for the long-haul by protecting our values and authenticity.
Aaron Metcalf
Westside Church of Christ in Beaverton, Oregon, has been exploring what it means to embrace the LGBTQ+ community for years and has been led by God through stories of grace, pain, and, ultimately, love. Come hear our stories of love and losses as we've journeyed through God's grace and love for all God's children.
David Wolpe, David Fraze, Eric Wilson
Why did a man responsible for some awful crimes become king and the forerunner of the Messiah? Learn about the childhood, sins, battles, relationships, legend, and legacy of the Bible's most dynamic character.
Rick Atchley, Chris Seidman
Cultivating a Culture in Your Church for Those Far From God
Holly Allen
Current resilience literature explores how spirituality can be a protective factor for children in difficult circumstances. The first session focuses on resilience and spirituality in children and offers ways to spiritually nurture children who are coping with long-term illness, the death of a family member, or parental divorce. The second session offers ways to spiritually nurture children who have endured such traumatic adversity as a school shooting, sexual abuse, or natural disaster.
Kevin Woods, Brenda Woods
Hosted by Kairos Church Planting Support. Ministry that is easy and comes without problems, surprises, or heartburn may sound nice, but is just not realistic or possible! The genius of Jesus’ ministry is that He reveals that God uses suffering and pain to bring us to Himself and to our true selves. Kevin and Brenda Woods will share the beauty…and the terror…of effective ministry that is rooted in life-challenges that are both pain-filled and also deeply satisfying.
David Ayres
From our hymns to our mission statements, Christians are notorious for using the word lost to describe non-Christians. The metaphor has become so overused, in fact, that it has become completely detached from its original and highly subversive meaning. Jesus used the word lost as a prophetic critique against the bigotry of religious leaders, but we’ve turned it into a mildly pejorative term for outsiders. As we reconsider this biblical metaphor, we will discover a startlingly urgent message for us today.
Mark Love
What if the momentous statement in Acts 15:28, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to Us, " was a natural outcome of the church's way of life? This class explores what led the church in Acts to this moment and whether or not today's congregations are set up to experience the same kind of moment.
Mark Love
What if the momentous statement in Acts 15:28, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to Us, " was a natural outcome of the church's way of life? This class explores what led the church in Acts to this moment and whether or not today's congregations are set up to experience the same kind of moment.
Anthony Fischetto, Cheryl Fischetto
Discovery the biblical principles of meditating on God's Word, Works, and Wonders to draw close to God and be Transformed by His power and glory, 2 Cor. 3:18. Learn how to be still and know that He is God, Ps. 46:10. Be ready to experience a 20-minute biblical meditation time during this session and experience the presence of God.
Patti Patterson
Childhood maltreatment is exceedingly common and rarely acknowledged in our congregations. Victims of child abuse have higher rates of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) than combat veterans. The physical, emotional, mental and spiritual consequences of child abuse will be discussed, as will potential roles for Christian communities to promote prevention and healing.
David Berry
One of the most difficult areas in our lives is when we feel trapped in long term suffering. We are filled with questions, anger, anxiety and a feeling that God does not care. Yet, God does care and provides hope to the brokenhearted.
Jennifer Shewmaker
Young adults, Teens and tweens are highly engaged with social media. They use it to construct and share their own identity and to navigate social relationships. Participants will learn about the challenges and opportunities that social media presents and strategies for helping tweens, teens and young adults navigate its use in a healthy, spiritually formative manner.
Dusty Rush
The one person NOT welcome at the Lord's table...and why it matters for your church
Jack Williamson
Psalm 23 and the Lord's prayer are so well known that many believers take these passages for granted. In this class we will take a closer look at how these key passages can be pivotal in our spiritual formation and relationship with God.
Russ Corley
This session will look at the challenges of character formation for those serious about following Jesus and being taught by him as our lives are transformed through the Spirit while we learn to faithfully obey Jesus.
Thereasa Winnett
Young people are rejecting the Church and choosing their own individual paths now more than ever. In the process, they are losing the benefits the Church provides in helping them develop strong faith foundations, reach their godly potential and survive the storms of life. Ministry to children and teens can change this dynamic by building a bridge between young people and the Church. Learn creative and effective ways to reach out to children and teens in the community, while also strengthening the faith foundations of the young people in their congregation.
Jason Thompson
Our movement has a long history of shared leadership which is difficult, but possible. When done well, it is rewarding. When done poorly, it creates inertia, chaos and conflict. We will discuss best practices and principles for partnership among elders and ministers and review models of various sized congregations.
Richard Beck
God comes to us in strangers, but the strangeness of strangers causes us to miss the call to hospitality. Welcoming the Jesus who comes to us in disguise requires spiritual formation.
Richard Beck
Disbelief and doubt are on the rise with the "Nones." How do we nurture and cultivate faith in a secular age?
Richard Beck
Satan. Lucifer. Beelzebub. Explore how the names for the Devil can expand and challenge our notions of "spiritual warfare."
Scot McKnight
One study after another has demonstrated both that the church is declining in the USA and that more and more of us are becoming self-oriented. We are in need of renewal of the church and revival of a Spirit-shaped life. The message of the Bible is clear and compelling, but are we genuinely Open to the Spirit? Many claim they are open but are they genuinely open?
Scot McKnight
One study after another has demonstrated both that the church is declining in the USA and that more and more of us are becoming self-oriented. We are in need of renewal of the church and revival of a Spirit-shaped life. The message of the Bible is clear and compelling, but are we genuinely Open to the Spirit? Many claim they are open but are they genuinely open?
