Our 2005 Perkins Lecturer was Rev. John M. Buchanan.  He has served as Senior Pastor of the 4000 member Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago since 1985. During this time, he has led that church to grow to one of the largest churches in his denomination.

A native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Rev. Buchanan graduated from Franklin and Marshall in 1959.  He was influenced by his father to believe that he could do whatever he aspired to do and the he should “by golly . . . aspire high!”

Aspiring high, Rev. Buchanan earned a Bachelor of Divinity from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago in 1963.  He then served as pastor of churches in Dyer, Indiana, Lafayette, Indiana, and Columbus, Ohio before returning to Chicago to take up his current pastorate.

He served as moderator of the 208th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) In that position, he guided the Presbyterian Church through some difficult periods and represented his denomination before ecumenical bodies around the world.

Rev. Buchanan has served since 1999 as the Editor/Publisher of the Christian Century magazine. This is one of the most influential magazines in the Christian faith. The overall theme of the Christian Century can be summed up in the phrase: “Faithful Living, Critical Thinking.”

Also, Rev. Buchanan is author of two books:

• A New Church for a New World, Geneva Press, 2008
• Being Church, Becoming Community, Westminster John Knox Press, 1996

Buchanan and his wife, Sue, have five children.

2005 Perkins Lectures Theme:

A Viable Theism:
Questions People Ask About God

Topics:

• Sunday, March 6, 2005 – 10:30am:
  What Do You Know For Sure?
  Romans 8:31-39
• Sunday, March 6, 2005 – 7:00pm:
  Does God Exist?
  Exodus 3:1-15, Psalm 14:1
• Monday, March 7, 2005 – 11:00am:
  Can I Trust God and Science?
  Genesis 1:1-5, 26-31, John 1:1-5
• Monday, March 7, 2005 – 7:00pm:
  Does God Care?
  Job 42:1-6, Psalm 77:9, Luke 13:1-5
• Tuesday, March 8, 2005 – 11:00am:
  Does God Provide?
  Exodus 16:1-15, Matthew 7:7-11
• Tuesday, March 8, 2005 – 11:00am:
  Can I See God?
  Exodus 33:22,23, John 1:14-18

Posted on March 9th, 2005 by tsims in Perkins Lectures