LifePoint Church of Ruston is a start-up church pastored by Jathan & Sarah Maricelli. They came to the quaint college town of Ruston, LA via Chicago in 2008 to build a church through the United Pentecostal Church International. Since their arrival, their family has grown by two- with Scotty coming along in 2009 and Hayden in 2011.
It is our desire to have a church that is involved in the community. A church that reaches out to those who are hurting and broken and looking for answers. A church that welcomes people from every race and walk of life. A church that shows love and brings peace, hope and healing. In short, we want to be Jesus in Ruston.
From the Heart of Lifepoint 
Dear Life Point Church;
I need your help. I’m teaching a course in Theodicy this Fall, and would like for one of your theologians (pastors, ministers, priests, etc) to come speak to the class concerning one of the theodicy themes in the Bible.
My name is Shane Puckett. I’m an instructor of speech communication at Louisiana Tech University. This class will be held in the Fall quarter of 2013 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am-11:50am. The course is titled Survey of Rhetoric. In this course, I’ll choose a concept for the class to “survey” the rhetoric of that concept. This year I’ve chosen “Theodicy.” The Bible explains six (6) specific themes of theodicy (Laato and De Moor, 2003) (Ehrman, 2008) in both the Old and New Testaments. I’m looking for your expertise with the following themes on these dates:
1. Suffering comes from God as Punishment (Major and minor Prophets). September 17, 2013.
2. Suffering is created by Human beings who abuse and oppress others (Major and minor Prophets) September 26, 2013.
3. God works through Suffering. To achieve his redemptive purposes (Narrative of Jesus and Joseph) October 8, 2013
4. Test from God (Folktale of Job) October 17, 2013
5. We can’t know why suffering happens. October 29, 2013
A. Because God chooses not to tell us (Job poetic)
B. The information is beyond knowing (Ecclesiastes)
6. Apocalyptic perspective: The devil and his minions (demons) are responsible for natural disasters, sickness, disease, mental health problems, poverty and oppression… November 7, 2013
Once the class has reviewed the rhetoric of a particular theme, I would like to bring in an expert (since I’m not a theologian) to help my class better understand that specific theme. You would have approximately an hour of the class to explain the theme and answer questions from the class to help them better understand the theme. However you want to utilize the time helping this class understand the text, that’s completely up to you (as long as there is time for the students to ask you questions).
I’m trying to find a theologian for each theme. If you’re willing to help, please email or call me.
Respectfully;
Shane Puckett
Shane Puckett
Instructor/Director of Debate
Robinson Hall 211
Louisiana Tech University
(318) 257-2064
spuckett@latech.edu