ATLANTA – The Rev. Chuck Poole, senior pastor of Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., will deliver the 2009 William L. Self Preaching Lectures, Feb. 16-17, for Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. Poole’s topic will be “Try to Say It Softly – Prophetic Preaching in a Pastoral Voice.”
The event will be held in Cecil B. Day Hall on Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Campus, 3001 Mercer University Drive, Atlanta. Registration for the event is $60 for ministers and $25 for spouses and students.
In addition to two lectures by Poole, the event will also include an information session on Mercer’s newly revised Doctor of Ministry degree and a seminar by Dr. Brett Younger, associate professor of preaching.
The conference schedule is as follows:
• Monday, Feb. 16:
o 2 p.m., lecture; 3:30 p.m., information session; 5:30 p.m., dinner; 7:30 p.m., lecture.
• Tuesday, Feb 17:
o 9 a.m., seminar; 10:15 a.m., coffee break; 10:45 a.m., community worship.
For registration and program information, contact Diane Frazier at frazier_d@mercer.edu or (678) 547-6470.
“Chuck Poole always speaks from a deep reservoir of pastoral experience and theological reflection,” said Dr. R. Alan Culpepper, dean of the McAfee School of Theology. “Over the years, Chuck has distinguished himself as a pastor with passionate commitments to the church, the gospel and the plight of the poor. The William L. Self Preaching lectures – in which he will address the challenge of prophetic preaching – have therefore been shaped not just by his homiletical skills, which are extraordinary, but by his experience of trying to be faithful to the most radical demands of the gospel. This promises to be a powerful and inspirational event.”
Poole is serving his second stint as senior pastor of Northminster Baptist Church. He was pastor of the church for six years before leaving in 2003 to become community minister for the LifeShare Foundation, an organization that helps Jackson’s poorest children and their families to meet basic needs, such as food, clothing and utility bills. Poole returned to Northminster’s pulpit in November 2007.
During his 26-year career, Poole also has served at the First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon, and First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., A 1977 Mercer graduate, Poole received a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Seminary and an honorary doctorate from Mercer.
He has been a visiting preacher and teacher at colleges and universities across the Southeast, including Mercer, Furman University, Duke University and The Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. In addition to publishing numerous articles, he is the author of six books, including Is Life Fair? Good Words for Hard Times and Don’t Cry Past Tuesday: Hopeful Words for Difficult Days.
About the William L. Self Lectures:
The William L. Self Lectureship at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology was established to promote the practice of faithful and effective preaching of the gospel. The series is named in honor of William L. Self, who has a national reputation as a gifted preacher, pastor, author, lecturer, motivational speaker and innovator in church growth. Self achieved considerable acclaim by leading Atlanta’s Wieuca Road Baptist Church to a place of prominence in Georgia and the nation. As pastor of Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, his leadership and substantial influence have brought this church to the vanguard of fast-growing churches.
About the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology:
The McAfee School of Theology was established in 1996. Located in Atlanta on Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus, the School of Theology offers programs leading to the degrees Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry. The School of Theology also offers several joint programs: an M.Div.-Master of Business Administration, an M.Div.-Master of Science in Counseling and an M.Div.-Master of Arts in Church Music through the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Church Music Studies, a collaborative program between the School of Theology and the Townsend School of Music in Macon. For more information, visit theology.mercer.edu.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has approximately 7,700 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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