Cultivating Ideas Faculty Webinar Series

Are you entering a new call? Engaging in interim ministry? Learn a new technique to help you learn more about the community you are joining. Silent brainstorming is focus group technique to discover the complexities of a topic. The technique taps into human imagination and allows all participants to contribute ideas based on their experiences. This webinar describes this process by exploring the example of a newly called interim minister who wants to understand what members value about Sunday worship. 

This workshop will explore Martin Seligman’s PERMA model (positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement) as a framework for ministry. Cultivating emotions that can broaden and build, such as joy, wonder, and gratitude, can alleviate burnout and lead to flourishing in multiple domains. Key concepts, such as the three things exercise, a gratitude letter, Losada ratios, and active and constructive responding will be taught, practiced, and explored with participants.

It is a discussion of a few of the major concepts in contemporary religious thought on ecological ethics. I will be using the film Avatar II as a touchpoint for the conversation. Participants are invited to watch Avatar II beforehand and answer the following questions for discussion: 

• What is the message of this movie? Do you agree/disagree?  
• What did you like least or most about the film, and why? 
• What moments, characters or ideas represented respect for the ecology, and how? 

Taking a cue from "The Lazy Genius," Kendra Adachi, we are going to focus on naming what matters most in our ministry context when it comes to faith formation so that we can create ministries that support the needs of our particular congregation and form faithful disciples. 

Controversies over gender identity are routinely in the headlines these days. But these controversies are hardly new to Christian faith. This webinar explores how some early Christian perspectives on gender disrupted dominant cultural assumptions about men and women, how the contemporary movement of queer theology continues the trajectory of gender troubling, and how today’s Christian churches might add their constructive voices to these often contentious debates. 

 In Acts 8, we read about an Ethiopian eunuch, an unnamed pilgrim to Jerusalem who appears in Luke’s story of the church, and then disappears after an encounter with Philip. Who was the Ethiopian eunuch, and how does his role fit into the story of faith? This Bible story takes us through the story of the eunuch as a story of exile, slavery, homecoming, and the witness of the early church. 

Parables are a prominent part of Jesus of Nazareth’s teaching in the New Testament. The Synoptic Gospels feature some of the most famous parables, such as the Prodigal Son and The Good Samaritan. The disciples ask Jesus a question that is also relevant for today, why did he speak to the crowds in parables (Matthew 3:10)? This session discusses the meaning, purpose, and content of parables, with an emphasis on what they taught about the Kingdom of God. Some issues that will be addressed include the nature of parables, expectations of the kingdom in the first-century CE, and the relevance of parables for the modern Church. Approaches for analyzing and interpreting parables will be considered along with resources for critical study. How Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God can benefit sermon and teaching preparation will also be explored.

In numerous books and essays Professor Greenway, inspired above all by the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, has argued for a post-secular affirmation of moral realism grounded in the passion of agape. This presentation, taken from his newest book, In the Light of Agape: Moral Realism and its Consequences, interprets Lent in the light of agape, unveiling the singular reality which is the passion of Torah, the passion of Jesus, and the passion of Lent, and detailing concrete consequences of this recognition for interfaith affirmation and non-exclusive Christian celebration of Lent. 

We explore ways that music goes with us in Lent. How do songs help us listen in this season and carry wisdom with us?

In the fall of 2023 I am making in-person, pastoral visits with several of our former students who “graduated” during COVID early days, as well as some who started seminary while we were only online. Certainly their experience of seminary was different than they imagined. How has that affected, or not, their experience in ministry? I hope to learn more through my visits and conversations, with them and with you.

Despite our commitment to youth and children’s ministry, research shows that many church programs (such as Sunday School, VBS, and youth group) don't effectively form the faith and lives of young people. This webinar explores impactful strategies backed by research, like fostering religious conversations at home and involving families in religious activities. Discover how congregations can refocus their efforts to contribute to the lasting formation of young people. 

Euro-American expressions of Christianity have caused a great deal of harm towards indigenous peoples, including genocide and erasure. This webinar will explore and reflect on the harm done to indigenous communities that continues to affect them. We will also explore indigenous perceptions of the Christians they encountered and who attempted to convert and evangelize them. The webinar will conclude with reflections on what Christians can do today to repent and repair these harms. 

Current events are urging churches and religious leaders to respond intentionally and thoughtfully to trauma and traumatic events. What is trauma? How does trauma affect congregations? What is trauma-informed faith formation? What practices can help congregations respond to communities affected by trauma? This course will engage students in conversations about the importance of being trauma-informed religious leaders and help congregations enact hope-filled practices for healing and transformation.

We will talk about the way the sacred is weaponsised by elite powers to shape social reality, the way it grants permanence to the negating of the inherent sacred worth of the black and brown bodies of those approaching or crossing the border, while sacralizing the Anglo-American project of colonisation, violence, and manifest destiny. We will also talk about how – counter intuitively – appealing to the sacredness of the other can provide a way toward a healing strategy, and how this book seeks to “attend in a healing way to the recurring, open wounds of postcoloniality at the US-Mexico border” – wounds that are, for the author, personal.