Chautauqua is our annual summer education program held during the normal Sunday School hour.  Our teachers are given the summer off and in place of our fall and spring classes, each Sunday three to four class options are open to all adults ranging from Bible study, book study, life application, current events, movies and scripture, and a wealth of other opportunities.  Many members of the church and guests from outside the church participate as teachers.  This is a great success each summer and allows many to share time in Sunday school with people they normally would not meet with on Sunday morning.

Chautauqua began in upstate New York in the 1870s as a vacation school for Sunday school teachers.  It soon became a national forum for open discussion of the latest thinking in politics, economics, international relations, literature, science and religion.

It is the hope of Seventh & James that this type of diverse discussion occurs among our own members and guests.  Diversity is an important attribute of Seventh & James Baptist Church – diversity among the members of the unified body of Christ, diversity of gifts, diversity of theological thought, and diverse opportunities to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Summer Chautauqua provides an opportunity for you to probe the scriptures in some unique ways and ask questions both old and new about the ways God intends us to live as God’s children, relating to one another as well as to God.  We hope you will be enriched spiritually for having participated in Chautauqua Seventh & James style. 

These classes will meet July 4, 11, 18 and 25 unless otherwise noted. The full schedule is available as a PDF file by clicking here.

Issues of Aging – James Ellor
Melton, 202
This class will focus on issues of aging. James Ellor is on the faculty of the School of Social Work at Baylor. Dr. Ellor works with older adults around issues of mental and spiritual health. He also provides education, counseling, and planning for individuals and groups who work with seniors. His research includes work in entrostomal therapy, hunger, spiritual assessment, and intervention techniques with cognitively impaired older adults. (This class is the first in a series on Issues of Aging.)

Apocryphal Gospels – Derek Dodson
Melton, 204
This class will survey several Christian texts that never received canonical status, and yet they provide evidence of a vibrant, diverse literary and theological environment of early Christianity. The texts that will be studied are the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (July 4) , Gospel of Thomas (July 11), and Gospel of Mary (July 18), and the Gospel of Peter (July 25).

The Enneagram – Wes Eades
Melton, 205
The Enneagram is a personality system that describes nine distinct and fundamentally different patterns of thinking, feeling and acting. Over three weeks, Wes Eades will guide participants through their personal Enneagrams and discuss what it means for
each participant. Participants are asked to complete an Enneagram before they come.
A basic description of the inventory, a long with links for the online inventory, can be found here. The direct link to the free version of the inventory can be found here.
Wes Eades is a pastoral counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist in Waco. (July 11, 18 and 25)  

A Christian Perspective on the Economic Crisis – Mike Kamperman
Melton, 206
This will be a discussion-based class about the impact the economic crisis is having on people. The class will focus on ethical and social justice issues related to the causes, fallout, and current responses to the crisis.

The Wammack and Men’s Class – David Pennington
Melton, Room 207
This Bible study class is led by David Pennington using Smyth & Helwys literature which follows the Lectionary.  

Let There Be...Stuff? - Youth Chautauqua – Dann and Beverly Walker
Melton, Room 203
A Spirit-filled response to a consumer-crazed world 

Hungry Planet - Children's Chautauqua - Leslie Rosencrans
The Annex, Room 106
A look into what people eat around the world. 

To see examples of our past Chautauqua classes, please click on a year:2007, 2008, 2009.