Jeff Childers, Joel Childers
Tall Tales of the Lethal Sort. We have a tendency to fall for half-truths. While these myths may seem convenient, they can undermine a healthy life of faith and Christian community. Even when we claim not to believe the myths, our practices can reveal otherwise. This class examines some common 'tall tales' about commitment, tradition, and over-reaction, offering practices that can remedy the dangerous impact of these myths in our lives, homes, and churches.
Jeff Childers, Joel Childers
Tall Tales of the Lethal Sort. We have a tendency to fall for half-truths. While these myths may seem convenient, they can undermine a healthy life of faith and Christian community. Even when we claim not to believe the myths, our practices can reveal otherwise. This class examines some common 'tall tales' about commitment, tradition, and over-reaction, offering practices that can remedy the dangerous impact of these myths in our lives, homes, and churches.
Jeff Childers, Joel Childers
Tall Tales of the Lethal Sort. We have a tendency to fall for half-truths. While these myths may seem convenient, they can undermine a healthy life of faith and Christian community. Even when we claim not to believe the myths, our practices can reveal otherwise. This class examines some common 'tall tales' about commitment, tradition, and over-reaction, offering practices that can remedy the dangerous impact of these myths in our lives, homes, and churches.
Don McLaughlin
"The Shocking Untold Story of the Holy Spirit"
Never has religion seemed less relevant and the church been more essential. Critics rail and Christians wail about the church. Both sense the church is meant for more, so what's missing? Join us for a practical look at how to reengage the Spirit in our local churches.
Jovan Barrington
"Indulgences For Sale"
"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." - The Apostle Paul. How do we love and produce the fruit of the Spirit in a world where self-gratification and overindulgence are virtues?
Don McLaughlin
"The Shocking Untold Story of the Holy Spirit"
Never has religion seemed less relevant and the church been more essential. Critics rail and Christians wail about the church. Both sense the church is meant for more, so what’s missing? Join us for a practical look at how to reengage the Spirit in our local churches.
Al Sturgeon
"Beyond Knowledge & Imagination: The Spirit Within"
A prayer to comprehend the incomprehensible? Paul's breathtaking prayer in Ephesians 3 asks that the Ephesians may somehow know the love of Christ that is simultaneously unknowable and tells them that God can use his church to accomplish things that are simply beyond our imagination. How does the Spirit work within us to bring glory to God in these troubled times?
Linda King
Goals of this class are to help attendees appreciate that our own individual and group perspectives influence how we "read" and interpret both scripture and one another's words and actions within the church and the larger community, and to nurture more reliance on the grace, mercy, and love of God rather than on an assurance that we understand everything perfectly.
Steve Tyree
Stop allowing difficult people to make you angry. Join us and discover God's answer to these three important questions, "Why are difficult people so difficult?", "How do we negotiate our response?", and "What's our plan for the future?".
Eric Wilson
From mass shootings, domestic assault, clashing protesters to self abuse, as wounded people we carry out acts of violence in ourselves and violence in our world. The powerful Presence of the Holy Spirit provides healing for these wounds and a means of mitigating these acts of violence. Learn how contemplative practice and the spiritual journey moves us into the presence of Holy Spirit for this necessary and worthwhile work.
Ed Gray
The church has a tremendous opportunity to shift its focus from "ministering to seniors" to "equipping seniors" for meaningful outreach and service. Moving beyond entertainment activities and luncheons, seniors have talents to be tapped as they serve one another and others. This workshop focuses on empowering seniors to serve as they move through transitions and challenges in finishing a life well-lived. Seniors and their families will be blessed through conversations including topics such as health, family, friendships, life purpose, lifelong learning, caregiving, grief, and many others.
Sharon Hargrave
Statistics tell us anxiety and depression are on the rise. The daily news of shootings, hurricanes, earthquakes, and human suffering reminds us of our own lack of control over our future and the future of the ones we love. As Christians, how do we think about safety and security, not only for ourselves, but for those we lead and serve?
Greg Smalley, Erin Smalley
A great marriage doesn't happen by accident. We need to invest in our spouse and relationship every day, but this can be challenging as ministry couples with full and busy lives. Thus, we will focus on simple and practical ways to build a marriage that both can enjoy--even in the midst of busyness.
Phil Brookman
Romans 8:26 is a puzzling passage. First, Paul says there will be times in prayer when we simply won't have words. Second, he instructs his readers not to fear because the Holy Spirit will help. But third, he says that the kind of help the Holy Spirit will provide won't be to give us better "wording," but rather fuller "groaning." Join us in this session to explore this rich passage and to develop some tools for a deeper prayer life.
Dave Schulze
Interpretations of how the church is to be organized and led enable or frustrate a congregation's relationships and effectiveness in serving God's purposes. This class will address ways churches of Christ have interpreted church leadership in contrast to what the Bible teaches and models.
Gary Cage
Over forty years ago the presenter set out on a challenging search for the Holy Spirit. What he found turned out to be different from what many others would have expected -- or have liked.
Stan Granberg, Mike O'Neal
The Churches of Christ are closing 50-100 congregations each year--the vast majority with little thought, planning, or stewardship. Whether you are a member of or just aware of a declining congregation, this session will provide practical guidance for important future actions.
Kent Rogers
The Why & How of enhancing a church service with song image backgrounds, graphics, videos, lighting, and stage design.
Joshua Jackson
With such dynamic shifts underway within churches of Christ, does such polarizing political language adequately explain congregational differences?
Suzetta Nutt
A conversation about the sometimes messy process of welcoming all children as we follow Jesus together
Dan Bouchelle, Mark Hooper
Brene Brown has helped Americans rediscover the devastating power of shame. But, many Christians don't know how the Gospel speaks to this force, even though the Bible comes from an honor-shame culture first.This class will enlarge our understanding of the Gospel to help us form a relevant message to help people overcome the power of shame.
