As important as it is to understand the gospel and defend it, it is no less important to proclaim it. One must not only articulate the gospel faithfully, one must “gospelize”—that is, evangelize. One of the best ways to preserve the gospel is to give it away. God forbid that we should retreat into holy huddles of theological reflection that never burn with a holy zeal to spread the good news —individually, through our local churches, cross-culturally, at home, and to the ends of the earth.
To fan into flame our smoldering commitments to evangelize, we plan to think through a selection of Jesus’s interactions with individuals and small groups—to listen in to conversations with Jesus. So at The Gospel Coalition’s 2019 National Conference, the keynotes are devoted to thinking through a selection of “conversations with Jesus,” in the earnest hope that they will spur us not only to gospel faithfulness, but also to gospel proclamation. Moreover, we are devoting some of our workshops to various facets of evangelism and apologetics, along with our usual wide range of topics.
Don Carson
Don Carson holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is president of The Gospel Coalition. He and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois, and have two children.
H. B. Charles Jr.
H. B. Charles Jr. is the pastor-teacher of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. At the June 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, H. B. was unanimously elected as the SBC Pastors’ Conference’s first African-American president. Outside of his ministry to and with his congregation, H. B. regularly speaks at churches, conferences, and conventions around the country. He is also the author of several books. H. B. is married to Crystal, and they have three children: H. B. III, Natalie, and Hailey.
Kevin DeYoung
Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Matthews, North Carolina. He also serves as board chairman and blogger for The Gospel Coalition. He is an assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) and a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester. He has authored several books, including Just Do Something, Crazy Busy, Taking God at His Word, and The Biggest Story. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have seven children.
Jackie Hill Perry
Jackie Hill Perry is a speaker, author, poet, and artist. Her sophomore album, Crescendo, was released in May 2018. She is also the author of a new book, Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I was and What God Has Always Been. At home she is a wife to Preston and mom to Eden and Autumn.
Tim Keller
Tim Keller is chairman of Redeemer City to City and pastor emeritus of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. For more than 25 years, Tim led a diverse congregation that grew to a weekly worshiping community of more than 6,000 people. Tim now focuses on ministry more broadly in New York City and other global cities through the work of City to City, which has helped start over 380 churches in 54 global cities. He is the author of many books, including The Reason for God and The Meaning of Marriage.
Trip Lee
Trip Lee is is an author, teacher, and hip-hop artist. A pastor in Atlanta, he regularly preaches and teaches at Christian conferences and events, and has performed his music for thousands of listeners around the world. He has written two books, The Good Life and Rise. As a hip-hop artist, Lee’s music has received critical acclaim, while reaching a large and growing audience. Trip’s deepest desire in his writing, teaching, and performing is to declare the goodness and glory of Jesus Christ.
John Piper
John Piper is founder of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For more than 30 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of more than 50 books. More than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available for free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noël, have four sons, one daughter, and 12 grandchildren.
David Platt
David Platt is founder of Radical and pastor-teacher at McLean Bible Church. He holds a BA and ABJ from the University of Georgia, and an MDiv, ThM, and PhD from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. David has written several books, including Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture and the following volumes in the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series: Exalting Jesus in Matthew, Exalting Jesus in James, Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, and Exalting Jesus in Galatians. David and his wife, Heather, have four children.
Jen Wilkin
Jen Wilkin is an author and Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas. She has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. Her passion is to see others become articulate and committed followers of Christ, with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God. She currently serves as the director of classes and curriculum for The Village Church Institute. You can find her at jenwilkin.net.
Danny Akin
Danny Akin serves as the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a professor of preaching and theology. He has a DPhil from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Charlotte, have traveled to Sudan, Turkey, Middle East, Kenya, Asia, Central Asia, Thailand, India and Paraguay to share the gospel and serve students and missionaries. They have four sons, four daughters-in-law, and twelve grandchildren.
Sam Allberry
Sam Allberry is an apologist and writer for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, an editor for The Gospel Coalition, and based in Maidenhead, UK. He is the author of several books, including 7 Myths About Singleness and Is God Anti-Gay? Sam is also a founding editor of Living Out, a resource to help the church faithfully navigate issues of human sexuality.
Mark Allen
Mark D. Allen serves as the executive director of The Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement as well as the executive editor of the Faith & the Academy faculty journal at Liberty University. Mark holds a PhD, University of Notre Dame, a DMin, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the co-author of Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness.
Quina Aragon
Quina Aragon is an author, copy editor, and spoken-word artist who resides in Tampa, Florida, with her husband, Jon, and beautiful 3-year-old daughter. Jon and Quina serve as small-group ministry leaders at Living Faith Bible Fellowship. Quina’s work has been featured on The Gospel Coalition, Risen Motherhood, Journey Women, and The Witness: BCC. Her first children’s book, Love Made, was released by Harvest House Publishers. Quina writes at her website QuinaAragon.com.
Josh Byers
Josh Byers is a communications pastor, artist, speaker, husband, and father who resides in Iowa. His work has been featured in a wide variety of outlets from The Gospel Coalition to The Tonight Show. He writes and publishes graphics regularly at joshbyers.com. He collaborated with Tim Challies on both Visual Theology and also A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible.
Tim Challies
Tim Challies is a pastor, noted speaker, author of numerous articles, and a pioneer in the Christian blogosphere. Tim is the author of several books, including Visual Theology and The Next Story. He and his family reside near Toronto, Ontario.
Sam Chan
Sam Chan is a double doctor, a practicing medical doctor (University of Sydney) with a PhD in theology (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). He is a public evangelist with City Bible Forum in Australia, giving talks to high schoolers, city workers, bankers, doctors, and lawyers. Sam speaks at conferences around the world, especially on the practice of evangelism.
Joshua Chatraw
Elliot Clark
Elliot Clark (MDiv, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) lived in Central Asia, where he served as a cross-cultural church planter along with his wife and children. He is a regular contributor to The Gospel Coalition and he’s currently working to train local church leaders overseas with Training Leaders International. He’s author of Evangelism as Exiles: Life on Mission as Strangers in Our Own Land, published by The Gospel Coalition
Cameron Cole
Cameron Cole serves as the director of children, youth, and family at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and as the chairman of Rooted, an effort to advance grace-driven youth ministry. He is the author of Therefore, I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy, a book in which Cameron processes how God prepared him for the sudden death of his son. He also co-edited Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide.
Jason Cook
Jason Cook serves as associate pastor of preaching at Fellowship Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee. He holds an MDiv from Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He is married to Courtney, and they have two children, Charlie and Cager.
Mike Cosper
Mike Cosper is the founder, director, and web editor for Harbor Media, where he develops podcasts that seek to serve Christians in a post-Christian world. Prior to this, he served as one of the founding pastors of Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of several books, most recently Faith Among the Faithless and Recapturing the Wonder. He and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters.
John Currie
John Currie is a professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to teaching at Westminster, he served as the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Ada, Michigan. Currie has also served as a pastor at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania, and as senior pastor of Grand Prairie Alliance Church in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada. He holds a DMin from Westminster Theological Seminary.
Dan Doriani
Dan Doriani is professor of theology and vice president of strategic academic initiatives at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. He has 16 years of pastoral experience, principally as senior pastor of Central Presbyterian Church, a large university church in St. Louis, Missouri. Doriani earned graduate degrees from Westminster Seminary and Yale. Doriani is a Council member and regular writer for The Gospel Coalition, and has written 15 books on Scripture, hermeneutics, gender, family, and work, and contributed to several others.
Ligon Duncan
Ligon Duncan is the chancellor and CEO, and professor of systematic and historical theology, at Reformed Theological Seminary. He served as senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, co-founder of Together for the Gospel, and a senior fellow of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He studied at Furman University (BA), Covenant Theological Seminary, (MDiv, MA), and the University of Edinburgh (PhD). Duncan has edited, written, and contributed to numerous books. Ligon and his wife, Anne, have two children.
