February 26, 2022
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
St. James United Methodist Church
5540 Wayne Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110

Nazarene Theological Seminary is pleased to offer the 2022 Grider-Winget Lectures in Theology with Dr. Willie James Jennings. This event is offered in partnership with Saint Paul School of Theology, Central Seminary, and St. James United Methodist Church. A complimentary lunch will be provided with registration. These lectures will offer a theology of building that moves from community planning and building, to institutional building, to forming people of faith – all with a view toward better ways of living together in and with our world. NOTE: This event will not be live streamed but will be recorded and made available after the event.

Dr. Willie James Jennings is currently Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University Divinity School.

Dr. Jennings was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Jennings received his B.A. in Religion and Theological Studies from Calvin College (1984), his M.Div. (Master of Divinity degree) from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California, and his Ph.D. degree from Duke University. Dr. Jennings who is a systematic theologian teaches in the areas of theology, black church and Africana studies, as well as post-colonial and race theory. Dr. Jennings is the author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race published by Yale University Press. It is one of the most important books in theology written in the last 25 years and is now a standard text read in colleges, seminaries, and universities.  Dr. Jennings is also the recipient of the 2015 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his groundbreaking work on race and Christianity. Dr. Jennings recently authored commentary on the Book of Acts has won the Reference Book of the Year Award, from The Academy of Parish Clergy and now Dr. Jennings is hard at work on a book on the doctrine of creation, tentatively entitled, “Reframing the World.”

In addition to being a frequent lecturer at colleges, universities, and seminaries, Dr. Jennings is also a regular workshop leader at pastor conferences. He is also a consultant for the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, and for the Association of Theological Schools.

He served along with his wife, the Reverend Joanne L. Browne Jennings as associate ministers at the Mount Level Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina, and for many years, they served together as interim pastors for several Presbyterian and Baptist churches in North Carolina. They are the parents of two wonderful daughters, Njeri and Safiya Jennings.

Event Schedule:

8:00 am – Doors Open

9:00 am – Lecture One 

10:00 am – Break 

10:30 am – Lecture Two/Q & A 

12:00 pm – Lunch 

1:30 pm – Lecture Three/Q & A