Nick Zola
Was there really "400 years of silence" between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament? Come learn why this is a misnomer and how what happened during this time provides some crucial background for understanding Jesus, his followers, and his times.
Stacy Jones
Ministering to Millenials will explore the complex world of ministering to a generation that breaks out of almost every historical paradigm to which we are accustomed. They need Jesus and we have to introduce them to Him.
Tim Curtis
Quite often men and women find themselves in positions of leadership in the church, but feel very unqualified. It may not be our gift. But the gift of leadership isn't the only requirement for being a leader. When God puts us in positions of leadership, he also provides the resources we need.
Greg Anderson
What leadership characteristics typify youth ministers who stay at the same church for at least ten years? How are they able to overcome challenges to long-tenure? What can we learn about their relationship with other church leaders and staff? To discover the answers to these questions and more, join Greg Anderson as he reviews findings from his doctoral research on leadership traits of long-tenured youth ministers in Churches of Christ.
Matt Raines
There is a lot to learn when you leave the church bubble. This class will explore insights gained by a church planter that reentered the workforce. Along the way we will discover some practical things we all can do to make the work place sacred space.
Scott Jarvis
No matter how big we mess things up in our lives, God has consistently shown that His plans are larger than our rebellion or mistakes. By looking at stories from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we will see just how serious God is about offering us "no condemnation" and a future with hope and abundant life.
Josh Graves
This session explores the endless mystery that is Jesus and the human person by integrating psychology, the Bible, contemporary art, and science. How do we learn to live well in our own skin (what the early church called Incarnation)? How do we engage our fellow humans for the glory of the kingdom of God?
Rubel Shelly
Because Jesus prayed for unity, we have no choice but to care about it. Here are 10 practical suggestions for pursuing and maintaining "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Craig Kelley
Walking away from your home state, a growing church, and a comfortable theology to plant a new church 2500 miles from home where we choose to be a friend of sinners
Henry Huffard, Dan McVey
In spite of political and cultural turmoil throughout Africa, the message of Jesus is taking root in the hearts of millions of people. Join us to find out the key to the Gospel's success throughout Africa.
Bob Perez
For the past three years, Robert has focused his energies in generating trust between the two language groups (English and Spanish Speaking) at the Santa Paula Church of Christ. This class will reveal Robert's recent findings and his theological justification for what his ministry.
Jonathan Guevara
En una vida de Fe, la confianza en Dios es elemental para saber que el Padre proveerá y nunca nos abandonará, los niños no tienen problema en confiar, en esta sesión veremos el tipo de confianza que el Señor desea en nosotros y al nivel espiritual al que nos llevará esta acción.
Charles Kiser
God is at work at the margins of society, among those many would least expect. What if we didn't have to take God with us into relationships with our LGBTQ friends? What if he is already there and we simply have to discover what he's doing?
Todd Dildine
Since 1960 the church has experienced a 38% decline in church attendance. According to a recent Pew Research poll 59% of Millennials who grew up in the church have left it. This class aims to answer why the church is shrinking and how the church must respond.
Luke Norsworthy, Jonathan Storment
We don't have temples for the old Greek gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, or Hermes but we are still just as enticed into worshipping them today. We need to learn to be better atheists towards these gods.
Kelly Carter, Amy Bost Henegar, Scott Lambert
It is well known that many of "our" churches outside the Bible Belt are struggling. Attendees of this evening session will hear four long-time servants of churches, geographically positioned outside the areas where Churches of Christ are strongest, present their opinions on how Churches of Christ outside the traditional Bible Belt can best position themselves to be used by God for His Kingdom purposes.
Ross Cochran
Is there theological support for a Christian message in non-religious language that may not result in churches?
Jason Bybee
A question sprouts up from the soil of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, a question with transformative power when applied to our daily lives.
Manuel Magos
Todos podemos participar en el crecimiento de la iglesia cuando invertimos tiempo y experiencia en la vida de un incrédulo y verlo nacer, desarrollarse, y duplicarse. Es el trabajo que Dios nos dio a cada uno de nosotros y es el mandamiento de Mateo 28 que esta vigente en nuestras vidas. We can all participate in the growth of the church when we invest time and experience in the life of an unbeliever and see them born again, develop and reproduce himself. It's the task that God has given each of us and it's the Great Commission in Matthew 28 that is binding in our lives.
Tim Spivey
This thought-provoking and inspiring class will present strategies and stories of how stagnant and struggling churches have come to experience new life.
Jason Allison, Dave Morgan
Combining their professional experiences in ministry and mental health, the presenters will focus on equipping congregations - of various sizes and settings - to support the mental health of those within the church, as well as those in the surrounding community. Participants will: 1) Encounter a Scripturally-informed ethic of care to benefit individuals, families, congregations, and communities, 2) Acquire practical suggestions offered by a network of mental health professionals, and 3) Consider interventions appropriate to their congregation's size and context.
Kevin Burr
Christians have rightly emphasized Jesus' power a) in the Holy Spirit and b) over demons for millennia. But to stop there is to do a major disservice not only to Jesus' mission but to the Spirit-filled church's as well. In this lecture we will briefly discuss ancient views on demons and will compare and contrast three episodes of demon possession in Luke-Acts with three episodes of Holy Spirit indwelling in order to show how God's mission for the church is also, and necessarily, human-focused.
Jason Bandura
The Holy Spirit is entrusted to lead us into all truth. He's particularly keen on leading us into those truths we most need but resist. Through vulnerable story-sharing and honest reflection on both Scripture and experience, this class will aim to position listeners before the Spirit of surprises.
Grady King, Jon Mullican
Leaders must have courage in times of uncertainty and chaos. What are the essentials of courageous leadership? At what price? At whose expense?