Mika Edmondson
Mika Edmondson is the pastor of New City Fellowship (OPC) in Southeast Grand Rapids, Michigan. He earned a PhD in systematic theology from Calvin Theological Seminary, where he wrote a dissertation on Martin Luther King Jr.’s theology of suffering. Mika and his wife, Christina, have two children.
Craig Ellis
Craig Ellis has a lifelong personal ministry engaging with secular culture in the area of public faith, and equipping other Christians to do the same. Craig has taught numerous classes on sharing the gospel in everyday conversation and responding to common objections to faith. He has also conducted lectures and discussion groups for non-Christians, including a weekly series called the West Side Cafe that was featured in The New York Times. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
David Garner
David B. Garner is vice president of advancement and associate professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Garner is also an ordained teaching elder in the PCA. Prior to teaching at Westminster, he served as a missionary to Bulgaria. Garner’s academic interests include the doctrine of adoption, the doctrine of Scripture, Christology, and ecclesiology (with special concern for the interface of theology and missions). He holds a PhD from Westminster.
Jonathan Gibson
Jonathan Gibson is an assistant professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to teaching at Westminster, Gibson served as associate minister at Cambridge Presbyterian Church in England. His most recent publication is Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present. He holds a PhD from Cambridge University. Gibson is married to Jackie, and they have two children, Benjamin and Leila.
Todd Goranson
Todd Goranson is professor of bassoon and saxophone at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and serves as interim president of the Christian Performing Artists’ Fellowship/MasterWorks Festival. He has enjoyed an extensive international performance career as a soloist, chamber recitalist, and orchestral, jazz, and commercial musician in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Todd also writes and lectures on strategies for coping with performance anxiety.
Nancy Guthrie
Nancy Guthrie teaches the Bible through numerous Bible study books; at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee; and at conferences around the country and internationally. She offers companionship and biblical insight to the grieving through Respite Retreats that she and her husband, David, host for couples who have faced the death of child, and also through the GriefShare video series. She is the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast at The Gospel Coalition.
Collin Hansen
Collin Hansen serves as editorial director for The Gospel Coalition, and is the author of several books, including Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey With the New Calvinists. He earned an MDiv at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. He edited The New City Catechism Devotional, among other books. He and his wife belong to Redeemer Community Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and he serves on the advisory board of Beeson Divinity School.
Dave Harvey
Dave Harvey serves as the president of Sojourn Network and as a teaching pastor at Summit Church in Naples, Florida. Dave is also the founder of AmICalled.com and writes regularly for The Gospel Coalition and For The Church. He has authored several books, including When Sinners Say I Do and the recent release Letting Go: Rugged Love For Wayward Souls. Dave and his wife, Kimm, have been married for 36 years and have four kids and two grandkids.
Phillip Holmes
Phillip Holmes is director of communications and marketing at Reformed Theological Seminary and the owner of Highest Good Media. Previously he served as co-founder and vice president of Reformed African American Network (RAAN) and content strategist for Desiring God. Phillip and his wife, Jasmine, live in Jackson with their two children. They are members of Redeemer Church (PCA).
Betsy Childs Howard
Betsy Childs Howard is an editor for The Gospel Coalition. She previously worked at Beeson Divinity School and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. She is the author of Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams Are Delayed. She and her husband, Bernard, live in Manhattan where they recently planted Good Shepherd Anglican Church.
Ameen Hudson
Ameen Hudson is a writer and speaker especially interested in the intersection of theology, history, art, and culture. He also co-hosts the Native Speaks podcast with KB. Ameen and his wife are members of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa, Florida. Ameen’s passion is to “disciple the culture” by showing how all of its elements intersect with God’s Word. In this way, our neighbors can see how God’s Word has something powerful to say about all matters of life.
Bethany Jenkins
Bethany Jenkins is vice president of forums at The Veritas Forum, a contributor at The Gospel Coalition, and a senior fellow at The King’s College. She has also worked in Congress, at the State Department, on Wall Street, and in Big Law. She received her BA from Baylor and JD from Columbia. Bethany lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she loves to run along the Charles River.
KB
Kevin Burgess, better known by his stage name KB, is an award-winning hip-hop artist. His recently released second studio album, Tomorrow We Live, has earned both critical acclaim and commercial success. He is also a Recording Academy featured artist on Grammy.com. KB’s talent in the studio is matched by his high-octane live shows—he has toured with Lecrae, Tenth Avenue North, and top Reach Records artists, and is currently touring nationally in support of Tomorrow We Live.
Tim Keesee
Tim Keesee is the founder and executive director of Frontline Missions International, which for more than 25 years has served to advance the gospel in some of the world’s most difficult places. He has traveled to nearly 100 countries, reporting on the church from North Africa to the Far East, and is the executive producer of the documentary series Dispatches from the Front. Tim and his wife, Debbie, have two married children and a grandson.
Thomas Kidd
Thomas Kidd is the associate director of the Institute for Studies of Religion, and distinguished professor of history at Baylor University. His recent books include Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father and George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father. In addition to his Evangelical History blog at The Gospel Coalition, he has written for outlets including The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
Melissa Kruger
Melissa Kruger serves as an editor for The Gospel Coalition and on staff as women’s ministry coordinator at Uptown Church (PCA) in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is the author of The Envy of Eve: Finding Contentment in a Covetous World, Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood, and In All Things: A Nine Week Devotional on Unshakeable Joy. Her husband, Mike, is the president of Reformed Theological Seminary, and they have three children.
Jonathan Leeman
Jonathan Leeman is an elder at Cheverly Baptist Church in the Washington, D.C., area, the editorial director at 9Marks, and is the author of a number of books, including How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics for a Divided Age. He teaches ecclesiology in several seminaries.
Shai Linne
Shai Linne is a recording artist and author. He has released numerous Christian hip-hop albums, including The Attributes of God and The Atonement. He has also authored a children’s book, God Made Me and You. Shai helped plant Risen Christ Fellowship in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Previously, he completed a pastoral internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., before serving as an elder at Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. He is happily married to Blair, and they have three children.
Brett McCracken
Brett McCracken is a senior editor at The Gospel Coalition and author of Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community, Gray Matters: Navigating the Space Between Legalism and Liberty, and Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide. Brett and his wife, Kira, live in Santa Ana, California. They belong to Southlands Church, where Brett serves as an elder.
Sandra McCracken
Matt McCullough
Matt McCullough serves as the pastor of Trinity Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a city-center congregation he helped to plant near the campus of Vanderbilt University. He is the author of The Cross of War and Remember Death, and writes for 9Marks and The Gospel Coalition. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Lindsey, and their three boys.
Rebecca McLaughlin
Rebecca McLaughlin is the co-founder of Vocable Communications, and before that served at The Veritas Forum, helping Christian professors at leading secular universities grow their public witness. She is the author of Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Worldview and holds a PhD from Cambridge University and a theology degree from Oak Hill Seminary in London. Rebecca writes for The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God, and Christianity Today. You can find her at rebeccamclaughlin.org.
Tony Merida
Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has an extensive itinerant ministry and has written several books, including The Christ-Centered Expositor, Ordinary, Orphanology, and eight volumes in the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series, of which he also serves as a general editor along with Danny Akin and David Platt. Tony is happily married to Kimberly, and they have five adopted children.
Jen Pollock Michel
Jen Pollock Michel writes widely for print and digital publications and travels to speak at churches, conferences, and retreats. She is the award-winning author of Teach Us to Want and Keeping Place. Jen holds a BA in French from Wheaton College and an MA in Literature from Northwestern University. She and her husband, Ryan, have five school-aged children, and attend Grace Toronto Church.
