The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s office of Theology and Worship will host its second Twitter chat Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT. The conversation will be moderated by the Rev. Dr. Dean Thompson, president and professor of ministry emeritus of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Thompson, author of “Our Presbyterian Virtues,” the second paper in the office of Theology and Worship’s new Theological Conversations series, will engage Twitter participants on the distinctive characteristics of the Presbyterian way of being the church in the world.

“One of the enduring characteristics of our tradition is the deep desire to engage important issues theologically,” says the Rev. Dr. Charles Wiley III, coordinator of the Office of Theology and Worship. “We in the church need to find ways—and use new platforms such as Twitter—to have challenging conversations that are fruitful and increase understanding rather than cause further division among us. We hope that this opportunity to engage Dean Thompson, one of the PC(USA)’s most respected scholars, will serve to deepen our faith and focus our faithfulness.”

Theological Conversations, which was launched on May 24, is a new series of free resources designed to draw church leaders into theological conversation, whether in session or presbytery meetings or adult education. The four sets of materials to be released throughout 2015—each is a study resource with accompanying conversation questions—are designed to foster rich conversation in the church.

Among the questions to be addressed during Thursday’s chat are:

  • How does loving God with our hearts contribute to loving God with our minds? How does loving God with our minds contribute to loving God with our hearts?
  • Why does it matter to pass on our faith, to children and to others?
  • Why do Presbyterians maintain “that, by and large and generally speaking, groups make more trustworthy decisions than individuals”?

The Presbyterian Mission Agency has hosted three previous Twitter chats. The first with Sister Simone Campbell, author of “A Nun on the Bus,” addressed advocacy for hunger and poverty issues. A second with the Rev. Cindy Cushman, focused on the paper she authored for the Theological Conversations series, “Mary, the Magnificat, and Race.” The third Twitter chat held on Sept. 10, hosted by the office of Gender & Racial Justice, used the hashtag #SpeakAntiracism as part of a larger campaign to raise awareness of institutional racism in the church and in our society, and to address ways that Presbyterians can take action to fight racism.

The Oct. 1 Twitter chat can be followed using the hashtag #TheoConvo.