Kyle Sapp
People who live with mental illness matter to Jesus. Our congregations are filled with friends and family who regularly wrestle with mental illness. Helping to support them in this can be a long and frustrating journey. It can be like walking through the desert with a half full glass of water. But beautifully, as members of the body of Christ, we do not make this journey alone. As Christians we believe in a God who is One in Three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One way of understanding their relationship is that of the Divine Dance, each person moving around each other in perfect rhythm and harmony. This understanding of the doctrine provides us with a helpful view for how the Church can support people with mental illnesses. When our partners struggle to dance we hold them up, we dance slower, and perhaps change the tune entirely. But the one thing we never do, is let them walk off the dance floor. This class will explore how the doctrine of the Trinity can help us love the mentally ill among us.
Brandon Pierce
Ministry is not viewed as an intellectual vocation. At the very least, theological acumen ranks low on the practical skills of effective ministers. Viewing high-level, critical, and creative theological practice as either intrusive or unimportant to ministry is both harmful to the body of Christ and historically inaccurate. This session explores the theological vocation of ministry in three major 20th century figures: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Martin Luther King, Jr. It is for seminarians, professors, church leaders, and church members interested in how the church and the academy can function in a more direct, synergistic relationship for the sake of God's Kingdom.
Beverly Ross
Disappointed, devastated, rejected, and broken - these are feelings that can overwhelm those of us who are suffering, leaving us void of hope. The pain and anguish can tempt us to give up, give in, or walk away from faith. Peter wrote his first letter to encourage people to hold on, to cling to Hope - the Living Hope. Let's look into 1 Peter to find some practical help for getting through hard seasons.
Chris Seidman
There's a theology for technology? Absolutely! Flourishing more and floundering less in the purposes of God when it comes to our relationship with our devices and screens.
Don Rose, Corrie Rose
My wife, Corrie, and I, we have always been inspired and encouraged by the well known poem "Marriage Takes Three" by Beth Stuckwisch, which emphasizes the importance of God in marriage. As we try to keep God at the center of our relationship, we see, too, how the Son and the Holy Spirit relate to and affect our relationship in different but no less vital ways. Our class focus is on inviting and embracing these relationships consciously and intentionally in our marriages and seeing how much more we can be blessed by them.
Luke Norsworthy, Jonathan Storment
We don't have temples for the old Greek gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, or Hermes but we are still just as enticed into worshipping them today. We need to learn to be better atheists towards these gods.
Taylor Walling
Biblical illiteracy is rampant among young adults and twentysomethings. But what would it look like to read the Bible the way that Jesus read it? How would that change how we taught young adults to read and interact with God's Word? Join us as we consider the radical reshaping of biblical literacy on Jesus' terms.
Wade Hodges
How is it that the Bible can be both an invitation to faith for some and an obstacle to faith for others? This class will explore the importance of clarifying our assumptions about what the Bible is, how it works, and what we can legitimately expect from it when we read it.
Jason Darden, Aaron Stevens
A session for those wanting to turn their passion into a church ministry.
Jeremiah Gibson
The #MeToo movement reminds us of the devastating consequences of our nation's inability to provide comprehensive sex education and safe spaces for sexual conversation. This workshop will identify ways that adult communities can use testimony as a way of removing sexual shame and reclaiming their sexual selves. Participants will learn strategies for working through limiting messages/negative experiences regarding sex and gender, as well as tips for identifying and communicating sexual needs.
Ryan Lassiter
We want to reach the world with the good news that Jesus is Lord, and everyone seems to have a trendy way to "do church" in order to accomplish that goal. What if we became a community of people who embodied the greatest commandments instead? Let's get back to the basics of faith, loving God and loving neighbors.
Jennifer Christy
Years of theological education and training, years of professional work and life experience...but what can really prepare you for congregational ministry? And how can you gracefully transition out of a role when your time is up? How do you return to being a member after serving as a minister? What does ministry look like in the public sector? I'm still learning but let's share this journey together.
Paula Harrington
Finding our joy, hope, and encouragement in the life of Jesus and those who courageously follow him.
Jeff Brown
In what ways can the "Good Samaritan" serve as guide to help us navigate racial tension and inequality? How might crossing the road to consider someone else's experience expand our understanding of both God and the World? Jesus willingly enters our suffering and disciples of Jesus must learn to do the same.
Randy Roper
We rejoice in life's mountaintop experiences - those distinct moments when we recognize the presence and power of the Holy Spirit among us. But we know life is not lived on the mountaintop. Like Elijah, we must descend from the summit and face the discouragement and difficulties that so often await us. What do we do when we feel like we've had enough?
Greg Swinney
Every day is a fresh start for us. We hear about new businesses starting, runners starting the race and the next new diet we will start "tomorrow." Somehow we know when it's time to have a fresh start. The Holy Spirit is all about supernatural fresh starts. Join us in this session to learn about the Sacred Startups of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible and the potential for new beginnings in our lives today.
Bobby Valentine
This class offers a way of sharing the reality of the Spirit with people through reading Ephesians. This third class will reflect on the role of the Spirit in worship and ethics as believers embody the life of Christ in the world.
Craig Young
Craig will combine over 25 years of personal mission experience in Marseille, France with his specific doctoral research to share what God is doing among Muslims in his corner of the Mediterranean rim. As Muslims immigrate to the West in record numbers, hear and be encouraged by some real life examples of love in response to one of the most pressing missional needs of our time. Consider what a dwelling place full of the love and peace of Christ can produce in the hearts of those born and raised in the Muslim world.
Greg Taylor
How the former Garnett Road Church of Christ in Tulsa, OK is continuing The Journey after 50 years
Steven Brice
With countless protests, boycotts and views being shared on social media, it appears that the church could become marginalized. Let's have a conversation on what the church needs to do on the frontline of healing racial divides.
