Andrew Thompson, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Springdale, Ark., will present the Parkhurst Lecture at Southwestern College on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m., in Wroten Hall on the SC campus.  There is no admission charge and the public is invited to attend. 

The title of Thompson’s lecture is “Walking in the Ways of God.”  

“Andrew has a scholar’s mind and a pastor’s heart,” says Jackson Lashier, associate professor of religion at Southwestern College. “He is very knowledgeable about early Methodism. His lecture will focus on discipleship in the 21st century but will draw historical examples from patterns of discipleship among the early Methodists. It will be an engaging lecture from which anyone interested in Christian practices of discipleship will greatly benefit.”

Thompson is one of the leading scholars of Methodist history and Wesleyan Theology in the country. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hendrix College, a master of divinity degree from Vanderbilt University, and a doctorate of theology from Duke University. He has published widely on the subject, notably “The Means of Grace: Traditioned Practice in Today's World” (Seedbed, 2015). He was the professor of church history and Wesleyan studies at Memphis Theological Seminary for four years before becoming the senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Springdale. 

The Parkhurst Lecture is one of three annual endowed lectures hosted by the philosophy and religion department of the social sciences division at Southwestern College. This lecture focuses on Biblical studies. 

For more information contact Lashier at (620) 229-6066.