Scripture and Church Seminar

Theme: “The Psalms and the Life of the Church.” The Scripture and Church Seminar explores the nexus between Scripture and the Church in terrain typically denominated “practical theology.” Our papers this year will address:

• The Psalms and the Faith of the Church: How is the faith of the church formed by diverse interpretations of the Psalms in terms of her worship and liturgy.
• The Psalms and the Preaching of the Church: How should the Psalms be preached in a cultural and theological context so far removed from their original setting?
• The Psalms and Music of the Church: What are some ways in which the Psalms are inspiring church musicians to compose music?

• Bill DeJong, Redeemer University College, Presiding (5 min)
• Opening Liturgy
• Bill DeJong, Redeemer University College
  Scripture Reading and Prayer (5 min)
• Susan Bubbers, The ATLAS Theological Center
  The Psalms and the Faith of the Church (25 min)
• William Olhausen, Anglican Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough
  The Psalms and the Preaching of the Church (25 min)
• Break (10 min)
• Delvyn Case III, Wheaton College, Massachusetts
  The Psalms and the Music of the Church (25 min)
• Discussion (50 min)
• Closing Liturgy

Our papers this year will address:

1. Hearing the Gospel of the Kingdom: What does the gospel of the Kingdom have to say to the twenty-first century church? At what points do Jesus’s kingdom parables, discourses and signs offer encouragement and sustenance to a struggling post-Christendom church? At what points do they disrupt and destabilise the order that we have constructed or inherited?
2. Proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom: How are we to convey the meaning of Jesus’s Kingdom proclamation and its present implications, within a contemporary context in which notions of kingdom and kingship are alien to the experience of many, and there is deep and widespread suspicion of authority claims and totalizing narratives?
3. Dramatizing the Gospel of the Kingdom: How should the liberating incursion of the Kingdom of God be demonstrated and dramatized in the conduct of contemporary Christians and in the shape of our churches and the various other institutions that we create and maintain?

• Bill DeJong, Blessings Christian Church, Welcome (5 min)
• Opening Liturgy
• Other (5 min)
• Jeannine Brown, Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN)
  Hearing the Gospel of the Kingdom (25 min)
• Koert Van Bekkum, Theological University (Kampen, NL)
  Proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom (25 min)
• Break (10 min)
• David Starling (Morling College, Sydney) Dramatizing the Gospel of the Kingdom (25 min)
• Panel Discussion
• Discussion (25 min)
• Q&A with Panelists
• Discussion (20 min)
• Closing Liturgy
• Other (5 min)
• Final Announcements
• Other (5 min)

The 2018 theme for the Scripture and Church Seminar will bring into focus the complex relationship between the church and the Kingdom of God. Some of the critical questions we will engage with an interdisciplinary panel of presenters are: How does Scripture shape a church of covenant subjects of, or partners with, the King? How does Scripture disclose the church as the community gathered before the King? What insight does Scripture provide for how the church is to live as dual citizens of the Kingdom of God and earthly political nation-states? And since Scripture reveals to us the ever-present God who is King, what does it mean that the Church is the Worshippers of the Present-and-Coming-King? Each paper of this year's meeting will address one of these important scholarly and practical questions.

• Michael Wagenman, Western University, Presiding

• Michael Wagenman, Western University, Welcome (5 min)

• Michael Wagenman, Western University, Scripture Reading and Prayer (5 min)

• Jonathan Pennington, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
  Church as the Community Gathered before the King (25 min)

• Jonathan Leeman, 9Marks, Washington, DC
  Church as Dual Citizens of Kingdom and State (25 min)

• Break (10 min)

• Amy Peeler, Wheaton College (Illinois)
  Church of Worshipers of the Present-and-Coming King: The Time and Place of Worship in the Epistle to the Hebrews (25 min)

• Panel Discussion

• Discussion (25 min)

• General Discussion

• Discussion (25 min)

• Michael Wagenman, Western University, Scripture Reading and Prayer (5 min)

• Michael Wagenman, Western University, Presiding

• Vince Bantu, Covenant Theological Seminary
  Biblical Interpretation and Liturgical Performance in Global Christian Perspective (30 min)

• Ryan O’Dowd, Cornell University,
  Dark Things in the Depths: Wisdom Confession, and the Kingdom of God (30 min)

• Break (15 min)

• Ruth Padilla-deBorst, Boston College
  The Kingdom of God and Everyday Liturgies in the New Testament (30 min)

• Dru Johnson, The King’s College (New York)
  Placebos, Elevator Buttons, and High Powered Lasers: How Ritual Ethics Enable Us to See the Kingdom of God (30 min)

• Discussion (15 min)

Nov. 19, 4:00–6:30pm     103 (Plaza Level) – Hynes Convention Center (HCC)

This year features an invited review session on E.P. Sanders, Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought.

• Craig Bartholomew, Redeemer University College, Presiding

• Discussion (120 min)

• Break (30 min)

Nov. 20, 4:00–6:00pm     221B (2nd Level, East) – Convention Center (CC)