R. Albert Mohler Jr.
R. Albert Mohler Jr. is the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been recognized by such influential publications as Time and Christianity Today as a leader among American evangelicals. In addition to his presidential duties, Mohler hosts two programs: “The Briefing,” a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview; and “Thinking in Public,” a series of conversations with the day’s leading thinkers.
Russell Moore
Russell Moore is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the moral and public policy agency of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. He is a frequent cultural commentator, an ethicist and theologian by background, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister. Moore is the author of several books, including Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel and The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home. A native Mississippian, he and his wife, Maria, are the parents of five sons.
Hannah Nation
Hannah Nation is a writer and editor currently serving as the communications and content director for China Partnership. She loves helping to bring the theological voice and vision of the Chinese house church to English-speaking audiences in order to further unite the global church. She holds an MA in church history from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is a research associate at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and daughter.
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson is the senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Kansas, and president of Made to Flourish, a nationwide pastors’ network for the common good, where he provides overall strategic direction and is a regular speaker and facilitator. Tom is the author of many books, including Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship with Monday Work and The Economics of Neighborly Love: Investing in Your Community’s Compassion and Capacity. He and his wife, Liz, live in Leawood, Kansas, and have two adult children.
Trillia Newbell
Trillia Newbell is the director of community outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention. She is the author of Fear and Faith; United; a children’s book, God’s Very Good Idea; and a six-week Bible study on Romans 8, If God is For Us: The Everlasting Truth of Our Great Salvation. Trillia is married to Thern, and they reside with their two children near Nashville, Tennessee. You can find her at trillianewbell.com.
Kathleen Nielson
Kathleen Nielson serves as a senior adviser for The Gospel Coalition, after directing women’s initiatives from 2010 to 2017. An author and speaker (PhD, Vanderbilt University), Kathleen has taught literature and directed a number of local church women’s Bible studies. She and her husband, Niel, make their home partly in Wheaton, Illinois, and partly in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Niel works with a Christian-based network of schools and companies. They have three sons, two daughters-in-law, and six granddaughters.
Alan Noble
Alan Noble is assistant professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture, and author of Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age. Noble has published articles in The Atlantic, VOX, First Things, and Buzzfeed. He lives in Oklahoma with his wife and three children.
Scott Oliphint
Scott Oliphint is dean of faculty and professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to teaching at Westminster, Oliphint pastored in his hometown in Amarillo, Texas, as an ordained pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Oliphint’s academic interests include Reformed apologetics, the relationship between Christian apologetics and philosophy, and the doctrine of God. He holds a PhD from Westminster.
John Onwuchekwa
John Onwuchekwa is a pastor at Cornerstone Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He received his MA from Dallas Theological Seminary and is the author of Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church. John and his wife, Shawndra, are the proud parents of one daughter, Ava.
Ray Ortlund
Ray Ortlund is senior pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee, the president of Renewal Ministries, and a Council member of The Gospel Coalition. He has authored a number of books, including Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel. Ortlund has a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary, an MA from The University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He and his wife, Jani, have four children and fourteen grandchildren.
Richard Phillips
Richard Phillips is the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina (PCA). Prior to entering ministry, he commanded tank units as an officer in the U.S. Army and later served as an assistant professor of leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He has authored many books and holds an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary, a DD from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA from the University of Michigan. Rick and his wife, Sharon, have five children.
Russ Ramsey
Russ Ramsey is a pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church, Cool Springs in Nashville, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and four children. He grew up in the fields of Indiana and studied at Taylor University and Covenant Theological Seminary (MDiv, ThM). Russ is the author of the Retelling the Story Series and Struck: One Christian’s Reflections on Encountering Death.
Jeff Robinson
Jeff Robinson is a senior editor for The Gospel Coalition, pastor of Christ Fellowship Church in Louisville, Kentucky, senior research and teaching associate for the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, and adjunct professor of church history at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a PhD from SBTS. Prior to entering ministry, Jeff spent nearly 20 years as a newspaper journalist, writing about various subjects from politics to Major League Baseball and SEC football. Jeff and his wife, Lisa, have four children.
Steve Rooks
Steve Rooks is chair of dance and resident choreographer at Vassar College, and served as a guest instructor with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The Martha Graham Dance Company, the American Academy of Ballet, Ballet Nacional de Mexico, Sumeet Nagdev Dance Arts in Mumbai, and the International Summer School in Sydney, Australia. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Rooks danced and toured with the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble and the Martha Graham Dance Company, where he performed for more than a decade and achieved the rank of principal dancer.
Juan Sanchez
Juan Sanchez is the senior pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. Juan also serves as a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, co-founder and president of Coalición, assistant professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and president of the Texas Southern Baptist Convention. He has authored numerous books, including Seven Dangers Facing your Church. He holds a PhD from SBTS. Juan and his wife, Jeanine, have five daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandchildren.
Glen Scrivener
Glen Scrivener is an Australian evangelist living in the UK. He directs the ministry Speak Life. Glen has authored a number of books, including 321: The Story of God, the World and You, Divine Comedy, Love Story: The Myth That Really Happened, and most recently Long Story Short: The Bible in 12 Phrases. He is a husband to Emma and dad to Ruby.
Colin Smith
Colin Smith is the senior pastor of The Orchard, a multi-site church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and serves as president of The Orchard Network. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, he trained at London School of Theology, where he met his wife, Karen. Colin also serves on the Council of The Gospel Coalition and has authored several books, most recently Heaven, So Near, So Far: The Story of Judas Iscariot. He can be heard daily on the Unlocking the Bible radio broadcast at unlockingthebible.org.
Mack Stiles
Mack Stiles is the pastor of Erbil International Baptist Church in Erbil, Iraq. Mack has traveled and lived many places, and has been involved in university student ministry, church reform, and church planting. He has authored five books, including Evangelism: How The Whole Church Speaks of Jesus. Mack is married to Leeann, and they have three grown boys, two delightful daughter-in-laws, and two grandchildren.
Karen Swallow Prior
Karen Swallow Prior is professor of English at Liberty University, where she has won multiple teaching awards. She writes frequently on literature, culture, ethics, and ideas. Her writing appears at Christianity Today, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Think Christian, The Gospel Coalition, and other outlets. She has written books, including On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Literature. She holds a BA from Daemen College, and an MA and PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Rico Tice
Rico Tice is the senior minister of evangelism at All Souls, Langham Place, in London. His main role is to help the hundreds of enquirers about Christianity who come through the doors of the church each year. He has also developed the Christianity Explored course, which introduces people to Jesus through studying the Gospel of Mark. He studied history at Bristol University and trained for ordination at Wycliffe College, Oxford. Rico’s hobbies include rugby, playing golf, and watching films. Rico and his wife, Lucy, have three children.
Steve Timmis
Steve Timmis serves as CEO of Acts 29 and lives in Sheffield, England, where he is the senior elder at The Crowded House, an Acts 29 church. He has written a number of books, including In Christ: In Him Together for the World and co-authored a few, including Total Church. Steve is married to Janet, and they have four children and 10 grandchildren.
Paul David Tripp
Paul David Tripp is a pastor, speaker, and bestselling author. With more than 20 books on Christian living, including New Morning Mercies and Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense, his driving passion is to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. He holds a DMin from Westminster Theological Seminary. Paul and his wife, Luella, live in Philadelphia, and they have four grown children.
Taylor Turkington
Taylor Turkington is a Bible teacher who has served in church and parachurch positions, where she has loved training women to teach the Scriptures and disciple others. Living in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter, Taylor holds an MA from Western Seminary and is completing her DMin. She serves as the director of the women’s training network for The Gospel Coalition.
Stephen Um
Stephen Um is the senior minister of Citylife Presbyterian Church in Boston, Massachusetts, the president of the Center for Gospel Culture, a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, and the associate training director for Redeemer City to City. He is the author of Why Cities Matter, Preaching the Word: 1 Corinthians, Gospel Shaped Mercy, and Micah for You. Stephen and his wife, Kathleen, have three children.
