Category Archives: Public Lectures

It’s Still the End of the World!

It was able to share an enjoyable evening last night with an engaged group of people at the McNally Robinson bookstore in Winnipeg.  One of the things I was attempting to do in my lecture was to recover the eschatological character of the Christian faith, bound up as it is with the coming of Messiah and the pouring out of the promised Spirit.  The irruption of the eschaton introduces the distinction between church and world, which is clearly elucidated by Hauerwas and Willimon in the following quote which appeared in my lecture: Continue reading It’s Still the End of the World!

Providence Public Lecture

If you’re in the Winnipeg area tonight and looking for something to do, consider dropping by the McNally Robinson bookstore for my free public lecture:  “‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It’: Reclaiming an Eschatological Imagination.”  If you’re not able to make it, but are interested in the topic, you’ll have another chance to hear the lecture on Tuesday at the Cultural Arts Centre in Steinbach, MB.  Failing that, you could always consider registering for my upcoming modular course the week of March 4-8 at Providence Theological Seminary on “The Holy Spirit and Last Things.”

 

The 2019 Providence Public Lecture Series

The Providence Public Lecture Series kicks off tonight at the McNally Robinson bookstore in Winnipeg.  Over the next seven weeks faculty from Providence University College and Theological Seminary will be delivering lectures that aspire to make their scholarly work accessible to a broader audience.  Each presenter will deliver their lecture on a Friday night in Winnipeg and then on the following Tuesday evening in Steinbach at the Cultural Arts Centre. Continue reading The 2019 Providence Public Lecture Series

Responding to “A Plea for Pointless Preaching” – A Guest Post by Lissa Wray Beal

On Thursday, November 1, a surprisingly large and energetic group of pastors, professors, seminary students, and college students gathered at Providence to hear and engage in conversation surrounding my paper, “A Plea for Pointless Preaching.”  The paper was an abbreviated version of an essay that I wrote for Minding the Web: Making Theological Connections.  In the essay, I suggest that the work of “two Stanleys” – the evangelical mega-church pastor Andy Stanley and the theological ethicist Stanley Hauerwas – present two contrasting homiletical paths open to preachers today.  Since that volume will soon be appearing in print, I will not be reproducing the essay here.  However, my colleague Lissa Wray Beal, who served as the respondent to the paper, has graciously allowed me to publish her insightful engagement with the essay here on the blog. Continue reading Responding to “A Plea for Pointless Preaching” – A Guest Post by Lissa Wray Beal

Upcoming Lecture: A Plea for Pointless Preaching

If you’re in the Winnipeg area on November 1, think about joining us at Providence Theological Seminary for my upcoming public lecture, “A Plea for Pointless Preaching.”  My colleague Lissa Wray Beal, Professor of Old Testament, will be responding to the presentation. Here’s a little teaser for the lecture to whet your appetite: Continue reading Upcoming Lecture: A Plea for Pointless Preaching

Teaching Preaching in a Time of Cultural Change

The Canadian Society of Presbyterian History has released videos of the papers that were presented this past Saturday at the CSPH annual meeting at Knox College in Toronto.  Here’s the video of my presentation of a paper entitled, “Teaching Preaching in a Time of Cultural Change: The Forgotten Story of John J.A. Proudfoot, Knox College.”