Black History Month honors the stalwart leaders who came before, but it also reminds us that contemporary generations of Black leaders continue to blaze trails, innovate, and scale mountains through their creativity, their erudition and their service.
On February 28, CT and Seminary Now are partnering to celebrate the month with a free webinar featuring an accomplished panel of Black evangelical leaders from diverse vocational ministry contexts. Their conversations will explore the blessings and challenges of being a Black leader in today’s divided and often volatile ministry environment. Their journeys in church, academia, and the arts offer practical lessons for creating, serving, and leading in a variety of contexts. Featured panelists for the online conversation include Chicago-based Pastor Marshall Hatch Sr. on church leadership, author and poet Rachel Marie Kang on creativity and the arts, Seminary Professor of Baylor University, Daniel Lee Hill, on Theology and Higher Education, and CT’s own Chief Impact Officer. Nicole Martin on women and ministerial leadership.
Inspired, in part, by a blog from June 2020 job According to webinar moderator Carmen Joy Imes, the discussion will have several entry points, ranging from historical to sociological to devotional. Imes, an Old Testament scholar at Biola University, speaks candidly about his relatively recent realization of the importance of seeing the world – and reading the Bible – through cultural lenses different from his own.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to help the Christian community experience Black History Month in a new way by interviewing these four exceptional leaders,” she said. “Over the past decade, it has become increasingly apparent to me how important it is for me to learn from those who come from different social strata and how much I miss out when I don’t. It has been a wonderful journey meeting Christian leaders from diverse backgrounds and hearing their perspectives on the world.
Imes was energized by these new connections. This 2020 blog post, a review of Esau McCaulley’s book Read in black written at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, was indicative of the changing trajectory in his relationships, his ministry, and even his reading regimen.
“My childhood was very monochrome and I’m very grateful to be in a different space now, with a growing number of friendships and teachers from all over the world,” she says. “I believe we are stronger together, working side by side for the flourishing of humanity.”
Join Carmen Imes and our panel of esteemed thought leaders for an illuminating hour of insight, testimony, and practical wisdom for addressing the challenges facing today’s Christian leaders.
“This promises to be a rich, multi-layered conversation at the intersection of several different fields, including the arts, academic theology, pastoral ministry, and leadership development,” adds Imes. “Our panelists will help us think about the roles of cultural background, gender, church commitments, and academic degrees as they empower and challenge today’s Black leaders. »
RSVP here to join the conversation on February 28 at 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST. If you are unable to connect live, register to receive the post-event recap and a link to the video recording.
About the panelists
Rachel Marie Kang is a native New Yorker, born and raised just outside of New York City. A mixed-race woman of African-American, Native American (Ramapough Lenape Nation), Irish and Dutch descent, she holds a degree in English with creative writing. She is the founder of The Fallow House and author of Let art be And The question of small losses: finding grace to grieve the big (and small) things.
Reverend Nicole Massie Martin is the Chief Impact Officer at Christianity Today. She is the founder of Soulfire International Ministries and the author of Built to Lead: Empowering Women for MinistryAnd Leaning in, letting go: a Lenten devotion. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two daughters.
Rev. Dr. Marshall Elijah Hatch, Sr. has served as senior pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield since 1993. Born in Chicago, his spiritual development began at Shiloh Baptist Church under the pastorate of his father, the late Rev. Elijah J. Hatch. In 1985, he was ordained and appointed pastor of North Lawndale Commonwealth Baptist Church. In the summer of 1998, he received the Charles E. Merrill Fellowship at Harvard Divinity School. He is a professor of ministry at Northern Seminary.
Dr. Daniel Lee Hill (PhD, Wheaton College) is assistant professor of Christian theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. He is the author of Gathered on the road to Zion and is currently working on a manuscript, Evangelical freedomwhich recovers the ideas of 19th century abolitionists in order to construct an evangelical narrative of public life.
Moderator: Dr. Carmen Joy Imes is associate professor of Old Testament at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in Southern California. A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Wheaton College Graduate School, her books include Carrying God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters And Being the Image of God: Why Creation Still Matters.
