Personal Flourishing

The British rock band, the Beatles, were famous for many reasons, not least for cheekily claiming to be "more famous than Jesus" at one point in their meteoric rise to fame in the 1960s. Despite the inevitable tension between rock music and some Christian denominations, the band embraced spirituality in various ways throughout their career. Their songs often reflect the human experience, including religious expression. In this course we will look, in the first session, at some examples of so called ‘secular’ music that has a clear spiritual dimension to it and reflect on the songwriter’s art conveying ideas in a way that can be interpreted in multiple ways. In the subsequent sessions, we will analyze musically and lyrically three classic Beatles songs and see how their ability to blend music and story created some unforgettable and deeply moving art.

 Ian Coleman grew up in Bristol, England, and attended Counterslip Baptist Church until he left Bristol for college at the age of 18. The Baptist tradition in England in the 1980s was evangelical in nature and influenced by the house church movement that was prevalent in California at that time. Coleman remained active in the Baptist church in England until he left for graduate study in the United States. Most recently, Coleman found his way to the Episcopal church. His background and training in music has meant that he has worked as a church musician since his teenage years and has acquired an eclectic appreciation for many forms of worship music, from the ancient to the contemporary. His interest in music has led to a broader interest in the arts and, as a professor of music theory and composition at William Jewell College, he has taught courses in music and culture as well as music theory and music composition.

Does our faith in Jesus Christ have a role in the quest for social and racial justice? Can the church build bridges and deepen solidarity around crises such as poverty, violence, and equal rights for all? And if so, how do we do it? These questions are explored while examining the theological lenses and Biblical interpretive conclusions which shape our Christian witness and guide us in attempting to partner with God in creating a flourishing life for all.

 Vernon Howard, Jr., is a Civil Rights leader, activist, lecturer and pastor ordained within the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., (1992) and has served within the pastoral ministry for thirty 30 years in various church settings throughout Christendom.

A Kansas City native, Howard is a product of the Kansas City, Missouri, public schools, a graduate of William Jewell College, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from Virginia Union University within the Samuel D. Proctor School of Theology. He has taught as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Arizona and Central Baptist Theological Seminary, currently serving as adjunct instructor and Fellow within the Center for Faith and Culture at William Jewell College. 

He is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City (SCLC-GKC), a legacy Civil Rights organization started by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the mid-20th century civil rights era. He also serves as the senior pastor of the Historic St. Mark Church in Kansas City.

Science and technology increasingly impact our everyday lives, thus responsible citizenship demands basic knowledge of scientific reasoning and results. In response, this course discusses some of the basic tenets of science, explores several important scientific discoveries, and summarizes strategies for staying informed. Implications of science literacy for our health, democracy, economy, and faith are considered, along with how such literacy influences our actions. Major scientific themes include human origins, our place in the universe, and the future of life on Earth.

Blane Baker is Professor of Physics at his alma mater William Jewell College where he returned to teach in 1999. Over his tenure, he has taught General Physics, Electronics, and Quantum Mechanics, along with a popular sport science course for non-science majors. He is the author of two recent books, Science in the Arena and Critical Thinking in the Physics Curriculum.

Baker is an active contributor to the American Association of Physics Teachers AAPT and serves as President of Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor society. His areas of interest include electronics, sustainable energy, and materials science. He is a member of the American Physical Society APS, American Association of Physics Teachers AAPT, Society of Physics Students SPS, and Sigma Pi Sigma. He also holds the Wallace A. Hilton Endowed Chair in Physics at William Jewell College. 

Baker is an avid runner and baseball fan and enjoys traveling with family and friends. He is also a member of Second Baptist Church in Liberty.

In this course, participants will be introduced to some of the major contested issues between Israelis and Palestinians through a historical lens that focuses on both narratives. With this knowledge base, using Martin Buber’s I and Thou as a framework, we will explore a variety of ways to approach this controversial topic with others in ways that focus on understanding.

