Registration is now open for 2014-2015 Lay School classes. The Lay School of Theology is a program of informal, non-credit classes taught by seminary professors for people who want to learn more about matters relating to their Christian faith and life.
Spring classes start March 30. Register today! Go to: www.luthersem.edu/layschool.
Come and See: Discipleship According to the Gospel of John
Discipleship is no easy task these days and one’s identity as a Christian is constantly challenged. Perhaps the hardest part about following Jesus is to imagine that our witness in the world can make the same kind of difference as the disciples long ago. This class will imagine what we might learn from the disciples in the Gospel of John that could empower, sustain and nurture us 21st century Christians. We will encounter the inspiring witness of those Jesus meets in the fourth Gospel so as to invite a renewed sense of call in our present time. Webcast available.
Instructor: Karoline Lewis, Associate Professor of Biblical Preaching and The Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Homiletics
Following Jesus in an Ecological Age
How shall we follow Jesus today, in the midst of our growing ecological crisis? What should churches and individual disciples work toward, and why bother? We bring Scripture study, Christian theology and ethics to bear on specific problems and concrete examples, as well as the reverse (allowing current issues to open up the Bible, theology and ethics). Open discussion is encouraged, so bring your Bibles, your questions and your experience.
Instructors: Kathryn Schifferdecker, Associate Professor of Old Testament
Alan Padgett, Professor of Systematic Theology
The Parables: Illustrations of Jesus’ Good but Strange News
When I was a child, a well-meaning person explained to me that Jesus used parables when he taught because he wanted to communicate deep, spiritual truths in plain and easy-to-understand ways. That person, I now know, was completely wrong. Parables usually raise as many questions as they answer. Yes, the parables speak of easy-to-imagine ideas and situations. But they also draw us into the complexities and mysteries of Jesus’ teaching about “the kingdom of God.” You’ll come away from the course with a deeper understanding of the parables’ power to shape how we think about Christian faith, as well as an appreciation for the ways the parables make interpreting the Bible both challenging and fun.
Instructor: Matthew Skinner, Associate Professor of New Testament
For more information about classes, location, schedule and cost, visit us online at www.luthersem.edu/layschool.