The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers coming to Plattsburgh UMC

Oct. 6—PLATTSBURGH — The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers is coming to Plattsburgh for a Lecture Series on Saturday, Oct. 14 and Sunday, Oct. 15 at the Plattsburgh United Methodist Church, 127 Beekman St., Plattsburgh.

Meyers is an ordained minister who served in the United Church of Christ for 40 years, tenured professor of Rhetoric at Oklahoma City University, and Distinguished Professor of Social Justice in the Philosophy Department at OCU.

He is the author of eight books (including the national bestseller, "Saving Jesus from the Church"), an award-winning columnist for the Oklahoma Gazette, a commentator for National Public Radio, and a widely traveled lecturer and preacher on behalf of Progressive Christianity. He recently retired as Senior Minister of Mayflower Congregational UCC church of Oklahoma City after leading it for 35 years—where it became the fastest growing UCC church in the Kansas Oklahoma Conference.

Bishop John Shelby Spong said of Meyers, "He is a national treasure."

The late Marcus Borg said, "Keep your eye on the work of Robin Meyers."

Bill Moyers wrote, "Robin Meyers is the new generation's Harry Emerson Fosdick, George Buttrick, and Martin Luther King Jr."

Born in Oklahoma City and raised in Wichita, Kansas, Meyers graduated from Wichita State University ('75).

He received his M. Div. from the Graduate Seminary of Phillips University ('79), his Doctor of Ministry degree from the Theological School of Drew University ('81), and his PhD from the Communication Department at the University of Oklahoma ('91).

His dissertation was on the merits of "self-persuasion" in preaching and was published as a textbook for preachers. He continues to teach full time at Oklahoma City University, and currently serves as Visiting Professor of Homiletics at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK.

Meyers believes that the church should be a Beloved Community that practices radical hospitality and unconditional love—not institutional self-preservation.

As for faith, it must be biblically responsible, intellectually honest, emotionally satisfying, and socially significant. — We should be fearlessly asking the big questions now, because the church as we have known it is dying, and something new is waiting to be born. — Scholarship is crucial, but authentic humans know that you can be as mean as you are smart, and that head and heart should be equal partners in faith. — In a country torn in half by toxic politics and the lengthening shadow of fear-mongering authoritarianism, we need to relearn grace, humility, and empathy, lest we lose the only thing that can save us—a moral imagination for the common good. — We need to talk to each other now, and more importantly, listen to each other—no matter how difficult—because either all of us matter or none of us do. Let the conversation begin.

SATURDAY, OCT. 14

Lectures and conversations on the following topics:

10:30 a.m. The Underground Church (Following the way of the Subversive Jesus)

Based on his 2012 book, The Underground Church, this lecture looks at the subversive nature of the Gospel through the Parable of the Leaven. Much of the decline in the Western church can be understood as an effort to market Christianity as an individual strategy for prosperity in this life and eternal bliss in the next. What was once an attack on the religious status quo has become a defender of that status quo, and now a whole generation ignores the prophetic tradition and transformative power of being a follower of Jesus. In this lecture, Meyers imagines how we might all get ourselves into "good trouble" again for the right reasons, and urges those inside and outside the church to work for social justice, instead of giving up or giving in.

12 p.m. Lunch Break — (Baskets will be at each table for a free will donation to cover the cost of the meal — If you plan on eating the meal, indicate on your registration form). See Box.

1:30 p.m. What exactly is a Progressive Church?

Often churches want to maintain traditional worship and music styles, but also move in a more progressive direction theologically? Is this possible, or must the message and the service both be changed? In this lecture, Dr. Meyers explains, using his own church as an example, how churches can maintain many elements of church tradition while also preaching a message that is biblically responsible, intellectually honest, emotionally satisfying, and socially significant.

SUNDAY, OCT. 15

10 a.m. Dr. Meyers will preach during worship at at Plattsburgh UMC

11:30 a.m. "A Conversation About the Future of the Church." Dr. Meyers served as a local church pastor for 40 years, 35 of them at Mayflower UCC in Oklahoma City, where he led a thriving, and unapologetically liberal church in one of America's most conservative states.

In lieu of a formal lecture, this "conversation" provides an opportunity to have an open-ended, wide-ranging conversation with the audience about the future of organized religion. Audience members submit their questions in writing, and everyone can share in open dialogue about what frustrates us about the church, and what gives us hope.

BOOK DISPLAY

There will be a Book Display throughout the weekend, with selected titles for sale.

A free will donation basket will be at the registration table. This will help cover some of the cost for the Lecture Series.

The Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers coming to Plattsburgh UMC for a Lecture Series October 14-15.

His books include "Saving Jesus From The Church: How To Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus (Harper One, 2009); "The Underground Church: Reclaiming the Subversive Way of Jesus (Jossey Bass, 2012); "Spiritual Defiance: Building a Beloved Community of Resistance (Yale University Press, 2015); and "Saving God from Religion: A Minister's Search for Faith in a Skeptical Age" (Convergent Penguin Random House, 2020).