Perkins Lectures


perkinsPerkins Lecture Series have been one of the most significant events at FUMC since 1943. Paul E. Martin, beloved former pastor of FUMC, conceived the idea for the Perkins Lectures. Mr. and Mrs. J. J. (Lois) Perkins founded the Lectureship in 1943. Research indicates that this is the first lecture series of its kind nationwide, established in a local church. The Lectureship’s purpose is stated in its original charter, drafted in 1943: “To bring consecrated, capable speakers of note to deliver in said First Methodist Church, talks or lectures pertaining to and in furtherance of the Christian Religion . . . for the benefit of the members of said Church, for the benefit of Methodism generally, and for the benefit of the public at large.”


List of Lecturers

1943 Dr. Roy L. Smith * 1944 Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes *
1945 Dr. Norman Vincent Peal * 1946 No Lectures
1947 Dr. G. Ray Jordan * 1948 Dr. Richard C. Raines *
1949 Bishop Paul E. Martin* 1950 Dr. John Sutherland Bonnell *
1951 Dr. George A. Buttrick 1952 Dr. Elton Trueblood *
1953 Dr. Charles Ray Goff * 1954 Dr. Leslie D. Weatherhead
1955 Dr. Paul Scherer * 1956 Dr. James S. Stewart
1957 Bishop Gerald Kennedy 1958 Dr. Robert J. McCracken
1959 Dr. Perry E. Gresham 1960 Dr. Ralph W. Sockman *
1961 Dr. James T. Cleland 1962 Dr. Theodore A. Gill *
1963 Dr. Maldwyn Edwards 1964 The Rev. A. P. Tremlett
1965 No Lectures 1966 Dr. Carlyle Marney *
1967 Dr. Harold Roberts 1968 Dr. Albert C. Outler
1969 Bishop Paul E. Martin 1970 Dr. Browne Barr
1971 Dr. Arthur M. Jackson 1972 Dr. David H. C. Read
1973 Dr. Ernest T. Campbell 1974 Dr. Edmund A. Steimle
1975 Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens 1976 Dr. Gabriel Fackre
1977 Dr. Martin E. Marty 1978 Bishop Roy C. Nichols
1979 Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. 1980 Dr. Donald Coggan
1981 Bishop William R. Cannon 1982 Dr. Brevard S. Childs
1983 Dr. Fred B. Craddock 1984 Dr. Russell T. Montfort
1985 Father Raymond E. Brown 1986 Dr. Leander E. Keck
1987 Dr. William H. Willimon 1988 Dr. Walter Brueggemann
1989 Bishop Michael E. Marshall 1990 Dr. Morna D. Hooker
1991 Dr. J. Pittman McGehee 1992 Dr. Tex S. Sample
1993 Dr. Thomas G. Long 1994 Dean Alan W. Jones
1995 Father John R. Claypool, IV 1996 Madeleine L’Engle
1997 Dr. R. Maurice Boyd 1998 Dr. David Bartlett
1999 Dr. Zan Holmes 2000 Dr. George Carey
2001 Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor 2002 No Lectures
2003 Dr. Harold S. Kushner 2004 Dr. Arthur Caliandro
2005 Rev. John M. Buchanan 2006 Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr.
2007 Dr. Fred B. Craddock 2008 Dr. R. Maurice Boyd
2009 Dr. Tex Sample 2010 Dr. Amy-Jill Levine *
2011 Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie
  • CD Audio is available for all lecture series, except the ones with asterisk (*).
  • DVD Video is available for lectures since 1999 (not including 2010):
  • CD Audio: $30
  • DVD Video: $45 / set

If you would like to order by postal mail, click HERE for download and print the Order Form (in PDF format).

For more information, contact Rev. John Dillard, Associate Pastor:
jdillard@fumcwf.org or 940-766-4231, x227.

“Christian Community: Competition or Cooperation?”

For the March 5, 2012 evening lecture, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson gives the fourth and final presentation in this year’s Perkins Lectures, “Practical Christianity: Lessons From the Letter of James”. Using James 5:13-21, Dr. Johnson develops the theme, “Christian Community: Competition or Cooperation?” Click below to listen, watch or download today’s lecture.

Audio:

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Video:

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Posted on March 6th, 2012 by jdillard

“Faith and the Faithful Use of Possessions”

For Monday, March 5, 2012, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson presents “Faith and the Faithful Use of Possessions” as lecture three of four for the 2012 Perkins Lectures. Using James 1:2:1-26, Dr. Johnson further develops his overall theme for the series, “Practical Christianity: Lessons From the Letter of James”. Click below to listen, watch or download. You may also listen to Dr. Johnson’s comments following the clergy lunch by clicking the link at the bottom of the page.

Audio:

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Video:

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Posted on March 5th, 2012 by jdillard

“The Power of Speech for God and Evil”

For the March 4, 2012 evening lecture, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson uses James 3:1-9 to deliver the second of four lectures, “The Power of Speech for God and Evil” in his series, “Practical Christianity: Lessons From the Letter of James” in the 2012 Perkins Lecture Series. Click below to listen, watch or download this lecture.

