John Coe: Resisting the Temptation of Moral Formation
Reply
Category Archives: Guest Speaker
Dallas Willard: Planning for Spiritual Formation in the Local Congregation
Dr. Steve Porter: The Nourishing Reality of Life with God
Dr. John Coe: Spiritual Formation
Dr. John Coe
Dr. John Coe will be teaching a four week class on Spiritual Formation for the 2012 Winter Session of RHBI (Tuesday Evenings, 1/31 – 2/21, 6:30pm – 8:20pm). The class will cover topics including:
- Resisting the Temptation of Moral Formation: Moving From Moral to Spiritual Formation
- Why We Sin When We Know So Much: Healing the Hidden Heart by the Spirit
- Drawing Near to God When God Seems Far Away: Practicing the Presence of God Despite Feelings
- Going on with God in Dark Nights: Maturing the Saints by Spiritual Hunger and Love
- How to Put on Christ: Doing Spiritual Disciplines from the Heart in the Spirit
We have a common experience of what some have called the “Sanctification Gap.” This is the disparity between what we know our lives should look like according to scripture and the frustrating realities of how we actually end up living out our lives. As believers, we embrace that we are justified by faith; but, we have a sneaking suspicion that we are sanctified by works. As a result we try harder and harder to overcome our failures and we become increasingly discouraged until many of us reach a stalemate with our struggles.
But why do we suppose that we are sanctified by our own efforts? Where does the grace of God fit in? How does my relationship with God nourish my soul, meeting the deepest needs of my heart that I would otherwise try to fulfill in fallen ways? These are important questions. Dallas Willard said it well when he observed that grace is opposed to earning, it’s not opposed to effort… but effort in our own strength leads only to failure and frustration. This class will help you develop a deeper understanding of what it means to live in a sanctifying relationship that brings us through our struggles by the loving grace of our Father.
Childcare is available, please make reservations by calling the church. The tuition for this class is $45,* but scholarships are readily available for those who are unable to pay the full tuition. Register early as we may be limited on seating for this class.
* Note: classes taught by visiting professors are normally $45 whereas regular RHBI classes are normally $35.
Year of Spiritual Formation 2012: Dallas Willard, John Coe, Steve Porter, J.P. Moreland
The RHBI theme for 2012 is Spiritual Formation. What is Spiritual Formation? Bruce Demarest, in his book Satisfy Your Soul, sums up Spiritual Formation as:
“the shaping of our inner character and outer conduct, in cooperation with the work of the the Spirit, so that we are gradually being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ” (38).
The RHCC Discipleship Commission desires to create opportunities to help us connect the development of our minds with the development of our hearts (Rom 12:1-2). Singing to our Lord together is beautiful, but the totality of our lives (both individually and in community) are meant to be our act of living and worshipful sacrifice to our Lord.
To help kick off this year of Spiritual Formation, we’re bringing in three amazing speakers: Dr. Dallas Willard, Dr. John Coe, and Dr. Steve Porter.
Dr. Willard is an international lecturer and a professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California where he has taught since 1965. In addition to his academic publications and research, Dr. Willard has a heart for Christian formation which is reflected in his published books, some of which are: “The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God,” “The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship,” “Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ,” “Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge,” and “Hearing God.”
Dr. Coe is Professor of Philosophy and Spiritual Theology at Talbot Theological Seminary where he also serves as the Director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation. He is currently working on a new book titled: “Making Sense of Our Spiritual Dark Nights: Ancient Wisdom for our Evangelical Journey.” In addition to being the RHBI guest preacher in the Canvas Worship services at Rolling Hills Covenant Church, Dr. Coe will teach a four week RHBI class on Spiritual Formation.
Dr. Porter, a graduate of the University of Oxford, is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Talbot’s Institute for Spiritual Formation and Rosemead School of Psychology (Biola University). He has written numerous published articles in various philosophical and theological journals as well as his book “Restoring the Foundations of Epistemic Justification” (2006). Dr. Porter will be the RHBI guest preacher in the main worship services and the Gathering service at Rolling Hills Covenant Church.
Schedule of Events:
- Dr. Steve Porter, guest preacher:
- Main Worship Services:
- Saturday, 1/21, 5:00pm, Worship Center
- Sunday, 1/22, 8:00am & 9:30am, Worship Center
- The Gathering:
- Sunday, 1/22, 11:15am, Room 290
- Dr. Dallas Willard, special free RHBI kickoff event
- Tuesday, 1/24, 7:00pm, Worship Center. Childcare is available with reservation (see below)
- Dr. John Coe, guest preacher
- Canvas Worship Services
- Sunday, 1/29, 9:30am, Room 290
- Sunday, 1/29, 11:15am, Worship Center
Childcare is freely available during the Main Worship Services, the Gathering, and the Canvas Services, without reservation. Childcare will also be freely available with reservations during the special Dallas Willard RHBI kickoff event on January 24th (call 310.519.9406 for childcare reservations).
