Inaugural Dr. Milo A. Rediger Endowed Lectureship Begins Wednesday

Evangelical Ressourcement: How Retrieving Our Sacred Roots Can Renew and Refocus the Global Evangelical Movement is the theme of the first annual Dr. Milo A. Rediger Endowed Lectureship, which begins Wednesday on the Taylor campus. 

The event will feature a series of lectures featuring Dr. Don Davis of World Impact and will include responses from additional guest speakers and Taylor faculty members.

Dr. Milo Rediger was a 1939 alumnus of Taylor University. During his lengthy and distinguished educational career, most of which was spent at Taylor, he was recognized as one of the foremost minds in the Christ-centered higher educational movement. The heritage of Rediger’s philosophies on higher education and Christian life continue to be evident at Taylor today. Rediger served as Dean for many years, eventually rising to the role of Taylor’s President on two different occasions prior to his retirement, when he was named President Emeritus. He died after a brief illness in 1988.

Davis, the series’ featured lecturer, has been involved in urban ministry and missions with World Impact since 1975. He has spent his entire ministry career seeking to raise up a new generation of qualified spiritual leaders, pastors, and church planters who can build up Christ's church in vulnerable communities in America and across the world. He is a graduate of Wheaton College (BA, Biblical Studies) and Wheaton Graduate School (MA, Systematic Theology) with summa cum laude honors in both degrees. He earned his PhD in Religion (2000, Theology and Ethics) from the University of Iowa School of Religion. A recipient of numerous teaching and academic awards, he has also authored more than 100 books and resources, as well as lectured on university campuses across the nation including Wheaton College, University of Iowa School of Religion, Houston Graduate School of Theology, and Taylor University.

The schedule for the two-day event includes:

Wednesday, March 8

Thursday, March 9

Inaugural Milo A. Rediger Lecture Respondents

• Nancy Reyes Frazier (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the contributing editor of The Interior Castle: Teresa of Ávila on Prayer, Sacred Roots Spiritual Classic #15. She is currently completing her PhD in Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary where she serves as program coordinator. Her interests include the intersection of theology and cultural phenomenology, particularly as it relates to revelation, communal ethics, spiritual formation, and the arts. Nancy’s research and writing address the intersection of theology and race, gender, the arts, and spiritual formation.
• Daniel Lee Hill (PhD, Wheaton College) is the contributing editor of Killing Sin: Lessons on Holiness from Phoebe Palmer and John Owens, Sacred Roots Spiritual Classic #14. He is Assistant Professor of Christian Theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. His primary research interests are in the field of theological anthropology, focusing primarily on figures in 20th century theology with an eye toward the work of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Of late, he is particularly interested in the dialogical relationship of human creatures and their contexts. Dr. Hill is the author of Gathered on the Road to Zion and is currently working on a manuscript, Gospel Freedom, that retrieves the insights of 19th century abolitionists in order to construct an evangelical account of public life.
• Kwesi Kamau (DMin, Southern Methodist University) is an author, activist theologian, and Lead Pastor of IMPACT Church in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Kamau studied Bible and Theology, Urban Studies, and Music at Wheaton College. He earned his Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University with a Doctor of Ministry in Evangelism and Mission. He has written several books, including A Passion for Prayer and Better Days: Encouragements for Every Day. He has developed a nationwide ministry called Impact Discipleship and created an award-winning youth development program, teaching children holiness and heritage called the Rites of Passage Respect Academy.
• Evan Howard (PhD, Graduate Theological Union) is the contributing editor of Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman, Sacred Roots Spiritual Classic #12. He is the Founder and Director of Spirituality Shoppe, a Center for the Study of Christian Spirituality and has been an affiliate associate professor of Christian Spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous books including Praying Scripture, The Brazos Introduction to Christian Spirituality, A Guide to Christian Spiritual Formation, and Discovering Lectio Divina (with Jim Wilhoit), and leads workshops and seminars on Christian Spirituality worldwide.
• Rev. Bob Engel (BA, Taylor University) serves as the National Director of Church Planting for World Impact. In the late 1970s, while at Taylor as a student, Bob started the “Floor Chaplains Program” which has continuously operated at Taylor and is now known as the “Discipleship Assistant Program.” While at Taylor, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to Bob about God’s heart for the poor, His commission to go and make disciples, being salt and light for the Kingdom, and God's love for His Church. From these four foundations, God directed Bob to World Impact. He is the author of the recently released book, Mere Missions (2022).

About:

Dr. Milo A. Rediger dedicated his life to Christ and found his lifelong ministry at Taylor University. The Dr. Milo A. Rediger Endowed Lectureship provides for an annual program and lecture enabling biblical and theological scholars to come to Taylor and “discuss current issues and foster critical thinking.” The Dr. Milo A. Rediger Lectureship is cosponsored by Senior Seminar, Sacred Roots, BSCP Department, and the Honors Guild.

Ressourcement signifies a return to the beginning, the source, the foundation. The literal translation from its French origin is “return to the sources.” Originally a school of theology that arose in Europe during the mid-20th century, today its applications extend to all aspects of our lives. For questions about events related to the Milo A. Rediger inaugural lecture and Dr. Don Davis, please contact isaiah.swain@taylor.edu.