You Tube Theology

Dr. Teresa Delgado talks to Dr. Willie James Jennings about education in belonging and forming people who form communion Dr. Teresa Delgado and Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings discuss his most recent book, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging (Eerdmans, 2020), the inaugural volume of the groundbreaking Theological Education between the Times book series. As the publisher notes, Rev. Dr. Jennings draws on "the insights gained from his extensive experience in theological education, most notably as the dean of a major university's divinity schoolwhere he remains the only African American to have ever served in that role." In order to "tell the truth from deep down inside of it," says Rev. Dr. Jennings, "I couldn't get to it just by standard academic writing. I can only get to it by drawing on all the sides of what it means to talk and write about life, but also all the sides of me." In the book, these "sides" include vignettes, poetry, short stories, and analysis. "What I try to do is to bring people in through the back door," he says. "I was an academic dean. I learned all the secrets. Yes, I cannot tell you the secrets, but I can tell you what they mean." This episode of OP Talks is part of the Theological Education between the Times (TEBT) series, an initiative out of HTI member school Emory University Candler School of Theology that "gathers diverse groups of people for critical, theological conversations about the meanings and purposes of theological education. The project begins with a recognition that theological education is between the times, on the way. And it works in the confidence that we do not walk this road alone." Read more at https://tebt.candler.emory.edu/ PANELISTS: Dr. Teresa Delgado, Iona College Professor of Religion and Ethics Chair, Religious Studies Department Program Director, Peace and Justice Studies. Rev. Dr. Willie James Jennings, Yale Divinity School Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies Author, 'After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging' (Eerdmans, 2020) --- HTI Open Plaza is an online platform within the Hispanic Theological Initiative that amplifies the voices of diverse thinkers and scholars in the public square, engaging issues of religion, history, and social justice. Visit us at https://www.htiopenplaza.org/