Biblical Formation for Witness: Missional Hermeneutics in Context

A conference offered by Princeton Theological Seminary’s
Center for Church Planting and Revitalization
In partnership with the Office of Continuing Education

How can the Bible shape a witnessing community? Join three biblical scholars and two dynamic pastors for interactive conversations around the Bible and diverse ministry contexts. Our scholars will introduce us to “missional hermeneutics”—reading the Bible in light of God's call to bear witness to the good news. Our pastors will lead us in imagining how scripture can form particular faith communities for witness today. Using a round table format, we will dive into the missional context of specific scripture passages and bring them into conversation with our own contexts. Come to engage in stimulating conversations, rediscover how scripture can form your faith community, and be inspired for Christian witness in your own context.

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Dr. Lisa Marie Bowens
Assistant Professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

Dr. Bowens, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, earned a BS (cum laude), MSBE and MLIS from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an MTS and ThM from Duke Divinity School. She received her PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and her recently published book, An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, is a revision of her dissertation. Her research interests include Paul and apocalyptic, Pauline anthropology, Pauline epistemology, aspects of discipleship in the gospels, African American Pauline Hermeneutics, and New Testament exegesis and interpretation. Dr. Bowens co-teaches courses on church planting and revitalization at Princeton Seminary. She is part of the Pentecostal tradition.

Dr. Thomas Daniel
Senior Pastor, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Austin, TX

Dr. Thomas Daniel, senior pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church since 2014, was born and raised in Atlanta. He graduated from Davidson College and taught English in Japan for two years, after which he attended Columbia Theological Seminary. He graduated with a Masters of Divinity in 2003 and a Doctor of Ministry in 2011. While in seminary, Thomas worked as the Director of College Ministry at North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Upon graduation, he served as Associate Pastor for Evangelism for that same congregation. He then served as co-pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, Ill. Prior to coming to Covenant, Thomas was the organizing co-pastor of Kairos Church in Atlanta. Kairos, a new church plant, quickly grew from seven people to more than 300 attendees. Thomas is married to Beth and they have two daughters, Miriam Grace and Hannah Joy.

Dr. Timothy W. Sloan
Senior Pastor, The Luke Church, Humble, Texas

Dr. Sloan is Senior Pastor of The Luke Church in Humble, Texas. He is an emerging voice in the African American church known for developing strategic faith based partnerships between national and community organizations. Sloan has earned degrees from Morehouse College (BA), Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv) and Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School (DMin). He is the author of Stand: Learning to Lead through Conflict, the transparent story of how he led his church through transition from traditional to an emerging model congregation. He and his wife Sonya, an orthopedic surgeon, have three children: Sarah, Soren and Timothy John.

Dr. J. Ross Wagner
Associate Professor of New Testament, Duke Divinity School

Dr. Wagner returned to Duke in 2013 after teaching New Testament for fifteen years at Princeton Theological Seminary. Specializing in Paul’s letters and in Septuagint studies, he seeks to contribute to the recovery of theological exegesis through careful investigation of the ways scriptural interpretation shaped early Jewish and Christian communities. His publications include Heralds of the Good News: Paul and Isaiah in Concert in the Letter to the Romans (2002), Between Gospel and Election: Explorations in the Interpretation of Romans 9–11 (co-edited with Florian Wilk, 2010) and, most recently, Reading the Sealed Book: Old Greek Isaiah and the Problem of Septuagint Hermeneutics(2013). His current project, a book-length treatment of the Old Testament in the New, aims to show that theological reflection on the meaning of Jesus’ life has, from the very beginning, required Christian interpreters to wrestle with the textual and linguistic plurality of the scriptures in their witness to God’s actions in Jesus the Messiah. He is a United Methodist.

Dr. Shane Berg
Executive Vice President, Princeton Theological Seminary

Dr. Berg earned his MDiv degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and his PhD in New Testament and Ancient Christianity from Yale University. In his teaching and research, he strives to read the New Testament faithfully and well by paying special attention to its context in ancient Jewish thought and culture. Before entering administration, Dr. Berg served on the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary for seven years as Assistant Professor of New Testament.

Sarah Ann Bixler
Assistant to the Director, Center for Church Planting and Revitalization, Princeton Theological Seminary

Mrs. Bixler is a PhD student in practical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, focusing on Christian education and formation. She previously worked as a youth minister, middle judicatory administrator and classroom teacher, and was a founding member of Eastside Church in Harrisonburg, VA. Mrs. Bixler is an active member of Mennonite Church USA, where she currently serves on the Journey Forward visioning team.

Dr. Darrell Guder
Interim Director, Center for Church Planting and Revitalization, Princeton Theological Seminary

Dr. Guder is the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary. An ordained Presbyterian minister (PCUSA), he has worked in administration and teaching at the Karlshöhe Ludwigsburg, Fuller Theological Seminary, Whitworth University, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Princeton Seminary. He is the author of Be My Witnesses: The Church’s Mission, Message, and Messengers (1985), The Incarnation and the Church’s Witness (1999), The Continuing Conversion of the Church (2000), and Called to Witness; Doing Missional Theology (2015); translator of several German academic works; and coordinator and editor of the Gospel and Our Culture Network’s research project, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (1998).

Rev. Carlos Corro
Founding Pastor of Imago Church

Rev. Carlos Corro, MDiv ’13, is from Southern California, where he was raised until heading to UC Berkeley, where he earned a BA in philosophy. He then moved to the East Coast in the the summer of 2013 where he earned his MDiv at Princeton Theological Seminary and became an ordained minister with the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Corro has spent 14 years working in several churches in the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area, as well as in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His interests include relationship building, traveling, music and philosophy/theology. In the summer of 2016, Corro moved back to California where he responded to the call to plant and serve as the founding pastor of Imago Church in the California Central Valley. Corro lives in Visalia, Calif. with his wife, Charlotte, and their two sons, Lemuel and Lael.

Rev. Daniel Perez
Pastor of Community Engagement at New City Church

Rev. Daniel Perez, MDiv ’17, is pastor of community engagement at New City Church of Los Angeles. Perez was born and raised in South Florida. After completing undergraduate studies at University of Central Florida, Perez, together with his spouse, Emily, moved to the Northeast for work and seminary. Perez graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in 2017, where he worked as research assistant for the Center for Church Planting and Revitalization. The Perezes moved across the country in 2017 to Los Angeles for Emily to attend UCLA. They enjoy spontaneously exploring new parts of LA and other cities, and playing fetch with their two Chihuahuas, Gus and Vento.

Cost: $155

Lodging during the conference is available for an additional cost at the Erdman Center on the Princeton Theological Seminary campus. When booking lodging, please mention that you are attending the Biblical Formation for Witness conference.