Daniel P. Kotzin is Chair of the History Department and Professor of History at William Jewell College. His book, Judah L. Magnes: An American Jewish Nonconformist (Syracuse University Press, 2010), focuses on Magnes’ efforts to create cooperative relationships between Jews and Arabs in British Mandatory Palestine during the 1930s and 1940s. Dr. Kotzin received his Ph.D. in History from New York University, and before moving to Missouri in 2022, taught for many years at Medaille College in Buffalo, New York. As a member of Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo, he was actively involved in a joint committee with Westminster Presbyterian Church that worked to foster understanding between Jews and Christians, particularly in relation to attitudes towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Dean Keyse will lead four Lenten mediations in which participants will listen to the corresponding Gospel for the upcoming Sunday, Year C, and begin to picture themselves within the story. Each meditation will utilize images and music associated with that particular Gospel. With the image before us, we will hear the reading and immerse ourselves within the wilderness of Lent. Time for reflection and discussion will follow. The four Gospels we will use are Luke 13:31-35; Luke 13:1-9; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32; and John 12:1-8.

 Andy Keyse is the 9th dean of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and began his ministry there on Dec. 1, 2019. Prior to coming to Kansas City, he served as the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Florence, Alabama (2007-2019), and as the Associate Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale, Illinois (2002-2007). He received his Master of Divinity in 2002 and a Doctor of Ministry (Liturgy) in 2018, both from the School of Theology, The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. Keyse was ordained both Deacon and Priest in the Diocese of Chicago in 2002.

For many Christians with LGBTQ+ loved ones, it can be challenging to know how to best love them, given Christianity’s track record of mistreatment towards LGBTQ+ people. Christians may feel ill equipped to advocate for LGBTQ+ people in faith contexts. This course will not only examine the oft-misunderstood “clobber passages” used to condemn LGBTQ+ folks, but will also help Christians to identify how inclusion and liberation for LGBTQ+ people fits within the broader narrative of scripture.

Stephen Underwood (he/they) is one curious critter, a person with big feelings and even bigger questions, and a believer in the power of story to bring hope and healing to a world in desperate need of both. As Associate Minister of Community Christian Church, he works to help embody a church where all God’s children can know what home and family should feel like, and where justice and mercy flourish

At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, we meet Peter in Jerusalem preaching his first sermon at the Jewish festival of Pentecost. In the last chapter, we hear from the Apostle Paul under house arrest in Rome still preaching and teaching in what many believe were his final days. In between, we follow the journey of a fledgling group of women and men doing their best to follow the example and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts is the story of the early church with all of its challenges and successes. Together, participants in this class will study the significant events in Acts that continue to shape the church today.

Rodger Nishioka is senior pastor of the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village. Prior to his coming to Village Church, he was a professor of Christian education at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure takes its title from Matthew 7: “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.” The logic of this statement informs the play’s central questions of justice and mercy, revealing the complications of the State’s attempts to legislate morality, which circumscribe personal agency and freedom. In this course, we will read Shakespeare’s play, considering the ways in which the issues central to the seventeenth century remain relevant for the twenty-first century.

Dr. Sara Morrison is Professor of English and Associate Dean for the Core Curriculum at William Jewell College. She received her B.A. from Swarthmore College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Raised in Kansas City, Morrison attended All Saints Episcopal Church; returning to Kansas City in 2005 to begin her career at William Jewell, she became a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Liberty. Her teaching and research interests include adaptations of Shakespeare, film, and intersectional methodologies for teaching early modern literature.

The question of when we should say human personhood begins has long been important. We have seen startling technical changes in assisted human reproduction. We are all hearing important discussions about crucial legal changes since the end of Roe v. Wade. Missouri may vote on a constitutional amendment in November. This course will survey some important contemporary Christian thinking about personhood. It will use some of the same discussions from Gary Armstrong’s Core Curriculum Capstone “Birth By Any Means? The Ethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology” at Jewell. We will explore a seminal analysis from a Roman Catholic theologian who thinks we cannot say personhood begins at conception for scientific and theological reasons and examine an important response. We will follow a Protestant theologian wrestling with classic Scripture passages that bear on abortion while trying to develop a standard about whether Christians can ever cooperate in good conscience with abortion; we will consider applying the same standard to genetic screening of early embryos.

