The Henry Center Archive

Lecture Title - Power and Humility in Theological Education

Christians in the first century were largely marginalized in their world, yet possessed power to develop communities of love and justice that transformed lives. Humility was a chief identity marker for early Jesus-followers. Christian Scripture presents paradoxes related to power and humility: (1) God’s power is often most evident in those society views as insignificant; and (2) Humility dismantles exploitative and dehumanizing practices. Following Jesus includes using power and privilege rightly, especially for those in leadership roles such as teaching, administration, and pastoral service. By taking a deep look at power and humility in the Bible, we can develop perspectives and practices that reject injustice—we will instead find new ways to invigorate our commitment to human flourishing.

Dennis Edwards (PhD Catholic University of America) is Vice President for Church Relations and Dean of the Seminary at North Park University. He is the author of multiple books, including a commentary on 1 Peter in the Story of God Bible Commentary Series (Zondervan Academic, 2017), What Is the Bible and How Do We Understand It? (Herald, 2019), and Humility Illuminated: The Biblical Path Back to Christian Character (IVP Academic, 2023).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

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Lecture Title - ‘O Taste and See’: Poetry as Theological Invitation

In Leisure the Basis of Culture, Josef Pieper explains that stillness and quietness of soul are necessary to see the real—especially that all things have been created through Christ and for him. But bounded by a culture of “total work,” we live lives of quiet desperation, exhausted and unable to slow down and attend to the arts. This lecture will explain why contemplating poetry must be central to theological education. Poetry uniquely slows us down to attend to the real, teaches us how to see the transcendent in the ordinary, and opens us up to new possibilities for engagement with the world.

Christina Bieber Lake (PhD Emory University) is Professor of English at Wheaton College. She was also a 2021–22 Creation Project Henry Resident Fellow. Her publications include Prophets of the Posthuman: American Fiction, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood (University of Notre Dame Press, 2014), and Beyond the Story: American Literary Fiction and the Limits of Materialism (University of Notre Dame Press, 2019).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - Ancient Vision and Fresh Courage: Reawakening Our Pastoral Imagination

Suffering from an epidemic of scandal, the scourge of celebrity, and the general malaise (if not antipathy) toward the church, it’s a difficult time to be a genuine pastor. Truthfully, though, it’s always been a difficult time to, as St. John of the Cross said, put “love where love is not.” The good news is the Spirit always stirs amid the ruins. When we open our eyes to see and open our ears to hear, the Spirit restores our hope and renews our imagination.

Winn Collier (PhD University of Virginia) is Director of the Eugene Peterson Center and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary. His teaching centers in pastoral theology, connecting the ancient streams of Christian wisdom to the grit and wonders of the parish, where our stories and hopes and sorrows are enveloped in God’s mercy. He is author of multiple books, including Holy Curiosity: Encountering Jesus’ Provocative Questions (Baker, 2008), Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small Town Church (Eerdmans, 2017), and A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson (WaterBrook, 2021).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

Connect with us!

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Lecture Title - The Art of Confession, or How the Art You Don’t Like Can Grow Your Love for God

Contemporary art can often be unexpected or downright unsettling in its form and subject matter. In that, it may actually remind us of the startling actions and embodied metaphors employed by Old Testament prophets like Ezekiel and Isaiah. They intentionally disrupted their audiences for the purpose of calling them to repentance. By likewise reframing our discomfort with certain contemporary artworks as an invitation to self-examination, we open up new, generative possibilities. This lecture uses examples from the Art Institute of Chicago to explore how artworks might serve as a prompt to personal confession and a growing love for the God who loves us.

Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt (PhD Washington University) is Associate Professor of Art and Art History and a Little Endowed Scholar at Covenant College. She is especially interested in how we are formed by images, and her writing and teaching focuses on representations of race and gender in nineteenth and twentieth century art. Her essay “A Loving Regard: Contemporary Art and Expanding the Archive” was included in the edited collection, Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord (Routledge, 2023). Her first book, Redeeming Vision: A Christian Guide to Looking at and Learning from Art (Baker Academic, 2023), is a practical introduction to engaging art with generosity and grace.

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - Learning to Love, Loving to Learn: Going to Seminary with the Apostle Paul

What is theological education for? In times of tumult, transition, and upheaval, returning to this most basic question can provide guidance for what we’re doing. Likely, all of us would agree that the pursuit of learning—some type of knowing—is at the heart of theological education. But given that the subject matter of theological education centers upon the triune God, the type of knowledge we are after is one that draws the closest possible relationship between knowing and loving. In this lecture, we will explore the Pauline relationship between knowledge and love as it pertains to the goal of human existence, how we read Scripture and do theology, and how we use knowledge and learning for the good of others.

