Advent Newsletter Excerpt | February Electives | Learning Together at Living Hope

Written by Pastor Steve Berkenpas, Lead Pastor

Read the rest of the newsletter here

In 1994 Mark Noll, one of the most respected evangelical historians wrote a book called The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Though the book is nearly 300 pages long, a good portion of it can be summed in one sentence, “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” In response to that, he calls Christians to think deeply about what it means to engage with the world around us. This is hard work, and it’s not work that all of us enjoy, but it is important. When we don’t do this hard work, we lose credibility, we are vulnerable to the fads of the day, we lack the ability to be culturally relevant, and overall our faith lacks the full heart, soul, mind commitment that Jesus calls us towards. This book won Christianity Today’s “Book of the Year” 30 years ago, and its challenges stay true for us today. While all of us are not called to academia, we are called to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and part of that calling is to engage our minds.

One place we do this at Living Hope is through our Small Groups. Each of our Small Groups is invited to go through different Bible studies, or book studies, to encourage thoughtful engagement of scripture and the world around us. In February we are going to try something new! We are inviting Small Groups to stop meeting for that month, so they can participate in learning electives that we are offering on Sunday evenings where we will look at different subjects like:

  • Truth and Grace: How do we have conversations around sexuality? Pastor Steve 
  • The Canons of Dordt: What does the Christian Reformed Church believe? Pastor Ben 
  • Worshipping Together: How does Living Hope form itself in worship? Alyssa Berkenpas
  • Insert your idea here! Interested in leading a session yourself? Contact Pastor Steve or Ben.

And the wonderful thing about this is that it is not just for those who are part of a Small Group. This is for everyone! Come and join us for conversations that engage our hearts and minds as we learn and grow together at Living Hope.