January 2022 Course Descriptions

Christian Ethics (D)
This class is designed for students enrolled on the deacon track as well anyone seeking a better understanding of Christian Ethics for personal enrichment. Rather than taking an issues-based approach to Christian ethics, this course will tell the story of Christian ethics, considering the ways in which people in the Church have responded to God's work in their midst through word and deed. In telling this story, there will be three primary trajectories: Scripture, historical theology, and contemporary theological ethics. These three trajectories will shape the questions of the class, some of which will sound like the following: What is the place of Christian-ethical reflection in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament? How might Kierkegaard's concept of the "teleological suspension of the ethical" in Fear and Trembling shape the way encounters those complex moments that demand ethical discernment? What has Christian ethics to do with modern city planning? As these and other questions are asked, at the forefront of deliberation will be the pursuit to understand the relation between the Word's eternal wisdom and the Word's work of making all things new.
Required Texts            
  • De La Torre, Miguel A. Decolonizing Christianity: Becoming Badass Believers. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021.
  • Douglas, Kelly Brown, Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2015.
  • Eiesland, Nancy L. The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability. Nashville: Abingdon Press: 1994.
  • Long, D. Stephen. Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
  •  Other resources provided by the instructor.
Your Instructor 
  • Dr. Tyler Atkinson is the Johan E. Seelen Distinguished Professor of Religion at Bethany College, Lindsborg, KS. Dr. Atkinson holds an M.Div. from the Divinity School, Duke University and a Ph.D. in theological ethics from the University of Aberdeen. In 2015, he published Singing at the Winepress: Ecclesiastes and the Ethics of Work (Bloomsbury T&T Clark). More recently, he has published a book chapter on the rapper, 2Pac and the theology of Paul Tillich (in The Body and Ultimate Concern: Reflections on an Embodied Theology of Paul Tillich, ed. Adam Pryor and Devan Stahl); and he is currently working on a book-length, interfaith engagement with Hip Hop music. He lives in Lindsborg, KS with his wife and two children. 

Christian History I
This course explores Christian history from the end of the New Testament period (about A.D. 150) to AD 1000. We see Christianity as a small religion among many in the Roman Empire, then as that empire's official faith, and then  as a growing movement continually encountering pagan cultures in the Mediterranean world and northern Europe, changing those cultures and being changed by them. Information on Eastern Christianity will help us understand Western Christianity. The course involves short lectures that leave plenty of room for discussion.
Required Texts             
  • Wilken, Robert L. The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. Yale University Press, 2012.
Your Instructor 
  • The Very Rev. Dr. George Wiley taught religion at Baker University for 35 years and has been serving the Diocese of Kansas as canon pastor since 2014. He holds a Ph.D. in historical theology from Emory University. As a teacher, he is known for engaging with students and creating an inviting classroom atmosphere.

Polity  &  Canons
This course provides an overview of the governance of The Episcopal Church, including the Constitution and Canons of the Church, General Convention (and its Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Boards – “CCAB”), the offices of the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies, the nine regional Provinces, the respective Dioceses and the individual congregations.  In addition we will look at the governance (or lack thereof) of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the place of The Episcopal Church within that Communion.
Required Texts               
  • Many Parts, One Body – How the Episcopal Church Works, James Dator with Jan Nunley (New York: Church Publishing, 2010)
  • Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church 2018: Together with the Rules of Order Adopted by the General Convention 1789-2015
Your Instructor 
  • Mr. Mike Morrow is an attorney with 30 years service as a career law clerk in the U.S. District Court in Kansas.  He is a current member of the Council of Trustees in the Diocese of Kansas and previously served as Council President.  He presently serves as the intake officer.  He has been a deputy to seven general conventions, including 2022.  In 2018, he served on the general convention committee on Safeguarding and Title IV.  He previously served on the Canons committee for three conventions, including the 2009 convention which drafted the present Title IV canons.
BKSM welcomes you to take courses with us for personal enrichment or continuing education. Classes are richer with occasional students around the table.  We encourage you to experience this remarkable, uplifting community of learning, worship and fellowship for yourself!

January Overview
  • Classes begin on Monday, December  13.  You will receive an email and syllabus directly from your instructor. If you have  not received anything from your instructor by Tuesday, please contact us.
  • The in-person Focus Weekend meets  January 8-9 , on Saturday from 7:30 am-9:00 pm and on Sunday from 7:30am-12:15pm.
  • The detailed weekend schedule is here.
  • Classes end on Friday, February  11.
  • Grades due February 28.
  • Tuition is $100 to audit, $210 for credit, which includes your overnight stay at Upton Hall & all meals.
  • Zoom options available for students taking class for personal enrichment and for certificate-track students with special permission.
  • Apply for the $100 Jim Upton lay scholarship.

  • If you prefer a nearby hotel, the  Senate Luxury Suites (walking distance), Capitol Plaza, and the Cyrus are options. Many other hotels are available throughout Topeka.
Register for January Courses