Dr. Michael Joseph Brown to speak at the 2016 Warren L. Dennis Metro-Urban Lecture
April 30, 2016
New Brunswick Theological Seminary Presents the Annual Warren L. Dennis Metro-Urban Lecture Series
Honoring and Celebrating the Teaching Ministry of Dr. Warren L. Dennis
“Urban Spaces as Places of Negotiation and Contestation”
Featuring Dr. Michael Joseph Brown
Interim President of Payne Theological Seminary
Wednesday May 4, 2016
9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
America’s urban areas have undergone tremendous change in recent decades. Today’s city bears little resemblance to the booming industrial metropolis that defined the mid-20th century national landscape. The social and spiritual profiles of the city have also changed dramatically. Are seminaries educating Urban Ministry leaders keeping pace with the new reality? Are pastors and other urban ministry professionals being properly equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century urban community and its ever-evolving needs?
Join internationally known educator Dr. Michael Joseph Brown, interim president of Payne Theological Seminary, as he looks at “Urban Spaces as Places of Negotiation and Contestation”, the 2016 installment of the Annual Warren L. Dennis Metro-Urban Lecture Series, honoring and celebrating the teaching ministry of Dr. Warren L. Dennis, New Brunswick Theological Seminary Professor Emeritus. NBTS will host the program on Wednesday May 4 from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM.
The Warren L. Dennis Metro-Urban Lecture Series will examine the current state of Urban Ministry and how to more effectively train its future leaders. Participants will strive to propose new models and resources for teaching in the urban environment, blending the latest in theory and practice to work toward the stated goals of the Dennis Series: Empowerment, Collaboration and Transformation.
Dr. Dennis says while the mission of Urban Ministry is increasingly relevant in the 21st century, its significance goes back to the Scriptures. “Jesus trained his disciples to go into the city, to do community organizing” he said. “God is calling us to the city, to redeem the city, to enhance the city. The city is a gift.”
Speaking of his hopes for the endowed lecture series Dr. Dennis said “I anticipate clergy and lay people outside the seminary to come in and hear special scholarly lectures from leaders across the disciplines who will share their knowledge and insights and reflections on ministry in the city. It is a gift to the seminary to see the city with new eyes. It is my gift to the seminary to continue urban ministry beyond my tenure.”
Dr. Michael Joseph Brown is currently the interim president of Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. He is an internationally recognized biblical scholar, minister and educator. Dr. Brown, an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, holds degrees from Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Payne, Dr. Brown served as Associate Dean of Wabash College, and was the Director of the Malcolm X Institute on Black Studies. He is the author of What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Academic Biblical Studies; Blackening of the Bible: The Aims of African American Biblical Scholarship; The Lord’s Prayer through North African Eyes: A Window into Early Christianity and The Lord’s Prayer and God’s Vision for the World: Finding Your Purpose through Prayer. Dr. Brown is also a leading contributor to the New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.
Dr. Warren L. Dennis was named New Brunswick Theological Seminary Professor Emeritus following his retirement in 2015. He served as the Dirk Romeyn Professor of Metro-Urban Ministry and Director of Doctoral Ministry at NBTS from 1992 to 2015. During his tenure Dr. Dennis established the urban concentration in the Seminary’s Master of Theological Studies and Master of Divinity programs as well as the Doctor of Ministry in Metro-Urban Ministry degree. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, holding degrees from the University of Cincinnati, the Interdenominational Theological Center and United Theological Seminary.
Attendance at the event is free of charge, but please RSVP to: deansoffice@nbts.edu
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