Charles Kiser
God is at work at the margins of society, among those many would least expect. What if we didn't have to take God with us into relationships with neighbors in poverty? What if he is already there and we simply have to discover what he's doing?
Trevor Thompson
People lie; the question is always why. In one of the most disturbing stories in the Bible, Ananias and Sapphira attempt to deceive the Spirit. The result is divine homicide. The dead couple no longer tell tales. What does this tawdry tale teach about life in communities of the Spirit?
Carrie Gotcher, Wendy Humphries, Marian Parker
Short on volunteers, kids disengaged, parents not interested, shallow curriculum? Carrie Gotcher, Marian Parker and Wendy Humphries will share their experiences teaching children using the rotation model and how it has brought life to their ministry.
Tim Willis
There are many striking parallels between the days of Solomon and our own time in history. Solomon inherited impressive wealth and power from his father, but he also inherited a vibrant faith. Sadly, the kingdom and the faith that he passed on to his own son were not nearly so healthy. This class will open a conversation on confronting the challenges we face as we strive to faithfully pass on the inheritance we have received.
Wilson McCoy
Many are concerned about the future of the church. However, over the last eight years of working with young adults my hope for the next generation of faith has grown deeper and wider. In this class I want to share some lessons learned, mistakes made, and lingering questions about this important generation in the life of our churches.
Stan Granberg
Dr. Stan Granberg tells the amazing growth stories of the Restoration Movement and what we should learn that could propel us to a 21st season of growth
Dan Bouchelle, Mark Hooper
The good news is that the Good News speaks to every world view, especially those dominated by honor and shame. But, most Americans now need help to hear the dominant aspect of the gospel in scripture.This class will enlarge our understanding of the Gospel to help us form a relevant message to the majority of people worldwide and in our cities who come from Honor-Shame cultures.
Justin Gerhardt
The landscape is changing and we must adjust. As more and more Americans identify as religious "nones," and as those who call themselves Christians become less and less conversant with the Bible, preachers bear a responsibility to shape messages accordingly. This session will offer practical thoughts on how to make sure our preaching actually connects with those we're called to reach.
Brandon Holt, Jimmy Hurd
This class will discuss the global epidemic of opioid addiction and relate it to the experiences of Christians in our local churches. Brandon will share his personal experience as a minister who was addicted to pain medication and now serves as a licensed chemical dependence counselor while continuing his preaching ministry. We will offer suggestions for addressing the problem and give encouragement to those personally impacted by it.
Josh Graves
This session explores the mystery of God and Planet Earth. What does the Bible, experience, and contemporary art teach us about this place we live? How do we learn to enjoy our world for the brief time we have with this one precious life?
Rubel Shelly
Churches in the Stone-Campbell tradition have an historical interest in Christian unity. Do you hear much about it these days? Should we abandon the plea? Is it meaningful in our culture?
Taylor Walling, Jeff Walling, Rick Atchley
Hear two veteran communicators talk about the craft of sermon writing, the dynamics of delivery, using a teaching team, and much more. The session will finish with a live Q&A - bring your questions! Moderated by Taylor Walling.
Chris Seidman
We spend a lot of time bowing down to our devices and screens. It impacts our capacity to being fully present where we are. Technology is an awesome servant but terrible master. What makes the difference?
Jeff Walling
Ambassadors from Pepperdine's Next Gen Preacher Search share their messages.
Mark Love, Aaron Metcalf
Everyone knows about Bob Dylan's "Christian phase," but Dylan's entire career features an apocalyptic faith that makes him both prophet and pastor. Come and enjoy a discussion of Dylan's music and it's impact on Mark and Aaron's life.
Virgil Fry
Being a caring presence to someone in grief is difficult. Fellow faith travelers can be a loving source of hope. Let's discuss helpful and not-so-helpful phrases to say, and learn better how to listen more than talk.
Matt Dabbs
This class will cover the habits, disciplines and perspectives that can help you have a spiritually healthy and beneficial social media experience as a Christian.
Chris Heard
From its very first paragraph, the Old Testament repeatedly refers to a "spirit of God," or "divine breath," or "mighty wind" - a single Hebrew phrase can mean all three. What did the Old Testament writers trying to say when they spoke of a "spirit of God," and how does that relate to Christian thinking about the Holy Spirit?
Dan Bouchelle
God is using Isis and Radical Islam to bring Muslim background people to him in dramatic ways. This class will talk about how God has broken into the Muslim world in a dramatic ways for the first time in 1400 years.
Fate Hagood
Continuing real talk conversations about the "what is's" and "what ain'ts" of Blacks, Whites, Race, Unity, and whatever's of our "One" church. What's really going on?
David Fraze
Youth Ministry is incredible and awful, fun and not-so-fun, rewarding and punishing, great on your family and...you get the picture. Youth ministry is a dynamic roller coaster of ups and downs. Like most roller coaster enthusiest, the more drops, turns and curves the better. Youth ministry will not disappoint. If you want to thrive and survive the ride, you need to buckle up and listen to the safety instructions. Oh, you don't need to keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times. You can raise them if you want.
Ron and Lori Clark
Jesus' synagogue sermon announced that his ministry would target those on the margins of society. When we planted the Agape Church of Christ, we felt called to offer a similar vision of hope to those in Portland who had been marginalized by oppression, consumerism, and (unfortunately) the very movement where we had been leading in ministry. This ministry of the Spirit quickly became overwhelming while providing tremendous blessings teaching us love, compassion, courage, and how to offer a Spiritual presence in Portland and the rest of our country.
Jon Reed
This class will share a detailed follow up plan to encourage your guests to become a part of your church family.
Joe and Becky Almanza
Join us as we share from our experience some insights into the mind of the broken and how you can make a difference in their success through authentic relationships.
