LAKE JUNALUSKA, NC –Want to preach with great freedom and joy? Discover The Jazz of Preaching at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center’s annual Ministry Summit, August 1-4, 2010.
Drawing on the rich treasures of jazz, Lake Junaluska’s 2010 Ministry Summit will call preachers to unleash their creative enterprise by risking improvisation, playing with dialogue, and becoming open to mystery and grace in preaching. The event is dedicated to honesty and reaching beyond in order for pastors and their congregations to embrace God, and will be based mostly on the subject of preaching. It will also encompass learning about fresh joy and new freedom in living.
“This ministry summit will allow preachers to grow in their ministry by teaching them to connect with their congregations in new ways,” said Jimmy L. Carr, Executive Director. “The Lake Junaluska Ministry team has designed The Jazz of Preaching Ministry Summit with the goal of opening preachers’ hearts and minds to new techniques and venues of reaching their congregations. We hope all will join us for an invigorating summit this year.”
Featured preachers at The Jazz of Preaching Ministry Summit include Dr. Kirk Byron Jones, Dr. Tom Long, and Heather Murray Elkins. Worship, music and arts for the event will include the Junaluska Singers, a sampler of jazz musicians and ensembles from across the Southeast, Miriam’s Daughters Dance Troupe, and a resident visual artist.
Dr. Kirk Byron Jones is the author of The Jazz of Preaching: How to Preach with Great Freedom and Joy. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Drew University, and is currently a professor of ethics and preaching at Andover Newton Theological School. In addition, he teaches and preaches at churches, schools and conferences throughout the country.
Dr. Tom Long, the Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University is another featured preacher. In 1996, Dr. Long was named one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world by Baylor University, along with Fred Craddock, Billy Graham and others. He was ordained in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and is currently a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).
In addition, Heather Murray Elkins will preach. Elkins is a professor of worship, preaching and the arts at Drew Theological School, where her primary work in curriculum involves courses on worship, the Center for Ministry and Imagination, and cross-cultural courses on Appalachian studies. She is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church and helped initiate the faculty exchange program at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. Elkins is also the author of Holy Stuff of Life (2006).
Participants are invited to come early or extend their stay in order to participate in community recreation opportunities or excursions, such as the Biltmore House and Gardens. More information about the event, speakers and registration can be found at www.lakejunaluska.com/summit. Register by May 30 to take advantage of early registration of $160 per person. After May 30, the cost is $175 per person.
Written by: Andie Robbins, Communications Intern