We’re looking forward to a truly “global and local” experience at Karam Forum 2021. In addition to inspiring speakers like Chris Brooks, David French, Jennifer Powell McNutt, Michael Wear and Gavin Ortlund talking about justice and discipleship, we’ll connect with colleagues around the world in our Global Session as well as with some amazing people doing amazing things in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Not to mention the opportunity to reconnect with the equally amazing people in our community!
The time to register for Karam Forum has arrived!
We’ll convene for catalytic collaboration on Nov. 18-19 at Doxology Bible Church in Ft. Worth. ETS conference rates at the Hilton are available through the night of Nov. 19 and can be booked either until the block fills or until Nov. 12 (book here). You can also participate via Zoom from wherever you are!
Check out our schedule, and see below (or our FAQ page) for more information on hotels, Zoom participation, transportation to San Antonio, etc.
Don’t miss out on this moment to connect. Register for Karam Forum today!
The twelve elements of our Economic Wisdom Project end with this summons to embrace global goodwill and local control at the same time:
Element 12: In general, economies flourish when goodwill is universal and global, but control is local and personal knowledge guides decisions.
We’ll be demonstrating that prudent paradox at Karam Forum 2021. We’ll take advantage of Zoom to bring you a Global Session with peers from around the world. And we’ll meet folks in Dallas-Ft. Worth who are bringing life to the world through vocational service.
Global Session
The Karam Forum Global Session, which creates the opportunity for us to learn from colleagues working toward the same educational ends in different global contexts, began as a byproduct of the pandemic. We’ve always been pleased to host folks who get to Karam Forum from around the world, especially the annual visitation from Australian theological educators made possible by our partners at Reventure. When we decided to set up an all-digital meeting this past January, we faced a conundrum: If we started the event at a time that would be sane for the Australians to get up for, the Americans would be heading off to bed before the event was over.
Our solution: the Karam Forum Global Session. And now that we are triumphantly meeting in person once again, we have an evening time slot during the main Karam Forum meeting. This allows us to seamlessly incorporate a Global Session into the main meeting.
During Karam Forum 2021 this Nov. 18-19, we’ll hold a new Global Session. You’ll hear from:
- Edwin Tay, principal of Trinity Theological College (Singapore): changing seminary culture to prepare whole-life disciples
- Havilah Dharamraj, South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (Bangalore, India): teaching to break down the sacred–secular divide
- Ivor Poobalan, principal of Colombo Theological Seminary (Sri Lanka): discipling Christian leaders to influence church and culture
- Sutrisna Harjanto, principal of Bandung Theological Seminary (Indonesia): Masters programs and mentoring focused on the marketplace, and transforming culture and society
The session will be hosted once again by Kara Martin of Alphacrucis College, who also serves on the board of Karam Fellowship.
Local Ministries
Easily one of the most inspiring moments at Karam Forum 2020 in Atlanta was when we all met Kitti Murray of Refuge Coffee. And found out we’d been drinking their coffee throughout the conference! The story of how Refuge hires refugees and helps them find their way to economic self-support and cultural welcome was eye-opening for all of us.
This month, in Ft. Worth, we’ll be connecting with two sets of local leaders. First, we’ll meet people involved in locally focused ministries:
- Mars Hill Farm, which hires refugees to grow flowers and produce, and raise cattle
- Bonton Farms, which operates two farms, a farmer’s market, a café and a coffee house dedicated to redressing inequality
- A bivocational pastor at Grace Church helping connect the local church to “the other six days”
Second, as we shared last month, we’ll also hear from local representatives of Eventide, a Christian investment firm with $9 billion in assets. Eventide has gone beyond the basics, such as not investing in companies with clear ethical flags, to develop a broader, theologically-formed account of what it means for a company to genuinely “create value” for people. We’ll dig into the tough theological challenges of “Investing that Makes the World Rejoice.”
Blake Schwarz of Park Cities Presbyterian Church, host of our 2019 “field trip” in Dallas, returns to Karam Forum to host both discussions.
You won’t want to miss these inspiring and insightful conversations!
In addition to our Global Session and Local Ministries, we’ve got plenty more lined up:
- Chris Brooks, pastor of Woodside Bible Church in Detroit, will join Vincent Bacote of Wheaton College to discuss “Reviving Reconciliation” – how disciples of Jesus can seek justice that truly restores instead of endless conflict that destroys. Brooks continues his long tradition as a leader in our community, helping us think carefully about these difficult issues.
- We’ll dive into Christian history with stimulating presentations on Christian opposition to slavery in ancient Rome (Gavin Ortlund of First Baptist Church of Ojai), justice and social activism in the early Reformation (Jennifer Powell McNutt of Wheaton College) and the encounter between the Industrial Revolution and the Wesleyan movement (Jennifer Woodruff Tait of St. John’s Episcopal Church and Charlie Self of Assemblies of God Theological Seminary). Brent Waters of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary will then moderate a discussion featuring Uche Anizor of the Talbot School of Theology and Jay Moon of Asbury Theological Seminary.
- David French, author of Divided We Fall and senior editor of The Dispatch, and Michael Wear, author of Reclaiming Hope and co-founder of the AND Campaign, will join us digitally to help us think about how the church’s mission and social role can be stewarded with prophetic independence in these acutely polarized times. Chris Brooks will host the discussion.
- For the first time, we’ll discuss original scholarly papers in breakout groups, with papers from Brent Waters, Helen Rhee, Klaus Issler, Ryan Darr, Michael Wittmer and more. We’re building toward our new peer-reviewed journal on theology for human flourishing, launching in Spring 2022. We also plan to release an open Call for Papers to be discussed at the Forum next fall.
- Follow-up webinars to continue the conversation next spring for members of Karam Fellowship. Topics will include the church and the current political crisis, a Christian perspective on the financial system, and more.
- And of course all the connecting and networking with colleagues that’s essential to the Karam Forum experience!
If you’re in Ft. Worth, our event will be starting shortly after ETS ends, and we’ll be done with plenty of time to get to San Antonio for those who are heading to SBL/AAR. The event starts at 7pm on Thursday and ends at 12:15pm on Friday; see our schedule for details.
Good news for travelers who need rooms! ETS conference rates at the Hilton are available through the night of Nov. 19 and can be booked until the block fills or until Nov. 12. Book here.
If you can’t be with us in Ft. Worth, we are also committed to a great digital experience. We’re going to have dedicated staff on site to make sure you have the best remote Forum we can give you. Those who join us via Zoom will get to see and hear the whole event, submit questions during discussion periods in each session, and also have “virtual table talk” with other digital participants. You’ll join not only our plenary sessions in this way, but also the academic-paper breakout session of your choice.
Even better, you can buy your ticket for Karam Forum today – why not click here right now and do so? – then decide later whether you want to join us in person or via Zoom. It’s the same ticket either way.
We’re going to have a van departing directly for San Antonio from the conference location at Doxology Bible Church, so if you’re attending SBL/AAR that will save you time and money. Our very limited seating will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Seats are only available to those who have already registered for Karam Forum, so register now to get a seat before they’re gone!
Don’t delay – register for Karam Forum today!
What an exciting moment – to be on the cusp of seeing one another again! We’re looking forward to reconvening our community. Please be part of the moment!
