ENGAGE Program

Together students will explore the contemporary call to racial justice and healing, the histories of both the church and the U.S. Civil Rights movement, and what it means to live a life of Christian leadership and service.

Students will spend seven days on Lipscomb’s campus, studying theology, Scripture, and history with Lipscomb professors and immersing themselves in the spiritual, cultural, historic, and entertainment opportunities available in the great city of Nashville.

Students will spend another three days traveling outside of Nashville on the “Bus Ride to Justice,” a historical and interactive tour of various sites and memorials of the U.S. Civil Rights movement, including:

The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum
The 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma
A walking tour of Montgomery and the State Capitol
The Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice
The Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center
Students will also have the chance to meet Dr. Fred D. Gray, legendary civil rights leader and attorney. He represented clients in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1965 Selma March, the desegregation of Alabama public schools, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bus Ride To Justice

The “Bus Ride to Justice” travel course adds a unique element of experiential learning to the ENGAGE initiative. Students will spend three days touring significant sites of the U.S. Civil Rights movement throughout Alabama. Each stop immerses students, counselors, and faculty in intergenerational conversations rooted in that past struggle and challenges learners to think about the work that remains in our society. One former graduate student who experienced the trip writes: “I was unprepared for the depth of emotional response, personal soul-searching and corporate reflection which this field trip invited [us] to enter into.”

This particular model of learning moves participants to consider their own responses to racial injustice as they stand in the physical spaces of past events and allow the voices and faces of history to inform and frame their actions for the future. The journey intends to prompt students to ask thoughtful, theological questions concerning the mistreatment of all oppressed peoples, using cross-cultural dialogue and intergenerational, non-violent engagement.

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Faculty and Staff

Meet some of the key people in the ENGAGE Youth Theology Initiative.

Raymond Carr

Raymond Carr, assistant professor of theology and ethics at Pepperdine University, will serve as visiting faculty during ENGAGE. Dr. Carr is a compelling classroom educator who has worked extensively at the intersection of Christian theology, vocation and the task of racial reconciliation. The course he teaches will be based in the Bible and in the theology of James Cone’s groundbreaking work The Cross and The Lynching Tree. Carr holds an M.Div. from Pepperdine University and a Ph.D. in systematic and philosophical theology from Graduate Theological Union. Carr is the author of Theology in the Mode of Monk: Barth and Cone in Revelation and Freedom and “Fired in the Crucible of Oppression: Toward a Theology of Spiritual Freedom,” a forthcoming chapter in a festschrift honoring Charles Long. A USAF veteran who hails from Petersburg, Virginia, he is married to Joi Carr who is also a professor at Pepperdine and a gospel singer/songwriter.

Tabatha L. Jones Jolivet

Tabatha L. Jones Jolivet teaches doctoral-level higher education courses on diversity and social justice, critical issues, and the nature of research inquiry at Azusa Pacific University. As a community-engaged scholar, she applies intersectional Womanist lenses to the study of critical and sociocultural issues in higher education. Her research focuses on activism and social movements, faith and spirituality, and socially-just organizational change. She is co-author of White Jesus: The Architecture of Racism in Religion and Education (Peter Lang, 2018). She is an organizer in Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles and serves as the research team lead. She grew up in Churches of Christ as the daughter of a preschool teacher and preacher. Together with her parents, she co-leads a house church ministry. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, and a M.S. degree in Ministry and Theology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She will serve as visiting
faculty and facilitate the “Bus Ride to Justice” travel course during the ENGAGE initiative.

Richard T. Hughes

Richard T. Hughes has worked at the intersection of religion and American culture over the course of a 45-year career, specializing in religion and American identity, religion and race in America, religion and American higher education, and the role of Christian primitivism in American life. His 17 published books include Myths America Lives By (University of Illinois Press), Christian America and the Kingdom of God (University of Illinois Press), Reviving the Ancient Faith: the Story of Churches of Christ in America (ACU Press), and How Christian Faith can Sustain the Life of the Mind (Eerdmans). Having taught at Pepperdine University, Southwest Missouri State University, Abilene Christian University and Messiah College, Dr. Hughes currently serves as scholar-in-residence in the College of Bible and Ministry at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Claire Davidson Frederick

Claire Davidson Frederick is an affiliate faculty member in the College of Bible and Ministry at Lipscomb University, and she serves as program director for the ENGAGE initiative. She oversees elements of planning and recruitment; coordinates course curriculum, service activities, and field trips; and provides input regarding theological and academic content for the program. Frederick is a Nashville native who spent 12 years in the country music industry as a published songwriter before going into ministry full time. She earned her B.A. from Rutgers University, graduated from the Hazelip School of Theology at Lipscomb University with a Master of Divinity, and is currently pursuing her Doctor or Ministry at McCormick Theological Seminary. She teaches freshman Bible courses and children’s ministry at Lipscomb and facilitated two songwriting workshops at the Tennessee Prison for Women as part of the Lipscomb LIFE Program. She has over 15 years of experience leading summer Bible schools, youth camps, women’s retreats, and worship.

