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"CrossWalk U."
Posted:
Friday, April 23, 2010
CrossWalk University
Sabbaths / 10:20 AM
We meet in the classroom next
to main entrance of the Auditorium.
The Idea:
In the “Jesus Creed,” Christ summarized the meaning of discipleship by telling us we must love God with all of our hearts, with all of our souls, and with all of our minds, and our neighbors as ourselves. For followers of Jesus, then, there can be no separation of head from heart in our worship, and no separation of our worship from our relationships with others. Learning how to think like followers of Jesus means moving beyond intellectual head-trips. It means growing holistically in our ability to encounter God with our emotions and in sharing God’s love with those around us. Yet the converse of this statement is also true. We can only experience God’s presence more fully and love others more truly as we learn how to think more deeply as followers of Jesus’ Way.
Our Vision: Rekindling a Discipleship of the Mind
The purpose of “Crosswalk U.” is to fill a void many of us feel in our Christian journeys. It is to model a holistic, engaged, and challenging understanding—for both Crosswalk Church and the larger university communities—of what it means to be made in the image of God and for fellowship with one another. We are committed to an experiment in Christian living in which we take seriously Christ’s call to a radical discipleship of the mind. We envision a space in which difficult questions can be faced without fear or rancor and in which different ways of thinking are welcomed in an honest and open search for truth. Our goal is to engage with culture and with history, with the ideas of theologians, philosophers, scientists, and artists, and above all with the Biblical text itself in attempt to better understand the world we live in and what it means to be followers of Christ in this world.
What You Can Expect:
Crosswalk U. is not a Sabbath School class but a different kind of fellowship that includes elements of worship, conversation, welcome, teaching, and dialogue. At the heart of a normal Crosswalk U. session is a thematic study led by someone with a deeper understanding of an important question facing all Christians. These conversations are designed to challenge, provoke, and strengthen believers from diverse backgrounds, including students, young professionals, and others who are searching for a more stimulating encounter with God and with their faith community. Studies will often extend over several weeks and might feature different speakers with opposing views (on topics such as “Genesis and Evolution”; “The Quest for the Historical Jesus”; “Heresy”; “Christ and the Arts”; and “Jesus and Empire”). We will typically follow this outline:
1. Welcome of newcomers and introduction of the speaker and topic
2. A liturgical or Scriptural reading that fits with the theme of the day’s study
3. A 20-25 minute presentation by a speaker
4. A 20-25 minute open discussion facilitated by the speaker
5. Conclusion and closing prayer

6. Informal conversations continuing after Crosswalk U. has ended