We are pleased to announce the conference theme for this year's conference is Persecution and the Church. We believe this is a timely topic as the church is experiencing persecution globally. The topic will be approached from biblical, theological, and historical perspectives. The conference will be held on the campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on September 15-16, 2015.
From the conference website:
Jesus Christ plainly told all who followed him as their Lord and Savior that they would suffer persecution—and in the history of the church over the past two thousand years this has undoubtedly been the case. There is clear evidence that along with the globalization of Christianity over the past two hundred years, the persecution of the church has likewise intensified.
In this timely conference, we will be looking at this history of persecution and its contemporary manifestations from a biblical and theological standpoint. The goal of the conference is to enable participants to be both more informed and more prayerful. To that end, this conference will conclude with a concert of prayer for the persecuted church.
Speakers:
- Jason G. Duesing (Professor of Church History and Academic Provost at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
- Nathan A. Finn (Dean of the School of Theology and Missions and Professor of Christian Thought and Tradition at Union University)
- Ben Hegeman (Adjunct Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies at Houghton College)
- Bryan M. Litfin (Professor of Theology at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago)
- Thomas R. Schreiner (Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Biblical Theology and Associate Dean of the Southern Seminary School of Theology)
- Brian Vickers (Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Biblical Theology at Southern Seminary)
- Steve Weaver (Senior Fellow of Andrew Fuller Center and Adjunct Professor of Church History at Southern Seminary)
Schedule:
Tuesday, September 15
| 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | Conference Check-In |
| 1:30 p.m. | General Session I: Brian Vickers “Persecution and Paul” |
| 3 p.m. | General Session II: Tom Schreiner “Persecution in Revelation” |
| 5:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7 p.m. | General Session III: Bryan Litfin “Roman Persecution of the Ancient Church” |
| 8:30 p.m. | General Session IV: Jason Duesing “The Persecution of the Anabaptists” |
Wednesday, September 16
| 8 a.m. | Breakfast (Optional $5 add-on) |
| 9 a.m. | General Session V: Steve Weaver “Baptists and Persecution in Virginia” |
| 10:30 a.m. | General Session VI: Nathan Finn “Communist Persecution of the Church, 1917-1989″ |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 2:30 p.m. | Short Papers |
| 5:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 7 p.m. | General Session VII: Ben Hegeman “The Church and Islam” |
| 8:15 p.m. | General Session VIII “A Concert of Prayer for the Persectued Church” |
You can learn more about the conference and register here. We hope to see you there!