Jacquelynn Day White

Jacquelynn Day White serves as adjunct faculty in both the College of Professional Studies and in the College of Bible and Ministry at Lipscomb University. She earned
her B.S. in Nursing from the University of South Alabama; her Master of Divinity degree in 2008 and her Doctor of Ministry degree in 2018 from the Hazelip School of
Theology. White teaches undergraduate courses such as Luke/Acts, Spiritual Disciplines, The Story of Israel, and The Story of Jesus. She also serves as teaching faculty and Camp Nurse for the ENGAGE Youth Theology Initiative. She is a native of Tennessee and currently works as a Registered Nurse in various Psychiatric settings and in Community Health Nursing. She and her husband Robert have three
children and reside in Spring Hill, Tennessee. They are members of the Maury Hills Church family.

Brittany T. Paschall

Brittany T. Paschall is a community organizer, preacher, and truth-teller. She serves as Program Coordinator for the ENGAGE Youth Theology Initiative. A native of Nashville, Paschall is a 2017 graduate of Grand Canyon University, where she studied sociology. She is currently pursuing her Master of Divinity.

Paschall was named a 2017-2018 National ELLA Fellow with the Sadie Nash Leadership Development Project. Her fellowship project: Nashville’s Daughters engages Young Women of Color through mentoring (femtoring), historical exploration, social-emotional learning and social action. She is also an alumnus of the 2018 Millennial Leaders Project of Union Theological Seminary and Faith Matters Network’s Public Theology and Racial Justice Cohort. Paschall is most proud to be the daughter of Glenn and Delta Paschall: her fearless Black educator parents, and granddaughter to Sarah E. Tolbert, who taught her how to love.

Robert A. Jackson Jr.

Robert A. Jackson Jr. will serve the ENGAGE initiative as program consultant and teaching faculty. A gifted speaker and teacher with a heart for social issues, Jackson spent nine years doing youth ministry for the Taylor Street Church of Christ in Pulaski, Tennessee. He currently co-teaches an adult Bible class at Otter Creek Church of Christ called “The Arc is Long,” which focuses on the church’s response to racial justice and reconciliation. Jackson graduated with honors from Alabama A&M University in 2005 and presently is pursuing his Master of Divinity degree from the Hazelip School of Theology at Lipscomb University. Jackson works as an information technology specialist at Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tennessee. He and his wife Tiffany are the proud parents of a five-year-old daughter.

Corey Rhoades

Corey Rhoades serves as program assistant for the ENGAGE Youth Theology Initiative. Originally from Southern California, Corey completed his undergraduate degree at Pepperdine University, studying Religion and Spanish. He is currently pursuing a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Vanderbilt University, Peabody College. Prior to moving to Nashville, Corey worked for three years in Pepperdine’s Office of Church Relations, serving as the first program coordinator for the Youth Leadership Initiative, which included projects such as the Next Gen Preacher Search, CrossWays, the Youth Ministry Network, and the a cappella group Won By One. He is now a graduate assistant in the Office of Multicultural Learning & Experience at Belmont University, working with the Bridges to Belmont scholarship program. He is interested in diversity, spiritual development, and the intersection of religion and higher education.

Calendar

Every July, ENGAGE participants arrive on the campus of Lipscomb University for a 10-day summer residency. After moving into the dorms, students begin their cultural, theological, and historical explorations. While some events and activities are subject to change, a previous year's schedule is provided below for your consideration.

Schedule for July 5-14

Sun.

Sunday, July 5

1 p.m. Registration: students arrive and move into the dorms
3 p.m. Welcome / Orientation / Ice Breakers
4:30 p.m. Conversation Covenants / Brave Spaces: Students begin sharing their personal and spiritual narratives
6 p.m. Catered dinner on campus
7 p.m. Opening worship and small group discussions
10 p.m. Lights out

Mon.-Wed.

