Harbor, Pepperdine Bible Lectures

When we appreciate that human beings are lovers, and that our loves are shaped by rituals and routines—“liturgies”—then we should recognize afresh what is at stake in the practices of Christian worship. This session will explore the ways in which worship is the heart of discipleship and how we can be intentional in creating (re)formative worship environments. Teacher: James K.A. Smith

Hebrews calls us to believe in the unseen while the skepticism of society beckons us to doubt everything. We scoff at reports of aliens, Bigfoot, and Nessy, but on Sundays we proclaim belief in giants, leviathan, miracles, and resurrection from the dead. Christians live in the tension between faith in God and skepticism toward just about everything else, or have we let the skepticism of the world slowly erode our faith? How deeply has our skepticism and disbelief affected our ability to have faith in God? Teacher: Chess Cavitt

Growing up in churches of Christ and eventually ministering within churches of Christ requires perseverance. Jeff offers an intensely autobiographical journey highlighting the reasons that he continues to serve as a minister and his hope for the future. Teacher: Jeff Dunn

Hosted by the Boone Center for the Family Teachers: John Philip and Karen Louis

Most Christians I know are dreading this fall’s presidential election. “It’s going to be bad.” “We’re going to lose friends.” “I’m worried about my church.” “The world is going to fall apart if the other team wins.” How might the apostle Paul coach a church entering in this season? By taking a careful look at how Paul approached the fault lines threatening to fracture the Christians in Rome (with special attention to Romans 14), this class will offer a positive vision for how a church might proactively engage the election season as an opportunity to be a “disruptive witness” in a saturated market of rage. Teacher: Phil Brookman

For many congregations, finding the right individuals to serve on their ministry staff is a difficult season that involves a broad search and interview process. But what if God is growing your staff within your own community? In this class we will explore the ways developing future ministry staff from within a congregation can be done, the theological and practical reasons to do it, and share how our own church has thrived through such an experience. We will realistically tackle the challenges and blessings. As churches confront budgetary challenges and preacher shortages, this process may become an essential way to find more workers for the harvest. Teacher: Caleb Borchers

The studies have shown for decades the uptick in young people leaving the Church after high school. Many churches have struggled to respond to the shifting topography of culture and identity. Perhaps what is needed most are churches that are truly investing in their young people and passing on a faith built on compassion, not doctrine alone. But where to begin? If you are struggling to help your congregation to journey with and mentor young people, this session will offer some helpful ideas and conversation. Teacher: Kyle Williams

A few years ago, I confessed to a friend, "I get jealous when I hear others say they married their best friend, because I didn't." In the same conversation I challenged us both to learn to love our wives better. What resulted was a year of Jesus teaching me how I could be more loving. I also learned in the process that my jealousy was based on a false assumption. Let's discuss some of what I learned! Teacher: Kevin Knight

The past few years have been a wake-up call for the American church. From the New York Times to the Atlantic to the Washington Post people on the outside of church are rightfully pointing out that American churches are more “sociological than Christological.” That’s a fancy way of saying American Christianity appears to be hollow . . . there’s nothing really there. People on the inside of churches are just as materialistic, politically idolatrous, misogynistic, and racist as people on the outside (sometimes even more so!). Churches of Christ have a history of failing to keep the main thing the main thing. From focusing on worship styles and forms to demonizing other churches in town we have historically often failed to reach out to new people and to disciple the people in our pews in the actual ways of Jesus. In order for our churches to flourish, in order for our cities to have a fair chance to see the real Jesus, we need to go deeper in the ways of discipleship that Jesus actually gave us. “Real Life Discipleship” will be a call to keep the center of the Gospel the main thing, with practical tools and training for how to implement a more robust form of discipleship in our churches. Teacher: Jonathan Storment

Teacher: Chris Seidman