I will ask your forgiveness for a less than normal post. But, I like to look back on what has become an annual tradition in our local church. Three years ago I wanted to try something different for Wednesday evening adult discipleship. I decided to bring in guests to discuss various topics and how they intersect with matters of faith. As a pastor of discipleship I believe it is crucial for people to be exposed to ideas and be given tools to aid in becoming more like Jesus. As such, we engage in a variety of conversations. Most of these are available on the podcast of this Substack in case you would like to go back and hear them. The first year, we had about four guests, last year we had more and added virtual guests. This year, we filled the summer and I wanted to give a summary of the series. We are also planning a “Bonus Track” in October.
Across ten Wednesday evenings and a final trivia night, we encountered ideas and people who engaged our imagination, our faith, and challenged us to learn. I’ll start with our guests and end with my shameless borrowing of “Finding God in the Music” from Brian Zahnd. Our theme this year was speaker’s choice and our guests brought their passions and experiences beautifully.
We kicked off the summer with an amazing discussion with Rev. Dr. Shawna Gaines, Lead Pastor of Trevecca Community Church. We were introduced to the concepts of Dr. Gaines' upcoming book on the pastor as midwife. The image of helping to birth New Creation is both beautiful and inspiring. It is also challenging to remember that all creation groans as we move closer to redeemed new creation.
Our next guest was Rev. Dr. Steve Hoskins, Professor of Religion at Trevecca Nazarene University and Founder of the Nazarene Historical Society. Dr. Hoskins shared an historical look at what it means to be a Nazarene through story, pictures, and questions. We had an amazing Journey to the End of the World as Dr. Hoskins reminded us that Christianity is a religion which can remember our future. Throughout the entertaining journey we were challenged to remember who we were so we can continue to live out holiness and concern for the lost.
Our good friend Nick Polk returned for a third year as we discussed Tolkien and the Perfection of Art. Nick’s knowledge and understanding of Tolkien’s legacy is amazing. We learned about Tolkien’s understanding of art and the possibility that it might be perfected with all things in the next age. We discussed the ways that Tolkien’s vision of art could help us be creative and how our own understanding of perfection of purpose becomes clearer.
We then had another virtual visit from my friend Dr. J. Aaron Simmons, Professor of Philosophy at Furman University. We discussed God and Wynton Marsalis by looking at how our finitude in this age leads us to improvise creatively. We were challenged to engage the world with kindness and to look for ways to interact even in disagreement. As always it was a fun, engaging, and compelling discussion.
Rev. Caleb Haynes was our next guest. This was Caleb’s second year, but the concerns we as Christians should have for the care of creation are always relevant. This was another challenging and hopeful discussion of what we can do and how we can make better decisions in light of our human vocation of creation care. Those present challenged us as well with questions and examples of how we can be better at tending the garden of creation.
I twisted our new Lead Pastor’s arm into being a guest. Rev. Dr. Hunter Cummings shared about Practicing Mercy with John Wesley and Medieval Murals. This discussion of the Works of Mercy challenged us to see ways in which we can engage in the works as we have received through the grand tradition of Christianity and the ancient English Church. Imagining images of the works on our walls and in our minds challenges us to live them out. Being able to see the ongoing restoration of murals that were whitewashed over also reminds us how easily we can become distracted by cultural claims on our faith.
Our final guest was the only guest so far who new me before I became a Wesleyan-Holiness dude. Dr. Stan Wilson teaches at Lipscomb and Amridge Universities. Additionally, Dr. Wilson serves as the Minister of Christian Formation, with a focus on Adult Education, at Hendersonville Church of Christ. Dr. Wilson (that still feels weird) discussed the experiences he and his wife Cheryl have had as extras on the Chosen TV series. We learned of the ways that faith intertwines with the filming and how lives are impacted and transformed. We discussed ways that our faith is shaped in all that we do and how we can engage culture in light of that reality.
One of my favorite study tools is “Finding God in the Music” which I learned from Brain Zahnd, Pastor of World of Life Church in St. Charles, MO. In these series or one offs, we look at mostly popular music and find ways to see God in the songs. Some are obviously more challenging than others, but this is a fun way to teach hermeneutics (interpretive lenses) and prevenient grace. It is very easy to allow people to engage with ideas outside of scripture as a way to give the tools to engage scripture.
This summer we sprinkled three songs into the series and each had a unique story and nugget about faith within them.
We first listened to Save Me by Jelly Roll. We looked at how we often need salvation from ourselves because of our decisions. This was a deeply meaningful discussion.
We then listened to Eminem’s Temporary. I found a non explicit version, but I can’t help wondering how we need to trust mature adults to engage art as it is. Anyway, we dealt with the hard discussion of addiction, self-destruction, and pain that we as human beings can encounter. This “what if” song reminds us that this current life is rather temporary and that our decisions matter.
Our final song was Ozzy Osbourne’s Mama, I’m Comin' Home. We saw how we can see the picture of a homecoming after being in the wilderness. We discussed how our decisions often make our relationships strained, but we still yearn for those relationships. That yearning can cause us to change.
I am truly thankful for all of our guests. They come and share without any promise of a fee. Some sell a few books, some join us for dinner, but all of the guests invite us into a beautiful conversation. Discipleship can be as simple as inviting people into conversations that engage us, challenge us, and even entertain us. Ultimately, our conversations help form who we are becoming and the variety of people and topics should spark at least a few to think more deeply about their faith.
If you are in the greater Nashville, TN area and would like to experience our “Bonus Track” from this series. We have a guest coming on October 8th. Watch this space for more information.
If you are in ministry and would like to discuss ways to have similar experiences for your local context, feel free to reach out. I’ll be glad to share.