April 29, 2024
We are excited to offer a livestream option for the upcoming Hiller Lectureship in Edmonton, AB! Sign up to join us online Monday night, May 6, for worship, learning, and conversation. The evening will focus on helping reclaim for today what it meant in our yesteryear to be called “the ekklēsia” – “the church.”
What comes to mind when you hear the word “church?” For most of us, what comes to mind never came to the mind of the 1st century followers of Jesus (e.g., a building, a religious institution). The world we live in desperately needs “the Church” today to become who we were and to live how we lived in the 1st century.
The ancient ekklēsia was the official gathering of the citizens of a Greek city-state during which they considered and voted upon recommendations brought forward by the city councilors. When the early Christians called themselves “ekklēsia” they were making a bold statement: they implied that they were a group of residents who were committed to the well-being of their town/city.
What would happen today if our “churches” reclaimed their original ekklēsia identity and expanded their vision as citizens of the Kingdom to include ways in which they could be a blessing beyond their walls, beyond their local neighbourhoods, and into their town and city halls?
Join us in person or online as we muse together about how who we are as an ekklēsia can affect how we live as heavenly citizens committed to the well-being of our earthly towns and cities.
Details
Monday, May 6, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM Mountain Standard Time
Livestream:
Sign up here
In person:
Free and open to the public. No RSVP needed.
Stencel Hall at Taylor Seminary
11525 – 23 Avenue, Edmonton, AB
About Dr. Ralph Korner
Hiller Lecture Presenter and Facilitator
Dr. Ralph Korner serves as the Professor of Biblical Studies at Kairos University. He received his PhD in 2014 from McMaster University and holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Trinity Western. He is an alumnus of Taylor (’82, BAR) and served as Campus Pastor at Taylor University College from 2000-2001 and 2002-2006. Dr. Korner also served as adjunct instructor for Taylor University College in NT from 2002-2007. He also has 11 years of pastoral experience at two NAB churches in Edmonton.
His PhD program was focused on early Christianity and early Judaism, and his doctoral thesis explored the early use and meaning of Ekklēsia (“assembly”, usually translated “church” in English New Testaments).