Develop a Discipleship System
FXUM Theological Symposium Continues in the New Year
By Michael Beck
The new year is filled with exciting new opportunities to learn and engage with Fresh Expressions.
Our monthly conversations with leading Wesley scholars about the emerging United Methodist Church of the twenty-first century is underway. We have organized the symposium as a series of conversations between two theologians. These take place on the first Thursday of every month from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CST. They will be followed with one larger gathering where all the speakers come together on September 21, 2023, from 5-6:30 p.m. CDT.
The structure of the symposium is a series of free live-streamed events using Zoom. Each speaker will consider a core theological distinction that needs to be reappropriated to “serve the present age” and then respond live to your questions. The recordings from these conversations will be made available with a study guide for your teams to work through together.
This month’s resident theologians are Thomas Oord and Jong Chun Park.
Thomas Jay Oord, Ph.D., is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multidisciplinary studies. Dr. Oord directs the Center for Open and Relational Theology and doctoral students at Northwind Theological Seminary. He is an award-winning author who has written or edited more than thirty books. A gifted speaker, Oord lectures at universities, conferences, churches, and institutions. He is known for his contributions to research on love, science and religion, open and relational theology, the problem of suffering, and the implications of freedom for transformational relationships.
J.C. Park is a prominent Christian leader working for the Methodist Churches in Asia and the Ecumenical Churches in Korea. J.C. received a Ph. D. from Emory University in the field of systematic theology. He has served for more than three decades as a professor and president of the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, Korea. He has taught and written the intercultural and interfaith interpretation of Asian and Wesleyan Christianity in Korean. He has served as the president of the World Methodist Council since 2016. He is committed to revitalizing churches through affirming the worldwide Methodist unity in fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples through vibrant evangelism and prophetic engagement. His ministry of peace and reconciliation has trilateral foci of evangelical ground, ecumenical connectivity, and interfaith solidarity.
Remaining symposium speakers include:
- Leonard Sweet
- Paul Chilcote
- Lilian Siwila
- Paw Liang
- Sangwoo Kim
- Candace Lewis
- Amelia Koh-Butler
- Graham Cray
- Ken Carter
- Jacqui Rivas
- Steve Harper
- Sue Haupert-Johnson
- Bener Agtarap
- Mark Williamson
- and more!
Please register at the link below. We will use the same registration for each event. If you can’t make it to the conversation live, you will be able to access a recording after the event.
Michael Beck is the Director of Fresh Expressions United Methodist (FXUM) with Path 1 at Discipleship Ministries.
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