Remind & Renew 2019… Negotiating Empire: Stories of Accommodation and Resistance from the New Testament

Christian churches have a long record of both supporting and resisting the empires they have encountered over the centuries. Two Phillips Theological Seminary faculty members will explore this complicated relationship during the 2019 Remind & Renew conference, Negotiating Empire: Stories of Accommodation and Resistance from the New Testament, Jan. 23–24 in Tulsa, Okla.

Phillips New Testament scholars, Dr. Arthur Carter and Dr. Warren Carter, will discuss how early Christian communities dealt with the Roman Empire in differing ways.

Arthur Carter will primarily speak from the Acts of the Apostles and bring his focus on diaspora studies as a lens to explore early Christian identity construction within early imperial Rome.

Warren Carter will primarily use the text from the Book of Matthew to examine “interactions between the Jesus movement and the imperial world.”

“Focusing on the varied experiences of early Christians and the empire in which they lived will provide insight for people of faith today who experience their own feelings of unease and lack of belonging in today’s world,” said Dr. Nancy Claire Pittman, interim president of Phillips.

In a special evening event, Dr. Phil Snider will present a talk on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. titled, “Reeling, Resisting, and Regathering: On the Urgency of Being the Church.” Snider is the pastor of Brentwood Christian Church in Springfield, MO and the editor of a new Chalice Press book, Preaching as Resistance: Voices of Hope, Justice, and Solidarity.

“Phil’s book is receiving wonderful reviews,” Pittman said. “We also decided to invite two clergywomen who have sermons included in this new book.”

Preachers for the 2019 Remind & Renew are Dr. Cassandra Gould, executive director of Missouri Faith Voice and a pastor in the AME church, and the Rev. Lori Walke, associate minister of Mayflower United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.

The Rev. Emily Bowen-Marler, associate minister at Brentwood Christian Church, returns to Remind & Renew as this year’s worship leader.

Registration for Remind & Renew 2019 is now open. Sign up by Jan. 4 and receive the early registration discount. CLICK TO REGISTER