Harbor, Pepperdine Bible Lectures

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

 

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.

Love Stories by Jesus: Finding Surprises about God’s Love in Christ’s Parables (Part 2)

Teacher: Jeff Walling

 

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.