Jerry Morgan, Doyle Corder
We will review different elder selection issues and processes and offer some examples of good process than can be a blessing to your church and its leadership.
Sara Jackson, Emily Lemley
Sisters. Well-loved. But...life is still real with great griefs and true temptations. How do we take His courage when we feel overwhelmed and alone in the dark? Our stories and others' stories shine light on what God is doing to strengthen all of us right now.
Jana Unruh
A Midwestern, mostly white church prays to become 'Color Blind'. Learn from our beginner's successes, mistakes, and take away 5 practical ways your church can begin racial reconciliation. Come and be part of this critical conversation with engaged members, ministry and elder panelists from Overland Park Church of Christ in Kansas City.
Chris Altrock
Life with God is described in Scripture as abundant and dynamic. Yet often we or our churches experience spirituality as dull and dreary. Dallas Willard discovered that the vibrant life intended for us comes through an emphasis on three things. Each is as valuable as gold, as vital as the side of a triangle. Explore this "golden triangle" and discover which of these three may be missing from your or your church's spiritual life.
Jacob Parnell, Kyle Sapp
Explore the relationship between human beings' capacity for appreciating music and the Holy Spirit. Equip yourself with tools that will enable you to communicate with other music-lovers the beauty, creativity, and majesty of God.
Holly Allen
This session will address challenges churches are facing as they bring the generations together and will describe three emerging intergenerational ministry practices.
Fate Hagood
Real talk conversations about the "what is's" and "what ain'ts" of Blacks, Whites, Race, Unity, and whatever's of our "One" church. What's really going on? Don't be scared. We're all friends here.
Eric Gentry
Why would Wells Fargo rob customers? Why would prison guards abuse inmates? How could a Church do the unthinkable? The influence of the "principalities and powers" is evident all around us. Naming those powers, and preaching to them, is the ministry of the church (Eph 3). But how do we begin? Join us for a critical and constructive look at the powers in pop-culture, politics, and the church.
K. Rex Butts, Christine Fox Parker
"God's Stories in Our Stories" and "Lost Sons, Finding Hope"
Caleb Borchers
Caleb is the church planter for a new church in Providence, RI and the majority of the members are Millennials. He will share his experience in leading those in this age cohort which so many church leaders have found challenging. Come learn ways to connect with America's new largest generation.
Dan Bouchelle, Mark Hooper
As America becomes more diverse and Americans serve in more unreached countries, we are encountering self-imposed limitations on our ability to connect to people from a different worldview. How do you tell good news to people who experience their brokenness as in some form other than guilt? This class will enlarge our understanding of the Gospel to help us form a relevant message to the majority of people worldwide and in our cities who come from Honor-Shame cultures.
Luke Norsworthy, Jonathan Storment
We don't have temples for the old Greek gods like Zeus, Aphrodite, or Hermes but we are still just as enticed into worshipping them today. We need to learn to be better atheists towards these gods.
Richard Beck, Mark Love
While Churches of Christ have not exactly been known for their emphasis on the Holy Spirit, Richard and Mark suggest now is the time to embrace a life made possible by the power of the Spirit. Come find out why.
Leonard Allen
Membership in the one body of Christ meant charismatic membership (1 Cor 12:4-11, 27-30). The charismata or grace-gifts are richly varied and given to every member for the sake of building up the body. To be baptized into Christ through the Spirit means initiation into active, Spirit-gifted membership.
Randy Roper
In life and in ministry, we often feel overwhelmed by God's calling. The job seems too big, the opposition too strong, or the expectations too high for us to succeed. God called His prophet Elijah to stand amid the chaos of a changing world and point people to God. He calls us to do the same.
Jordan Coss, Corridan Coss
In this lecture, husband and wife student ministry duo, Jordan and Corridan Coss, will discuss some of the most significant cravings teenagers experience. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of these desires, attention will be placed on their positive value in light of C.S. Lewis' argument from desire. In this light, their cravings actually drive them toward their creator as positive markers on the quest to the One who can truly satisfy them. It will be argued, based upon field tested strategies, that this is a successful approach to communicate the gospel to teenagers in our current context described by Charles Taylor as "an age of authenticity." The goal of this hour is to equip people to better spiritually engage with teenagers whose "attention to experience" serves as their compass to spiritual truth.
David Ayres
Contemplative leadership is desperately needed in the church. Yet, it seems that a life of contemplation is often directly at odds with strong, visionary leadership.What do detachment and submission have to do with vision-casting and goal-setting? Is it possible to be a gifted leader and a gifted pastor or are those categories mutually exclusive? Come join us and explore a way forward!
Ross Cochran
Landon's ministry to those with little or no church experience has intrigued us. This session is an attempt to discern the philosophical commitments of Heartbeat.
Brian Offutt
What could you accomplish in ministry if you knew that God was with you, that he has empowered you and that he loves you? This class will take a closer look at the baptism of Jesus and the steps that he took in preparation for ministry. The beautiful thing about this passage is realizing that what's true for Jesus at his baptism is also true for me and you at our baptism. I look forward to seeing you in class as we study this powerful passage together.
Wade Hodges
How is it that the Bible can be both an invitation to faith for some and an obstacle to faith for others? This class will explore the importance of clarifying our assumptions about what the Bible is, how it works, and what we can legitimately expect from it when we read it.
Jeff Pierpont
How can you have a positive impact on your co-workers every day? By exploring what it means to be the aroma of Christ at work.
Susan Giboney, Carrie Wall, Jessica Wall
A grandmother, mother, and granddaughter reflect on their generational distinctiveness and how churches and families can nurture health intergenerational relationships. Strategies for bridging understanding and cultivating appreciation among generations will be explored.
