O. Wesley Allen Jr. to lead Schooler Institute on Preaching

Preacher, educator and widely published author O. Wesley Allen Jr. will lead the 2020 Schooler Institute on Preaching at Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

The two-day event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 3 and 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 4 on the MTSO campus, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware. Thanks to the generosity of the Schooler Family Foundation, the Schooler Institute is offered to the public without cost, as is lunch both days. Advance registration is required and available at www.mtso.edu/schooler. One continuing education unit is available for a $25 processing fee.

Allen, the Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, has chosen the theme “Preaching Mark as Parable” for the Schooler Institute.

He argues that the author of the Second Gospel wrote the entire narrative as a parable to challenge and change the way the original audience thought about Christ, the reign of God and their roles as disciples. The first day of Schooler will focus on this reading and techniques for preaching individual Markan passages in light of the parabolic nature of the whole document. On the second day, Allen will present strategies for preaching through Mark cumulatively, especially for (but not limited to) those following the Revised Common Lectionary.

The Synoptic Gospels are among Allen’s areas of specialization. He wrote his 1996 dissertation on Luke-Acts; authored an exegetical textbook titled Reading the Synoptic Gospels: Basic Methods for Interpreting Matthew, Mark, and Luke in 2000 and revised it in 2013; and contributed the volume Matthew to the Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries series in 2013. He is currently working on a critical preaching commentary on the Gospel of Mark.

Allen holds a Ph.D. from Emory Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School and a bachelor’s degree from Birmingham-Southern College. An ordained United Methodist elder, he is past president of the Academy of Homiletics.

Methodist Theological School in Ohio provides theological education and leadership in pursuit of a just, sustainable and generative world. In addition to the Master of Divinity degree, the school offers master’s degrees in counseling, practical theology, social justice and theological studies, along with a Doctor of Ministry degree.

CONTACT:

Danny Russell, communications director
drussell@mtso.edu, 740-362-3322