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In the New Testament, nine of Paul’s letters to churches stand in front of four Pauline letters to/about church leaders, and nine letters from various authors to specific groups of believers.

Paul’s letters to churches point to entities in development and the nine various letters at the end of the New Testament point to individuals and groups at least somewhat in decline. The letters in between those sections, Paul’s Letters to Leaders, focus on godly leadership as necessary for assuring development and countering decline within local manifestations of the Body of Christ.

These nine letters to churches, revealing development elements of both the church universal and its local expressions, are our focus for 12 sessions together. To create a full picture from those 12 parts, we’ll look not just at them individually, but also to the extended history encompassed within them, the life of the writer (Paul), the characteristics of the individual churches represented, how the letters fit into NT history and the select themes that arise within them. While the survey is limited with respect to time, it will, nevertheless, be both intense and impactful.

So, the emphasis in these letters isn’t so much on the issues these early churches face or the content of messages they might deliver as important as those are, as it is on the unique, underlying resources each is empowered to both live and apply in fulfilling their
mission. Our focus will be on identifying and unpacking the development experiences of the churches represented in these letters. And in the process, we’ll see how God designed, developed and deployed resources that extend beyond these original churches to empower local congregations to effectively fulfill their mission today.

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Dr. Bert Downs served as Western Seminary’s President from 1998 through 2008, and in total, has served Western in various capacities for over 30 years. He received a BA from Washington State University, a graduate diploma in Bible from Multnomah University, a Master of Arts in Church Education from Western and a Doctor of Divinity from Denver Seminary. Bert has also served leadership roles in public education, church and denominational ministry, camp and conference centers, Walk Thru the Bible Ministries and 5 interim pastorates. Bert and wife Alice have been married over 50 years, have two children and two grandchildren, and currently reside in Northwest Washington state. He and Alice are avid kayakers and outdoor enthusiasts.

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