Dr. J.P. Moreland will be kicking off our Spring Session in April as well as teaching a four week class on the Kingdom Triangle. We’re also working hard to book a great speaker for the fall session in September. We have some exciting options, but nothing solidified yet. Stay tuned to this blog for upcoming details!
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at the church!
You can register/RSVP by visiting www.RHBI.org/rsvp.
Blessings! – jp
Reflections on RHBI 2011
2011 has been a great year! We’ve had Dr. Craig Hazen, Greg Koukl and Dr. Scott Rae speak at various events or classes for RHBI. RHBI also worked with Global Outreach to bring Dr. J.P. Moreland and Dr. Walt Russell as guest speakers to bless our missions community. Additionally, we’ve had a great lineup of our in-house instructors teaching various RHBI classes throughout the year (Rob Orr, Glen & Judy Johnson, Andy Noch, Nate Aanderud, Michael Cochrane, Pat Bennett, Sam Evans, and Steve Bunyard).
We had a great lineup of classes, including: Prayer, Value Packed Parenting, Discipleship, Introduction to Genesis through Esther, Christianity and Cultural Hot Buttons, Marriage Revival, Church and Society, Life’s Healing Choices, Introduction to New Testament, Introduction to Job through Malachi, Overcoming Your Fear of Evangelism, and Affirmations of the Faith.
We’ve received great feedback from our students as well as some encouraging suggestions that will help us make the Bible Institue even more helpful for you. 2012 is going to be an exciting year… I’ll post the upcoming events shortly.
If you ever have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to email me or contact one of the members of the Discipleship Commission. You can also give us feedback on classes you’ve taken by visiting: www.RHBI.org/survey.
Alternatively, you can contact us on facebook: www.Facebook.com/BibleInstitute
Thanks for making 2011 a great year for RHBI! – jp
Dr. Scott Rae, Author & Professor, to Teach Fall Class on Church and Society
Biography
Dr. Rae is Chair of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics and Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Talbot Theological Seminary at Biola University.
Dr. Rae’s primary interests are medical ethics and business ethics, dealing with the application of Christian ethics to medicine and the marketplace. He has authored 10 books in ethics including The Ethics of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood; Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics; Brave New Families: Biblical Ethics and Reproductive Technologies; Beyond Integrity: A Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics; and Body and Soul: Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics. His work has appeared in The Linacre Quarterly, Religion and Liberty, Journal of Markets and Morality, Southern California Journal of Law and Women’s Studies, National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, and Ethics and Medicine. He is a consultant for ethics for four Southern California hospitals. He is a fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and a fellow of the Wilberforce Forum.
You can learn more about Dr. Rae by visiting his website.
Class Details
This class will be held Tuesday evenings for four weeks starting September 27, 2011. The two hour class will start at 7pm instead of the regular 6:30pm. As a result childcare will not be available. As this is a class offered in partnership with the Talbot Institute for Biblical Studies (TIBS), tuition will be $45. Scholarships will require advanced approval from RHBI. An instruction manual for the class will be provided by Talbot Theological Seminary, and refreshments will be available as well.
Dr. Scott Rae joins the up coming lineup of guest speakers Greg Koukl and Dr. Dallas Willard. Check back in the upcoming weeks for announcements about our other great fall session classes. RHBI works hard to provide you with access to meaningful biblically grounded classes taught by highly qualified instructors. Did you know that most of our instructors have advanced degrees in some area of theological studies? Did you know that RHBI has hosted guest speakers like Dr. J.P. Moreland and Dr. Craig Hazen in the past? If you haven’t tried out an RHBI class, Dr. Rae’s might be a good way for you to sample RHBI for four weeks instead of the normal eight weeks.
Dr. Dallas Willard and Greg Koukl to Speak at RHBI Events
Mark your calendars for two exciting special RHBI events. Greg Koukl, president and founder of Stand To Reason (www.STR.org), will be speaking Tuesday evening on September 20th, 2011 at Rolling Hills Covenant Church for the Rolling Hills Bible Institute (RHBI) Fall 2011 Kickoff. The topic is still being determined.
We are also really excited to announce that Dr. Dallas Willard, noted author on the subject of Christan spiritual growth and formation and professor of philosophy at USC, will be speaking the evening of January 24th, 2012 for the Winter 2012 kickoff. The topic is still being determined.
We have one more announcement for a guest speaker in January 2012, but we’re working out the details so keep checking back here at www.RHBI.org for the announcement!
RHBI is constantly working on offering you meaningful classes and leading special guest speakers to help encourage you as you seek to love God with all of your mind, your heart, and your soul (Matthew 22:37). Special guest speakers in the past have included Dr. J.P. Moreland, Dr. Craig Hazen, and Dr. Walt Russell (in partnership with RHCC Global).