Mark Vroegop
Mark Vroegop is the lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, trustee at Cedarville University, contributor to 15 Things Seminary Couldn’t Teach Me, and author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament. He holds an MDiv from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. Mark and his wife, Sarah, are parents of four living children and a stillborn daughter.
Kristen Waggoner
Kristen Waggoner serves as senior vice president of U.S. legal division and communications with Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, Waggoner oversees the U.S. legal division, a team of 100 attorneys and staff who engage in litigation, public advocacy, and legislative support. She has extensive experience in civil litigation, employment, education, nonprofit, and constitutional law. She regularly comments on religious freedom issues in television, radio, and print media. Waggoner is admitted to practice in multiple states, the Supreme Court, and numerous federal district and appellate courts.
Benjamin Watson
Benjamin Watson is a tight end for the New Orleans Saints and is the author of The New Dad’s Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of Your Life and Under Our Skin: Getting Real about Race. Getting Free from the Fears and Frustrations that Divide Us. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and his personal website. He and his wife, Kirsten, have five children and are expecting twins. They live in New Orleans.
Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax is director for Bibles and reference at LifeWay Christian Resources and a visiting professor at Wheaton College. Trevin serves as the general editor of The Gospel Project and teaching pastor at his church in Middle Tennessee. He is the author of This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, and Gospel-Centered Teaching, among other works. He and his wife, Corina, have three children.
Ed Welch
Edward T. Welch is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF. He earned a PhD in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and an MDiv from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed has been counseling for more than 30 years and has written many books and articles. He and his wife, Sheri, have two daughters and eight grandchildren.
Darryl Williamson
Darryl Williamson is the lead pastor of Living Faith Bible Fellowship in Tampa, Florida, a Council member of The Gospel Coalition, and is currently working on his MDiv at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. His spare time is spent reading theology, Christian history and biography, Atlantic Monthly, Scientific American, and watching Tampa Bay sports teams. He and his wife, Julie, have two children.
Jared Wilson
Jared Wilson is the director of content strategy and managing editor of For The Church at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the director of the pastoral training center at Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. Wilson is a frequent conference and church speaker, and the author of numerous books, including Supernatural Power for Everyday People and The Prodigal Church.
Christopher Yuan
Dr. Christopher Yuan has taught the Bible at Moody Bible Institute for over ten years and his speaking ministry on faith and sexuality has reached five continents. He speaks at conferences, on college campuses, and in churches. He has co-authored with his mother their memoir (now in seven languages), Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God, A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope and he is also the author of Giving a Voice to the Voiceless and Holy Sexuality and Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story. Christopher graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 2005, Wheaton College Graduate School in 2007 with a Master of Arts in Biblical Exegesis and received his doctorate of ministry in 2014 from Bethel Seminary.
6:30pm
TGC Pre-Conference: It Takes a Church: Focused on the Family of God
VIEW
Albert Mohler
Albert Mohler
TGC Pre-Conference: It Takes a Church: Focused on the Family of God
R. Albert Mohler Jr. is the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been recognized by such influential publications as Time and Christianity Today as a leader among American evangelicals. In addition to his presidential duties, Mohler hosts two programs: “The Briefing,” a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview; and “Thinking in Public,” a series of conversations with the day’s leading thinkers.
7:15pm
TGC Pre-Conference: Navigating the Noise: Good News Homes in a Bad News World
VIEW
Benjamin Watson
Benjamin Watson
TGC Pre-Conference: Navigating the Noise: Good News Homes in a Bad News World
Benjamin Watson is a tight end for the New Orleans Saints and is the author of The New Dad’s Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of Your Life and Under Our Skin: Getting Real about Race. Getting Free from the Fears and Frustrations that Divide Us. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and his personal website. He and his wife, Kirsten, have five children and are expecting twins. They live in New Orleans.
8:00pm
TGC Pre-Conference: Train a Child in the Way He Should Speak: Forming Future Evangelists
VIEW
Jen Wilkin
Jen Wilkin
TGC Pre-Conference: Train a Child in the Way He Should Speak: Forming Future Evangelists
Jen Wilkin is a wife, mom to four great kids, and an advocate for women to love God with their minds through the faithful study of his Word. She writes, speaks, and teaches women the Bible. She lives in Flower Mound, Texas, and her family calls The Village Church home. Jen is the author of None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That's a Good Thing) (Crossway, 2016) and Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds (Crossway, 2014). You can find her at jenwilkin.net.
8:35pm
TGC Pre-Conference: Mirror of Sin and Means of Grace: Parents Are Works in Progress, Too
VIEW
Paul Tripp
Paul Tripp
TGC Pre-Conference: Mirror of Sin and Means of Grace: Parents Are Works in Progress, Too
Paul David Tripp is a pastor, speaker, and bestselling author. With more than 20 books on Christian living, including New Morning Mercies and Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense, his driving passion is to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. He holds a DMin from Westminster Theological Seminary. Paul and his wife, Luella, live in Philadelphia, and they have four grown children.
9:00am
TGC Pre-Conference: Catechetical Evangelism: Why Biblical Doctrine Is Good News
VIEWLigon Duncan
TGC Pre-Conference: Catechetical Evangelism: Why Biblical Doctrine Is Good News
Ligon Duncan is the chancellor and CEO, and professor of systematic and historical theology, at Reformed Theological Seminary. He served as senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, co-founder of Together for the Gospel, and a senior fellow of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He studied at Furman University (BA), Covenant Theological Seminary, (MDiv, MA), and the University of Edinburgh (PhD). Duncan has edited, written, and contributed to numerous books. Ligon and his wife, Anne, have two children.
9:00am
Acts 29 Pre-Conference: How a Healthy Leadership Plurality Functions
VIEW
Steve Timmis
Steve Timmis
Acts 29 Pre-Conference: How a Healthy Leadership Plurality Functions
Steve Timmis serves as CEO of Acts 29 and lives in Sheffield, England, where he is the senior elder at The Crowded House, an Acts 29 church. He has written a number of books, including In Christ: In Him Together for the World and co-authored a few, including Total Church. Steve is married to Janet, and they have four children and 10 grandchildren.
9:45am
Acts 29 Pre-Conference: Moving from Solo Leader to Plural Leadership
VIEW
Tony Merida
Tony Merida
Acts 29 Pre-Conference: Moving from Solo Leader to Plural Leadership
Tony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has an extensive itinerant ministry and has written several books, including The Christ-Centered Expositor, Ordinary, Orphanology, and eight volumes in the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series, of which he also serves as a general editor along with Danny Akin and David Platt. Tony is happily married to Kimberly, and they have five adopted children.
9:50am
TGC Pre-Conference: Little Global Hearts: How to Give Kids a Vision for the World
VIEW
Danny Akin
Danny Akin
TGC Pre-Conference: Little Global Hearts: How to Give Kids a Vision for the World
Danny Akin serves as the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a professor of preaching and theology. He has a DPhil from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Charlotte, have traveled to Sudan, Turkey, Middle East, Kenya, Asia, Central Asia, Thailand, India and Paraguay to share the gospel and serve students and missionaries. They have four sons, four daughters-in-law, and twelve grandchildren.
10:15am
Acts 29 Pre-Conference: Raising up Leaders in Hard Places
VIEW
Doug Logan
Doug Logan
Acts 29 Pre-Conference: Raising up Leaders in Hard Places
Doug Logan has a dual-role in Acts 29, where he serves as director of the Diversity Initiative and co-director of Church in Hard Places. He previously served as the lead pastor of Epiphany Camden. Doug and his wife, Angel, have been married since 1996 and have three sons.
