The Lay Academy of Theology offers non-credit evening classes and other study opportunities led by Beeson faculty for interested laity as well as ministers desiring continuing education.
Evening Courses
The Pentateuch
The Pentateuch or Torah is the foundation of the Old and New Testaments. Under the leadership of Dr. Mark Gignilliat, this course will take a bird’s eye view of the Torah, wrestling with each book’s larger themes and theological concerns. Particular attention will be given to the Torah’s role in the Old Testament and Christian reception of it in light of our two-testament canon. This is certain to be a powerful study.
Theological Seminary; Ph.D., University of St. Andrews, Scotland) teaches in
the areas of Hebrew and Old Testament.
Schedule
Six Monday nights - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., beginning on September 30, 2019.
Cost
$89.00 If registered prior to September 23 or $115.00 thereafter.
Reading Ephesians with Eugene Peterson
Join Dr. Mike Pasquarello for a six-week study of the Christian life in Paul’s magnificent Epistle to the Ephesians. The letter offers some of the most inspiring teaching in the New Testament on God, Christ, the Christian life and the life of the church. It was written for first-century Christians who lived in a region where faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord of heaven and earth was not popular, and even seen as odd and strange. This is because Ephesus was a place where there were competing and often conflicting options for people who were interested in religion, philosophy, spirituality and morality. Dr. Pasquarello will be using Eugene Peterson’s Practicing Resurrection: A Conversation in Growing Up in Christ as a guide for reading Ephesians. This epistle continues to be an important source of biblical truth for Christians who are called to grow up into the fullness of maturity in Christ as an essential mark of their witness in the world.
Divinity School; M.A., Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
is Beeson’s Methodist Chair of Divinity and Director of the Robert Smith
Jr. Preaching Institute and teaches in the areas of biblical preaching and
Wesleyan theology in the school’s Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry
degree programs.
Schedule
Six Tuesday nights - 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., beginning on October 1, 2019.
Cost
$89.00 If registered prior to September 25 or $115.00 thereafter.
Weekday Seminars
Romans: The Good News of God’s Saving Power
Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome is both an orderly summary of the gospel and a powerful description of what the gospel does in the life of everyone who believes it. In this letter, Paul clearly explains why the coming of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, is good news and how God is using those who trust the gospel to begin the renewal of all creation. In this course, Dr. Frank Thielman will be explaining the historical circumstances that prompted Paul to write Romans and why it remains, after 2,000 years, such a significant and transformative part of God’s word. Don’t miss this incredible study!
Cambridge; Ph.D., Duke University) teaches in multiple areas of the New
Testament, Greek exegesis, Pauline theology, interpreting Romans and
advanced Greek readings.
Schedule
Six Wednesday afternoons - 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., beginning on October 2, 2019.
Cost
$89.00 If registered prior to September 25 or $115.00 thereafter.
The Psalms: Jesus’ Prayer Book
Dr. Doug Webster leads this six week study that explores the significance of the Psalms for Christian worship and spiritual formation. We will study familiar and not so familiar Psalms, as we seek a deeper understanding of the flow of the Psalms, and the impact of their arrangement on the Christian life. Not only are the Psalms about Jesus but Jesus prayed the Psalms during his earthly ministry. The ocean is too powerful to tame and so are the Psalms. We will never tame the Psalms, but we want to learn how to better navigate the Psalms. To pray the Psalms is to launch out into the open sea of doxology, depravity, despair and devotion. Whether you have studied and prayed the Psalms for years or whether you have shied away from the Psalms, this study aims to encourage you in the tremendous resource we have in the Psalms. Come join us.
Schedule
Six Thursday afternoons - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., beginning on October 3, 2019.
Cost
$89.00 If registered prior to September 26 or $115.00 thereafter.
The Gospel of Mark
When Christians forget or become confused about their identity as Christians, the best corrective is Christ. But who is Christ? What has he accomplished for his people? And what did he teach? Each of these dimensions seem too basic; doesn’t everyone know Jesus Christ? If believers truly understood Christ and our faith, the church would be dramatically different from what it is today. As Dr. Sydney Park leads this study through the Gospel of Mark, we discover Jesus, who comes to purify his people, once and for all through his suffering, death and resurrection. The implications of this atonement are fundamentally life changing. In Mark, we also find that the disciples are all too human, afraid and flawed, giving modern disciples encouragement for renewal.
Seminary; Th.M., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; Ph.D., University of
Aberdeen) joined the Beeson Divinity School faculty in 2006, and teaches
biblical interpretation, New Testament theology, and Greek
Schedule
Six Friday afternoons - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., beginning on October 4, 2019.
Cost
$89.00 If registered prior to September 27th or $115.00 thereafter.
Puritanism
This class will cover the origins of Puritanism, its particular doctrinal and spiritual emphases and its early successes. It will then consider divisions within the Puritan movement, opposition to it and its eventual collapse at the end of the 17th century. Come join Dr. Gerald Bray as he offers another exciting study
focusing on this important era in church history.
Schedule
Six Wednesday afternoons - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., beginning on January 29, 2020.
Cost
$89.00 If registered prior to January 22 or $115.00 thereafter.
Registration Options
There are three ways to register:
- Register Online (with Visa or Master Card)
- Register by Mail (with check)
- Call (205) 726-2338 or (800) 888-8266 ext. 2338