2027 Vivian B Harrison Lecture at UMO

By Rev. Dr. Neal Cox,

Barrow Chair of Biblical Studies

Assistant Professor of Religion

University of Mount Olive

On October the 22nd The University of Mount Olive will host The Reverend Owen Barrow as the 2026 Vivian B. Harrison Memorial Lecture. This year’s lecture will be in the applied area and specifically will cover discipleship. The title of this year’s lecture is Helping Others Own Their Own Faith: A Map and a Toolbelt for Discipleship

Lecture 1 will begin at 9 am and is titled: Shifting From a Menu to a Map Approach to Programming. Since every disciple's journey is unique, yet none of us find our way alone, we will explore how churches can move from a scattered list of options to a clear but flexible pathway for growth.

Lecture 2 will begin at 10:30 am and is titled: Shifting From an Information- to a Tools-Based Approach to Discipleship. Since so much of discipleship is caught rather than taught, we will explore how churches can move from handing people more information to equipping them with tools they can use for a lifetime.

The Reverend Owen Barrow serves as Lead Pastor of Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church. Owen has served as a pastor for two decades, most of that time in larger congregations and one new church start, though he traces his roots of ministry to youth groups, camping ministry, and smaller, rural churches that shaped him early on. Across every context, he is first and foremost a practitioner, working alongside each congregation to figure out how they can best help people own their own faith.

Though he grew up in Raleigh, most of his family is from Snow Hill, North Carolina, where his grandfather served as a Free Will Baptist minister with deep ties to the University of Mount Olive. Today, Owen serves as the family representative for the Barrow Endowment, and feels, in many ways, that serves within his grandfather's legacy.

The Vivian B. Harrison Lecture was established by the Reverend Frank R. Harrison in memory of his late wife. The purpose of the lecture is to provide a medium for continuing education for the ministers and laypersons of North Carolina.

Mrs. Harrison was a graduate of the University of Mount Olive (formerly Mount Olive College) and Barton College, where she earned a B. S. degree in elementary education. She taught public school in North Carolina for 17 years before retiring in 1986 due to illness. She was a member of Spring Branch Free Will Baptist Church in Greene County and the daughter of the late Mrs. Elizabeth N. Beamon and Mr. Charlie T. Beamon of Walstonburg, North Carolina.

The Reverend Frank Harrison is a graduate of the University of Mount Olive, Barton College, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed two years of post-graduate studies in pastoral care and counseling at North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. Reverend Harrison served as Campus Minister at the University of Mount Olive from 1971 through 2002 and taught courses in practical theology. And I cannot emphasize the impact brother Frank has had on my own life personally as one of my first professors here at Mount Olive and a colleague and friend in the OFWB Church.