Kelly Haer
Young adulthood is a time for significant transitions--especially in the parent-child relationship. Help young adults to reflect on their families of origin and take ownership and responsibility to strengthen healthy relationships with their families. Specifically, leaders will learn to help young adults discover how childhood memories have shaped them, develop new insights about their parents, consider the impact of birth order on their own development, understand family dynamics, communicate with their parents, and form their own families when away from home.
Gotcher, Humphries, Parker
Short on volunteers, kids disengaged, parents not interested, shallow curriculum? Carrie Gotcher, Marian Parker and Wendy Humphries will share their experiences teaching children using the rotation model and how it has brought life to their ministry.
Charles Kiser
God is at work at the margins of society, among those many would least expect. What if we didn't have to take God with us into relationships with our non-religious friends? What if he is already there and we simply have to discover what he's doing?
Rick Ross
I once questioned if Ecclesiastes should be in the Bible. A reread has left me amazed at its relevance.
Rusty Tugman
How God uses common people sharing common meals at common tables to change the world.
Jessica Knapp
The transition from high school to college, out of the youth group and into the "church" is wrought with struggles. Together we will explore the benefits and possibilities of youth ministers collaborating with the campus ministries in your state. Specifically, we will address how to help students transition out of the youth group successfully. I will also share the value for campus ministers in taking time to build relationships with the youth ministers in their area. We will talk about how to collaborate without stepping on one another's toes.
Les Ferguson, Jr.
How broken is too broken for redemption? These stories and more found in the family tree of Jesus tells us God can redeem, restore, and reconcile every story. Yours, mine, and the guy down the street included.
Larry Mudd
The Holy Spirit speaks about Himself and His interaction with humanity in this dramatic narrative sermon based on several passages in scripture.
Bruce Henderson
On the week of his 50th anniversary in church ministry, a 71 year old preacher reflects upon a long journey of successes and failures in service to God and man.
David Holmes
How and why has Black preaching within Churches of Christ contrasted with the African American preaching practiced in other faith tradtions? This class uses the African American prophetic tradition as a framework for analyzing the relationship between hermeneutics, homiletics, doctrine, spirituality and politics in Black Churches of Christ.
Joshua Parrish
PEP Talks is a series of expertly crafted short talks designed to engage new ideas and generate healthy discussion within Churches of Christ about what ministry can be and about what the church looks like beyond Sunday mornings. You will leave encouraged to see your purpose in the world and the potential for God to do something amazing in a completely new way.
Don McLaughlin
Never has religion seemed less relevant and the church been more essential. Critics rail and Christians wail about the church. Both sense the church is meant for more, so what's missing? Join us for a practical look at how to reengage the Spirit in our local churches.
Bobby Valentine
This class offers a way of sharing the reality of the Spirit with people through reading Ephesians. This first class will focus Paul's understanding of the Trinity and the function of Temple in his theology.
Connie Horton
Christians are not exempt from mental health concerns, yet many ministers and church communities are unsure how to think and speak about these issues. They also feel unsure about how to best minister to those who are struggling. This session will provide a framework to help understand psychological concepts from a Christian worldview and suggest practical tips for ministry.
Pat Bills, Sally Gary
An overwhelming majority of LGBTQ people grew up in devout Christian homes, but most have been ostracized, excluded from fellowship. What would it take to make church a safe & comforting place again? In this session we'll continue talking about ways to restore Spirit-driven community for our LGBTQ brothers & sisters.
Pat Bills & Sally Gary
Many churches are still wrestling with inclusion of LGBTQ Christians, wondering how we can extend fellowship when we may not agree on teachings about sexuality. How does a Spirit-led church respond to these questions? Join us for a two-part discussion of extending the love of Christ to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters who are seeking a place to belong.
Hung Le
God is. God works... even in times when He seems to be utterly silent, when the darkness is overwhelming, when hope is merely an empty word. God still is. God still works. Come share in a time of hope, of discovering and re-discovering His light, of sharing in the mission of Jesus to make life more abundant for our world.
Andrew Hill
Family and church squabbles can bring about great tension and conflict. What do you do to live and love well in these times of high tension? How can you keep your heart, mind, body, and soul healthy during high stress times?
Grady King, Jon Mullican
Leaders must have courage in times of uncertainty and chaos. What are the essentials of courageous leadership? At what price? At whose expense?
Matt Maxwell
Creating professional videos for our churches have always been limited to those with budgets for expensive cameras, mics and editing software but not anymore. We will explore the latest in iPhone apps and accessories (35mm lens adapters, audio inputs, teleprompters) that bring professional capture and delivery to your fingertips.
DeWayne Winrow
The session will explore the tenets of Prophetic Christianity as exemplified in the Black Church tradition as cohering with the true character of the Christian faith. Does a primitive vision prophetic in character suggests that there is a socio-religious praxis inherent in the ministry of reconciliation?
Scotty and Tammy Spake
How to raise perfect children... lessons we've learned raising biological and foster children for 19 years.
Steve Puckett
I have lived most of my life with privilege. I grew up in a white community in the 60's and 70's. I now preach for an ethnically diverse church in Florida. My schooling began in a newly integrated school in North Alabama and a small African American church in Mississippi and continued with adopting two African American kids and has deepened through 34 years of preaching and teaching in the diverse landscape of Florida. I want to give you a peek inside my life and encourage all of us to love each other in our Father's beautiful world of diversity.
Michelle Goff
Iron Rose Sister Ministries (IRSM) exists to equip women to connect to God and to one another more deeply. As a bilingual women's ministry resource, IRSM's founder, author, and international speaker Michelle J. Goff has followed the Spirit's lead and His calling to reach thousands of women across the Americas. Join us in answering the Spirit's call to be better equipped and, in turn, to equip Christian sisters that can serve as iron sharpening iron, encouraging one another to be as beautiful as a rose, in spite of a few thorns.
