Harding School of Theology

Deeper Faith, Higher Standards

Why Study the Old Testament at HST?

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Dr. Jim Martin, Vice-President of Harding University and HST, sat down with Dr. Lance Hawley, Professor of Old Testament at HST, to discuss the value of studying the Old Testament at HST. Dr. Hawley shares his insight on studying the Old Testament for personal spiritual growth and for congregational ministry.

Key Thoughts:

  • If we want our churches to know the Bible, we need to be close readers of Scripture.
  • We need to know the story of God to know our place in it.
  • Study at HST is participating in a community of study. This is especially important for our online students who may feel alone in their ministry or church context.
  • Dr. Hawley shares a message from Isaiah 44:1-5.
  • Many themes from the Old Testament are assumed and foundational for the story of Christ.
  • When we read the Old Testament we learn the language of our faith.
  • We’re formed into the likeness of Christ in reading the Old and New Testaments.

Lance Hawley (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 2016) is Professor of Old Testament and biblical Hebrew. His research focuses on the book of Job and Hebrew poetry.

Before joining the HST faculty, Lance served as a church planter in Madison, WI for ten years. He has a passion for the spiritual formation of missional communities.

Dr. Jim Martin preached for 35 years, including 23 at one congregation in Waco, TX. He continues to preach in various churches in the Memphis area. He also serves as a mentor for many young preachers. He has served as VP of Harding University responsible for the HST campus since 2014.

Harding School of Theology (HST), a seminary in Memphis, TN, has been equipping ministers since 1958. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and offering degree programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, HST equips Christian leaders to higher standards of ministry and scholarship and challenges them to a deeper faith in God. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST emphasizes student engagement in ministry as they study. HST is associated with Churches of Christ, is part of the Stone-Campbell Movement, and is part of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Ministry Resource: Review of Pursuing God’s Will Together by Dr. Steve Cloer

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Dr. Steve Cloer shares a ministry resource that he will be requiring in a doctoral seminar this fall. The book is Pursuing God’s Will Together* by Ruth Haley Barton, and Dr. Cloer highlights three key prayers from the book that can help any Christian in faithful decision-making.

  1. A Prayer of Trust: Lord, we don’t know what to do and we trust that you will provide in this decision.
  2. A Prayer of Indifference: Lord, it’s not about our will or our desire, but we only want to do your will.
  3. The Prayer of Wisdom: Lord, give us your heavenly wisdom to guide us in this difficult decision.

*(Amazon affiliate link – As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases made using our Amazon affiliate code.)

Dr. Steve Cloer serves as Assistant Professor of Ministry and Director of the Doctor of Ministry program at HST. Before coming to HST, Dr. Cloer preached for fifteen years at the Southside Church of Christ in Fort Worth, TX.

Harding School of Theology (HST), a seminary in Memphis, TN, has been equipping ministers since 1958. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and offering degree programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, HST equips Christian leaders to higher standards of ministry scholarship and challenges them to a deeper faith in God. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST emphasizes student engagement in ministry as they study. HST is associated with Churches of Christ, is part of the Stone-Campbell Movement, and is part of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

When Good People Disagree – Bob Turner

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Have you noticed that we sometimes argue most strongly about things that are not central to who we are? Bob Turner looks at Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind* and Krister Stendahl’s Three Rules for Religious Understanding to give us a better framework for talking with people with whom we disagree. *(Amazon affiliate link – As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases made using our Amazon affiliate code.)

Here are the six basic values in Haidt’s work.

  • Care vs. Harm
  • Liberty vs. Oppression
  • Fairness vs. Cheating
  • Loyalty vs. Betrayal
  • Authority vs. Subversion
  • Sanctity vs. Degradation

Here are Stendahl’s Three Rules for Religious Understanding

  1. When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
  2. Don’t compare your best to their worst.
  3. Leave room for “holy envy.”

This is a remake of a 2017 video updated for today’s environment. You’ll find the original here.

Bob Turner, HST Library Director, preaches twice each month at the Church of Christ at White Station in Memphis. He has been with HST since 2009. He publishes a newsletter of curated resources for ministers called Footnotes. Subscribe here.

Harding School of Theology (HST), a seminary in Memphis, TN, has been equipping ministers since 1958. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and offering degree programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, HST equips Christian leaders to higher standards of ministry scholarship and challenges them to a deeper faith in God. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST emphasizes student engagement in ministry as they study. HST is associated with Churches of Christ, is part of the Stone-Campbell Movement, and is part of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

Gupton and Turner – ReOpening Resources for Churches During COVID-19

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Dr. Carlus Gupton has provided a curated list of resources relating to reopening the church. This is the blog post he references in the video and you’ll find links to many resources on the blog post.

In this video, he and Bob Turner discuss twelve pointers for effective reopening.

