Harbor, Pepperdine Bible Lectures

Teaching and Preaching from Hosea, Amos, and Micah

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.

Speaking by the Numbers

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.

The Reconstruction of Relationship

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).

It’s Still About Jesus: Christ-Centered Student Ministry

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.

Practical Wisdom for Youth Group Parents

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.

Passing the Torch: Blessing the Next Minister

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.

Recovering Togetherness in Relationships

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.

Prayer Trails

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.

Better Together: God Loves Our Diversity and So Should We

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.

Reconciliation: Compassion vs. Compulsion

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.

An Inside Perspective on Discernment of Women in Leadership

Teacher: Shane Hughes

Walter Rauschenbusch: Social Justice Warrior

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.

Set Free: Stories from Luke for Today

Teacher: Kindy De Long

 

Wounded Healing

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.

Preaching That Matters

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.

I Know What You Did Next Summer

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.

”Boots Feel Better than Shoes”

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.

Discovering the Heart of God

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.

Prophesy to the Bones

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.

Created to Create

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?

Portadores de un tesoro

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.

Spiritual Lessons from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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.

Retrieving Communion: A Call to the Table

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.

Church Planting in a Digital Age

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.

Seeing Around Corners

Teacher: Tim Spivey

Capturing Your Church's Future