Learning the Word

For PTS alums Tim Becker ’07 and Matt Bell ’06, both doctoral students, life-long learning is not only about taking in more information but it is also about sending out their knowledge to others. This spring the duo led a group of 20 in studying the writing of the great teachers of the Christian faith through the Ancient Christian Faith Initiative.

Meeting weekly for two months, the group of pastors and laypersons learned about the teachers and grew together in their knowledge of these persons. “We believe that the future of the Church lies in spiritual communion with the past,” said Becker. “Further, we have personally experienced the ancient Christian faith to be challenging, nourishing, and provocative and will share that with the group.”

Fellow alum Dan Thayer, supply pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Cresent City, Fla., completed the seminar from a distance. Through phone, e-mail, and a blog, the trio was able to stay connected.

“Since graduating from seminary, I have missed the opportunities for theological reflection and discussion that I had there,” said Thayer. “I had the idea of starting an online reading group for others in the same position, possibly reading something from the ancient Christian writings. When I heard about what Tim and Matt were doing, we started a conversation about adding an online element to their project. I believe God wants to do something bigger than what any of us could have come up with individually.”

In explaining why they started the group, Becker said, “We want people to deepen in the conversion of their minds and souls so that they might encounter our post-Christian age with confidence, humility, and spiritual authority for the sake of the cultivation of Christian culture.”

A number of professors at the Seminary have interests in these great teachers, and this encouraged the group to make them their primary focus. Their reading of these teachers is very much a result of our studies at the Seminary.

“We can’t predict what will happen in the future, because who can know what to expect when people think new thoughts, dream new dreams, and pray new prayers?” In the fall, the trio will offer two seminars in Pittsburgh: 1) "Pillars of the Church: Augustine, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Ephrem the Syrian," drawing on major figures in the Latin, Greek, and Syriac worlds and 2) "How to Read the Bible According to the Early Church." The "Pillars" seminar will also be offered online. The online seminars offers weekly 40-50 minute audio lectures, a lengthy pastoral reflection from Thayer, and the possibility of regular interaction and feedback on the seminar blog.

For more information, visit www.ancientchristianfaith.org or contact Tim Becker.