In her lecture “Making Their Mark: Asian Americans and the Californian ‘Christian’ Landscape,” Rebecca Y. Kim, Frank R. Seaver Chair of Social Science and director of the ethnic studies program at Pepperdine University, speaks about the impact made by Asian American Christians on the American church, despite the historic challenges of systemic exclusion and discrimination they faced and continue to face. In response, Daniel D. Lee, academic dean for Fuller’s Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry, highlights the importance of contextual literacy and a nuanced understanding of Asian American Christian history.

In his lecture “Errands in the Wilderness: Protestant Migrations and the (Re-)Evangelization of California in the 20th and 21st Centuries,” Darren Dochuk, Andrew V. Tackes College Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, talks about how the movement of protestant communities into, out of, and within Southern California made Los Angeles a center of innovative evangelization and religious transformation on an international scale. In response, Robert Chao Romero, associate professor of Chicana/o and Central American studies at UCLA, explores the history of Latino protestant communities in Los Angeles and the churches, institutions, and theologies that arose from them.  

In her lecture “Faith Resources: Muslim Migration to Los Angeles,” Zayn Kassam, John Knox MacLean Professor of Religious Studies at Pomona College, speaks about the positive influence of Muslim migrant communities in the US, even against the oppressive American realities of racism of Islamophobia. In response, Matthew Kaemingk, assistant professor of Christian ethics, considers what is required for our communities to cultivate and sustain the virtues of hospitality and neighborly love—particularly against xenophobia and white supremacy.

In his lecture “Catholicity: Migration, Religion, and World Christianity,” Gioacchino Campese, professor of the theology of human mobility at Pontifical Urbaniana University, considers the church’s eschatological call toward catholicity in the context of our changing and globalized world. In response, Cecil M. Robeck Jr., senior professor of church history and ecumenics, speaks about Christian love and unity in the context of migration.  

In his lecture “Missiological Reflections on the ‘In-Betweenness’ of Latino Protestantism,” Juan Martínez, president of Centro Hispano de Estudios Teológicos (CHET), explains the polycentric identity of Latino protestants, who inhabit a liminal space ethnically, sociologically, and religiously. In response, Lisseth Rojas-Flores, associate professor of clinical psychology, talks about the adversity faced by Latino children in the US and how churches can act as a positive disruption to this pattern.

In his lecture “City of Dreams: Los Angeles as a Cradle for Religious Activism, Innovation, and Diversity,” Richard Flory, senior director of research and evaluation at USC’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, introduces the unique culture of Los Angeles and considers the dynamics between culture and place. In response, Alexia Salvatierra, assistant professor of integral mission and global transformation, talks about what we can learn from LA’s recent history of immigration reform.

At the 2007 Payton Lectures, Scott Cormode and Marianne Meye Thompson discussed the missional formation of the church following Darrell Guder’s lecture “Formation of the Congregation for Worthy Walking.”

In his lecture “Formation of the Congregation for Worthy Walking” delivered at the 2007 Payton Lectures, Darrell Guder, then Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, considered the roles of church leaders in enabling their communities to follow their missional callings.

At the 2007 Payton Lectures, Mark Lau Branson and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen discussed the subject of missional ecclesiology following Darrell Guder’s lecture “The Worthy Walk of the Missional Congregation.”

In his lecture “The Worthy Walk of the Missional Congregation” delivered at the 2007 Payton Lectures, Darrell Guder, then Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, urged the church to reclaim its missional vocation and its purpose as a witnessing community.