The South Carolina Study Center

Ryan O'Dowd — Rethinking Vocation

Frederick Buechner (1926–2022) famously said: "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." While it contains some truth, this idea departs significantly from a more ancient picture of vocation. In Luther's reading of the valiant woman in Proverbs 31, work and human identity come to us from outside as a gift, not from our deep gladness within. It assumes the unfolding providence of God over against financial goals and life plans. It regards suffering and boredom not as evils to be avoided at all costs, but as circumstances often used by God for good. It also centers on imitation of Christ with the goal of union with God, not an impressive résumé for my LinkedIn page. This talk will follow Luther's lead to help us rethink vocation through the lens of Holy Scripture.

Rhys Bezzant — The Craft of Christian Mentoring

Our culture has lost its bearings, so it is not surprising that College-aged students are increasingly experiencing emotional challenges and vocational confusion. And fewer still know older trusted friends to confide in to find new orientation in spiritual matters. We need to consider again the value of mentoring within our churches and ministries as a way of nurturing wholeness and holiness in those seeking a flourishing life before the Lord. Rather than seeing mentoring as an optional extra, perhaps we might better understand it as an individualised ministry of the Word, which takes its place alongside other ministries of the Word to build up the body of Christ. In this lecture, we investigate what the Bible says about mentoring, what it might look like for us as mentors or mentees, and how we can get started.

Michael Sacasas — To Hear the Voice of God: Rethinking what it means to be human in the age of AI

The question of technology is always ultimately the question of the human. If we are to think well about the challenges and opportunities presented by any new technology, we must think well about what it is to be a human being and what constitutes a flourishing human life.

Michael Kruger — The Reliability of Early Christian Texts

Dr. Kruger answers questions on his life, academic career, and the reliability of Christian Scripture.

Alastair Roberts — Holy Scripture & the Modern Academy

In the modern academy, Holy Scripture is encountered, approached, and understood very differently from the ways that it has been historically in the Church. How is the interpretative task transformed when the text is moved from the world of the Church to that of the academy, and why does it matter?