ACU Lectures ... Jerusalem of the West

ACU Lectures...
Jerusalem of the West

This coming week I will be joining thousands of others in the annual trek to "Jerusalem of the West" ... or "Rome" depending on your point of view I suppose ... for the ACU Lectures. I will actually be leaving tomorrow after morning worship, I drop the girls off with their mother (wish they could come!), and proceed to make the 12 hour drive through New Mexico and West Texas.

I am excited about the lectures this year. The theme this year is "The Righteousness of God" obviously from the letter to the Romans. There are many good speakers and many great classes going to be offered this year. Since it is nearly impossible to talk about "Romans" in the Churches of Christ without mentioning K. C. Moser (Gist of Romans) I was greatly honored when I was invited to present three classes on Moser. I am very excited about this. It is quite interesting that Moser will be a featured subject because for years he was "persona non grata" at these lectures because he was such a "heretic." Indeed, according to one student at Abilene Christian College (at that time) told me that in his senior year (1954) when his professor learned he was from Twelth & Drexel Church of Christ in Oklahoma City (Moser's church at the time) he spent almost the whole semester attacking "brother Moser."

My classes on Moser will highlight some of the material that will end up in my biography of this apostle of grace to the Churches of Christ. The general heading for my sessions is:

"Walking With the Spirit: The Transitions of K. C. Moser"

The first class will have the sub-heading "Heritage: Moser's Texas Roots" in which I want to explore how Texas shaped Moser's theological outlook in his early years and provides a key to understanding why he was viewed with such suspicion in later years.

The second class has the sub-heading "Awakening: Moser's Spiritual Crises." In this class I will trace Moser's journey through the roaring '20s drawing on material that had previously been virtually unknown and casts incredible light on who he was and what he taught. We will see that Moser was a die hard "Texas Tradition" adherent but by the end of the decade became a traitor and heretic and became alienated from so many.

The third class will have the sub-heading "Dawn: Moser's Spiritual Legacy." In this particular presentation I want to trace out how Moser has shaped the renewal among Churches of Christ in a way that he could never dream.

If you are in Abilene I hope you will stop by and say hello.

Seeking Shalom,
Bobby Valentine

P.S. I will try to post some updates from the lectures