Princeton Seminary | Being Christian and a Leader in an Election Year
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Being Christian and a Leader in an Election Year

A Three-Week Online Course | June 2–23

Course Description

House United Allen Hilton 600

What role will Christians play as the events of 2020 strain the threads that hold Americans (and American Christians) together? A controversial presidential election campaign would have stretched us enough on its own, but now the Coronavirus adds a battle between the “Let’s get back to work and lay masks down!” people and the “Stay at home and mask up!” people. Same armies, new battle – but now waged mostly on Zoom. Amid all these factors driving right and left further away from one another, Jesus people need to hear again and courageously reckon with Jesus’ “do unto others”, Jesus’ “Love your enemy”, Jesus’ “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and Jesus’ prayer “…that they all may be one!”

The tasks of being and leading Christians have not been this difficult for decades. Join Rev. Dr. Allen Hilton (MDiv ’89), leader of the House United Movement and co-founder of the new House United Academy, as he helps us explore what it is to be Christian in the Divided States of America. We’ll train together for a new calling: to help this nation and this church turn around before we revisit Fort Sumter or the holy wars of Europe. Dr. Hilton will help us envision how to preach, pray, pastor, and lead in the divided congregations God has given us.


Who May Enroll

Any curious Christian seeking deeper theological understanding and personal enrichment may take part in this online course. People with a desire to bridge the divides in our communities and churches will find this course helpful. We encourage groups from congregations and communities to take the course together.


What to Expect

Learning Community: You will be immersed with a community of learners. Just as you would in a traditional classroom, you will engage the course material with your peers, faculty, and teaching assistants.

Course Platform: The inviting environment of the online course platform engages students in active learning. The weekly modules guide you, step by step, through videos, readings, written reflections, and peer discussions.

Live Sessions: Dr. Allen will offer three 90 minute live online sessions during the course. These richly enhance the learning and community for students. The three Live Sessions with Dr. Allen will take place 7:30–9:00 p.m. eastern time on June 2, 9, and 16, 2020.

Time Commitment: Complete course material on your own schedule while meeting weekly deadlines. Teaching assistants follow your progress and respond weekly to your work in the learning path. You will exchange ideas with peers in the discussion board. Expect to spend six to eight hours per week on course modules and the live sessions.

Instruction and Review: Written course work is reviewed by the instructor and teaching assistant. Hilton will engage with students in the online discussions.

Successful Completion and CEUs

Those who satisfactorily complete all steps of the three modules will receive a notice of completion and earn 2.5 continuing education units (CEUs).


About the Instructor

Rev. Allen R. Hilton, PhD, helps Americans come together across differences for the common good. He does this (in non-Corona days) by flying 40 wks/yr to churches, schools, corporations, and any other communities who request help navigating red-blue division. He leads the House United Movement (church and broad culture est. 2016) and co-leads House United Academy (K-12 est. 2019). The mission joins Dr. Hilton’s blended evangelical and progressive Christian experience of conservative village Oregon (Young Life and George Fox University) and the progressive Ivy East (M.Div. at Princeton Seminary and Ph.D. + faculty at Yale U and Div) as well as pastoral work East (CT), West (WA), and Middle (MN). His book, House United: How the Church Can Save the World (Fortress, 2018), captures that vision; his book, Illiterate Apostles: Uneducated Early Christians and the Literates Who Loved Them (T&T Clark, 2018) grounds it in Scripture. Hilton lives in Austin, Texas with his beloved, Liz, and their two sons, Sam and Isaac.


Fees and Registration

The fee for the course is $110 per person.

Registration closes May 27, 2020.

Interested in taking the course with a group at your church? Contact us, at the email below, for information on group rates for congregations.

Register Now

Educating faithful Christian leaders.

Pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church, Crystal City, Missouri

Joshua Noah, Class of 2015

“Through my field education placement at Trinity Presbyterian Church in East Brunswick, New Jersey, I discovered my gift to minister to all age groups.”