Howard Payne University’s 17th annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics will feature guest speaker Dr. João Chaves, assistant professor of history of religion in the Américas at Baylor University. The lectures will be held on Wednesday, January 29, at 10 a.m. during HPU’s Chapel service in L.J. Mims Auditorium, and on Thursday, January 30, at 7 p.m. in the Richard and Wanda Jackson Conference Room of HPU’s Paul and Jane Meyer Faith and Life Leadership Center. Both lectures are open and free to the public.
The theme for Dr. Chaves’ lectures will be “Faith Crossing Borders: How Immigrant Churches are Shaping the Future of Christianity.” Chaves is assistant professor of the history of religion in the Américas and co-director of the Baptist Scholars International Roundtable in the Department of Religion at Baylor University. Chaves is also an affiliated faculty with the Ethics Initiative at Baylor. His research focuses on the history of religion in the Américas, the influence of U.S. Protestantism in Latin America and the development of Latin American/Latinx religious networks in the United States. Dr. Chaves is an award-winning author of several books, and his peer-reviewed articles have appeared in several academic journals.
Dr. Chaves went to Baylor after holding simultaneous positions as an associate director at the Hispanic Theological Initiative at Princeton Theological Seminary (HTI) and an assistant professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. In his different roles throughout his career, Dr. Chaves helped write several grants, raising over $9 million in grants and gifts.
The Currie-Strickland Lecture Series is made possible through the generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Gary Elliston and was established to honor the life of Dr. David R. Currie, retired executive director of Texas Baptists Committed; and the memory of Phil Strickland, who dedicated nearly 40 years of ministry to the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Christian Life Commission.
Admission to the lectures is free, but reservations are requested. To R.S.V.P, contact HPU’s School of Christian Studies by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 325-649-8403.