Category: Faculty

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Faculty News Perspective Online September 2024

Faculty Updates

Reimagining Religion and Peace

Ruben Habito presented the concluding lecture at an August 1 seminar in Dublin, “Reimagining Religion and Peace: Resisting Military Occupation and Religious Fundamentalism.”  The event was organized by the Irish School of Ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin, and featured speakers from China, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Korea, the U.S., and Tamil Eelam. Habito spoke on “Dialogue and Peace: Healing a Wounded World.” He is Professor Emeritus of World Religions at Perkins.

Dallas Morning News Op-ed

An op-ed by Dallas Gingles, “We need a Lincoln right now, but would America reject him and his God talk?” was published in The Dallas Morning News on July 27. Gingles noted that he’s offering a course this fall on Presidential Rhetoric and Political Theology, beginning with a study of Lincoln’s second inaugural address. The class will examine “the ways presidents have used theological themes as a way of helping explain the nation to itself.”

In the op-ed, Gingles contrasted Lincoln’s views with those of both the left and the right in today’s political discourse. “While a large contingent of contemporary thinkers on the left are very concerned with what is vaguely termed Christian nationalism, it is Lincoln who justifies a Civil War by appealing to divine providence,” he wrote. “That argument alone would compel today’s liberal organizations to back away from him.” By contrast, on the right, “the problem with theological talk … is not that it is theological talk about America, but that it is theological talk about America as an answer rather than as a question,” he wrote. “It lacks humility. That kind of talk does not see either the country or itself as morally risky, only morally correct.” Dallas Morning News subscribers may read the op-ed here. Gingles is Assistant Dean of Hybrid Education and Associate Professor of Practice in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Perkins.

Spirituality and Psychedelics

Jaime Clark-Soles was interviewed for a San Francisco Examiner story, “Religious leaders say legal gray area makes psychedelics standards vital.” Clark-Soles says it’s important to distinguish between churches formed around psychedelics as distinct from current conversations regular churches are having about psychedelics. “I’m not speaking for or against here, but I want everyone to understand the debate and ask important questions about what kind of community you are participating in, should you decide to explore such a group,” she said. Clark-Soles is Professor of New Testament and Director of Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology. Read the story here.

Jaime Clark-Soles was also recently featured in Episodes 9 and 10 of “The Conversations in the Gospel of John Podcast.” Hosted by Stan Harstine, Ph.D. and Douglas Estes, Ph.D., the podcast explores the intersection of academic research and the proclamation of the Gospel of John.

Pulitzer Nomination

Hal Recinos recently learned that his new work, The Place across the River (Wipf and Stock, 2024) was nominated and accepted for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. A decision will be announced in May 2025. This is his second Pulitzer nomination; his previous book, The Looking Glass: Far and Near (Wipf and Stock, 2023) was nominated for a Pulitzer in poetry. Meanwhile, the new book has received glowing reviews. “In a time of rhetorical bluster and easy abstraction, here instead is the genuine imprint of humanity,” writes Peter Campion in Radical as Reality: Form and Freedom in American Poetry. “Harold J. Recinos is a true poet, and The Place Across the River a book that’s made to last.” Dr. Recinos is Professor of Church and Society at Perkins.

Kung Fu Awards

Hal Recinos recently returned from the 2024 Golden State International Wushu Championships in San Jose with great results:  six gold, nine silver, and seven bronze awards, plus the men’s all-around Grand Champion title. He also qualified for the USA Kung Fu team for the Taiji Wushu World Championships in China in 2025.

Mark Stamm Publishes Booklets

Mark Stamm has contributed two booklets for a new series, Belong, published by Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church. The series was designed to deepen church members’ engagement with the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, as well as their commitment to their membership vows. Stamm is author of The Meaning of Baptism in the United Methodist Church and Our Membership Vows. Another author, E. Byron Anderson, contributed The Meaning of Holy Communion in the United Methodist Church. Translations of the booklets are underway in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and French. A webinar series and workbook are also planned. Rev. Dr. Stamm is professor of Christian Worship at Perkins. Read more about the series here.

 

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December 2023 Faculty News Perspective Online

Faculty News

Priscilla Pope-Levison, Research Professor of Practical Theology at Perkins, wrote a blog post for The Pastor’s Workshop in which she discussed how churches can create a culture of testimony in their worship. Pope-Levison highlights the work of several churches that are part of cohorts in Testimony HQ, a Lilly Endowment, Inc.-funded initiative (for which she is co-principal investigator) that focuses on developing thriving congregations through the practice of testimony as community engagement.

