Harbor, Pepperdine Bible Lectures

Navigating Romantic Relationships in a Broken World

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.

Love, Truth, and Forever

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!

Yes, Jesus Loves Me and So Should I: Cultivating Well-being Through Self-care and Self-compassion

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!

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

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?

Planning with the Spirit: His Impact on Our Lives and the Church

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.

The House that Built Me: The Women of Faith That Have Shaped My Life

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.

The Low Lying Fruit of Proactive Congregational Care: Reclaiming the Power of Kindness and Goodness in Our Church Communities and Beyond

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.

Lamenting Date-Onomics*

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

Trueish: Church Leadership Principles That Sound Right, but Aren’t Anymore. Mostly.

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.

Late Night Comedy Club

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.)

What Kind of Interfaith Work Would Jesus Do?

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?

Religious Trauma

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.

Truthy or Truthful? The Authority of Scripture in a Cross-Pressured Time (Part 1)

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.

Truthy or Truthful? The Authority of Scripture in a Cross-Pressured Time (Part 2)

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.”

A Biblical Theology of Policing

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.

A Question from the LGBTQ+ Community to the Church: Are We Welcome at Christ’s Table with You?

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?

Leaning Into the Dissonance: Navigating Faith’s Tensions Together

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.

Participating in God’s Restoration: The Story of Churches of Christ

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.

Stories from the Field: Church Planting and the Mission of Jesus

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.

Common Grace/Uncommon Gospel

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?

Abba Father: God of Rescue

Teacher: Bobby Valentine

 

The Simple Secret: Choosing Love in a Culture of Hostility

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.

Keep Calm and Carry On: How Ministers/Leaders Can Move Forward When Ministry is Difficult

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.

Abba Father: God of Steadfast Love

Teacher: Bobby Valentine

Kingdom Confusion: How to Talk About the Sin of Christian Nationalism Without Splitting the Church

Teacher: Doug Peters