Many Christians today are unfamiliar with the Bible and no longer view it as a means of encountering a living and active God. In a world focused on what humans can know, control, and consume, many have lost connection with the life-giving power of scripture and the world-creating God who stands behind it. This seminar will focus on the Spirit-empowered link between a revitalized reading of the Bible and preaching that bears witness to the grace, relationality, creativity, and holy otherness of God.
Date: October 11-12, 2023
In-person and virtual registration is available. In-person registration includes all sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, including lunch on Thursday. Virtual registration grants online access to lectures on Wednesday and Thursday.
Cost:
General – In-Person: $180
General – Virtual: $90
Alumni/ae – In-Person: $140
Alumni/ae – Virtual: $70
Student (non-master’s credit) – In-Person: $90
Student (non-master’s credit) – Virtual: $40
Recommended Reading
- Cheryl Bridges Johns, Re-Enchanting the Text: Discovering the Bible as Sacred, Dangerous, Mysterious (Baker, 2023)
- Joni Sancken, Luke Powery, John Rottman, Getting to God: Preaching Good News in a Troubled World (Cascade, 2023)
Schedule
Wednesday Oct. 11 (United Theological Seminary)
- 2:30-3 p.m. | Welcome and Introductions
- 3-4:00 p.m. | Cheryl Bridges Johns lecture, “Is That All There Is?” Longing for Real Presence in the Age of Authenticity
- 4-4:15 p.m. | Questions
- 4:15-4:30 p.m. | Break
- 4:30-5 p.m. | Interactive Biblical Meditation led by student(s)
Thursday Oct. 12 (United Theological Seminary)
- 9:30-10 a.m. | Interactive Biblical Meditation led by student(s)
- 10-11:30 a.m. | Cheryl Bridges Johns lecture, Transcripts of the Trinity: Preaching as Invitation into the Transforming Space of the Divine Life
- 11:30-noon | Questions and Conversation
- 12-1 p.m. | Lunch (provided on campus)
- 1-2 p.m. | Chapel with Cheryl Bridges Johns preaching
- 2-3 p.m. | Joni Sancken Lecture, Preaching in a Disenchanted World
- 3-3:30 p.m. | Questions
- 3:30-4 p.m. | Closing Meditation led by student(s)
- 4-4:30 p.m. | Refreshments and Fellowship
Featured Speakers
DR. CHERYL BRIDGES JOHNS is a leading ecumenist, representing the Pentecostal movement in several venues. Ordained in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC), Dr. Bridges Johns has been a participant in the International Roman Catholic-Pentecostal Dialogue, the Mennonite (USA)–Church of God Dialogue, and Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT). Dr. Bridges Johns is the author of Finding Eternal Treasures, Pentecostal Formation: A Pedagogy Among the Oppressed, Seven Transforming Gifts of Menopause, and Re-enchanting the Text: Discovering the Bible as Sacred, Dangerous, and Mysterious. While at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Dr. Bridges Johns served in the Robert E. Fisher Chair of Spiritual Renewal. She is past President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. Dr. Bridges Johns is currently Distiniguished Visiting Professor of Pentecostal Studies at United Theological Seminary.
JONI SANCKEN is professor of homiletics at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio and ordained in the Mennonite Church USA. She is the author of several books reflecting a theological and interdisciplinary approach to preaching. Her recent work related to trauma and resilience includes Words that Heal (Abingdon, 2019) and All Our Griefs to Bear (Herald, forthcoming). She lives in Oakwood, Ohio, with her pastor spouse Steve Schumm, children Maggie and Theodore.
