The College Theology Society, a primarily Catholic theology group, holds their annual meetings at various campuses across the country each year. (I believe I was told that they do one meeting on each coast and two in the middle of the country as part of their cycle.) Some time back one of the most influential Baptist theologians of the last century—Jim McClendon—suggested that the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion should meet with the CTS to forge an alliance of sorts. The result is a cross-pollination of theological thought that is both educational and productive.
Consequently, I had the opportunity to hear David Burrell speak on creation, meet some Catholic theologians at other schools, and walk the Notre Dame campus. I also was afforded the opportunity to meet with some of my theological heroes in the Baptist world—Mike Broadway, Barry Harvey, Brad Kallenberg, Beth Newman, and Phillip Thompson—along with meeting some of the up and coming through the graduate ranks (Looks like good things are happening at the University of Dayton these days). Oh, and I also got to see some of my good friends from Ph.D. days.
The papers I heard were quite good, and it appears as if the first six presentations from the NABPR presentations will be presented for publication in an upcoming journal issue, including my own.
Theology conferences, while pedantic and dense to some, are exceptionally refreshing to me. I love having the opportunity to see the thought that will be shaping our church practices unfold before my eyes and to participate in the dialogue. Truthfully, the ideas shared at CTS/NABPR will be published as articles and books, read by professors, taught in seminaries, and then heard by future pastors. It's fun to be on the front end of that process, hear the ideas, and begin imagining how they might play out in our church.
1 comments:
It was good to meet you, and I look forward to more conversation. I enjoyed reading through your blog.
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