Ruben L.F. Habito, Professor of World Religions and Spirituality at Perkins and Director of Spiritual Formation, spoke on the importance of gratitude in a recent column that appeared in The Dallas Morning News.

 

Ted Campbell, Albert C. Outler Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins, will assume the role as the archivist of the Texas Annual Conference.

 

Jaime Clark-Soles, Professor of New Testament, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor and Director of the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins, recently delivered a webinar with the Cleveland Clinic: “Psychedelics and Soul Care.” She discussed her experiences in understanding the intersection of psychedelics, soul work and religious experience.

Susanne Scholz, Professor of Old Testament at Perkins, was included in a recent article in Texas Monthly magazine featuring the formation of Market Street UMC in Mabank, Texas.

 

Harold J. Recinos, Professor of Church and Society at Perkins, delivered the benediction at the unveiling of a historical marker honoring William Allen Taylor, who was a lynching victim in 1884.

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Faculty News October 2023 Perspective Online

Faculty and Staff News

Christina Rhodes, who has served a variety of roles in development and enrollment management at SMU since 2017, has been appointed Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management at Perkins School of Theology by Bishop Michael McKee, the Leighton K. Farrell Dean ad interim. Her appointment is effective October 16, 2023.

As Assistant Dean, Rhodes will play a pivotal role in crafting a vision for Perkins’ recruitment, admissions, and scholarship aid as well as developing strategies and implementing a comprehensive plan to market to, identify, recruit, and enroll graduate students in the degree programs at Perkins.

“Her passion, listening skills, and approachability will be essential for representing Perkins to prospective students,” said Bishop Michael McKee, the Leighton K. Farrell Dean, ad interim, at Perkins. “I am confident that her commitment to our mission, strong analytic skills, and collaborative style will help our entire community be partners in recruiting the next generation of leaders.”

After a nationwide search, a large debt of gratitude is extended to Associate Dean Hugo Magallanes who ably led the search committee consisting of Meredith Turner, Rev. Annette Owen, Dr. Elias Lopez, Dr. Marcell Silva Steuernagel, Dr. Alyce McKenzie, and Herbert Coleman, Diversity Officer. Also, a special thanks to Andy Keck, Chief of Staff, who served as Interim leader of Enrollment Management while the search was being conducted.

“I look forward to this new role at Perkins School of Theology,” Rhodes said. “I am excited about the opportunity to further guide Perkins to help our enrollment grow as theological education changes.”

Priscilla Pope-Levison, Research Professor of Practical Theology, gave the keynote lecture for the European Methodist Historical Conference in Velletri, Italy, September 6-9. She is featured in the UM News story about the conference: https://www.umnews.org/en/news/pope-delighted-with-john-wesley-bobblehead

In June, she and Jack Levison were the featured speakers at the North Alabama UMC Annual Conference. In early August, they gave the keynote lecturers during the Guder Scholars Conference at St. Andrews Hall, University of British Columbia.

 

Jesus Urdiales Rodriguez joined the CASA (Centro de Acompañamiento, Solidaridad y Adiestramiento) team as a Program Specialist. Urdiales Rodriguez comes to Perkins from Houston, where he worked as a Program Coordinator for Harris County. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Lamar University in 2022 and a Bachelor of Science from the College of Biblical Studies in 2018.

 

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Faculty News Perspective Online September 2023

Faculty News

Dr. James Lee, Associate Professor of the History of Early Christianity, was interviewed for the University of Notre Dame’s Wisdom Project on YouTube. The Wisdom Project at Notre Dame explores various dimensions of Wisdom, both in and beyond religious traditions. The Wisdom Project’s YouTube channel is hosted by Dr. Gabriel Said Reynolds, Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology. Dr. Reynolds asked Dr. Lee about wisdom in the book of Job, Augustine’s understanding of wisdom in relation to faith and reason, and wisdom according to the early Greek Christian tradition. https://youtu.be/9k9QCrmHZ9M

Dr. Lee also was invited to teach a 3-week theology course at the University of Notre Dame in July entitled, “Christian Doctrine for Catechists,” for the Echo Graduate Service program. The Echo program helps to form lay leaders for service in the church. Students serve at a parish or school during the academic year while earning a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. https://mcgrath.nd.edu/service-learning/echo-graduate-service-program/

