NOTE:
Children (preK-4th grade) arriving with their parents at 9:00AM on Sundays may go downstairs to Rm. 3A for supervised activities. Parents should pick-up their child(ren) for worship by 10:15AM.
Discipleship+Adults
Say to this Mountain: Mark’s Story of Discipleship
a Bible study based on a book by Ched Myers
Sunday Mornings 9:00AM-10:00AM
1st Floor Parlor
September 11 – March 11
Throughout the fall and winter we will engage in an in-depth study of the Gospel according to Mark, using Ched Myers’ book, Say to this Mountain: Mark’s Story of Discipleship. “There are two kinds of stories and two kinds of readers,” Myers writes:
“One kind of story aspires only to entertain or to distract its audience. Such stories assume readers who are passive spectators…The other kind of story intends to change its audience. It invites spectators to become “spec-actors”…those who are engaged by a story and want to become part of it…We as authors believe in the power of Mark’s story of Jesus to turn spectators into spec-actors.”
You are invited to join us in this study as we seek to be engaged and transformed by Mark’s story of Jesus, following him as “spec-actors” in the Kingdom of God.
NOTE: Purchase of Myers’ book is recommended but not required in order to participate in this study. It may be available from your local library. However, if you need help obtaining a personal copy please contact Rev. Alspaugh.
Full Reading/Study Schedule available here
The Jesus Movement: Then and Now
Led by Dr. Larry Welborn
Sunday Mornings 9:00AM-10:00AM
February 12-April 1
Christ Episcopal Church
20 W. First St.
We are partnering with Christ Episcopal this Lent to bring in Dr. Larry Welborn, Professor of New Testament and Early Church History at Fordham University, to speak to us about the “Jesus Movement.” Before Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire, it was a "movement" with broad appeal to individuals and multitudes, a movement that engendered moral reform and social change.
This eight-week course explores the roots of the "Jesus movement," from Jesus' proclamation of "good news" to the poor, to Paul's creation of communities of "unconditional welcome." The course draws upon the earliest Christian sources: Q (a collection of Jesus' sayings), the miracle catenae, the passion narrative, and Paul's authentic epistles. Parallels will be sought between the "Jesus movement" and modern movements of social change. Encountering the "Jesus movement" afresh, we will seek to discern what public actions are demanded of Jesus' followers in our present crisis. Come and see how Jesus' love impels us into action! NOTE: This class will meet at Christ Episcopal Church.
“J.B.” in Lent
Led by Rev. Jason Alspaugh (et al)
Thursdays in Lent - 6:00PM-7:15PM
February 22nd - March 29th
The Patient Job by Gerard Seghers (1591-1651) - National Gallery, Antwerp
Join us! on Thursday evenings this Lenten season for a drama-study experience, involving a reading of Archibald MacLeish’s poetic play, J.B. We will gather in the sanctuary here at First Baptist on February 23rd and March 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th from 6:00-7:15PM to listen to members of FBCD read portions of the play each evening. Each play reading will be followed by guided reflection relating the ideas and themes of the play to the Book of Job and the Lenten season. All are welcome. If you are interested in being one of our play-readers, please contact Rev. Jason Alspaugh at (937) 222-4691 or jalspaugh@fbcdayton.org.
A Word About J.B.
“In the Pulitzer Prize-winning poetic drama J.B., Archibald MacLeish has fashioned a tense and powerful retelling of the biblical story of Job. MacLeish's Job, like the original, is "a perfect and an upright man" whose faith in divine justice is put to a severe test by the tragic calamities that befall him. At the beginning, J.B. is a wealthy businessman with a loving wife and five wonderful children; but after he and his wife Sarah go through the slow agony of losing the five children by violent deaths, the entire city is devastated by an air attack, wiping out "J.B.'s millions," and leaving the afflicted protagonist piteously asking for reasons and praying for death. The great sufferings of Job are thus frighteningly recast by MacLeish in terms of the modern world. But more significantly, MacLeish's attitude toward the basic question involved--the question of why man suffers--is one that is unconfined to the ancient sphere of Old Testament tradition. The playwright moves not with the intention of reaffirming traditional faith, but with the recognition that for modern man perhaps a new kind of faith is needed.” ~ Ronald Ecker
+ + +
For more information regarding Christian Education at First Baptist please contact Rev. Jason Alspaugh at jalspaugh@fbcdayton.org or Linda Thomson (Chair, Board of Christian Education).