Monday–Wednesday, July 6-8 ("Bus Ride to Justice" Pilgrimage through Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, and Tuskegee, Alabama)

Day One:

5:45 a.m. Breakfast in the lobby of the Ezell Center. Load bus at 6:15 a.m.
6:30 a.m. Depart for Birmingham
- Watch "Eyes on the Prize," Vol. 1 (60 minutes)
- Watch the opening scene of “Selma”
- Watch "Ella Baker: A Legacy of Grassroots Leadership"
10 a.m. Tour 16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL
- Reading: King’s “Eulogy for the Martyred Children”
11 a.m. Tour Kelly Ingram Park
11:30 a.m. Classroom discussion at the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum and lunch delivered to the classroom. Students can take an optional tour of the museum.
1:30 p.m. Load the bus
2 p.m. Bus travels from Birmingham to Selma, AL
- View the Spike Lee documentary Four Little Girls
4 p.m. Tour Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama
- Reading: Malcolm X speech
5 p.m. Walk the Edmund Pettus Bridge
6 p.m. Dinner and conversations of significance at Lannie's BBQ in Selma, AL
7 p.m. Depart for Montgomery
- Watch DVD: "Faces in the Water"
8 p.m. Arrive at Hampton Inn & Suites, Commerce St. Montgomery, AL

Day Two:

6:30 a.m. Breakfast served in the hotel
8 a.m. Load the bus and depart for Tuskegee
- Discuss the educational philosophies of WEB DuBois and Booker T. Washington
9:30 a.m. Students arrive at the Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center and meet with Dr. Fred D. Gray
11 a.m. Depart for Tuskegee University
11:30 a.m. Lunch in the Kellogg Hall dining room
12:30 p.m. View “Lifting the Veil of Ignorance” statue, Tuskegee Chapel and Cemetery
- Tour the George Washington Carver Museum
1:30 p.m. Tour campus and Tuskegee's Legacy Museum (where the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks are housed)
3 p.m. Tour 'The Oaks' (home of Booker T. Washington)
4 p.m. Tuskegee Airmen Museum Tarmac Tour
5 p.m. Finish with Tuskegee Airmen Museum Film & return to Montgomery for the evening
6:30 p.m. Dinner in downtown Montgomery
8 p.m. Fun outing in downtown Montgomery

Day Three:

6:30 a.m. Breakfast served in the hotel
8 a.m. Check-out, load bus
9 a.m. Tour the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Museum
10:30 a.m. Tour the National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Noon Lunch
1 p.m. Tour the Dexter King Memorial Baptist Church
2:30 p.m. Tour the Rosa Parks Museum
4 p.m. Return to Nashville
6 p.m. Dinner en route to Nashville
10 p.m. Arrive at Lipscomb University

Thurs.

Thursday, July 9

7:30-10 a.m. Breakfast available; students may sleep in
10 a.m. Review and process the trip to Alabama with Dr. Jones Jolivet. Individual and group reflection.
Noon Lunch in Bison Café
1 p.m. Class with Dr. Raymond Carr: "Theologies Born of Struggle"
2:30 p.m. “Culturally Attentive Communications,” with Dr. Aerial Ellis
4 p.m. Free time
6 p.m. Dinner in Bison Café
7 p.m. “Telling Our Stories” class. Students begin to share their personal narratives related to race and faith with Brittany Paschall, workshop facilitator.
8:15 p.m. Snack break
8:30 p.m. Resume class
9:30 p.m. Covenant groups meet, led by counselors
10:30 p.m. Lights out

Fri.

Friday, July 10

7:30–9 a.m. Breakfast available in Bison Café
9:15 a.m. Morning devotional in Ezell Chapel
10 a.m. Narrative Class – “Telling Our Stories”
11 a.m. Theology Class with Dr. Raymond Carr
Noon Lunch in Bison Café
1 p.m. Rest Time in Dorm
2 p.m. “Business as Mission” with Rob Touchstone, M.Div.
3:15 p.m. “Nursing as a Kingdom Vocation” with Jackie White, BSN, D.Min
4:30 p.m. Free Time
6 p.m. College of Bible and Ministry Dinner in Shamblin Theatre. Music of the Civil Rights Movement provided by Odessa and Calvin Settles.
9 p.m. Bible Class with Robert Jackson Jr.
11 p.m. Lights out

Sat.

Saturday, July 11

7:30-8:30 a.m. Breakfast available in Bison Café
8:30 a.m. Load bus in front of Allen Arena
8:45 a.m. Depart for downtown Nashville
9 a.m. Tour Fort Negley
10:30 a.m. Tour North Nashville/Black Nashville Talk, feat. Dr. Lea Williams of TSU
12 p.m. Lunch at Kingdom Cafe
1:30 p.m. Civil Rights Reading Room at the Downtown Public Library
- Nashville Issues Past and Present Panel, featuring:
  - Open Table Nashville - Lindsey Krinks
  - BLM Representative - Justin Lang
  - Immigration - Cathy Carrillo of MIX
  - Freedom Rider - Rip Patton
3:30 p.m. Tour the National Museum of African American Music
5:30 p.m. Return to campus for dinner in Bison Café
7:30 p.m. Narrative Class – “Telling Our Stories” with Brittany Paschall
9 p.m. Snacks
9:30 p.m. Covenant group time with counselors in dorms
11 p.m. Lights out