Dr. Gary Armstrong is Professor of Political Science at William Jewell College. 

Nationalism is one of the most powerful organizing principles of modern politics. Recent years have seen a renewed sense of nationalism, and it is often tinged with an underlying and powerful religious dimension. This course will explore the intersections of nationalism and religion in various contexts across time and space. The course will be broken down into four movements or patterns in history including the European Reformation, 19th Century Imperialism, Decolonization, and Postcolonialism. Within each context different theoretical frameworks addressing how we should think about and define nationalism will also be considered.

Dr. Megan Groninger is an Assistant Professor of History at William Jewell College. She is also an alumna of William Jewell College and received her M.A. from the University of West Georgia and her Ph.D. from Florida State University in 2023. Her teaching and research interests include modern British history, the Islamic World, the Atlantic World, and Gender history.

In America, faith and politics have historically intertwined, influencing legislation, social movements, and public policy through the involvement of religious leaders and communities. From the abolitionist movement to the civil rights era and contemporary debates on social issues, religious convictions have played a significant role in shaping the nation's political landscape. At the same time, our diverse country has many religious perspectives, and the civic virtue of separation of church and state seeks to protect political space for these varied spiritual expressions (and for those with none at all). Mainline protestants have a unique viewpoint of how faithful Christians engage our political system to promote “the common good”. Centered around a study of scriptural and civic texts, each week this class will explore theological and ethical perspectives about how mainline Christians engage politics.

Chad Andrew Herring is Interim Senior Associate Pastor of the Village Presbyterian Church. Chad brings nineteen years of congregational pastoral experience to Village Church and serves as Associate Chaplain at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. This year, Chad concluded seven years of service as an elected member of the Prairie Village City Council.

Concern on the part of white evangelical Christians in America for their continued political, cultural, and social dominance has persisted for centuries, but it is reaching a crescendo that may peak in the presidential election of 2024. In this class, we will explore the history of white Christian nationalism, its current status, and its potential impact on the nation. It seeks to show that this movement is more complex than many would allow. Suggested reading: Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory: American Evangelicals in An Age of Extremism (HarperCollins, 2023) – a personal account.

Bryan Le Beau holds a Ph.D. in American studies from New York University. He has authored several books on American cultural history and is currently an adjunct instructor at Georgetown University.

Exploring the creation account of Genesis and other Biblical accounts of heaven and earth we will reconstruct the ancient Hebrew model for the cosmos and explore the significance of each element, the identity and role of human beings within it, and what ultimate purpose this cosmos serves. There will also be opportunity to compare this ancient account of the cosmos with our own modern understanding of the universe and consider how we might reconcile the two.

 W. James Yazell serves as Associate Priest at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City and is a Master of Sacred Theology student at the School of Theology, The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. He holds a Master of Divinity from the same institution, earned in 2019, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, completed in 2014. His research and teaching interests span across the areas of Systematic Theology, Moral Psychology, and Christian Spirituality.

"Life Together" is Deitrich Bonhoeffer’s exploration of Christian community in an underground seminary during the Nazi years in Germany. Using the classic book as our guide, this class will explore our post-election reality in America. People of faith must help lead the way into creating beloved community after deep divisions and polarization have divided families, churches, and communities.

Shanna Steitz has been the Senior Minister at Community Christian Church since 2015. She and her husband, Ryan, make their home in Parkville with their rescue dog, Otis, as well their two children. Jacob is a student at Mizzou and Audrey attends Park Hill South High School. The Steitzes love cheering on all the Kansas City sports teams (especially the KC Current), spending time exploring the National Parks, and eating whatever fabulous food Mr. Steitz is cooking!