5 Topics : 5 Speakers : 5 Wednesdays
ENGAGE f TOPIC. ENGAGE f culture.
engage
Wednesday Evenings in August
Unless you have been living under a rock, one cannot help but notice the rapid social and political change that has taken place within American society over the last twenty years. It is safe to say that these changes have presented a particular set of challenges for the church. However, contrary to how we may feel, experiencing opposition is not anything new. This reality has been constant throughout the church’s history, and was actually promised by Jesus himself. The question is not, “Will the church experience conflict?,” but rather, “How will the church respond to the particular challenges of our particular place and time?”
Rather than respond with the natural approach of either fight or flight, Jesus points his followers to another way—a better way. God’s people have been called to be in the world, not of the world, for the sake of the world. In other words, we are to …
engage On Wednesday evenings during the month of August, we are going to begin a series entitled “Engage.” Each week we will identify a
AUGUST 3
Reverend Sandy willson Sandy Willson has been the Senior Minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, since 1995. During these years, the Church has continued to grow and to expand its mission to urban Memphis and the world.
Sandy is a co-founder of Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies; co-founder and chair of the Memphis Shalom Project; and a founder of Reformed Ministries Network. He serves on The Gospel Coalition board and on the Board of Reference for Union University and Reformed Theological Seminary. Internationally, Sandy ministers with partners in Africa, Asia, South America, and the Middle East, and speaks regularly in North American churches on the topic of world missions. He serves on the Board of Directors for World Relief. Sandy received a B.S. from the University of Virginia (1973), an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1982), and a D.D. from Crichton College in Memphis, Tennessee (2001). Sandy and his wife, Allison, were married in 1972 and are grateful for five children, three daughters-in-law, a son-in-law and eight grandchildren.
The Christian and Politics: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
The question of political engagement has always been difficult for followers of Jesus Christ because on the one hand, we are citizens of another world, but on the other hand, we are salt and light in this world. In our study together we will address how the Christian engages the arena of public policy, the confusing world of political compromise and making difficult choices among evil options.
particular challenge facing the church, and bring in a guest speaker with expertise in that area. Our hope is that rather than responding with fear to the challenges we face, we will instead see these challenges as opportunities for the church to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Join us each Wednesday evening starting August 1 as we Engage the Topic. Engage the Culture.
SU G G E S T E D R E A D I NG
Politics According to the Bible by Wayne Grudem Just Politics by Ron Sider God and Politics by Mark Dever
AUGU S T 1 0
Dr. Read Schuchardt
Dr. Schuchardt is Associate Professor of Communication at Wheaton College in Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s in English at Swarthmore College and his M.A. and Ph.D. under the late Neil Postman at New York University’s Media Ecology program. He is the co-author of Understanding Jacques Ellul, and the author of Presence In the Age of Absence, forthcoming from IVP. Dr. Schuchardt has taught and lectured internationally in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and lives with his wife, Rachel, and seven of their nine children in Wheaton. Read and Rachel were married at Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia.
Presence in the Age of Absence: Confronting the Seven Vices of the Virtual Life
Digital media technology has made life better, easier, faster and more efficient than ever before—but it has also come at a high social, cultural and spiritual price. In this critique of the form (as opposed to the content) of new media technologies, Dr. Schuchardt will address the top seven “vices,” or unintended consequences, of what it means for our families, churches and communities and why Christians should be especially careful in their use of media. S U G GEST ED REA DING
The Joy of Missing Out by Christina Crooks Appletopia by Brett Robinson Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps
AUGUST 17
Dr. Ligon duncan
Ligon Duncan is the Chancellor/CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary and the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. He is a 1983 graduate of Furman University (B.A. History), and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1995 (under the supervision of renowned Reformation and Patristics scholar, David F. Wright). He has preached in various churches and denominations across the country, including the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland congregations, as well as the Presbyterian Association of England churches (now called The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales). In 1990, Duncan was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and began to teach at RTS in Jackson, Mississippi, where he eventually became chairman of the department of systematic theology and the John R. Richardson Professor of Theology. He left his full-time position at RTS to become Senior Minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church (1837), also in Jackson, in 1996, and served until 2013, while continuing to teach at RTS as adjunct. He returned to the regular faculty of RTS in 2012 and became Chancellor/CEO of RTS in 2013. Ligon and his wife Anne have two teenagers and reside in Jackson.