Dr. Susanne Scholz, Professor of Old Testament, is organizer of the upcoming research symposium “Law, Religion and Social Progress in the Age of COVID-19,” scheduled for Sept. 17-19 at Perkins School of Theology. The pandemic has had great impact on social progress within and across societies. This symposium, sponsored by SMU’s Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute (DCII), explores notions of social progress, during pandemic and ‘post’-pandemic times, within a diversity of national and international contexts, primarily through the prism of law and religion. Scholars from around the world (Britain, Canada, Japan, Nigeria and the United States) will present their work located in various academic disciplines (religious studies, law, anthropology, rhetorical studies, political science, social science and theological studies). For more information and to register: https://people.smu.edu/lawreligionandsocialprogress/

Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles, Professor of New Testament and Director of the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins, was part of a panel – “Sacramental Plants and Fungi: Historical and Scientific Insights for the Religious Life – at the recent Parliament of the World’s Religions gathering in Chicago. The panel, moderated by religion historian Elaine Pagels,  also included noted author and speaker Richard Rohr.

 

Dr. Jack Levison, W.J.A. Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrea, recently was interviewed by Kevin Krueger for the “Breakaway” podcast on WGTS-FM (Washington, D.C.) Listen to the in-depth interview on Levison’s latest book, Seven Secrets of the Spirit-Filled Life.

 

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Faculty July 2023 News Perspective Online

Faculty News: July 2023

Dr. Harold Recinos completed two new collections of poetry while on a recent research leave: The Looking Glass: Far and Near and Tell Somebody (to be released in late July).

The Looking Glass: Far and Near (Wipf and Stock, 2023) also has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the second-such work of Recinos’ to be nominated. Pulitzer recipients will be announced in May 2024, and Recinos hopes to become the second Latino poet (William Carlos Williams received the honor posthumously in 1963) to be awarded the prize.

Of his latest work, Recinos said, “Tell Somebody is a collection of poetry that seeks to bring the overlooked human beings and existential conditions into public light. I welcome readers to step into the reality of persons who challenge the moral claims of society upon the marginalized found on the streets, the workplace and crossing borders.”

 

Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levison, Research Professor of Practical Theology, has been recognized as one of two recipients of the Florence Ellen Bell Scholar Award, presented by the Drew University Library.

Pope-Levison’s project, Negotiating Boundaries: The Emergence of the International Methodist Deaconess Movement, 1885-1918, to be published by Cascade Books in their Wesleyan and Methodist Explorations Series, will provide a thorough analysis of the intricate negotiations during the Methodist deaconess movement’s emergence on an international scale. This interdisciplinary book, integrating women’s studies, biblical studies, theology, history, and sociology, will focus on the twists and turns of the deaconess movement in its multi-faceted negotiations of church regulations, male clergy, women’s ministry, society’s gendered expectations, and its distinctive dress.

The award provides $2,500 for expenses relating to academic research at the United Methodist Archives and History Center at Drew University in Madison, N.J. The award supports scholars using the Methodist Collections of Drew University and the General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) for The United Methodist Church.

 

Dr. Susanne Scholz, Professor of Old Testament, presented a paper – entitled “How to Read the Song of Miriam (Exod. 15:20-21) as a Literary Poem during the Time of War in the Ukraine” – at the European Association of Biblical Studies conference this month in Sicily, Italy. Scholz received a University Research Council travel grant from SMU to cover some of her expenses.

 

 

Dr. Dallas Gingles, director of the Houston-Galveston Extension Program and Perkins Fellow in Systematic Theology, was a speaker at the McDonald Centre Conference last month at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. This international, interdisciplinary conference brought together those with dual expertise in both healthcare and ethics or theology to attempt to diagnose the conditions for corrosion that currently prevail and consider what should be done to address them.

 

 

 

 

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Faculty May 2023 News Perspective Online

Faculty News: May 2023

Habito Elected as ATS Officer

Ruben L. F. Habito has been elected vice president and president-elect of the American Theological Society. Habito was elected vice president at the 2023 meeting, and, following ATS tradition, begins a one-year term as president-elect in April 2024. He will then become President in 2025, a position that was also held in the past by Perkins faculty members Albert Outler (elected in 1959) and Charles Wood (2012) and by SMU professor Charles Curran (1989).

Habito is Professor of World Religions and Spirituality. Founded in 1912, the American Theological Society is the oldest theological society in North America. The Society meets at least once each year; meetings have taken place in recent years at Princeton Theological Seminary. Membership is limited to 100 active members.

