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Marcus Borg with Tim Scorer
Jul/2010, DVD
ISBN-13: 9781606740583
Author and Bible scholar Marcus Borg invites us to join him in revisiting Christianity’s most fundamental questions: Who is God? What does salvation mean? What place does Jesus hold in contemporary Christian faith? In this five-session, faith-formation resource, participants enjoy the rare privilege of witnessing Marcus in dialogue with a small, diverse group of adults as they honestly — and sometimes painfully — confront the big questions and work together toward authentic answers.
Each session includes a 10-minute presentation by Marcus Borg followed by interaction with the group. The program print resources are designed to help your small group “join the dialogue” in your own setting. The study addresses fundamental questions that adults struggle with as faith matures. It can be used as a resource for personal reflection as well as small group experience.
The five sessions include:
• God
• Jesus
• Salvation
• Community
• Practice
An additional component (Participant's Workbook) — contains all the material needed for use by class participants as well as notes for the class leader to facilitate each session; leadership can be shared among members of the group.
CLICK HERE to view a video clip from Embracing an Adult Faith.
MARCUS J. BORG (1942-2015) is internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar. He was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University and Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Portland, Oregon. The author of nineteen books, Borg also co-authored three books with John Dominic Crossan. Described by The New York Times as “a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars,” he was a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, national chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and president of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars.
Tim Scorer writes the accompanying study guides for the Embracing series. Tim is an educator, retreat leader, and spiritual director, who lives near Vancouver, Canada. He works part time in adult faith formation at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church.
"I love this series! I especially like the Brueggeman DVD on the prophets. All of these have been checked out, the moment I let it be known they are available. The pastor that used the Marcus Borg DVD ordered another DVD immediately. People are hungry for depth, and this series gives them real depth with well-respected theologians. The participants guides are well done too. I just received the Kathleen Norris DVD and it’s very good too. These DVDs also show the different personalities of the presenters, and I’m always interested in the input of the small group. Well done!"
—Irene Flynn, Director of the Florida-Bahamas Synod Resource Center for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Tampa, FL
"What a refreshing and long over due resource. Finally an adult formation resource which respects the subject matter, the teacher and the learner! Borg’s 5 distinct topic selections are provocative and challenging to the individual, while at the same time calling a small group of people to take a deeper look into the faith issues of their community. No leader guide! “Everyone gets everything”, what a wonderful way to model that no one person is the expert on the faith journey of others and celebrates that we are all teachers and learners together. The design of the 5- Session Study on “What it means to be a Christian” provides for a comfortable rhythmic and relaxed approach as participants explore the intriguing subject matter. The flexibility of time and the freedom “to build your own session” responds to the unique context of each community and the closing for each session emerges naturally from the content of the session itself. This resource is a must for anyone who is committed to bringing transformative faith formation experiences to adults and congregations."
—Ruth-Ann Collins - Adult Formation & Lifelong Learning Officer for The Episcopal Church
"This study is a means of transformation into a more fully formed adult faith. Borg’s life-giving vision of Christianity is shared with his “friends” who respond with reflections, questions, and revelatory insights. Along the way he reveals his own faith journey – his movement from moralistic theism to a way of centering in God and being personally transformed in order to dream with God of a world that is the kingdom of God on earth. Embracing both head and heart, and unafraid to dwell in mystery, Borg and his friends create a comfortable and safe place for our own questions. The study guide encourages deep, meaningful engagement with the big questions about God, Jesus, Salvation, Practice, and Community. If the purpose of this new study is to form faithful followers of the way of Jesus, it has succeeded brilliantly! An especially important tool for use with those who share faith with children." —Susan Thornton, Director of Christian Education, St. Mark Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, CA and President, Presbyterian Association of Resource Centers
"This new work by Marcus Borg reminds me of driving on a roundabout. There are many alternative paths to take from a central (focused) perspective. Each path (God, Jesus, Salvation, Practice, and Transformation) has its own roundabout with options/choices to explore different ways of being engaged with the living God in a community of other inquirers. This is embracing Adult Faith at its best as it encourages participants to ask provocative questions, engage in conversations of depth and interest, and discern what possible difference this exploration might make in their daily living. It is a model of faith/life engagement that can be used in many contexts and is undergirded by a wonderful scholar and seeker who shares his journey alongside of us as a fellow traveler and sojourner. It opens doors and windows so that we might step into a new world of discoveries about God, our pilgrimage, and others who grace our midst. Doesn't get much better than this!"
—The Reverend Dr. Melford “Bud” Holland , former member of the Presiding Bishop's staff (retired) and presently a consultant with the Dialogue Center and vicar (part-time) at Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia.
"At a time when Christians seem increasingly to be “divided by a common language” Embracing an Adult Faith offers us a new chance to engage in mature conversation about some of the central themes of contemporary Christian life: God, Jesus, Salvation, Practice, and Community. In the videos Marcus Borg’s reflection on each theme encourages his small group to speak from their own experiences while the accompanying guide offers a variety of questions for individual reflection before meeting and for sparking lively group discussion. Those who use this series will be encouraged to dig deeply into their own understandings, reflect thoughtfully on their own lives as Christians, and listen respectfully to what others contribute to the conversation, a good model to embrace indeed."
—Karen M. Meridith is the Director of Education for Ministry, a four-year distance learning program in theological education from the School of Theology (Sewanee)
"…many enticing entry points for raising question, sharing personal faith stories and sparking lively conversations that can take many directions."
—The Episcopal New Yorker
Click Here to see a video clip (You Tube) from the Embracing an Adult Faith DVD