Harbor, Pepperdine Bible Lectures

A Poetic Take

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.

Enneagram Wisdom fro Meaning and Belonging (Part 2)

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.

Restoration for a New Generation: The Spirit (Part 2)

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.

Enneagram Wisdom for Meaning and Belonging (Part 1)

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.

Love Stories by Jesus: Finding Surprises About God’s Love in Christ’s Parables (Part 1)

Teacher: Jeff Walling

 

Restoration for a New Generation: The Story (Part 1)

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.

God Is: Expanding Our Images of God and Self

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.

Church Growth: Where Do We Go From Here?

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.

All About Eve: Women in the Pastoral Epistles

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.

Guiding Children to Find Their Connection in God’s Ultimate Story

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.

Memories: Photographs and Stories from the Restoration Movement

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.

All Together in One Place: How One Church has Reimagined Communal Life

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.

The Art of Serving the Elderly

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.

Transfigurational Leadership: Christian Leadership in the 21st Century

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.

Leveling Leadership in an Elder Board Model

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.

Sustained Flourishing in Ministry for the Long Haul

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.

How our Church Became a Resilience Hub for the Community

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.

Standing Up for Jesus

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.)

1 Corinthians 13: The Chapter of the Holy Spirit

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.

DnD and Jesus

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.

God’s Abundant Love

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.

Does God Love Other Religions?

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!

Missional Preaching

Teacher: Dusty Rush

Exploring some subtle shifts in the ways we measure good preaching.

Love, Justice, and Hope: Theological Perspectives

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 Prodigal Pastor/Preacher

Teacher: Thomas Fitzpatrick