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Prepare to Meet God: A Field Guide to Ecstatic Religious Experience
Dr. Rebekah Miles

In this course, we will explore the recent rise of interest in and pursuit of ecstatic religious experiences, consider examples in Scripture and Christian history, examine key characteristics of ecstatic experiences, become familiar with common catalysts, and reflect on the role of these experiences in transforming human lives and communities.

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify examples of, catalysts for, and key characteristics common to many ecstatic religious experiences

• Reflect on the role of these experiences in transforming human lives and communities.

King’s Dream: The Economics of the Beloved Community
Dr. Michael Greene

This course focuses on Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for an economic bill of rights and its relationship to the theological underpinnings of his conception of the Beloved Community. We will critically explore and discuss how his conception of God and human dignity shapes his economic proposals to abolish poverty and involuntary joblessness. The course, in short, is an introduction to the economic thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Upon completion of the course:

• Participants will be able to identify and critically discuss the economic prerequisites of King’s conception of the Beloved Community

• Participants will have—and be able to articulate—an enriched understanding of the relationship between theology and economics

• Participants will be able to identify and access essential sources of data on joblessness and poverty

• Participants will be able to critically discuss and evaluate to what extent, if any, King’s particular conception of the Beloved Community might inform their ministry and work.

*Please click to access some readings that are useful in preparing for this course. You should make sure that you read the appendix to King’s Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.

Never Alone: Sharing the Gift of Community in a Lonely World
Dr. Michael Beck

Isolation is the great soul wound of our time. As Christians, we know the church has a unique gift to offer a hurting world: communal life in Jesus. This gift has the power to heal our loneliness and isolation. It is good news for the lonely, the isolated, the struggling. So why does it often sound like bad news to those who need it most?

Perhaps because we have misunderstood what the good news is—and how we ought to be sharing it. We have collapsed evangelism into offering a golden ticket to some postmortem destiny. But the goodness of the gospel we are called to share is about so much more: shalom, wholeness, and the peaceable kingdom of Christ breaking into the world. This is the gift of communal life in Jesus. A gift that re-ligaments us back together with God and one another. In this workshop we will unpack a practical process for cultivating new Christian communities (Fresh Expressions) in everyday life.

Learning objectives:

• Articulate the challenges and opportunities of post-Christendom.

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of Fresh Expressions of Church and the Biblical, theological, and historical principles undergirding the movement.

• Articulate a contextually appropriate trauma-informed evangelism strategy in local communities.

• Explore competencies in team building, “belonging before believing” evangelism, and facilitating “sermonic conversations” (dialogical, inquiry-based preaching).

• Explore the “loving first journey” as an incarnational church planting framework.