June 5-6, 2014
As We Worship, So We Believe: How Christian Worship Forms Christian Faith
To access video and audio recordings of the 2014 conference, please click on the conference link above.
Lex orandi, lex credendi – “the rule of praying is the rule of believing.” This phrase, attributed to fifth-century theologian Prosper of Aquitaine, points to the intimate relationship between Christian worship and Christian belief. While Christian belief informs the character of Christian worship, Christian worship profoundly shapes Christian faith. Worship shapes not only the substance of our faith, but also the ways in which we inhabit and live out that faith. This forming and informing power of Christian worship is often referred to as liturgical formation.
Speakers:
The Rt. Rev. Colin Buchanan (DD, Lambeth) is the former principal of St. John’s Nottingham, former bishop of the Dioceses of Aston and Woolwich, and present assistant bishop in the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales: Leeds. Bp. Buchanan is widely known as an evangelical Anglican liturgical scholar and served for many years on the Church of England’s Liturgical Commission, as well as in many other leadership capacities. His many publications include The Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism, four volumes of Anglican Eucharist Liturgies, An Evangelical Among the Anglican Liturgists, numerous articles and other writings, and the many Grove Booklets he has written and published through Grove Books, which he founded.
The Rev. Dr. Timothy George (ThD, Harvard University) is the dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University since its inception in 1988. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Theology of the Reformers, John Calvin and the Church, and Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad? He also serves as the general editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, and serves on the editorial advisory boards of First Things, Christianity Today, and Books & Culture. An ordained minister in the Southern Baptist Convention, he also chairs the Doctrine and Christian Unity Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.
Dr. Edith M. Humphrey (PhD, McGill University) is the William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including Scripture and Tradition: What the Bible Really Says; Grand Entrance: Worship on Earth as in Heaven; And I Turned to See the Voice: The Rhetoric of Vision in the New Testament; and Ecstasy and Intimacy: When the Holy Spirit Meets the Human Spirit. In her popular writing she has addressed such subjects as the Jesus Seminar, the Trinity, sexuality and the human person, the authority of Scripture within the Great Tradition,and Christian spirituality. An active member of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, she retains strong ties with friends in various denominations.
The Rev. Dr. Amy Schifrin, STS (PhD, Graduate Theological Union) is associate Professor of Liturgy and Homiletics and the newly appointed President/Director of the North American Lutheran Seminary, which is housed at Trinity School for Ministry. She is a pastor in the North American Lutheran Church and the author a number of articles and two books: “Give Us Lips to Sing Thy Glory, Tongues Thy Mercy to Proclaim”: The Performative Exegesis of the Word Through Preaching and Hymnody; and the Lectionary Worship Workbook (Series III, Cycle A). Amy serves on the NALC Commission for Doctrine and Theology and is actively involved in addressing issues related to marriage, sexuality and ordination rites.
Dr. James KA Smith (PhD, Villanova University) is professor of philosophy at Calvin College where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology & Worldview. The award-winning author of a number of books, including Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism? and Desiring the Kingdom, his most recent works include Imagining the Kingdom, Discipleship in the Present Tense, and How (Not) To Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor. His popular writing has appeared in magazines such as Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and First Things. He is a Senior Fellow of Cardus and serves as editor of Comment magazine.