ATLANTA — Noted author and professor The Rev. Dr. Robert Smith Jr. will deliver the 2010 William L. Self Preaching Lectures, April 5-6, for Mercer University’s James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta. Dr. Smith will speak on the theme “Doctrine that Dances.” All events will be held in the Atlanta Administration and Conference Center on Mercer’s Atlanta Campus, 2930 Flowers Road.
Dr. Smith is associate professor of divinity and Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School and will deliver three lectures built around his theme. In addition, the event will also include a preaching workshop by Dr. Brett Younger, associate professor of preaching at McAfee.
The conference schedule is as follows:
April 5:
2 p.m., lecture, titled “The Preacher as an Exegetical Escort,” by Dr. Smith
5:30 p.m., dinner
7 p.m., lecture, titled “The Preacher as a Doxological Dancer,” by Dr. Smith
April 6:
9 a.m., preaching workshop, titled “Why Baptist Preachers Can’t Dance,” by Dr. Younger
10:45 a.m., lecture, titled “What God Has Joined Together: the Holy Spirit and Preaching,” by Dr. Smith
For registration and program information, contact Diane Frazier at frazier_d@mercer.edu or (678) 547-6470. Registration for the event is $65 per person and $25 for spouses and students. The registration deadline is March 31.
Prior to his appointment at Beeson, Dr. Smith served as the Carl E. Bates Associate Professor of Christian Preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
A popular teacher and preacher, Smith received the 1996 Findley B. Edge Award for Teaching Excellence at Southern Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he served as pastor of the New Mission Missionary Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, for 20 years before returning to Southern to complete his Ph.D. Dr. Smith is also co-editor of A Mighty Long Journey. He wrote Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life, which was selected as the 2008 Preaching Book of the Year by Preaching Magazine. He has spoken at more than 45 universities, colleges and seminaries in the United States, Great Britain and the Caribbean.
Dr. Smith’s research interests include the place of passion in preaching, the literary history of African-American preaching, Christological preaching, and theologies of preaching. At Beeson, he teaches Christian preaching and other electives in homiletics. Dr. Smith received Beeson Divinity School’s “Teacher of the Year Award” in 2005.
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 Dr. William L. Self, who has a national reputation as a gifted preacher, pastor, author, lecturer, motivational speaker and innovator in church growth. Dr. 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 enrolls more than 8,000 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah and at three regional academic centers across the state. Mercer is affiliated with two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah and the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. The University operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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