Date

Lecturer

Topic

Biblical Passages

2/18

Todd Mangum

Associate Professor of Theology

Missional Character of God

Is “missional” just the latest buzzword? Or, is there something deeper and more significant going on? At Biblical, we revised our entire curriculum in light of our coming to a fresh understanding of the missional character of God.  Find out why in this opening class. What difference does it make that God is “missional”? In our view of God? In the way we frame our entire approach to ministry?

Acts 2, 8

2/25

John Franke

The Lester and Kay Clemens Professor of Missional Theology

Missional God: The God of Mission and the Mission of God

What was God doing before creation? This lecture will explore this intriguing question and suggest an answer that makes all the difference in the world for the life and witness of the church.

John 17:20-26

1 John 4:7-21

3/4

Dave Lamb

Assistant Professor of Old Testament

A Missional Reading of the Story of the Slaughter of the Amalekites and the Deliverance of the Kenites

It’s startling, but the only place the word “mission” specifically appears in the Old Testament is when “the Lord sent Saul on a mission” . . .  to kill all the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:18, 20).  How can we understand this story missionally?  If we are able to read this problematic narrative missionally, it should be easier to work through all the other OT texts that speak of God’s concern for the nations (e.g., Gen. 1:26-28; 12:1-3; Isa. 2:2-4; 66:18-20).  While it will be difficult to answer all of our questions about the Amalekites in less than two hours, we can certainly gain some insight into God’s purposes for the nations as we contemplate together not only the Amalekites, but also other Canaanite peoples, many of whom God showed great mercy toward -- such as the Kenites, the Gibeonites and the family of Rahab.  These narratives all contribute their own profound lessons about God’s value for repentance, obedience and, ironically, hospitality and the welcoming of foreigners.

1 Sam. 15:18, 20

Gen. 1:26-28; 12:1-3

Isa. 2:2-4; 66:18-20

3/11

Derek Cooper

Visiting Professor of Church History and New Testament

Jesus, Jews, and Gentiles: Christ's Mission in the Gospel of Mark

This lecture explores Jesus' mission on earth by focusing on three related passages in Mark's Gospel. It begins with Jesus' private revelation of his mission from God, then explains how the Jewish nation found itself embedded within God's narrative, before closing with the Gentiles' self-awareness that they also were included within God's original purposes.

Mark 1:9-11, 9:2-8, and 15:33-39.

3/18

Steve Taylor

Associate Professor of New Testament

Filling up What is Lacking in the Sufferings of the Messiah: Paul on “Being Swallowed Up in the Mission of Jesus”

Paul came to regard the cross of Jesus Christ as the signature expression of God’s missional heart. But for Paul this was not merely a truth to be contemplated at arm’s length; it was a reality that changed his core understanding of himself, of his calling, and of God’s purposes for the world. Be prepared to be challenged as we try to plummet the depths of Paul’s astounding claim in Colossians 1:24 by bringing that passage into conversation with such biblical texts as Isaiah  52:12-15,  Acts 9:15-16, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Galatians 1:15-16, and Philippians 3:7-11.

Primarily Colossians 1:24, but also Isaiah  52:12-15,  Acts 9:15-16, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Galatians 1:15-16, and Philippians 3:7-11

3/25

Dave Dunbar

President and Professor of Theology

Missional Church

The moving of the Spirit of God among the Gentiles confronts the early church with unforeseen sociological and theological problems.  We will seek to understand the challenges faced by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem and think about how God’s mission in our day might lead us to similar challenges.

Acts 15