Ken Durham, preaching minister at the University Church of Christ, is expanding the traditional definition of a Church of Christ sermon by asking questions that go beyond the realm of Scripture.
In his spring 2009 series entitled Wrestling with God: The Problems with Christianity Durham said he is taking on edgier topics that speak to the concerns of modern young adults.
This generation of students is more spiritually-minded and less traditionally -minded Durham said. They’re hungry for a meaningful experience of God and faith and less interested in traditional church affiliation. There’s no brand loyalty any more and students are going to go where they can grow spiritually.”
Topics he plans to cover include “The Problem with Truth The Problem with Exclusivity” and “The Problem of Science.” Last week’s sermon on Christian exclusivity tackled the question “Is Christ the only way to Heaven?”
Durham said the University congregation has changed during the 11 years he has been preaching at Pepperdine and so have its needs.
“The new element is: How does that work in today’s world which is an increasingly secular and diverse place? While churches used to look at these topics in a more narrow way we are now more global ethnically and religiously diverse Durham said.
Many members of the church have enjoyed the new sermon content.
I don’t know that I would call this edgy – but I believe Ken is addressing important topics and they have been inspirational sermons said D’Esta Love, former university chaplain.
Sophomore Anthony Sciubba, who is majoring in religion and history, finds Durham’s sermon topics to be challenging but valuable.
It’s really good because a lot of times we’re afraid to ask the big questions because we might not get the answers we want or because we will explain everything and we won’t need faith Sciubba said. The audacity to talk about the things we talk about in Great Books and our other classes is great.”
Durham is including more elements of secular philosophy and other resources in an attempt to accommodate the expanding worldview that he has observed among his students and other members of the church over the years.
He ascribes the change to globalization but he said the more direct cause is the opportunities available to Pepperdine students.
“As students go off to international programs they come back with a much larger worldview and they need a faith that makes sense in Heidelberg Tokyo and Lausanne a faith that is going to stand the test of time and make for a more useful world citizen said Durham.
Durham said he was careful to ensure each sermon is biblically grounded. Some students said they appreciated the opportunity to engage what they learn in class with their faith.
I really like it when he uses extra-biblical texts said Pepperdine junior Taylor Kruse.
Durham said the response has been mainly positive.
I’ve had a few people say ‘I miss the old sermons that sounded more like sermons and less like philosophy lectures'” Durham said. “Still other people are saying thank you for asking these questions and taking on the hard topics.”