The PCA, Race, Remembrance, Repentance, Reconciliation, and Rejoicing: A Personal Journey
The Lord has been doing remarkably encouraging things in the PCA to bring about greater ethnic diversity in our denomination and to help us face up to some of the disappointing parts of our past that hinder present Gospel unity and ministry. Ligon Duncan, a South Carolinian and an eighth-generation Southern Presbyterian, will tell the story of his growth into a more biblical and Reformed view of the church and racism, and how grappling with this issue helps us to enjoy greater Gospel communion, and to spread the Reformed faith into new quadrants. SU G G E S T E D R E A D I NG
http://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Overture-55-MSValley-Conf-Commitm-to-Unity.pdf (Especially the ref21 articles by Sean Lucas and Otis Pickett)
AUG U S T 2 4
Dr. carl ellis
In 1969, Carl Ellis began his ministry as a Senior Campus Minister with Tom Skinner Associates in New York. From 1979–1989, Carl served as the Assistant Pastor of Forest Park Community Church in Baltimore, Maryland, served on faculty at Chesapeake Theological Seminary and as a seminar instructor for Prison Fellowship. From 1986–2009, Carl served as an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Urban Theological Studies (CUTS) and Dean of Intercultural Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Today he serves as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas and as adjunct faculty at WTS, CUTS, Reformed Theological Seminary and Biblical Seminary. Carl’s work in Alabama and Tennessee included serving as Interim Pastor at New City Fellowship; Pastor for Friendship Community Church; Director of Student Development for Oxford Graduate School; and Coordinator of Leadership Development for The Center for Urban Missions. Since 1994, Dr. Ellis has been the President of Project Joseph, a ministry that seeks to equip the church for today’s challenges. Dr. Ellis received his B.A. (Economics) from Hampton University, his M.A.R. (Theology) at Westminster Theological Seminary and his D.Phil (The Sociological Integration of Religion and Society) from Oxford Graduate School. Married to the former Karen Angela Bishop, Carl has the privilege and pleasure of teaming up with Karen in national and international ministry.
engaging islam
A look at the world of Islam, its beginning, its growth and the doctrines of its major divisions. The current movements and stresses in the global Muslim community are examined along with the challenge they pose to the church. It also surveys 1) the development and demographic profile of various American Islamic communities in the U.S.; 2) their international connections; and 3) suggested ways the church can meet today’s Islamic challenge. S U G GEST ED REA DING
A Pocket Guide to Islam by Patrick Sookhdeo The Changing Face of Islam in America by Larry Poston & Carl F. Ellis, Jr.
AUGUST 31
Reverend Scott Sauls
Scott Sauls serves as Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to Nashville, Scott was a lead and preaching pastor at New York City’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church, planted churches in Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Louis, Missouri, and taught homiletics (preaching) at Covenant Theological Seminary. Formative experiences have included being an athlete, living in a global city and suffering through a season of anxiety and depression. A self-described “accidental author,” Scott has released two books: Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides and BeFriend: Create Belonging in an Age of Judgment, Isolation and Fear. Influential voices in Scott’s life include Tim Keller, C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, Soong Chan-Rah, Johnny Cash, Joni Eareckson Tada, Paul Tripp, Ann Voskamp, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Sayers and NT Wright. Scott enjoys relaxing with people or a book, strumming his Gibson guitar, hiking, enjoying live music, or cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals and the North Carolina Tar Heels. Scott and wife Patty have two children.
Following Jesus Outside the Lines
Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today’s media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. He will share his thoughts about how Jesus offers us a way forward—away from harshness, caricatures and stereotypes. He addresses this topic in his latest book, Jesus Outside the Lines. SU G G E S T E D R E A D I NG
Jesus Outside the Lines: Redeeming Our Differences by Scott Sauls
5 Topics : 5 Speakers : 5 Wednesdays
engage
ENGAGE f TOPIC. ENGAGE f culture.
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