The modern environmental movement has both attracted and repelled Christians. We argue that its core concept, the care and stewarding of the creation, should be an essential component of Christian belief. In this pathway, we discuss the theology of environmental stewardship.

PATHWAY GUIDE

Jim Carpenter

GUIDEBOOK

Click below to flip through a digital guidebook, view recordings of each session, and explore resources to extend your learning. Additionally, the session videos are accessible in the Summit 2020 playlist on the Siburt Institute’s YouTube channel.

This pathway was held in honor of Dr. James “Jim” Cooke’s life of faithful service to Christ and his legacy.

Dr. Cooke served as an ACU faculty member for over 30 years and taught courses in industrial technologies and environmental sciences. Like so many Christians before him, Dr. Cooke sought to connect with his creator through the natural world. He would routinely describe creation as God’s “first book” and the Bible as his “second book.” Dr. Cooke was a gifted educator and enthusiastically shared his passion for the natural world with his students. He encouraged them to reflect upon their relationship and interactions with creation within the context of a Christian worldview and spirituality, and he encouraged his students to live out their faith through their choices and corresponding environmental impacts.

Dr. Cooke was an avid environmentalist and outdoorsman. He enjoyed exploring God’s beautiful creation by sailing, biking, backpacking, and camping. He especially enjoyed exploring the Yosemite backcountry, Ansel Adams Wilderness, the John Muir Trail, the Grand Canyon, and national parks such as Arches, Zion, and Big Bend. For 20 years, he was a leader in Summer Summits, a Christian wilderness adventure program based in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. He was an active member at the Minter Lane Church of Christ and led church groups on summer adventure backpacking trips for many years. Dr. Cooke was unexpectedly called home on January 13, 2019, after a brief illness.

SESSIONS

A THEOCENTRIC THEOLOGY OF CREATION CARE

John Mark Hicks

Psalm 104 praises God for the goodness of creation, which God directs and enjoys. A theocentric (rather than an anthropocentric or a biocentric) understanding of the creation prioritizes God’s intent for the creation where God provides space and care for all creatures.

A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF WILDERNESS

Kendra Jernigan

Wilderness is a recurring motif in the Bible. An appreciation of biblical wilderness themes enhances our relationship to the creator and our role as stewards of God’s creation.

THE CHURCH AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Dodd Galbreath

Few issues have been more polarizing within the church and in modern society than the debate over climate change. This discussion will address climate change in a biblical context, relevant research regarding climate behavior change, and formal efforts to engage those most resistant and influential for action in our Christian fellowship.

CREATION CARE AND COMMUNITY

Kent Smith and Ian Shelburne

Scripture points to a creator who takes delight in creation and in forming a community that shares that delight. Humankind has come far from that community and that delighted stewardship of creation. But even now, another life is possible. This session explores concrete, hopeful alternatives today.

DEVELOPING A CHRISTIAN ECOLOGICAL ETHIC AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

Jim Carpenter

This final session ties together thoughts from the previous sessions. It also discusses what a Christian ecological ethic is and what role it should play in Christian stewardship.

Speakers and Pathway Guide

JIM CARPENTER

Jim Carpenter is the chair of the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department at ACU. His research has focused on population dynamics, especially of small populations and endangered species. He has been married to Iliana Carpenter for the past 31 years, and they have two grown daughters.

DODD GALBREATH

Dodd Galbreath is the founding director and an associate professor of sustainability at Lipscomb University. Galbreath has traveled throughout the United States, China, and six European countries studying the sustainability of natural resource and urban and energy practices. Dodd also provides consulting services for education, business, government, and non-profit clients.

JOHN MARK HICKS

John Mark Hicks has been a professor of theology at Lipscomb University since 2000 and has taught in higher education among Churches of Christ for over 38 years. He has contributed to several books and periodicals, and he completed a series of 74 YouTube videos on the theodrama (the story of God). He and his wife, Jennifer, have five children and six grandchildren.

KENDRA JERNIGAN

Kendra Jernigan is an assistant professor of environmental science at ACU. Her research interests include Christian ecotheology, sustainable agricultural missions, underutilized crops in west Texas, and hydroponic vegetable production. She and her husband worship and serve at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene.

IAN SHELBURNE

Ian Shelburne lived and worked in rural sub-Saharan Africa 31 years. As part of Eden Community, the Shelburnes seek to practice a deeply relational way of life together, joyful care of creation at Eden Center for Regenerative Culture, and a vocation to equip others to share God’s life in uncommon ways. Ian and his wife Danetta have seven children and an award-winning grandson.

KENT SMITH

Kent Smith is a cofounder of the Eden Community and the LK10 Network. He has taught in ACU’s Graduate School of Theology since 1991 and currently directs ACU’s Apprenticeship in Regenerative Culture (ARC). Kent and his wife, Karen, have five children and 11 grandchildren. They enjoy their shared work with the Eden Community of coaching students and consulting with new kingdom community initiatives worldwide.