This week, we return to a lively conversation with Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, hosted by Octavio and Claire back in 2020. Here, they consider the need for the North American church to break free from Western cultural captivity and embrace the diversity of our communities in our gathered worship and theology. Soong-Chan emphasizes the importance of diversity, community, and authentic cultural expression in faith communities. If this conversation piques your interest, consider joining him in the classroom this summer. He will be teaching "Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church" from July 6-10.

Soong-Chan's Bio

Soong-Chan Rah is the Robert Boyd Munger Professor of Evangelism and Church Renewal at Fuller Theological Seminary. He holds a ThD from Duke Divinity School, with a primary field of study in theology and ethics, and a secondary field of study in American evangelical history. He also holds an MDiv and a DMin, with a concentration in urban ministry leadership, from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as well as a ThM from Harvard University, with a thesis on the immigrant church.

Dr. Rah has authored or co-authored over a half-dozen books, which have won many awards. These include The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity(IVP, 2009); Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church (Moody, 2010); Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times (IVP, 2015); Return to Justice: Six Movements that Reignited Our Contemporary Evangelical Conscience (with Gary Vanderpol; Brazos, 2016); Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery (with Mark Charles; IVP, 2019); and Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith (with Mae Elise Cannon, Lisa Sharon Harper, and Troy Jackson; Zondervan, 2014).

Dr. Rah is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church and a member of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education, the American Academy of Religion, and the American Society of Missiology. He speaks on the topics of the witness of the church, cross-cultural ministry, and social justice at a wide range of academic conferences, seminaries, Christian colleges, local churches, denominational gatherings, and ministry conferences across the United States and around the world.

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Today, we continue our Summer Forecast with Dr. Lanta Davis, who will be teaching "Imagination and Spiritual Formation" at Regent Summer School from June 29 - July 3. In this conversation, Lanta introduces us to how the imagination shapes our lives with God. She brings us back through Christian history to show how visual art, stories, and symbols shape our faith, identity, and understanding of God. We discuss how the contemporary imagination is being influenced by consumerism and political agendas, and reflect on the power of images of Jesus in particular. Lanta takes us deep into the fascinating world of saints' lives and bestiaries as sources that train and model our imaginative capacities, but also gives practical suggestions for ways to practice growing our imaginative capacities through visual art and literature. We hope you enjoy this conversation and consider joining us this summer for a class that may contain unicorns!

Lanta's Bio

Dr. Lanta Davis writes and teaches about the sacramental imagination, beauty, and character formation. Her book, Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation (Baker, 2024), was named one of Christianity Today’s best books of the year. Her writing has also appeared in publications such as Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Christianity Today, Plough, Parabola, and Christian Century. As a Professor of Humanities and Literature for the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University, she has researched and lectured on topics as diverse as ancient Christian mosaics, sacred architecture, virtues and vices, pilgrimages, memento mori art, and contemporary Irish fiction. She will be teaching Imagination and Spiritual Formation at Regent from June 29 to July 3.

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As we continue to look ahead to Summer Programs, we are introducing you to a new friend of Regent, Dr. Warren Kinghorn, psychiatrist and theologian at Duke University. In this sensitive and insightful conversation, Warren reflects on his many years practising medicine as a Christian psychiatrist. He considers the intersection of psychiatry, theology, and human experience, emphasizing the importance of understanding people as whole persons on a journey rather than machines or clusters of symptoms. He points us to the reality of human interdependence as a gift, and our common humanity as wayfarers, persons on a journey, seeking to discern what we need in the particularities of our lives in community with others. Warren will be joining us at Regent from July 6-10 to teach “Christian Faith and Mental Healthcare.” We hope to see you here!

(TW) Warren discusses difficult issues, such as suicidality and euthanasia, as well as other mental health challenges.

Warren's Bio

Dr. Warren Kinghorn is Professor of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine, Esther Colliflower Professor of the Practice of Pastoral and Moral Theology, and co-director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School, and a staff psychiatrist at the Durham VA Medical Center. He is the author of Wayfaring: A Christian Approach to Mental Health Care (Eerdmans, 2024) and co-author with Abraham Nussbaum of Prescribing Together: A Relational Guide to Psychopharmacology (American Psychiatric Association Publishing, 2021). He’s teaching this summer: Christian Faith and Mental Healthcare from July 6-10.

Referenced Content
Do Not Harm Yourself, For We Are All Here - Christianity Today article (May 2025)

Regent College Podcast

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