Will your school be represented at the ATS Biennial Meeting this month?

The Association of Theological Schools is holding its 47th Biennial Meeting on June 23-25 in Montreal. The biennial meeting is the gathering of all ATS member institutions. In Trust will host a reception for its members and friends on Thursday, June 24, at 5 p.m. You are invited!

The Biennial Meeting is a true business meeting -- representatives from member schools vote to admit new members, discuss changing standards of accreditation, and hear financial reports.

It's also a place for continuing education. Numerous workshops cover material like distance learning, stabilizing a tuition-driven institution, and resource-sharing among schools. This year, two seminary leaders will join In Trust president Christa R. Klein in a session on "building boards for good governance in demanding times."

Finally, the Biennial Meeting is an opportunity for socializing and networking. It's the one chance for seminary deans and presidents to meet other leaders from across religious and geographical lines. It's always encouraging to see a Catholic priest and a Methodist academic nod their heads in agreement as a Southern Baptist president makes a keen observation. But it's also great to see the specialized gatherings for women leaders, evangelicals, and Canadians.

This year's theme is "The Future Has Arrived: Changing Theological Education in a Changed World." And the theme couldn't be more timely. Everywhere I go, leaders in theological education are eager to discuss the significant changes they are seeing in their students, their churches, and their funding models. More than one seminary leader has told me, "People have their heads in the sand. Things can't go on as they have been!"

I disagree. I don't believe that people have their heads in the sand at all. I know that leaders in theological education are eager to discuss the changes all around us. The ATS Biennial Meeting is the place for that discussion to happen. 

Want to check out the program? See the entire program on the ATS website, which you can find here (PDF). Be sure to read ATS executive director Daniel Aleshire's message on page 11.

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