Sharing the Good News with Evangelicals: Why and How to Talk (and Listen) to the Conserving Christians in Your Life about the Things that Matter Most
with Dr. Lance Pape
Saturday, January 20, 2024
10:00 am to 12:00 pm CST
Bass Conference Center at Brite Divinity School
The rise of partisan news networks and the pervasive influence of social media have left our nation deeply divided. From the moment we wake and snatch our phones off the nightstand, we find ourselves marinating in words and images algorithmically tuned to confirm bias, stoke fear, provoke rage, and discourage nuance. Unsurprisingly, our public discourse is increasingly polarized (everyone must choose a side), and siloed (there is little occasion for genuine dialogue between sides).
As progressive Christians, how should we relate to our more conserving siblings in Christ who have aligned with the "other" side in this culture war? For many of us, the problem is intensely personal, affecting relationships with extended family, co-workers, and neighbors. Fearing conflict, we may be tempted to avoid the subject of faith altogether. But the path to respectful dialogue and authentic relationships is to dare to speak openly and listen attentively about the things that matter most to us. This lecture challenges progressive Christians to embrace the language of faith in their personal relationships with conserving Christians, becoming more biblically informed, more theologically articulate, and more boldly confessional.
Dr. Lance Pape is the Granville and Erline Walker Associate Professor of Homiletics at Brite Divinity School. He did undergraduate work at Abilene Christian University and completed his B.A. at the Institute for Christian Studies (now Austin Graduate School of Theology) in 1991. He holds an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School (1994) and Ph.D. from Emory University (2010). Dr. Pape's teaching and research are focused on homiletical theory, and biblical hermeneutics and preaching. An ordained minister, he has served congregations in Texas, Alabama, and New York. Lance is married to the Rev. Dr. Katie Hays (Disciples of Christ), and they are the parents of two children.
Register at https://epay.tcu.edu/stalcup_seminar/