Brian McLaren on the Via Media

Alums Who Blog 

Last Friday, we took leave of the Evanston campus, blessed the Chicago campus, and hosted The Great Awakening. Alums John Downey '80 and Tripp Hudgins '04 blogged about the weekend.

You can also catch up on The Great Awakening, 140 characters at a time, on our Twitter stream (viewable with or without a Twitter account).

You Had Me At Hello 

Understanding the Atheist Critique

Of all the religious and cultural minorities in the United States, poll after poll shows that atheists are met with the most distrust and the least comprehension. Faith traditions with a history of non-cooperation find common cause in looking down on those who claim not to believe in anything supernatural. What is it about atheism that makes people of faith so uncomfortable? What is it that atheists see in us that we have not seen in ourselves?

Believers and nonbelievers alike are invited to join Professor John Dally in "The Atheist Critique of the Church," which will consider why Christianity has been rejected by thinkers as diverse as the Emperor Julian, Mark Twain and Christopher Hitchens. In a time when secularism is thought to be the fastest growing "religious" demographic in the United States, this course also will explore the growing public face of atheism and its implications for the church.

The Atheist Critique of the Church is an academic course with some open Friday evening and Saturday morning sessions. Register for the course by February 17 for academic credit and by February 22 to audit or get CEUs.

Read more and register.

Anglican Theology and Ethics        

Online and in Chicago this spring 

With some 85 million members in more than 160 countries, the Anglican Communion covers a lot of ground. Join the Rev. Dr. Ralph McMichael in this exploration of its variety of theologies and ethics. By examining Anglican theologians from the 16th century through today, this intensive, hybrid course will discern how classic theologians continue to influence contemporary Anglican thought and its emphasis on authority, the use of Scripture, the conscience, and the Incarnation.

 Read more and register.

Sharon Daloz Parks in March

Cleveland on March 14; Chicago on March 16 and 17
 

Today's church and world require leaders who can facilitate adaptive change and inspire people to cultivate new consciousness, conscience and competence.

 

This workshop, led by prominent leadership author and consultant Sharon Daloz Parks, will draw on the insights of adaptive leadership guru Ronald Heifetz and others to consider how we form the inner lives of leaders, what it means to practice authority, and how we cultivate the arts of leadership on the edge.

 

Whether you are an emerging or established leader, lay or ordained, working in the institutional church or beyond--this workshop will inspire you to reassess and re-imagine the good that can come from your leadership and the change you want to create.

This event is sponsored by the Bexley Hall and Seabury Partnership for Lifelong Learning. Learn more and register for the Cleveland event and the Chicago event.