Wednesday, October 14 at 7:30pm ET
Most of us have been working to prepare people for the election.
We also need to be planning for what comes after it.
The integrity of the election is being undermined. The future of democracy is in peril. How will you lead your congregation through this treacherous time ahead?
Regardless of the outcome, our upcoming election promises to bring the greatest challenges to pastoral leadership since the Civil War. Join this conversation with two pastors: one a leader among American evangelicals, the other a filmmaker. Both are students of the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany.
What you can expect in this webinar:
- Why is this a time of “Status Confessionis?” There are times in a society’s life in which basic ethical values break down and the lives of those on the margins are endangered. What does that look like when it’s happening, and what kind of pastoral leadership is needed?
- How does history inform our way forward? While we cannot draw direct lines from history, it does give us insight into what is taking place and how we might lead others through it. This webinar will consider stories of how courageous people both succeeded and failed in how they led in the church.
- What can we expect as we do justice and love mercy? Leadership in difficult times requires sacrifice. In this conversation, the two presenters will give examples of how pastors can be the leaders the times demand.
Presenters:
The Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck is an ordained evangelical minister and President of the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute, located in Washington, DC. A leader among American evangelicals, Dr. Schenck served a 2-year term as chairman of the Evangelical Church Alliance, America’s oldest association of independent evangelical clergy, and is now an Executive Advisor to the Office of the Secretary General to the World Evangelical Alliance.
Dr. Schenck holds a B.A. in religion, M.A. in Christian Ministry, D.Min in Church and State, and is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Law and Public Policy at Oxford. He serves on numerous boards and committees, including the National Advisory Board on Community Engagement in the State Courts. His professional memberships include the National Association of Evangelicals, the American Academy of Religion, the Capitol Forum Club, and the National Press Club.
Dr. Schenck is the subject of the Armor of Light, Abigail Disney’s Emmy-winning documentary examining evangelicals and American gun culture. His essays on current affairs have been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine, and The Hill, among other national journals. Stories about him have appeared in Christianity Today, the Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Constitution, the Houston Post, and many other newspapers and magazines. Interviews with him have been featured on NPR, PBS, CNN, among numerous other networks and online platforms, and his interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air was one of the most popular among her line-up.
Dr. Schenck is the author of Costly Grace: An Evangelical Minister’s Rediscovery of Faith, Hope and Love, published by HarperCollins. He lives in Arlington, VA, with his wife, Cheryl, a psychotherapist in private practice.
Rev. Steven D. Martin has served United Methodist Churches as pastor for twenty years and is a graduate of Candler School of Theology. He is the founder of the Lakelands Institute, an organization providing e-learning resources for pastors and church professionals. He brings his expertise in theology, the intersection of faith and politics, and media production to bear upon today’s most challenging problems.
He has produced several films for public television, including “Muslims in Appalachia,” “Islam in America After September 11th,” “Theologians Under Hitler,” “God With US: Baptism and the Jews in the Third Reich,” “Elisabeth of Berlin,” and most recently, “Islam in America: The Christian Truth.” His writing has appeared in America’s top national media outlets including the Washington Post and USA Today. Steven has served as the Director of Communications and Development for the National Council of Churches in Washington, DC. He speaks frequently at churches, seminaries, and conventions across the US.
In 2007 Rev. Martin was honored at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum for his work with “Theologians Under Hitler.” Steven worked with the Obama Administration on an important policy and social media campaign, “Know Your Neighbor,” aimed at reducing religious-based bigotry in the US. Steven serves as the secretary of the Board of Governors for The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute, the advisory board for Shoulder-to-Shoulder, and is a member of the National Press Club.