Greg Taylor
How one church is "getting on the same page" of Scripture and God is changing lives
Rickey McWhorter
We often are exited about participating in international missions. But, the questions is, how relevant is that mission in terms of accomplishing the true focus, purpose and mission of the New Testament gospel?
Houston Heflin
This experiential class will briefly recount the history of breath prayers from the Psalms, through the New Testament, to today, and then focus on experiencing this type of prayer. Participants will "pray with all kinds of prayers and requests" and explore what it means to "pray without ceasing" as a method of training for spiritual formation.
Rick Gibson
Research shows that all organizations, including churches, are held together, not through physical resources and assets, but through beliefs, identity, mission, and values. These invisible spiritual resources are essential to the health and effectiveness of any organization. Sadly, the agenda of our churches today are often driven by the demands of visible assets and invisible mission-less motives, leaving little energy for leaders to nurture the life-giving spiritual resources the give power to the church. This class will explore ways for church leaders to form and activate a creative, dynamic, mission-oriented congregation.
Tim Spivey
This thought-provoking and inspiring class will present strategies and stories of how stagnant and struggling churches have come to experience new life.
Jennifer McNutt
This session will address the perception that Christianity and science have a history of conflict and are inherently at odds with each other. Dr. McNutt will highlight lesser-known stories of how Christian pastors have consistently promoted and contributed to the emergence of modern science from the Scientific Revolution to the modern era as part of their commitment to advancing the Gospel. Examples of "ministers in lab coats" can help to dispel the characterization of conflict that continues to shape current-day perceptions and stunt contemporary conversations over the relationship between Christianity and science today.
Brian Sandine
Lessons learned from teaching this class in a congregation with a traditional position on sex and marriage
Thien Dang
An ex-gang affiliate turned minister, I will be talking about my life battling street violence, gangs, addiction, and suicide culminating in a near-death event that God used to propel me into a triumphant spiritual awakening. We'l also extrapolate from this narrative relevant and applicable theological principles that will challenge and shape our perceptions of societal "menaces" and marginalized people groups.
Jared King, Laura King
Planting churches in Post-Christian cities is going to be hard, slow, and incredibly fun. But it requires a new kind of vision that involves us to think outside the box. In Seattle we have a growing network of churches, church plants, non-profits, and local businesses, who are rethinking what it means to plant churches in Post-Christian Seattle. We will talk through several principals we are learning and discuss how to develop a Kingdom Ecosystem across your city. 100 Churches of 100 is the beginning of a movement awakening in the Pacific Northwest.
Adam Mearse
There is likely no single topic that demands more headspace for people in our churches than sexuality. Dr. Adam Mearse will explore the necessity for a positive, biblical message of sexuality as a fundamental act of Christian discipleship and witness.
Jeremy Marshall
Perhaps some of the most troubling portions of scripture are those passages in the Old Testament that call for the total annihilation of enemies. Some see them as wholly positive, even ethically normative. Others would erase them from scripture altogether. But is there a more excellent way of understanding and using these texts? Drawing on the early films of horror director Wes Craven, this class suggests that the Bible itself is ambivalent about, and even critical of, these texts. When read through the lenses of Craven's films, we find that the whole of scripture--especially the witness and ministry of Christ--questions and subverts the texts of genocide and vengeance.
Thema Bryant-Davis
This session is for those who are weary or who serve congregations that are in a valley season. The presenter, an ordained minister and psychologist, will minister to those who have been spiritually and emotionally drained by personal traumas and the brokenness of society as manifested by oppression, violence, and the toxic disenfranchisement of the "least of these." Using the framework of the Valley of Dry Bones, the presenter will discuss the role of the Holy Spirit to revive and restore the people of God.
Leonard Allen
Session one: The Missional Spirit The New Testament reveals the Spirit as the dynamic force and guide for the mission of God, beginning in Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The loss of mission corresponds with a narrowed and tamed doctrine of the Spirit. The two diminishments go hand in hand.
Ben Fike, Blaine Totty
What do you do when you're called to care for large groups of people, and you also find being in large groups of people exhausting? Ben Fike is one introverted minister who was thrilled to arrive at a new ministry context and discover one of his elders, Blaine Totty, was a fellow introvert who has found ways to excel at pastoral care. In this class, you'll be hearing from both of them about some of the things Ben is learning from Blaine as well as some practical suggestions for fellow introverted church leaders who desire to love well those under their care.
Tod Brown
"Living Well in the Tension of Faith and Business"
For nearly 30 years I've moved between the often conflicting worlds of ministry and commerce. If I take my commitment to Jesus seriously, the question I wrestle with every day is, "How does my faithful discipleship get expressed in and through my business?" This session is the summation of my experience as an employer, partner, negotiator, competitor and preacher.
Ned Colletti, Brian Zahnd
Join us for an exciting plenary session featuring special guest speakers Brian Zahnd and Christine Caine, as well as a special interview with Ned Colletti. [Note: Christine Caine's talk will not be recorded for future download.]
Kevin Holland
When referring to the sociopolitical climate of the past few years, I heard one pastor say that it seems as if "hate is winning." I cannot remember a time when the toxicity level in our public discourse was this high or when it was affecting members in our churches to this degree. What makes it more confusing is that Christians are all over the spectrum on this and are not sure whether speaking out publicly against what they believe to be wrong, ignoring it, looking the other way and keeping their heads down, addressing it in worship assemblies, or some other method is the way Jesus would have us respond. What’s the best way to be "salt and light?" Should we speak up or remain silent? What is the Spirit saying to us? This discussion will examine multiple sides of the issue and suggest paths forward.