Readers of Baptist News Global are invited to register now for Perkins School of Theology’s annual Fall Convocation, featuring Grammy-award winning gospel music icon Kirk Franklin and Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. With the theme, “Leading into Change,” the event takes place online on November 15-16, 2020.
Rev. Dr. George A. Mason, Senior Pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church commends Bolsinger’s work and encourages everyone to attend.
“’It’s not supposed to be this way,’ is the earworm phrase ministers hear over and over,” Mason said. “Tod Bolsinger wrote Canoeing the Mountains for Christian leaders who find themselves in uncharted territory needing to improvise constantly. Our pastoral residents and I are reading ahead, preparing for his visit to Perkins for the fall convocation. We are eager to see you there, too.”
Kirk Franklin will kick off the program on Sunday evening, November 15, 7 – 8:30 p.m., with a presentation, “Kirk Franklin Speaks from the Heart about Leading Into Change,” followed by Q&A. For those who are unable to attend the full Fall Convocation, this presentation is also offered as a stand-alone event and registration is $15. Franklin is a Grammy Award winning choir director, singer, songwriter and author of the New York Times bestseller The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms (Gotham/Penguin). Franklin also hosts the gospel talent show “Sunday Best,” the highest-rated gospel program in BET network history now heading into its fourth season.
Bolsinger will present three Plenary programs on Monday, November 16. His morning talk, from 9:30 – 11:05 a.m., will focus on “Leading in Uncharted Territory.” He will also deliver a midday Plenary (11:15 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.) on “Trust, Conflict, and Transformation in Uncharted Territory” and an afternoon Plenary (2:50 – 4:30 p.m.) on “Tempered Resilience: How Leaders are Formed in the Crucible of Change.” Participants will have ample opportunity to interact with Bolsinger as well as each other; each 35-minute plenary talk will be followed by breakout sessions lasting 30 minutes, then everyone will reconvene for a Q & A.
Bolsinger serves as Vice President and Chief of Leadership Formation and Associate Professor of Leadership Formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1993, Bolsinger was senior pastor of San Clemente Presbyterian Church from 1997 to 2014. He has extensive experience in church and nonprofit consulting and executive coaching.
Fall Convocation attendees may also attend an online worship with global music performed by IziBongo (a highlight of last year’s fall convocation) and a Monday afternoon workshop (1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.) exploring the “Leading into Change” theme. Each participant may choose one workshop from the schedule. Details are available online for the full convocation schedule and the workshops.
Registration for the Virtual Conference is $75 for the full conference or $15 for Sunday night only. Continuing-education credit (.8 CEU) also is available for an additional $15. Click here for more information or to register online, or call (214) 768-3664 to register by phone with a credit card or debit card.
Perkins School of Theology is one of five official University-related schools of theology of The United Methodist Church. It is also home to the Baptist House of Studies (BHS) at Perkins School of Theology, which fosters community for ministerial students, faculty, and staff who identify with the Baptist and Free Church traditions. The BHS is a spiritual, rather than a physical, house that especially supports and encourages students as they pursue their academic and ecclesial training in an ecumenical and university-based seminary.
This year’s Fall Convocation is made possible with the support of the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Claudia and Taylor Robinson Lectureship, the Paul Elliott and Mildred Fryar Martin Lectureship in Practical Theology, the Howard-Holbert Endowment, and the Center for Religious Leadership at Perkins School of Theology.