Audio:

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Video:

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Posted on March 5th, 2012 by jdillard

“Friendship with the World and Friendship with God: The Need to Choose”

2012 Perkins Lecturer, Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson begins the first of four lessons, “Practical Christianity: Lessons From the Letter of James” with his first lecture, “Friendship with the World and Friendship with God: The Need to Choose” using James 4:1-8 for scripture text. Click below to listen, watch or download today’s sermon. Look for the other lectures to be posted as they are delivered.

Audio:

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Video:

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Posted on March 4th, 2012 by jdillard

Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson – 2012 Perkins Lecturer

Our 2012 Perkins Lecturer will be Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson, the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor Johnson earned a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Yale University, as well as an M.A. in Religious Studies from Indiana University, an M.Div. in Theology from Saint Meinrad School of Theology, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.  Professor Johnson’s research concerns the literary, moral, and religious dimensions of the New Testament, including the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts of early Christianity (particularly moral discourse), Luke-Acts, the Pastoral Letters, and the Letter of James.

A former Benedictine monk, Professor Johnson has taught at Yale Divinity School and Indiana University, where he received the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, was elected a member of the Faculty Colloquium in Teaching, and won the Brown Derby Teaching Award and the Student Choice Award for teaching. At Emory University, he has twice received the On Eagle’s Wings Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2007 he received the Candler School of Theology Outstanding Service Award.

Professor Johnson is the author of more than 25 books, including:

He has also published several hundred scholarly articles and reviews.

Here is the tentative schedule for the 2012 Perkins Lectures, Practical Christianity: Lessons from the Letter of James:

  • Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 10:30am
    “Friendship with the World and Friendship with God: The Need to Choose”
  • Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 7:00pm
    “The Power of Speech for Good and Evil”
  • Monday, March 5, 2012 at 11:30am
    “Faith and the Faithful Use of Possessions”
  • Monday, March 5, 2012 at 7:00pm
    “Christian Community: Competition or Cooperation?”

More information will be provided when it becomes available!

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Posted on February 6th, 2012 by tsims

Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie – 2011 Perkins Lecturer

AlyceMMcKenzie- Save Your Receipt: Exchanging Fear for Faith

The Rev. Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics at Perkins School of Theology. Ordained as an elder 1981, Dr. McKenzie is a member of the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Dr. McKenzie received her BA in the History of Religions from Bryn Mawr College (1977), her Master of Divinity degree from the Divinity School of Duke University (1980), and her Ph.D. in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1994. Dr. McKenzie has served several local congregations, in both associate and solo pastoral roles, in several churches in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania. From 1994-1998 she served as Visiting Lecturer in Homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary and as Consultant in Preaching and Worship to pastors of the Central and Eastern Conferences, UMC.

Her special interests include preaching on biblical wisdom, preaching on the sayings and parables of Jesus, preaching on public (often controversial) issues, and the role of imagination in crafting sermons. Her articles have appeared in a wide spectrum of periodicals: Quarterly Review, Interpretation, Journal for Preachers, The Living Pulpit, Circuit Rider, and Theology Today. Likewise, some of her sermons have appeared in a number of anthologies.

Dr. McKenzie enjoys writing books about preaching for pastors. She is the author of Preaching Proverbs: Wisdom for the Pulpit (1996), Preaching Biblical Wisdom in a Self-Help Society (2002), and Hear and Be Wise: Becoming a Preacher and Teacher of Wisdom (2004). Her book, Novel Preaching: Tips from Top Writers on Crafting Creative Sermons, was published by Westminster John Knox in 2010. A book, co-authored with colleague Dr. John Holbert, is entitled What Not to Say: Practical Advice for Provocative Preaching and will be published in the fall of 2011.

Dr. McKenzie also enjoys writing small group Bible studies for youth and adults. Her Matthew volume of the Interpretation Bible Studies Series was published by Westminster John Knox Press in 1998 and is now in its sixth printing. Her book, The Parables for Today, was published in 2007 by Westminster John Knox and is now in its 4th printing. She is currently working on a study of the Bible’s wisdom entitled Save Your Receipt: Exchanging Fear for Faith, is the recipient of the Perkins Scholarly Outreach Award for 2011. It is written for a popular audience and deals with how the Bible’s wisdom can re-frame the fears that shape our daily lives.

Dr. McKenzie’s blog “Edgy Exegesis,” a reflection on the weekly lectionary gospel text, attracts 2,000-2,500 readers per week.

Dr. McKenzie serves on the Board of Ordained Ministry of the North Texas Annual Conference and is the First Vice President of the Academy of Homiletics. She is a frequently featured speaker at events for both laity and clergy both in Texas and throughout the country.She and her husband Murry have three grown children, Melissa, Rebecca, and Matt. They live in Allen, Texas where they are active in the life of First United Methodist Church of Allen. She sings in the chancel choir and, with her husband Murry, leads the Journey Sunday School Class. The McKenzies enjoy traveling, music, and spending time with friends and family. She is an avid fan of mystery novels, a sporadic practitioner of yoga, an excellent baker, and a novice guitarist.

2011 Lecture Series
- Save Your Receipt: Exchanging Fear for Faith
:

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Posted on February 18th, 2011 by tsims

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