The Lay Academy of Theology offers non-credit evening classes and other study opportunities led by Beeson faculty for interested laity as well as ministers desiring continuing education.

Evening Courses

Life in the Psalms

This course, under the leadership of Mark Gignilliat, will engage the Psalter from an aerial view (its larger structure). After that, the study will involve picking and choosing various Psalms for deeper exploration. Special attention will be given to the way the Psalms function as the prayerbook of the church. Mark has dedicated much of his academic career to researching, teaching and writing about this important collection of God’s poetry. Join us for this rich course.

Mark Gignilliat (BA, Bob Jones University; MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary; PhD, University of St. Andrews, Scotland) teaches in the areas of Hebrew and Old Testament.

Schedule: Six Mondays, 6-8 p.m., beginning on Sept. 22.

Cost:  $89 if attending on campus; $69 if participating virtually. Discounted rates expire on Sept. 15 - $115/$95 thereafter

Christology of the New Testament

The very name of our religion—Christianity—tells us that at the center of our faith is Jesus Christ: His person and work. Sadly, much teaching in our churches tends to reach only the surface of Christology. We confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins and was raised on the third day. It is good to make this creedal confession. Yet, behind each of these terms—Son of God, person, incarnate, death, etc.—there is an ocean of biblical teaching that is there to increase our knowledge and worship of our great Savior.

Join Osvaldo Padilla to explore the “Big Four” Christological texts of the New Testament over a period of six weeks: John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-20; and Hebrews 1:1-13.

Osvaldo Padilla (BA, Moody Bible Institute; MA, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; PhD, King’s College, University of Aberdeen) is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he has taught since 2008 in the areas of New Testament and Greek. He is the author of The Speeches of Outsiders in Acts: Poetics, Theology and Historiography (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), and The Acts of the Apostles: Essays in Interpretation, History and Theology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press).

Schedule: Six Thursdays, 6-8 p.m., beginning on Sept. 25.

Cost:  $89 if attending on campus; $69 if participating virtually. Discounted rates expire on Sept. 18 - $115/$95 thereafter

Weekday Seminar

Spiritual Formation with the Early Church

This semester, Stefana Laing returns to help us seek out the mentoring of early Christians, our forebears in the faith—mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, fellow disciples seeking to follow the Lord faithfully in all aspects of life. We will seek to determine what it means to both die with and for Christ, as well as how to live for and with Christ, how it is that living is Christ and dying is "gain." We will learn wisdom from desert saints living in vast wastelands, as also from faithful teachers and preachers who occupy the pulpits of bustling churches. All alike give insight into the dynamics of the flourishing spiritual life, cultivated by the Holy Spirit, and nurtured by Scripture, prayer and worship. You're invited!

Stefana Dan Laing (BA, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; MDiv, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; MSLS, The University of North Texas; PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) joined the faculty of Beeson Divinity School in 2018 and teaches in the areas of spiritual formation and history and doctrine. As theological librarian, she works with the faculty to collect the best biblical, historical, theological and pastoral resources available for ministry training as well as instruct divinity students in the effective use of library resources for their studies at Beeson. Laing is the author of Retrieving History: Memory and Identity Formation in the Early Church (Baker, 2017), and her primary area of research is in patristics. She is actively involved in the North American Patristics Society and the Evangelical Theological Society and served as an editor for The Study Bible for Women (Holman, 2014). Stefana is married to John, and they have three children.

Schedule: Six Thursdays, 2-4 p.m. beginning on Sept. 25.

Cost: $89 if attending on campus; $69 if participating virtually. Discounted rates expire on Sept. 18 - $115/$95 thereafter

Registration Options

There are three ways to register: