Smith to Continue Parables of Luke Series Oct. 1

OBU will welcome guest chapel speaker Dr. Robert Smith Jr., professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He will speak at OBU's chapel Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m., in Raley Chapel's Potter Auditorium on the OBU campus in Shawnee.

Smith will continue the fall chapel series theme on "Parables of the Kingdom: Jesus' Word Pictures as Found in the Gospel of Luke." He will speak on "The God of a Second Chance" found in Luke 22:31-34.

Prior to teaching at Beeson, he served as the Carl E. Bates Associate Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. A popular teacher and preacher, he received SBTS's 1996 Findley B. Edge Award for Teaching Excellence. An ordained Baptist minister, he served as pastor of the New Mission Missionary Baptist Church for 20 years. He earned his Ph.D. while serving as pastor.

Smith has written the book, "Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life," which was selected as the winner of the 2008 Preaching Book of the Year Award by Preaching magazine and 2009 Preaching Book of the Year Award by Christianity Today's www.preaching.com.

Smith has spoken at more than 85 universities, colleges and seminaries in the United States, Great Britain and the Caribbean. His research interests include the place of passion in preaching, the literary history of African-American preaching and Christological preaching and theologies of preaching. He received Beeson's "Teacher of the Year Award" in 2005. He is married to Dr. Wanda Taylor-Smith, Ph.D.