Featuring: Dr. Dorian Coover-Cox
In this thoughtful and theologically rich message, Hebrew scholar Dr. Dorian Coover-Cox invites us to revisit the story of Jonah—not as a children’s tale, but as a deep well of God’s character, human resistance, and redemptive pursuit. With Hebrew insights, literary nuance, and pastoral application, Dr. Coover-Cox shows that Jonah is less a story about a runaway prophet and more a story about a relentlessly compassionate God.
Walking through the text in its full arc, she highlights how Jonah deliberately flees God's presence—not merely geographically, but relationally. Yet even in his rebellion, God responds with mercy: appointing a storm, a fish, and ultimately a mission reset. Dr. Coover-Cox focuses particularly on the prophetic prayer in Jonah 2 and the tension between Jonah’s pious-sounding words and his self-focused heart. She skillfully examines Jonah's “I told you so” moment with God in chapter 4 and how God's compassion becomes the very thing Jonah resents—revealing a prophet more committed to his own views than to God's mission.
Throughout, Coover-Cox reminds us that the Book of Jonah is not about flawless obedience but about a God who invites flawed people back into relationship. Even when Jonah delivers the message with minimum effort, God brings about maximum repentance. The story ends unresolved—but that, she suggests, is an invitation to examine our own hearts.
Up Next in Keynote Sessions
-
Christoformity & The Mosaic Law
Featuring: Dr. Jim Howard
In this pastorally bold message, Dr. Jim Howard offers a sweeping and compelling case for how the Mosaic Law—often dismissed as ancient or oppressive—actually reflects the heart of a Christoform life. With stories from his time teaching seminary students in India, refle...
-
Amazing Faith or Astonishing Unbelief?
Featuring: Christine Caine
Speaking to a generation often distracted by influence, image, and performance, Caine reminds us that Jesus is still amazed by bold, unshakable belief. Drawing from Luke 7 and the story of the Roman centurion, she asks a powerful question: When Jesus looks at our lives...
-
A Church Called Tov
Featuring: Dr. Scot McKnight
Dr. Scot McKnight offers a powerful invitation to rethink what makes a church culture truly good. Drawing from his book A Church Called Tov, co-written with his daughter Laura Barringer, McKnight names seven toxic traits that too often dominate Christian institutions...