10:20am
TGC Pre-Conference Panel: Youth Are Not the Future: The Urgent Task of Evangelism Today
VIEWCameron Cole, Jackie Hill Perry Glen Scrivener, Stephen Um
TGC Pre-Conference Panel: Youth Are Not the Future: The Urgent Task of Evangelism Today
11:05am
TGC Pre-Conference: Now Is the Time: Signs of Hope for the Next Generation
VIEW
Trevin Wax
Trevin Wax
TGC Pre-Conference: Now Is the Time: Signs of Hope for the Next Generation
Trevin Wax is director for Bibles and reference at LifeWay Christian Resources and a visiting professor at Wheaton College. Trevin serves as the general editor of The Gospel Project and teaching pastor at his church in Middle Tennessee. He is the author of This Is Our Time, Eschatological Discipleship, and Gospel-Centered Teaching, among other works. He and his wife, Corina, have three children.
1:00pm
Session 1: Unashamed to Be Scorned with Jesus
VIEW
John Piper
John Piper
Session 1: Unashamed to Be Scorned with Jesus
John Piper is founder of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For more than 30 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of more than 50 books. More than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available for free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noël, have four sons, one daughter, and 12 grandchildren.
3:30pm
Session 2: You Must Be Born Again
VIEW
Tim Keller
Tim Keller
Session 2: You Must Be Born Again
Tim Keller is chairman of Redeemer City to City and pastor emeritus of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. For more than 25 years, Tim led a diverse congregation that grew to a weekly worshiping community of more than 6,000 people. Tim now focuses on ministry more broadly in New York City and other global cities through the work of City to City, which has helped start over 380 churches in 54 global cities. He is the author of many books, including The Reason for God and The Meaning of Marriage.
7:00pm
Session 3: A Pagan Woman Who Understands Grace
VIEW
Ligon Duncan
Ligon Duncan
Session 3: A Pagan Woman Who Understands Grace
Ligon Duncan is the chancellor and CEO, and professor of systematic and historical theology, at Reformed Theological Seminary. He served as senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, co-founder of Together for the Gospel, and a senior fellow of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He studied at Furman University (BA), Covenant Theological Seminary, (MDiv, MA), and the University of Edinburgh (PhD). Duncan has edited, written, and contributed to numerous books. Ligon and his wife, Anne, have two children.
9:00am
Session 4: The Woman at the Well
VIEW
H.B. Charles
H.B. Charles
Session 4: The Woman at the Well
H. B. Charles Jr. is the pastor-teacher of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. At the June 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, H. B. was unanimously elected as the SBC Pastors’ Conference’s first African-American president. Outside of his ministry to and with his congregation, H. B. regularly speaks at churches, conferences, and conventions around the country. He is also the author of several books. H. B. is married to Crystal, and they have three children: H. B. III, Natalie, and Hailey.
11:00am
Session 5: Hometown Disadvantage
VIEW
Kevin DeYoung
Kevin DeYoung
Session 5: Hometown Disadvantage
Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church (PCA) in Matthews, North Carolina. He also serves as board chairman and blogger for The Gospel Coalition. He is an assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte) and a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester. He has authored several books, including Just Do Something, Crazy Busy, Taking God at His Word, and The Biggest Story. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have seven children.
1:30pm
Breakouts: Round 1
VIEWBreakouts: Round 1
3:00pm
Breakouts: Round 2
VIEWBreakouts: Round 2
4:30pm
Breakouts: Round 3
VIEWBreakouts: Round 3
7:30pm
Session 6: Healing and Faith
VIEW
Trip Lee
Trip Lee
Session 6: Healing and Faith
Trip Lee is is an author, teacher, and hip-hop artist. A pastor in Atlanta, he regularly preaches and teaches at Christian conferences and events, and has performed his music for thousands of listeners around the world. He has written two books, The Good Life and Rise. As a hip-hop artist, Lee’s music has received critical acclaim, while reaching a large and growing audience. Trip’s deepest desire in his writing, teaching, and performing is to declare the goodness and glory of Jesus Christ.
9:00am
Session 7: Paralysis and Forgiveness
VIEW
David Platt
David Platt
Session 7: Paralysis and Forgiveness
David Platt is founder of Radical and pastor-teacher at McLean Bible Church. He holds a BA and ABJ from the University of Georgia, and an MDiv, ThM, and PhD from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. David has written several books, including Radical, Follow Me, and Counter Culture. David and his wife, Heather, have four children.
11:00am
Session 8: Lazarus
VIEW
Don Carson
Don Carson
Session 8: Lazarus
Don Carson holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is president of The Gospel Coalition. He and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois, and have two children.
It Takes a Church: Focused on the Family of God
Albert Mohler
Navigating the Noise: Good News Homes in a Bad News World
Benjamin Watson
Train a Child in the Way He Should Speak: Forming Future Evangelists
Jen Wilkin
Mirror of Sin and Means of Grace: Parents Are Works in Progress, Too
Paul Tripp
Catechetical Evangelism: Why Biblical Doctrine Is Good News
Ligon Duncan
Little Global Hearts: How to Give Kids a Vision for the World
Danny Akin
Youth Are Not the Future: The Urgent Task of Evangelism Today
Cameron Cole, Jackie Hill Perry Glen Scrivener, Stephen Um
Now Is the Time: Signs of Hope for the Next Generation
Trevin Wax
How a Healthy Leadership Plurality Functions
Steve Timmis
Moving from Solo Leader to Plural Leadership
Tony Merida
Raising up Leaders in Hard Places
Doug Logan
Unashamed to Be Scorned with Jesus
John Piper
Mark 8:31-38
You Must Be Born Again
Tim Keller
John 3:1-21
A Pagan Woman Who Understands Grace
Ligon Duncan
Mark 7:24-30
The Woman at the Well
H.B. Charles
John 4:1-42
Hometown Disadvantage
Kevin DeYoung
Luke 4:14-37
Healing and Faith
Trip Lee
Matthew 8:1-13
Paralysis and Forgiveness
David Platt
Mark 2:1-12
Lazarus
Don Carson
John 11:1-53
Ben Franklin, George Whitefield, and How to Maintain Christian Commitment in Higher Education
Thomas Kidd
Thomas Kidd will discuss George Whitefield and Ben Franklin’s debate in the 1740s on the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, especially in the light of Franklin’s enigmatic religious views. Whitefield and Franklin’s disagreement about the centrality of Christianity at the new university has surprising contemporary relevance. Kidd will use this historical example as a way to consider what it requires to maintain Christian commitment in today’s educational environment.
Church Planting: The Most Effective Discipleship Strategy Ever
Tony Merida, Steve Timmis
This session will explore the relationship between church planting and disciple-making. We will explore the theology and practice of churches planting churches. Attention will be given to the need for theological clarity, cultural engagement, and missional innovation in church planting.
Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament
Mark Vroegop
Life is hard. Grief is not tame. But God is good. Lament is the prayer language for a hard life under a sovereign God. To cry is human, but to lament is Christian. This workshop explores the neglected but needed biblical category of lament by identifying its four elements and by exploring how churches can practice lament in worship services, small groups, counseling, and as a starting point for racial reconciliation.
Evangelism as Exiles: Life on Mission as Strangers in Our Own Land
Jason Cook (moderator), Elliot Clark, Jen Pollock Michel, Russell Moore
The days of cultural Christianity are fading. Increasingly, the American church finds itself on the margins, relegated to a position of social weakness and even exclusion. But how do you spread the gospel when you lack power and influence? Our response to vanishing cultural capital will be vital as we consider our evangelism as exiles.
From Exegesis to Exposition: Help in Sermon Preparation
Don Carson, Ligon Duncan
Dr. Duncan and Dr. Carson will lead a TGC Workshop designed to help pastors and Bible teachers prepare to preach and teach the Bible more faithfully and effectively. Using Dr. Carson’s exegesis and commentary work, Dr. Duncan will give examples of sermon structure, illustration and application on select passages.
Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been
Jackie Hill Perry
A gay girl once? Yes. Now? Jackie is what God’s goodness will do to a soul once grace gets to it. In her latest book, Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and What God Has Always Been, Jackie Hill Perry unpacks her story, pointing to what led her away from the church, into a lifestyle of sin, and the simple gospel she'd learned in Sunday school that ended up bringing her to faith. In this workshop, she will discuss many of these same themes, along with some biblical instruction for those seeking to learn how to love the gay community well.
The Gospel Driven Church
Jared Wilson
Many of us find talking about gospel-centrality fairly easy; it’s when the rubber meets the road of actual church ministry that it becomes surprisingly difficult. In this workshop, Wilson will explore the nitty-gritty of the practical realities of orienting a church around the gospel—the grind of sermon prep and program direction, stubborn church members, confused staff—the necessary qualities for pastoring toward that end, and the continually urgent need for gospel driven churches today.
How to Tell Your Friends About Jesus Without Becoming That Guy
Sam Chan
As Christians, it is in our DNA to want to tell our friends about Jesus. But at the same time, we sense that the methods we've been taught no longer work as effectively in our post-Christian world. Sam Chan combines the theological and biblical insights of classic evangelistic training with the latest in missiology on contextualization, cultural hermeneutics, and storytelling. His methods have been field tested—with university students, high schoolers, urban workers, and professionals—to help as many as possible hear the good news about Jesus.
Incredibly Normal: The Shocking Truth About Who You Really Are
Trip Lee
Human beings are a paradox. On the one hand, we are utterly unique in the universe. We should never, therefore, think too poorly of ourselves. On the other hand, each of us is just one of 7 billion other people on the planet. So each of us should never think too highly of ourselves. What makes us amazing is the same thing that makes every other human being amazing. What makes us incredible, in other words, is what makes us normal. So we can be freed up not to create an incredible identity or become incredible; instead, we can walk in the incredible way we were made to live.
Made in the Image of God for the Good of the World
Mike Cosper
The implications of the imago dei shape our work, our communities, and our posture towards suffering and injustice. They also invite us into a way of life that shares in the joy, beauty, and grace of God. His image makes us fully and uniquely human, and it grants us the opportunity and responsibility to love and serve the world around us.
Not Your Grandma's Sunday School Class: Reclaiming Christian Education as the Calling of the Local Church
Jen Wilkin
The local church bears the sacred duty to train and equip the saints. But biblical and doctrinal illiteracy beset our members at unprecedented levels. What are we missing? Come explore strategies for implementing teaching environments designed to foster active learning of the Bible and doctrine, that the church may honor Christ's Great Commission call to "make disciples, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded."
Practical Ideas for Encouraging the Ministry of Women in the Church
Quina Aragon, Betsy Childs Howard (moderator), Melissa Kruger, Taylor Turkington
We need one another. As the apostle Paul wrote, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). Every member of the body is vital for the church to function properly. However, many women are unsure or unaware of how to use their gifts in the life of the body. This panel discussion will consider practical ways to help support, equip, and value the ministry of women in the local church.
Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age
Jonathan Leeman
Should church and state remain separate? Yes. Should churches align themselves with political parties? No. But is your church political? Absolutely. Is the gospel political? Profoundly. Is the public square a battleground of gods? One hundred percent. The goal of this session will be to rethink the relationship between faith and politics, and then to apply that rethinking to our divided cultural moment. How should churches navigate our increasingly divisive waters? When should pastors address politics? How do we help our members share the Lord’s Supper with people who voted differently in the last election? How do we not subvert our church and its gospel to a political party or movement, while also speaking when Christ calls us to speak?
Skeptics Welcome: Helping Unbelievers to Doubt Their Doubts
Sam Allberry, Craig Ellis, Bethany Jenkins (moderator), Stephen Um
Belief is hard. We want to be merciful and patient with believers and skeptics who are processing their doubts. We want to welcome and address their questions, respect their doubts and difficulties, and anticipate their struggles and concerns. Yet we also hope and pray that their doubts give way to faith. How can our communities be places where, in love and grace, we help unbelievers doubt their doubts and, in the process, come to embrace Jesus?
The Thrill of Orthodoxy
Trevin Wax
We live in an age that resists authority, dogma, and institutions. Those who challenge historic doctrines and practices are seen as heroic and courageous, as if there is something inherently attractive and exciting in being heterodox. To defend the faith, we must not merely rely on rational arguments in favor of orthodoxy but also display the beauty and power of Christian truth in a way that makes the appeal of heresy pale in comparison.
Urban Discipleship in an Unjust World
KB, Ameen Hudson
Discipleship is non-negotiable in the Christian life. Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that he has commanded. But within urban areas there are unique circumstances—whether financial, relational, or educational—that bring unique challenges. Ameen Hudson and KB will share how urban disciplers can address these issues in a way that reflects how the gospel changes and empowers the whole person.
What a Minor Prophet Teaches Us About Nationalism and Race, Grace, and Mission
Tim Keller
Many know the first part of Jonah's story, when the rebellious prophet who defies God is swallowed by a whale. Yet in the second part we find one of the most powerful and important lessons of the Bible. Jonah shows how, if we would understand the mercy of God, it will always take us in directions we would rather not go, toward people we would rather not care about, and ultimately into the deepest counsels of God.
Augustinian Apologetics for Everyday Conversations
Mark Allen, Joshua Chatraw
Simply listing evidences for Christianity rarely works in everyday conservations. We must learn creative ways to ask, not simply, “What do you think?”, but also “What do you love?” A holistic, Augustinian apologetic gives us the resources to not only offer critiques of other worldviews but also of secular idols, to not only offer rational frameworks but also the path to an eternal love that the human heart has always yearned for. In this session, Joshua Chatraw and Mark Allen, authors of Apologetics at the Cross, will cast a theological vision for apologetics and offer a framework for everyday conversations.
A Company of Heroes: Portraits from the Gospel's Global Advance
Tim Keesee
The daily news feed, the shrinking space left for Christians in the public square, and our own doubts and fears all affect our thinking about the church so that we think in our hearts what Gideon blurted out: “If the LORD is with us, why has all of this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about?” (Judges 6:13). Come and hear examples of how Christ is building his church today across cultures and continents. Each story is a reminder that the church is not in decline and will point to Christ, the real hero of the story.
Counseling: Evangelism’s Unexpected Friend
Ed Welch
Counseling—biblical counseling—fits neatly under pastoral care. It identifies the process of knowing an individual, knowing what God speaks, and joining the two in a meaningful way. We think of it as part of shepherding. But, like preaching, in our counseling we want to speak to those who are in Christ and those who haven’t put their trust in Jesus, and it is with those outside of Christ that we find counseling to be an unusually good match. This topic will look for ways that our counseling is a natural form of evangelism.
The Economics of Neighborly Love
Tom Nelson
We will be exploring a robust theological bridge from the scriptural text to wise economic thought. A close exegetical link between Jesus’s New Testament teaching on the Great Commandment and the Torah’s advocacy of human fruitfulness will be examined. A rich theology of human fruitfulness as it relates to intimacy, productivity, and neighborly love will be considered with an emphasis not only on fostering Christian compassion, but also on building economic capacity.
Evangelism in the Arts
Todd Goranson, Steve Rooks
How are the arts effective in evangelism? Are they necessary for affecting our communities with the gospel? This workshop will explore the power of the arts as a vehicle for truth and and transformation. Discussion will focus on leveraging artistic excellence as a "currency" for effective engagement with a postmodern and secular culture. The workshop will look at organizations such as the Christian Performing Arts Fellowship, Project Dance, Creative Arts Europe, and the Awakening Movement as examples of organizations that have had significant kingdom influence at both the local and global level. The workshop will conclude with a question-and-answer session.
