Asbury Theological Seminary

Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence will preach during the Distinguished Preacher series on the Florida Dunnam campus on March 25, 2010.

The Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence has become a leading voice on the subject of homiletics as a speaker and author. A frequent guest preacher at festivals and conferences, Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., where she teaches courses on preaching and youth.

Florence’s research interests are in the areas of hermeneutics and pastoral formation. She is interested in helping preachers succeed in their efforts to encourage ways that bring youth into the ministry of proclamation. Her work has also focused on the areas of testimony and feminist homiletics.

Her sermons have been published in many books and journals. Florence’s book Preaching as Testimony (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007) examines biblical and theological perspectives on testimony and seeks to establish the historical and contemporary validity of women’s preaching and to introduce testimony to a new generation of preachers and teachers. Florence also is the editor of Inscribing the Text: Sermons and Prayers by Walter Brueggemann (Fortress Press, 2004).

She earned her Ph.D. and M.Div. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and her B.A. from Yale University. Florence began her career as Associate Pastor for Youth and Young Adults at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, Minn. In the mid-1990s she taught at Princeton Theological Seminary, and she has been a faculty member of Columbia Theological Seminary since 1998.

Florence her and husband, the Rev. David Carter Florence, have two sons.

Other scheduled preachers include:

Bishop Mike Watson, North Georgia conference - March 23

Bishop David Kendall, Free Methodist Church - April 22

Asbury Theological Seminary missiologist Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau has begun a sabbatical for spring 2010 that is giving him not only special research opportunities but also other roles for leadership in global gospel mission.

Pachuau, Associate Professor of the History and Theology of Mission and Director of Postgraduate Studies at Asbury Seminary, will be working as Missiologist-in-Residence February through May for the Church Mission Society's Crowther Centre for Mission Education in Oxford, England. The Crowther Centre houses the CMS library and coordinates mission education for CMS. As Missiologist-in-Residence, Pachuau will assist CMS in reflecting on the definition of a mission society in the 21st century.

Before beginning this service, however, Pachuau traveled through eastern and northern India for several weeks to visit a number of mission works and agencies.

In the states of Tripura, Jharkhand and Bihar and in India's capital, New Delhi, Pachuau was given a number of opportunities for preaching ministries and the honor of opening a church fellowship and inaugurating a church building and a computer center in a school. Pachuau was especially pleased with mission sessions in Jharkhand's Dumka District and Bihar's City of Patna, where at each location a dozen or more leaders of mission organizations attended.

"I've been received so well everywhere, and it's been a great and rewarding trip," Pachuau said in an email report from New Dehli Jan. 31 just before departing for Oxford. "Yesterday, I assisted a colleague in baptizing 14 new believers here in south Delhi. God's Spirit has been moving strongly in India."

While in England, Pachuau will be speaking on mission topics at locations such as at Cambridge University's Henry Martyn Centre, the University of Manchester, the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, the University of Bristol's Trinity College, St. John York University, Leeds Trinity University and Redcliffe College.

Pachuau also is convener of study commission II for the centennial Edinburgh 2010 World Missionary Conference that will meet in June in Edinburgh, Scotland, in conjunction with centenary celebrations around the globe on the theme "Witnessing to Christ Today."

Pachuau, who received his Ph.D. and Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary, is editor of the International Association for Mission Studies' journal, Mission Studies, and has authored and edited several books, including Ethnic Identity and Christianity (2002).

An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of India, Pachuau is a parish associate for the Nicholasville (Ky.) Presbyterian Church and is a member of the Church Development and Evangelism Committee, Transylvania Presbytery.

 He is married to Lalneih Kimi Sailo, and they have two sons. 

NACCAP (North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals) is pleased to announce the appointment of Janelle Vernon as the new Board of Directors President. Since 1993, Vernon has served at Asbury Theological Seminary in many roles including her current position as Executive Director of Enrollment Management and prior to that was employed at Huntington University from 1988 to 1993. "Janelle is the type of individual who exudes confidence in her work and displays the necessary character qualities to accomplish her goals. She has demonstrated a great deal of initiative in her involvement both on-campus and in the broader Christian higher education community. She has been an enabler in the area of service to others and is often sought out for counsel and insight on issues. We are excited to have her lead NACCAP," says Chant Thompson, Executive Director of NACCAP. Vernon has distinguished herself as a significant leader at several professional development conferences for NACCAP. She is currently serving as President-Elect and will take over as President for the organization during the summer of 2010. Vernon resides in Wilmore, Kentucky with her husband and son.

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