New Book from Jack Levison

Jack Levison’s new book, Seven Secrets of the Spirit-Filled Life: Daily Renewal, Purpose and Joy When You Partner with the Holy Spirit, releases May 9 from Baker Publishing Group. According to Baker’s promotional page, the book is “packed with biblical insights, practical strategies, focused prayers, Scripture meditations and rich reflections,” with each chapter promising to help readers “break out of the familiar, experience your own personal Pentecost, cultivate healthy habits that strengthen the Spirit-filled life and connect with the heart of the Spirit.” Read more about the book here.  Copies may be purchased at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major book retailers. Levison holds the W.J.A. Power Chair of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins.

Q&A with Hal Recinos

For National Poetry Month in April, UM News highlighted Hal Recinos in a Q&A, “Poetry helps seminary professor ‘stay awake in the gospel’ ” by Sam Hodges and Vernon Jordan. The Rev. Harold “Hal” J. Recinos is professor of church and society at Perkins and is a Renaissance man — an ordained United Methodist clergyman, scholar, activist and martial arts expert who has published 17 volumes of poetry, often drawing on his experiences growing up in a New York City barrio. The interview concludes with a Recinos poem, “The Veil,” that Jordan chose from several shared by the Hispanic Theological Initiative’s Open Plaza online platform. Read the story here.

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Faculty March 2023 News Perspective Online

Faculty News: March 2023

Hunt and Dickens Co-Author Op-Ed

Robert Hunt and doctoral student Drew Dickens were co-authors of a Feb. 5 op-ed column in The Dallas Morning News, “ChatGPT isn’t going to make us slaves; uninspired education might.” With the arrival of the new open artificial intelligence chatbot called ChatGPT, many schools are already banning it from classrooms while adjusting assignments and exams to prevent its use. “Though ChatGPT is a master of established, objective facts, it won’t ever be visionary,” they wrote. “It’s clunky when it comes to subjective observations and nuances and will never engage in crucial classroom debates. The great risk is that students too reliant on AI tools may themselves become robotic and be less the spontaneous, spirited humans we wish them to be.” Hunt is director of Global Theological Education at Perkins; Dickens is a doctoral candidate at SMU focusing on the “Effects of Sacred Texts on Generative AI Language Models.” Dallas Morning News subscribers may read the op-ed here.

When the Church Woke

A new book written by the Rev. Dr. William Lawrence, former Perkins Dean, was recently featured in a UM News article entitled “Methodism overdue for becoming ‘woke,’ author says.”  Lawrence, a church historian, wrote about racism with Methodism, past and present, in his new book, When the Church Woke (Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2023.)  Read UMNews’ Q&A with Lawrence about the book here.

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Faculty February 2023 News Perspective Online

Faculty News: February 2023

Carlton “Sam” Young publishes autobiography

The Rev. Carlton R. “Sam” Young. Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News.

At age 96, the Rev. Carlton R. “Sam” Young has published an autobiography, I’ll Sing On: My First 96 Years (GIA Publications, 2023), chronicling his career as a composer, arranger, scholar and editor. Young edited The Methodist Hymnal (1966) and The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) and directed the music for nine General Conferences, including the 1968 Uniting Conference that created The United Methodist Church.  He was also Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program at Perkins and associate professor of church music from 1964-1975, Read a profile of Young and his book by C. Michael Hawn, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Perkins, for United Methodist News Service here.

New Book by Hal Recinos

Harold J. “Hal” Recinos’ latest book of poetry, The Looking Glass: Near and Far was published by Wipf and Stock in January. The poetry “searches voices in the cities of a divided America faced with an unraveling democracy and across borders where people negotiate the fragility of life offer a vision of transcendences through recovery of our common humanity,” according to the jacket description.

Recinos said he drew inspiration from one of his favorite poets, William Carlos Williams, a pediatrician, writer and friend of Ezra Pound. His father was from England, raised in the Dominican Republic and his mother was from Puerto Rico. William wrote in English, but his first language was Spanish. “I discovered him in Middle School along with Langston Hughes, and especially identified with the idea present in the identity of both poets of life on the hyphen,” said Recinos. “Moreover, William Carlos Williams wrote these words that I have kept with me: ‘There is no beginning nor end to the imagination but it delights in its own seasons reversing the usual order at will.’”

Recinos is professor of church and society at Perkins.