Joshua W. Jipp (PhD Emory University) is Director of the Henry Center and Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of multiple books, including Christ is King: Paul’s Royal Ideology (Fortress Press, 2015), Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Eerdmans, 2017), Pauline Theology as a Way of Life (Baker Academic, 2023), and Reading the Gospels as Christian Scripture (Baker Academic, 2024).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - The Ascension of Christ and the Renewal of Christian Mission

We live in an age of increasing anxiety about the future of the church, as many are asking about what makes the church relevant within the world today. The true relevance of the church, however, is not found by looking to the world, but above the world. The theological backdrop of the church’s mission is Jesus’ ascension into heaven. The distinctness of Christian mission emerges from these strange cosmological events, as Christ’s ascension gives the church’s mission a heavenly orientation. This lecture will show how the renewal of mission depends upon having a clear vision of the ascended Christ.

Chris Ganski (PhD Marquette University) is the Pastor of City Reformed Church, which he planted in 2012. He is a member of the St. Augustine Fellowship with the Center for Pastor Theologians.

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - Reconsidering the Great Commission: Discipleship and Cultural Engagement

Many are asking questions about what it means to fulfill the Great Commission today, wondering how we are to be formed as disciples who can live faithfully in this complex cultural time. Exploring the origins of the term, “the Great Commission,” and the role this final command of Jesus has played in shaping contemporary conceptions of discipleship helps us consider how to live out Jesus’ parting words today. Connecting this historical account of the Great Commission with the larger narrative of Scripture, we see a vision of discipleship emerge that involves being attentive to our everyday vocations, our locations and communities, and intentional cultural engagement.

Kristen Deede Johnson (PhD University of St. Andrews) is Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs and G.W. and Edna Haworth Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership at Western Theological Seminary. She is author of multiple books, including Theology, Political Theory, and Pluralism: Beyond Tolerance and Difference (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and The Justice Calling: Where Passion Meets Perseverance (Brazos Press, 2016).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - Embodied Discipleship: Mary, Jesus, and Engendered Faithfulness

The New Testament does not say much about the mother of Jesus, but what is recorded offers a powerful example of Christian faithfulness. In some instances, however, she has been lifted up only as an example for women, especially for those of the Catholic or Orthodox expressions of the faith. Attention to her story reveals both an affirmation of female embodiment in God’s redemptive plan as well as an exemplar for all believers no matter their sex. She points the way to her Son, embodied male in a uniquely inclusive way, so that all believers find their holistic identity in him.

Amy Peeler (PhD Princeton Theological Seminary) is Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College and Associate Rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. She is author of multiple books, including You Are My Son: The Family of God in the Epistle to the Hebrews (T&T Clark, 2014) and Women and the Gender of God (Eerdmans, 2022).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - Creation, Law, and History

It is usual to expound the idea of creation by referring to "law" as the principle of regularity and predictability that inheres in the order of the world. But the term "law" is often supposed to be equivocal, meaning one thing as applied to creation and something else as a norm of free human conduct. In this lecture, O'Donovan argues that in its various theological uses the concept of law is consistent, and always implies the notion of creation. Through it the task of ethics is located in between the givenness of created order and the openness of action, which thereby acquires its significance as "history."

Oliver O’Donovan (PhD University of Oxford) is British Anglican Priest and Academic, known for his work in the field of Christian ethics. He was Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford from 1982 to 2006, and Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Edinburgh from 2006 to 2013. He is author of many books, including Resurrection and the Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics (Eerdmans, 1986) and The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theology (Cambridge University Press, 1999).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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Lecture Title - The Art of Willing: God’s Grace & Human Willing in Augustine’s Preaching

Augustine is well known for his abstract reflections, early in his career, on the role of human free choice in introducing sin into God's good creation. But this, for Augustine, was just one small part of the larger story of human willing in relationship to God. In this lecture, we will consider how Augustine understood God's grace and human willing in the larger context of God's providential plan for human beings as revealed in Scripture. At the same time, we will see how Augustine applied this larger picture on a micro-level, to the challenges of the Christian life that his flock faced on a day-to-day basis. As Augustine grapples with specific parts of the biblical story where human willing comes to the fore, we see him developing not just a diagnosis of how human willing went wrong, but a richly biblical and trinitarian vision of the art of willing rightly.

Han-luen Kantzer Komline (PhD University of Notre Dame) is Associate Professor of Church History at Western Theological Seminary. Her first book is Augustine on the Will: A Theological Account (Oxford University Press, 2019), which received the Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise in 2020.

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

Visit the HCTU website: https://henrycenter.tiu.edu/ 

Subscribe to the HCTU Newsletter: https://bit.ly/326pRL5

Watch the HCTU on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HenryCenter

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