Quick Info:
Number of weeks: 11
Price: $50
CEUs: 2.2
Required books?: No
Live video session?: No
Part of a certification or series of courses?: Yes (Wesley Lay Academy)
What is the core of Christian faith? Is it reasonable for modern people? In ten inspiring lessons, the well-known biblical scholar and Anglican bishop N. T. Wright offers a fresh presentation of the timeless truths of Christianity. Lessons expand on the themes of Wright’s acclaimed book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense and are appropriate for established believers and seekers alike. Participants will also need a copy of the book Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense.
Lessons include multiple streaming video segments. Students will be assigned daily readings, reflection questions and activities, and are expected to contribute regularly to online discussion forums with the instructor and other participants.
Lessons include:
- Introduction to Simply Christian
- Justice & Spirituality
- Relationships & Beauty
- God
- Israel
- Jesus
- The Holy Spirit
- Worship & Prayer
- Scripture
- Church & New Creation
2.2 CEUs are available.
*Please note: You will need to access this course from a laptop or desktop computer in order to view the videos embedded in this course; they will not play on a tablet or phone.
Past Students Said…
“I was introduced to one of the finest books on Christianity I have ever read. Well written and insightful.”
“This was a very in-depth class and it caused me to consider things I never examined before; I will need to go back and re-read the book as there is a lot of content discussed in the chapters.”
“The reading selection provided a good framework to explore the topic.”
About the Instructor
Cynthia Gorgas has been involved and active in her church for over 60 years. She has taught Sunday school, kid’s club, Bible study, and currently she is co-leading a House Church/Covenant group and co-facilitates a QPlace/seekers group at the local YMCA. She has been actively involved in her current church, Evangelical UMC. Cynthia is a certified Lay Leader and Lay Speaker and has served on various church committees.
Cynthia calls herself a lifelong learner. She has taken several online courses through BeADisciple.com and states that this is an exciting way to discover God’s word and His plan for her. It is fun to meet people from all over the country and learn from each other.
Cynthia is a retired schoolteacher. She received her BA from the University of Northern Iowa and then completed her MAT from Aurora Illinois University. She and her husband Mike have been married for 45 years, two careers, three children, and three grandchildren later, they still enjoy gardening, fishing, and watching the wildlife that come to various feeders in their yard.
About the Course Organizer
Michael Beardslee began working for the Institute for Discipleship and BeADisciple in early 2016, developing and facilitating courses for a new project called the Wesley Lay Academy. He was born and raised in South Central Kansas, where he currently resides after a period of moving across the United States for his graduate studies.
He holds a Bachelors in Religion and Philosophy (Friends University), an M.A. (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), Th.M (Systematic Theology, Trinity International University), and is currently a Ph.D candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary (Intercultural Studies), working under the Pentecostal theologian, Amos Yong. His doctoral research concerns the way Christians from different cultural locations relate to one another in a globalized Christianity. His writing is featured most recently in Breaking the Marriage Idol: Reconstructing Our Cultural and Spiritual Norms (IVP, 2018), and in the Religion and Theology journal (Brill, 2017).
Michael splits his time up between his academic interests, his many hobbies, and spending time with his wife, Sarah, and his two young girls. In 2017, he was awarded the Visiting Scholar fellowship at Southwestern College, after which he returned to continue the work he began with BeADisciple.