Column by Robert Hunt

Robert Hunt, director of Perkins’ Global Theological Education department, wrote a column entitled “Spirituality versus religion in our neighborhood” in the Lake Highlands Advocate.

The column explored how a growing number of Americans are describing themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”

“Recent polls … show the number of Americans who identify as Christian (by far the dominant religion in the United States) has declined from 90% to 64% in the last 50 years,” he writes. “When we look closely, religion in our city isn’t going away. Instead, it’s going to look different than it has in the past.” Read the column here.

 

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Faculty January 2023 News Perspective Online

Faculty/Staff News

Obituary: Kenneth Hart

Kenneth Hart, Professor Emeritus of Sacred Music at Perkins and former Director of the Sacred Music program from 1987 to 2005, passed away December 27. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he earned a Master of Sacred Music at Union Seminary in New York. Hart wrote and published the 2014 volume titled A day for dancing: the life and music of Lloyd Pfautsch.  A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Perkins School of Theology or to another charity of one’s choice. Read his obituary here.

Obituary: Roger L. Loyd

Roger L. Loyd (M.Th. ’71) former Associate Librarian of Bridwell, recently passed away. From 1980-1992, he served as the Associate Librarian at Bridwell Library, including a stint as Acting Director from 1985 to 1987. Along with Lewis Howard Grimes, he was one of the editors and authors of A History of the Perkins School of Theology. Loyd went on to serve as Director of Duke Divinity Library from 1992 until his retirement in 2012. He was active in Atla (formerly the American Theological Library Association), the Theological Book Network, and housing ministries through Duke Memorial UMC in Durham, N.Car. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, January 14. Read Loyd’s obituary here; a livestream link for the memorial is forthcoming. 

 

 

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December 2022 Faculty News Perspective Online

Faculty News

New Book by Bill Lawrence  

Wipf & Stock Publishers recently released When the Church Woke, a new book by William B. Lawrence, professor of American Church History and former dean of Perkins. The book examines “the combination of racism and white supremacy that has been woven into the fabric of the church to the degree that one cannot discuss the church in America apart from this sin,” in particular, in American Methodism and The United Methodist Church. “When the Church Woke is critical but not cynical,” writes Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of the UMC’s General Board of Church and Society. “In this extraordinary theological and historical critique of the United Methodist Church in the U.S., Lawrence presents a church that stands at the crossroads of a deeply rooted racist past and a future with the possibility of exercising judgment and forgiveness to overcome the racial crisis that the church has too long ignored.”

George Mason Op-Ed

The Dallas Morning News recently published an essay titled “Religion and science must come together to fight climate challenges,” written by the Rev. George A. Mason. He’s adjunct professor at Perkins and senior pastor emeritus of Wilshire Baptist Church. The op-ed highlighted the global ecological crisis as an existential threat that calls for all sectors of society to work together, including religious leaders and scientists. “The global ecological clock is ticking, and we are running out of time to reverse the devastating effects of human behavior on the planet,” Mason wrote. “Every religion must draw upon its own spiritual teachings to contribute to this effort to bend the curve of opinion toward ecological conservation.” The op-ed was published in conjunction with the Nov. 1 event at Perkins that gathered faith leaders for a symposium, “Confronting Our Global Ecological Crisis,” sponsored by the Museum of World Religions. Dallas Morning News subscribers may read the column online here.

David Wilson Elected Bishop

Photo by Sam Hodges, UM News.

The Rev. David Wilson was elected as bishop in The United Methodist Church’s South Central Jurisdictional Conference on Nov. 2, becoming the denomination’s first Native American bishop.

Wilson has been the assistant to the bishop for the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference (OIMC) since 2021, following 19 years as a conference superintendent. He was lead coordinator for the North Oklahoma City Native American Ministry for eight years, following eight years as a pastor of a church in Norman, Oklahoma. He served seven years as director of promotions/interpretations for the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, after serving as pastor of a church in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and campus minister for the Native American Campus Ministry program at Northeastern State University. Wilson has served as a long-time instructor with Perkins’ Course of Study School (COSS) at the conference.  Read the story here.

Hunt on International Zoom

The Rev. Dr. Robert Hunt, Director of Global Theological Education, was part of an international Zoom on “Indigenous Christian Art: Building Bridges Between Gospel and Culture,” held November 26. The program was co-sponsored the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) and the Asia Pacific Association of Methodist Educational Institutions (APAMEI.)