School of Discipleship

This class will explore the major themes, timeline, and genres of the books of the Old Testament. An emphasis will be placed on the cultural background of the Old Testament, which will lend us a more robust understanding and imagination when we read. Whether you have read it all more times than you can count, or never made it past Leviticus, this class will have something for you. 

"These men are turning the world upside down."  This was the complaint the city leaders of Thessalonica made when the good news of Jesus visited them.  We will observe the Jesus movement as it parted ways from its Jewish roots, and better understand the tensions that made up the movement's life in those early years. We will explore how the apostles gradually understood the radical difference the New Covenant in Jesus made regarding women, the inclusion of outsiders, caring for the disadvantaged, freedom from legalism, and other topics. In short, how it will be to build a new humanity through the agape love of Christ. 

This course will also be an overview of the history and practices of Christian Spiritual formation and is designed to expose us to the wisdom of both ancient and current apprentices of Jesus. When we draw on the wisdom of other practicing Christians, what can it look like when we go spiritually deeper in our own lives as we pursue the Way of Jesus? In our class time together, we want to examine the people we can become and encourage one another in heart, mind, soul, and strength to practice the Way of Jesus.