Faithful Endurance: The Joy of Shepherding People for a Lifetime
H. B. Charles, Dave Harvey, Richard Phillips, Jeff Robinson (moderator), Juan Sanchez
The average stay of a pastor in evangelical churches is a little less than three years. Such instability is not good for churches, and it’s not good for pastors. A much better vision seems to be for a faithful pastor-teacher to give his life and service to one congregation for several decades. What are the advantages of digging in and staying long? How does it benefit the local church and the universal church, as well as the pastor and his family? Are there drawbacks to staying at one place for many years? How can a pastor say fresh, and even take pleasure in staying put and shepherding one people over the long haul?
Help Me Teach the Bible Live: David Platt on Teaching that Ignites a Passion for the World
Nancy Guthrie, David Platt
Why do some churches see people regularly to head to far-off places in the world to share the gospel, and other churches rarely do? How can preachers and teachers faithfully apply the Scriptures in a way that will instill in listeners a burden, desire, and even determination to be a part of what God is doing in the world to call people from every tribe, tongue and nation to himself? In this live one-on-one interview for the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast, Nancy Guthrie will ask David Platt to demonstrate from several passages how to apply the Scriptures in a way that fuels global disciple-making.
Honest Evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Even When It's Tough
Rico Tice
This workshop explores why our evangelism we must be honest in two ways. First, we must teach our church family to expect rejection in a world where we're aliens and strangers. Second, we must be honest about the gospel we communicate to non-Christians. There is a pain line to cross, as we tell friends, loved ones, and colleagues there is a place called hell, there is a judgement to come, Christ is Lord, and your sin is serious. But wonderfully, as we call people to repent, God sends his Holy Spirit to regenerate their hearts.
How Praying Together Shapes the Church
John Onwuchekwa
Prayer is as necessary to the believer as breathing is to the body—but rarely does it come as naturally. In fact, prayer in the church often gets subtly pushed to the side in favor of pragmatic practices that promise tangible results. This workshop will focus on the necessity of regular prayer as a central practice in the local church—awakening us to the need and blessing of corporate prayer by examining what Jesus taught about prayer, how the first Christians approached prayer, and how to prioritize prayer in our congregations.
How to Mobilize Your Church for Evangelism and Discipleship
Colin Smith
Surveys show 87 percent of American households own a Bible and 58 percent desire more engagement with it. That presents a major opportunity for evangelism and discipleship today. Discover how you can mobilize your congregation to open the Bible with others, taking evangelism and discipleship to another level while strengthening their own faith along the way.
How Visual Theology Displays the Truth About God
Josh Byers, Tim Challies
The history of Christianity tells us that pictures can be instructive, powerful, and compelling. But they can also be troublesome or even dangerous. They can be used to help or to hinder our work in this world. They can be used to powerfully tell the truth or to strongly proclaim error. In this breakout, Tim will discuss how we can bring words and pictures together to explain truth and to build-up Christians. That’s visual theology—displaying the truth about God.
Jesus and Justice: Why We Must Love Our Neighbors in Word and Deed
Jason Cook, Kevin DeYoung, Phillip Holmes, Darryl Williamson (moderator)
Though the broader secular culture often talks about justice in terms of politics and social policy, Jesus talks about addressing the hurts of victims and the marginalized as an expression of love. In this conversation we are going to to explore the biblical and gospel roots of how loving our culturally, economically, and ethnically marginalized neighbors is basic to what it means to love like Jesus. We will also emphasize what churches and individual Christians can do to pursue restorative justice in a way that flows from the gospel. The discussion will also consider objections made against Christians who perceive that concerns about social injustice distract from our calling to proclaim the gospel, so this panel will flesh out the relationship between the gospel and justice.
Missions in an Urbanized, Globalized World
Mack Stiles
Astonishing opportunities exist for gospel witness in a globalized, rapidly urbanized world. But many sending churches are caught flat-footed in their response with old models of missions—models that look suspiciously like fads or even a compromised gospel. So what is the right model? And how do sending churches prepare their people for this brave new world? Mack Stiles, long-time resident in the Arabian Peninsula and now pastor in Iraq, will present a case (and a bunch of stories) for a tried-and-true model—and proven missions strategy—given to us by the founder of our agency, Jesus Christ.
Preparing Kids and Adults to Suffer: Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy
Cameron Cole
One of the greatest responsibilities and challenges in spiritually leading people—both young and old—is preparing them to have hope when suffering and tragedy inevitably interrupt their lives. This workshop will examine how we theologically prepare people to process suffering and to cling to God when tragedy strikes.
Reading Scripture with an Engaged Imagination
Sandra McCracken, Russ Ramsey
Author Russ Ramsey and songwriter Sandra McCracken will discuss the role the imagination plays in reading, understanding, and conveying the content of scripture. The Biblical text was written in thrift. The economy of Scripture means there are no wasted words or rabbit trails. Yet from the stories about the patriarchs to the parables of Christ, the Bible is filled with details, implications, and situations which are designed to engage the imagination so that we might rightly grasp the meaning of a passage. Scripture is a living text from a living God to living people sharing in this human experience. Russ and Sandra will talk about how, in prose and songwriting respectively, they mine the detail of Scripture and use their imaginations to faithfully flesh out its context and significance, and discuss how you can too.
The Storm-Tossed Family: How the Cross Reshapes the Home
Russell Moore
Why do our families have so much power over us? Family makes us who we are, so whether you are married or single, whether you long for a child or you’re shepherding a full house, you are part of a family. God’s plan for every family is patterned after the shape of the cross, a pattern we must learn in order to survive the storms of life.
Why Younger Generations Should Invest in Institutions
Al Mohler
For much of the church’s history, institutions have served as engines of cooperation in Christian life. Regrettably, younger evangelicals view institutions, denominations, and cooperative organizations as ineffective and overly political. As a result, many younger evangelicals avoid participating in larger denominational entities and cooperative organizations. In this workshop, Mohler will argue why younger evangelicals ought to invest in institutions and how they can effectively promote the health and vibrancy of those organizations.
Why, How, and What to Read
Karen Swallow Prior
Great literature increases knowledge of and desire for the good life by showing readers what virtue looks like and where vice leads. It is not just what you read but how you read that cultivates virtue. Reading good literature well requires numerous virtues, such as patience, diligence, and prudence. And learning to wisely judge a character in a book, in turn, forms the reader's own character. Whether you are an avid and able reader of good literature or would like to become one, this workshop will encourage and assist you in reading intentionally, widely, and well.
Your Religious Freedom: Today's Greatest Threats and Opportunities
Kristen Waggoner
Religious freedom continues to be the topic of numerous debates and significant court cases. This workshop will not only help you understand where religious freedom is most threatened, but will also provide insight into how you can best respond to these challenges in ways that advance the gospel.
Confronting Christianity: Turning Gospel-Defeating Challenges Into Gospel-Proclaiming Conversations
Rebecca McLaughlin
Many of us long to share the gospel with non-believing friends. But there is a list of questions we are hoping they won't ask: "Doesn't Christianity crush diversity?" "How can you take the Bible literally?" "Doesn't religion cause violence?" "Doesn't Christianity denigrate women?" "Isn't the Bible homophobic?" "Hasn't science disproved Christianity?" "How could a loving God allow suffering?" "How can you say there's only one true faith?" This workshop aims to change those conversations by steering into the headwind of hard issues and charting a course to the gospel through each apparent challenge. Rather than seeing these questions as embarrassing obstacles, participants will be encouraged and equipped to recognize them as entry points to deeper conversations, grounded in Scripture and centered on Christ.
Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age
Mike Cosper, Alan Noble
Our distracted, secular age creates several barriers to faith for non-Christians—barriers that require believers to evaluate how they communicate the gospel. It is easier than ever for people to not think about life's big questions, and harder than ever for people to conceive of a transcendent, living, loving God who has revealed himself in Scripture. To disrupt the barriers of distraction and secularism, we must recapture the wonder of God's world in our personal habits, corporate worship, and communal activities. In this workshop, Mike Cosper and Alan Noble will consider how evangelicals can apply the insight of Charles Taylor to the work of the local church.
The Gospel and Ethnic Unity
Shai Linne
Recent high-profile events in the United States have continually highlighted the issue of racial injustice. Sadly, the church has often been at least as divided on these issues as the surrounding culture. Surely this is not the unity that the Lord Jesus prayed for in John 17! In this workshop, we’ll explore how the keys to addressing racism and ethnic harmony in the church can actually be found as we apply the great doctrines of the Reformation.
Grace Defined and Defended: The Continuing Relevance of the Canons of Dort 400 Years Later
Kevin DeYoung
Words mattered to Paul. He was never content to casually speak the same vocabulary as his opponents, if he knew they were using different dictionaries. He understood that people can champion grace, laud grace, and celebrate grace, while still losing all that makes grace grace. The Canons of Dort are about the nature of grace—supernatural, unilateral, sovereign, effecting, redeeming, resurrecting grace, with all of its angularity, all of its offense to human pride, and all of its comfort for the weary soul. That’s what Dort wanted to settle. That’s what they were jealous to protect. Some words are worth the most careful definitions, just as some truths are too precious not to defend.
Holy Sexuality: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God's Grand Story
Christopher Yuan
How did sexuality become who we are? Dr. Yuan explains how this ontological concept of sexual identity sprung from secular worldviews. Then, he explains how Scripture accurately explains personhood in light of the imago Dei and the doctrine of sin. As a matter of fact, human sexuality cannot be understood apart from theological anthropology. Without this correct foundation, one is bound to have a skewed understanding of sexuality.
Hopeful Strategies for Hard Conversations
Mika Edmondson
In light of our highly polarized national climate, the church has the unique opportunity—and the unique gospel resources—to have hard conversations in a way the world cannot. In this workshop, we'll discuss practical advice for talking about race. The focus won't be directly on the issues themselves as much as strategies for how to talk about the them in the church, especially among people with whom we might strongly disagree.
How to Captivate the Imagination in Evangelism
Glen Scrivener
"What the heart loves, the will chooses and the mind justifies." If this summary of a Reformed anthropology is anywhere near correct, it has profound implications for evangelism. The work of winning souls is, most deeply, the work of capturing hearts. In this workshop we will explore the doctrines of God, man, sin, and Scripture that make this so, and we will look to contemporary examples of imaginative evangelism to show how faithful evangelism and creative evangelism are not in tension; they require one another.
If God Is for Us
Trillia Newbell
What would change if you really understood all that God has done and is doing for you? Sure we know in our head that God is for us, that there’s great hope in his relationship with us and salvation for us, but sometimes these truths can be hard to believe in the midst of exhaustion, busyness, and a world of spiritual and physical opposition. Focusing on Romans 8, this workshop is designed to cement in your soul the great truths of our salvation and an understanding for how the Holy Spirit guides our new life in the Spirit, all found in this beloved chapter of Scripture. We will look at the scandalous truths of our great salvation, our inheritance, the assurance of our faith, and ultimately the love of our good Father.
Judging Deborah: Letting the Narrative and Poetry Speak
Kathleen Nielson
Often a woman like Deborah is used as a pawn in an argument for one position or another, especially regarding roles of women. In this session we’ll argue not for a position taken from Deborah’s story but for a close reading of the text itself (Judges 4–5)—as narrative and as poetry. In practicing these literary tools, we will encounter a strong godly woman who hears, obeys, and speaks God's Word.
Learning from China: Loving the City While Suffering Persecution
Hannah Nation, four Chinese pastors
Is it possible for the church to confidently evangelize urban centers from the cultural margins? What does it look like to love the city with relevance while facing active political persecution? The Chinese church is the fastest-growing church in the world; it also has a long history of enduring persecution. Intersect these realities with China's rapid urbanization and we discover fertile ground for theology devoted to serving the city without angling for cultural dominance. Learn about the Chinese church's understanding of its role in the city and what the American church can learn from it. Session will include a panel discussion and Q&A with four Chinese pastors.
Making Disciples and Multiplying Churches Around the World through the Members of Your Church
David Platt
If God suddenly took the members of your church to the other side of the world, would they be equipped and emboldened to make disciples and multiply churches wherever they landed? The purpose of this workshop is to consider how we can lead, love, serve, and shepherd the church such that ordinary members not only obey the Great Commission where they currently live, but are encouraged and empowered to carry out Jesus’s command wherever God leads them.
Only Be Strong and Courageous: Why Every Pastor Needs a Tender Heart and a Tough Hide
Dan Doriani
The Bible often commands leaders to be strong and courageous. Considering the challenges of leadership, this is as essential as it is difficult. The profiles of leaders in Scripture, together with the psalms of lament, teach pastors to be both tough and tender.
Pastor, You and Your Church Can Get Healthy Again
Ray Ortlund
Pastors and churches often need renewal. And God can give it. Not that it’s easy. But a new era of refreshment can be surprisingly near. This workshop will chart a course into biblical renewal for pastors and churches who are tired of where they are and what they are.
The Priority of Scripture in Our Doctrine of God
John Currie, David Garner, Jonny Gibson, Scott Oliphint
We recognize that God is sovereign, but we also read in Scripture that God relents. We pray to a God of compassion, but we confess that God has no passions. If we are to have a relationship with our Creator, we should know what kind of God he is and how he relates to us. In this workshop we will try to bridge the gap between various doctrines of God and how Scripture talks about its Author.
Rediscovering Discipleship: The Forgotten Cost and Blessing of Following Jesus His Way
Sam Allberry
In a culture increasingly driven by personal fulfilment, the call of Jesus sounds ever stranger to our ears. For many churches, we prefer to offer the blessings of Jesus with none of the cost. So we need to see afresh how Jesus puts the cost of following him front and center; shows us there's no way to come to him without cost; and assures us that however much we give to him, we always receive far more from him.
Remember Death: The Surprising Path to Living Hope
Matthew McCullough
For decades sociologists have recognized that death has become a taboo subject in much of the West. It's an experience as basic to human life as birth, eating, or sleeping, but we've banished death from straightforward conversation in polite company. In this workshop we'll consider where this taboo comes from, what it's costing us to avoid the subject of death, and how lifting the taboo can bring us deeper hope and greater joy in the promises of Jesus.
Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense
Paul Tripp
Sometimes life just hurts. Out of nowhere, death, illness, unemployment, or a difficult relationship can change our lives and challenge everything we thought we knew. But in the midst of all this pain and confusion, we are not alone. Weaving together his personal story, pastoral ministry experience, and biblical insights, Paul Tripp will help you cling to God's promises when trials come and move forward with the hope of the gospel.
Why We Love Jesus in a Secular Age
Collin Hansen (moderator), Tim Keller, Brett McCracken, Jen Michel
We may live in what the philosopher Charles Taylor describes as a disenchanted age, a time when the pursuit of individual authenticity trumps all. But Jesus still offers a compelling example and message the world cannot ignore. In this panel we'll talk about why we love Jesus and how his gospel captivates the world even in our secular age.
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Days
80
Speakers
62
Talks
$229
Through Feb. 28, 2019
- $198 Groups of 6+
- $159 Student/Int'l
$249
Through March 25, 2019
- $219 Groups of 6+
- $179 Student/Int'l
$269
Through April 3, 2019
- $239 Groups of 6+
- $199 Student/Int'l
MORE INFO:
International Rate: Must reside outside the US.
Student Rate: Must be enrolled in at least 9 credits in the Spring of 2019.
Large Groups: Groups of 12 or more may qualify for additional discounts. Email [email protected] for more details.
