Asbury Seminary Hosts the first of three Q3 conferences: "Celebrating the Wonder of God’s World"

The first of three faith and science conferences to be hosted by Asbury Theological Seminary was held on the Wilmore campus from March 9 to 11.  Funded by a generous grant by the John Templeton Foundation and ably supported by the Asbury Seminary staff, this gathering brought together more than 200 participants.  Pastors, youth and campus ministers, students, scientists, philosophers, theologians, and biblical scholars joined in celebrating the wonder of the universe from the perspective of faith and science.  The aim of the conference was to cultivate increased understanding of how knowledge of God and the world may be integrated for the faithful practice of ministry.  The conference appropriately began and concluded with worship, praising the Triune God for the glory of his truth and goodness as revealed in the work of creation and redemption.  Dr. Ellsworth Kalas and Dr. Brian Edgar served as preachers.

The keynote address was given by Dr. Owen Gingerich of Harvard who spoke on “What the church can learn from the Galileo affair.” Plenary presentations covered a range of scientific and theological topics in relation to the church’s faith and mission, including: science and the media, C.S. Lewis on science, pop culture and science, the wonder evoked by scientific discovery.  Plenary speakers were Dr. David Wilkinson, theologian and physicist who is Dean of St. John’s College, Durham University, UK; Dr. Pamela Gay, astrophysicist, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville; Dr. Karl Giberson, physicist from Eastern Nazarene College; and Dr. George Murphy, physicist and theologian from Trinity Lutheran Seminary.  They were joined by Dr. Devon Brown, professor of English, Greg Bandy, professor of media communications, and Dr. Mike Peterson, professor of philosophy, all of Asbury University.  Workshops addressed the integration of faith and science in the practice of ministry from the perspective of biblical interpretation and preaching, pastoral ministry, youth and campus ministry, worship and the sacraments.  Professors Larry Wood, Brian Edgar, Bill Arnold, and Mike Pasquarello from Asbury Seminary were workshop leaders.   Workshop leaders also included Dr. Diane Davis, a practicing physician and MATS graduate of Asbury Seminary, Dr. Phil Tallon and Mr. Brian Marshall, Directors of the Center for Christian Studies, the University of Kentucky.

Similar Q3 conferences will be held on the Wilmore campus in March of 2011 and 2012.  We will continue to explore the integration of faith and science for the practice of ministry by focusing on who we are as human beings - made in God’s image, and who we are as the church of Jesus Christ - the visible sign of the new creation which is our destiny in loving communion with the Triune God.  Watch the Q3 webpage on the Asbury Seminary website for news about this exciting project.