  1. Don’t be in a rush to get back to the way things were, especially since some of it wasn’t working to begin with. Until the church can have a meaningful gathering of community, realize that content and engagement are just as good if not better and barriers of entry are easier to navigate in digital space than in physical space.
  2. Remember the main goal is reentry into meaningful community in a way that is safe. Your people have been worshipping digitally while away, and what they will most value in reentry is fellowship and activities they cannot do digitally (e.g. singing with the gathered church).
  3. Understand how your members are punctuating the need for reopen. This Braddy article gives a free survey you can use and adapt for these purposes.
  4. ReOpen in phases, perhaps customize phases for different groups, with the main issue the lessening of social distancing protocol as you move through the phases. Think of the opening process not as going from large group to small group, but small group to large group.
  5. Be flexible as to how long you are in each phase. Present dates as smart guesses. Some phases may be lengthened until it is clearly safe locally and regionally to enter the next.
  6. Be “Phygital,” realizing it is no longer either/or relative to digital or physical, but both/and. Carry into the future the opportunities the digital world has revealed. Online church should not fade during or after the reopening phases. It is here to stay.
  7. Be sensitive to the different emotional and spiritual responses people will make to the reopening – some excited, some anxious, some fearful.
  8. Be truly incarnational in your plan, looking to everyone’s interests. Think of this especially if you have multiple services with different constituencies and styles. Also, do not be opportunistic and “slip in” changes that you may have wanted before. Your people are already in transition deficit, absorbing way more than their normal threshold of change.
  9. Set some guidelines for interaction and participation, and clearly communicate them audibly, on paper, in signs, and on screen.
  10. Overdo disinfectant and protective measures and make it obvious. Imagine everyone is Adrian Monk.
  11. Be creative with space usage – buildings, homes, outdoors, pavilions, etc. – not assuming everyone has to be in the same space, especially as the phases unfold
  12. Carefully focus your gatherings to give meaning to the shared experience of the crisis and the reconvening of community – emphasize communion, celebration, the voice of the people united in choral scripture readings, testimonies and stories of pain and promise.

Dr. Carlus Gupton is a Professor of Ministry at HST and co-directs our Doctor of Ministry program. He began preaching at an early age, and has over 30 years of professional experience in ministry for congregations small and large. For the past twenty years, Carlus has maintained an active schedule of consulting, coaching, and intentional interim ministry, having worked with over 100 churches and organizations. He has been with HST since 2014 (adjunct 1997-2013).

Bob Turner preaches twice each month at the Church of Christ at White Station in Memphis. He has been with HST since 2009. He publishes a newsletter of curated resources for ministers called Footnotes. Subscribe here.

Harding School of Theology (HST), a seminary in Memphis, TN, has been equipping ministers since 1958. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and offering degree programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, HST equips Christian leaders to higher standards of ministry scholarship and challenges them to a deeper faith in God. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST emphasizes student engagement in ministry as they study. HST is associated with Churches of Christ, is part of the Stone-Campbell Movement, and is part of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

ReOpening Resources for Churches During COVID-19

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Dr. Carlus Gupton

There are no clear playbooks for churches during this crisis. We are all “building the plane as we fly it.” At this stage there are questions about reopening, and there is a plethora of resources. It may help to have a vetted list. Here are my top suggestions:

Practical, Procedural Perspectives – Ken Braddy’s blogs have been republished considerably without credit, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel when he has already compiled some of the best thinking. Ken is Sunday School Director for LifeWay Resources, which equips 3 million people among thousands of churches. The lead page to his resources may be found here. Here is a highlight of a few:

Best Practices Regarding Virology and Medical Concerns – Centers for Disease Control Guidelines for Faith Communities, is of course the place to start in being medically smart when reopening public spaces. Here is the collection of articles on official guidelines for sanitation, safety, and gatherings for churches.

Missionally Oriented Guide to ReOpening – Stadia Church Planting Plan for ReOpening and Starting Churches During COVID-19, while written for new or young churches, is applicable for all churches. It is a superb guide to phased reopening, unsurpassed in its integration of missional, spiritual, digital, and physical considerations.

General Best Practices for Churches

  • Coronavirus and the Church – This page is hosted by the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, and overseen by Rick Warren and Ed Stetzer. It continues to be one of the most comprehensive collection of articles and vidcasts on this subject.
  • Vanderbloemen’s ReOpening Church: Leading After COVID-19 – a great source for insights and toolkits –

Real-Life Example of Missional Response – Trader’s Point Christian Church is a multisite congregation with several locations in Greater Indianapolis. Follow this link provided to their page for COVID-19 updates. A good browse through their entire site demonstrates several missionally creative and pastorally sensitive ways this church is responding to the crisis.

Distillations of Insights for Churches of Christ – Interim Ministry Partners (a division of Hope Network) has produced COVID-19: The Path Forward, a thoughtful collection of articles that applies some of the widely distributed insights more specifically to Churches of Christ.

Dr. Carlus Gupton is a Professor of Ministry at HST and co-directs our Doctor of Ministry program. He began preaching at an early age, and has over 30 years of professional experience in ministry for congregations small and large. For the past twenty years, Carlus has maintained an active schedule of consulting, coaching, and intentional interim ministry, having worked with over 100 churches and organizations. He has been with HST since 2014 (adjunct 1997-2013).

Harding School of Theology (HST), a seminary in Memphis, TN, has been equipping ministers since 1958. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and offering degree programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, HST equips Christian leaders to higher standards of ministry scholarship and challenges them to a deeper faith in God. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST emphasizes student engagement in ministry as they study. HST is associated with Churches of Christ, is part of the Stone-Campbell Movement, and is part of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

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Harding School of Theology
1000 Cherry Road
Memphis, Tennessee 38117

office 901-432-7750
text 901-300-3995