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Luther Seminary: Home » Mid-Winter Convocation » Workshops

Mid-Winter Convocation

Engaging Scripture in a Community of Faith with Heart, Mind and Spirit

Jan. 13-15, 2010
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.

Workshops

Bibliodrama/Contemporary Midrash

Come on a Bible journey. This workshop introduces an ancient method of reading and understanding the Bible within a modern context called Bibliodrama or contemporary Midrash. Both a method and a strategy, this approach works well for personal or group Bible study, VBS or outreach programs, regardless of age or previous Bible knowledge. This workshop uses an experiential learning model to interactively explore the Bible, create a deeper, more personal understanding and bring the stories to life. Workshop attendees will learn how to select and develop texts and to understand method fundamentals and will receive materials and reference information to further their learning.

Presenter:
Dennice Gooley is an inspirational/motivational speaker and teacher frequently invited by public and private organizations to speak to regional and national groups. She holds degrees from Augsburg College and Luther Seminary. Her message is one of hope, possibility and promise. This is true whether the topic is inter-faith dialogue, multiple generations in the work place, the creation of wisdom legacies, success strategies or the Bible. On any subject, Gooley engages participants by meeting them where they are and leading them to a new understanding by challenging them to open up their "knowing."   

Open the Bible & Duck: Sharing Stories of Transformation

What happens when congregations choose to focus primary attention on becoming fluent in Scripture? What happens when a congregational understanding of the Bible moves beyond a simple quest for knowledge toward a deeper and more complete immersion in the written Word? The Holy Spirit inspires Scripture to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, cut to the heart of our being, and sow seeds of faith that lead to new and eternal life. Such power, unleashed, produces radical transformation in a way that is difficult to miss within the life and ministries of a congregation, as well as the individuals who are a part of that congregation. Come and share stories that speak of such transformation, and engage in an open-ended conversation regarding "best practices" that lead to biblical fluency within a community of faith.

Presenter:
Pastor Mike Housholder   

Exploring Four Methods of Engaging the Bible with Small Groups

Discover how to teach and learn in meaningful and engaging ways that can enrich lives of faith. In this workshop, participants will explore texts devotionally, historically and from a literary standpoint. Participants will ask deeper theological questions with an emphasis on questioning from a Lutheran perspective. The workshop will place particular emphasis on how participants might lead a group using these methods.

Presenter:
Diane Jacobson, Professor of Old Testament   

Making Sense of Scripture

Based on his new book, "Making Sense of Scripture - Big Questions about the Book of Faith." Lose will introduce themes, exercises and practical resources that invite all Christians to read the Bible with both heart and mind and answer major questions Christians have about their book of faith.

Presenter:
David Lose, Marbury Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching   

Teaching the Bible to the Biblically Illiterate and Uninterested

Don't kid yourself into thinking people know the difference between Noah and Jonah, what a Barabbas is or that the epistles aren't the wives of the apostles. Most younger people who grew up in the church won't even pass those tests anymore. Illiteracy is one thing, but disinterest is the real problem. For those who have given up on the church as a meaningful source for spiritual development (more than 50 percent of those under 45) rather than the Bible proving anything, we need to prove it is worth anything. Possible? Of course, but it's a whole new world for us leftovers of Christendom. Learn how to communicate the content and stir a thirst for God's Word in new generations of Christ followers.Discover the need to rethink the way you use and talk about the Bible, and how to use it in worship services.

Presenter:
Greg Meyer is lead pastor of the ELCA emergent congregation Jacob's Well, which has in two years grown to well over 200 attendees in its urban, "given up on church" neighborhood of Minneapolis. A former missionary in Papua New Guinea, a youth leader since age 14 and a pastor in various settings, Greg has learned the importance of the connection between our story and God's story. Jacob's Well is a living laboratory of how God's Word can connect with people who don't know that God's story is their story. Greg is a graduate of St. Olaf College and Yale Divinity School and speaks regionally and nationally about church transitions, health and launching. Read his blog at www.precariouspastor.net.   

Hearing Our Youth Into Scripture

This workshop will explore a way of reading Scripture with a large or small group of youth and adults that encourages personal and communal hearing of the text in a way that is creative, reflective, accessible and full of grace.

Presenter:
Jeremy Myers is assistant professor of religion at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, where he co-directs the youth and family ministry major. He has served as director of youth and family ministry at congregations in Minnesota and Indiana. He researches in the area of adolescent spirituality and constructive theology. He has written articles on youth ministry for publications such as The Lutheran, Dialog: A Journal of Theology, and the Journal of Youth and Theology. He recently served as the project director of the Getting Ready Materials for the 2009 ELCA National Youth Gathering.   

On Forging Biblical Imagination: Breaking Down Barriers That Keep People From Engaging Scripture

Most folks in the pews don't have a beef with the Bible, on the whole. Also they probably agree that it would be good if they were more conversant with Scripture. So what's preventing them from getting there? All sorts of barriers keep people distanced from the Bible or confused by it. In this workshop we will take aim at some of the barriers that Christian leaders can actually do something about - through their teaching, preaching, and other appeals to the Bible in congregational life. We will explore how far too many people get stuck because they are unfamiliar with where the Bible came from, what the Bible is supposed to do, as Christian scripture, and how the Bible might creatively and meaningfully connect to their lives and self-understanding. These particular barriers get repeatedly reinforced when pastors and others - even acting out of good intentions! - try to "protect" people from Scripture or dispense easy answers. What can we do to break them down and invite people into the challenging yet rewarding work of engaging Scripture in their communities of faith?

Presenter:
Matt Skinner, Associate Professor of New Testament   

Bridging the Word and the World in Preaching

As preachers, many of our hearers are trying to figure out how to live out their faith and hope in a world that is increasingly complex and uncertain. How do we make the Word come alive in our preaching so the hearers claim it and walk in it? How do we allow the Spirit to work within our preaching and not be afraid of it? Join Pastor Gloria Roach Thomas as she discusses how to bridge the Word of God and the world in which our parishioners live and work.

Presenter:
The Rev. Gloria Roach Thomas is ordained clergy in the United Methodist Minnesota Annual Conference. She is currently in her sixth year serving as senior pastor at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church, St. Paul, Minn. She also teaches in the mortuary science program at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. She served as associate pastor for five years at Brooklyn United Methodist Church in Brooklyn Center, Minn. and one year as seminary staff at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Minneapolis.

Thomas is an active member of the St. Paul Black Ministerial Alliance. She is a former Board of Trustee at Hamline University, St. Paul and a former board chairperson for The Family Place, Inc., a day center for homeless families. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton, Minn., and Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in education from Winthrop University, Rock Hill, S.C. A native of South Carolina, Thomas has resided in Minnesota for 33 years. She and her husband, Leroy, have two adult children.   

 

 

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