ACU Summit returns Sept. 15-18 with the theme “Sorrow, Hope and Joy: Life in the Mountains and Valleys of the Psalms.” Five theme speakers will guide attendees through the ups and downs of life as they correspond with the Psalms. This year, attendees can choose from 20 pathways related to leadership, ministry, service and spiritual growth.

Here are highlights:

• Summit will open with a joint concert by the ACU Alumni Chorus and the ACU A Capella at 6:20 p.m. Sunday at University Church of Christ, 733 E.N. 16th St., adjacent to the ACU campus. The concert will lead into worship and the opening lecture by Mike Cope. Cope is the director of ministry outreach for Pepperdine University. Other theme speakers are Mo Isom, nationally sought after speaker and New York Times bestselling author of Sex, Jesus and the Conversations the Church Forgot; Beverly (Jones ’79) Ross, international advocate for women’s ministries as well as founder and executive director for Wise County Christian Counseling; Shane Wood, one of Christian Standard’s “40 Leaders Under 40” and author of Between Two Trees: Our Transformation from Death to Life; and Dr. Steven Moore, associate English professor and director of the McNair Scholars Program at ACU.
• Twenty pathways will provide ample opportunities for attendees to hear discussion about their personal areas of service. Topics include: Leadership; Center for Ancient and Religious Texts; Discipleship in a Multicultural Society; Congregational Leadership; Racial Reconciliation; Small Church; Worship; Formation of Young Adults; Biblical Storytelling; Moral Meaning of Work; Beyond Red and Blue; Growing Young; Intergenerational Church; Holy Spirit; and Social Justice.
• Join us for the Abilene premiere of Finding Home in Boomtown, directed by Matt Maxwell (’07) at the Summit Film Festival. In the nation’s second wealthiest city, a West Texas oilman sets out to downsize and refocus his family’s life in order to build a tiny house community for the homeless. Prior to his move to Midland, Texas, where the film is set, Maxwell lived in Los Angeles where he worked in reality television and in the office of The Kennedy/Marshall Company. After the showing, the Social Justice pathway will host a Q&A session with the director and pathway presenters.
• The Enneagram Pathway is back. On Monday and Tuesday, Enneagram teacher Casey McCollum (’03) will lead five sessions first introducing the Enneagram, then explaining the next steps for using it. Monday night, he will host an Enneagram Panel, featuring representation from all nine types and time for Q&A from the audience.
• Many pathways will host Conversation Corners at the end of the day. These sessions will allow speakers to interact with each other and the attendees for an immersive experience.
• The Wednesday Mini-Pathway offerings are loaded with information and encouragement. Randy Harris will host “Living Out the Gospel in a Secular Age”; Dr.Jason Byassee will host “Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis”; Dr. Eddie Sharp (’73) and Dr. Cheryl (Mann ’76) Bacon will host “Comfort When the Shadow Falls: Encouraging the Dying and Those Affected by Grief”; and Dr. Brad East (’08), Mitch East (’15), and Bradley Steele (’09) will host “A Third Way for Churches of Christ.”
• ACU Press will bring several of its most popular published authors to speak on topics from their books.

For more information about the 113th annual Summit, visit acu.edu/summit.