One of the foremost analysts of theology and religious liberties will
visit the Bluefield College campus, Wednesday through Friday, March 20-22.
Dr. James M. Dunn, former executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee
on Public Affairs, will be the featured speaker for BC¹s annual Staley
Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture Series.
During the three-day lecture series, Dr. Dunn will speak each day, March
20-22, beginning at 10 a.m. in Harman Chapel, about applied Christianity,
the personal experience of being a Christian, and issues related to
religious liberties.
Dr. Dunn is currently a visiting professor of Christianity and public
policy at Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity. He joined Wake
Forest’s faculty when its School of Divinity opened in the fall of 1999. He
came to WFU from the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs in
Washington, D.C., where he had served as executive director since 1981.
The Baptist Joint Committee, with offices in Washington, D.C., deals
with issues of religious liberty and separation of church and state for nine
Baptist conventions and conferences in the United States, as well as some
state conventions, individuals and churches. Dr. Dunn still works part-time
for the Baptist Joint Committee, pursuing endowment and project funding for
its foundation.
“[Dr. Dunn] is recognized inside and outside the Baptist community as
one of the foremost analysts of church-state issues in the United States,”
said Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest’s divinity school. “In his work at
the Baptist Joint Committee, he faithfully articulated Baptist ‘ways’ of
responding to matters of religious liberty, justice and hope.”
While serving as executive director of the Joint Committee, Dr. Dunn
appeared on all major network television news programs and was a frequent
guest on television documentaries. He also contributed to several
publications and was co-author of Politics: A Guidebook for Christians,
Endangered Species, and An Approach to Christian Ethics.
Dr. Dunn holds a doctorate in theology from Southwestern Baptist
Seminary, and he completed post-doctorate studies at the London School of
Economics and Political Science. He has served as a pastor, campus minister
and college teacher, and for 12 years was the executive director of the
Christian Life Commission, the social action agency of Texas Baptists.
Dr. Dunn also is a past president of Bread for the World and a former
chairman of the Ethics Commission of the Baptist World Alliance. He also is
currently on the board of Americans United for Separation of Church and
State.
His lectures at Bluefield College are being made possible by the Thomas
F. Staley Foundation, a non-profit organization “concerned with the
spiritual development of individuals, particularly college students.” The
Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Series is designed to provide
Christian colleges with “scholarly evangelical speakers.”
For more information about the 2002 Staley Series at Bluefield College,
please contact the BC Office of Public Relations at 276-326-4212.
