Schedule

Academic scholars from across the country and around the world will gather to explore the theme, Hope Amidst Crises: Challenges, Opportunities and Collaborations. An exciting lineup of featured speakers is planned as well as paper presentations, panel discussions and more.

CSC 2024 Schedule

Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars’ Conference

June 5 – 7, 2024

Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center, Houston, Texas, in partnership with Lipscomb University

DOWNLOAD THE 2024 CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS' PROGRAM BOOKLET.

Wednesday, June 5

All day

Information Desk, Location: Alcove at the Staircase in the LLC
Book Signings/Exhibitors, Location: Main Hall of the Library.
Coffee and Beverage service

8-11 a.m.

Registration Packet Pickup; Location: The Lamb & Scroll

9:30-11 a.m.

Opening ceremony, Location: The Grand Hall in the LLC

Welcome: Mark Lanier and Candice McQueen
Mike Cope: Honoring Landon Saunders

11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

Networking Lunch – Box lunches, Location: Pick up lunches in the Cloister in the LLC. Participants are invited to picnic around the property or enjoy lunch in the Grand Hall in the Learning Center.

1-2:30 p.m.

Session Slot #1, Location: designated rooms in the LLC, Lamb & Scroll, LTL.
Everett Ferguson Endowed Lecture: Lynn Cohick, Location: Stone Chapel
Session 1 Breakouts:
- Stone Chapel: “‘I am a Christian’: Ancient Female Martyrs and the Hope of Resurrection” Lynn Cohick
- Lamb & Scroll: “The Power of Narrative and Hope” Scott Billingsley, Michael Ditmore, Wesley Constandse, MorganProfitt-Davis
- Yarton “Christian Business Education” Andy Borchers, Lamar Reinsch, Shannon Lienen, Christopher Horene, Brad Lemler
- Journals Room: “Hopeful Directions in Ministry to Young People: Addressing Crises of Faith and Mental Health” Leonard Allen, Bryan Nash, Carrie Birmingham, David Rahn, Ebonie Davis
- Malamat: “Reassessing Maximus Confessor: A Review of Jordan Daniel Wood’s The Whole Mystery of Christ, Creation as Incarnation in Maximus Confessor” Alden Bass, David Mahfood, Travis Myers, John Kern, Jordan Wood

2:45-4 p.m.

John T. Willis Plenary: Jonathan Brant. Location: The Grand Hall in the LLC

4:15-5:45 p.m.

Session Slot # 2, Location: designated rooms in the LLC, Lamb & Scroll, LTL.
Van Rheenan Endowed Lecture: Mark Love, Location: Stone Chapel
Session 2 Breakouts:
- Stone Chapel: “The Missional Necessity of Discernment” Mark Love, Scott Hagley
- Lamb & Scroll: “Ordinary Language, Stanley Cavell, and Theology” Daniel Crouch, Katherine Ellis, Andrew Whitworth, Charles Regli
- Yarnton: “Economics from a Christian Perspective” Russell Dabbs, David Johnson, Janice Hauge, Nate Barton
- Journals Room: “The Doctor of Ministry Degree in a Changing Context” Ron Bruner, Jack Holland, Tim Sensing, Carlus Gupton
- Malamat: “CSC 2025 Planning Session”
- Pembrooke: “Barbie, Dolly Parton, and Taylor Swift: Creativity, Strength, and Truth Telling” Micki Pulleyking, Nancy Posey, Karen Fletcher Smith, Sarah Stone Watt

6-7:15 p.m.

Dinner, Location: Grand Hall in the LLC
PhD students & Randolph Mentoring Program Reception, Location: Trowbridge Village Pub

7:15-8:30 p.m.

After Dinner Fred Gray Lecture: Esau McCauley, Location: The Grand Hall in the LLC

Thursday, June 6

All day

Information Desk, Location: Alcove at the Staircase in the LLC
Book Signings/Exhibitors, Location: Main Hall of the Library.
Coffee and Beverage service

[6:30-8 a.m.]

CSC Board Meeting, Location: Hosted by Becky Lanier, location to be confirmed

8:15-8:45 a.m.

Worship Greg Straughn & DJ Bulls, Location: Stone Chapel

9-10:30 a.m.

Session Slot #3, Location: designated rooms in the LLC, Lamb & Scroll, LTL.
JJM Roberts Endowed Lecture in OT Studies: John Walton, Location: Stone Chapel
Session 3 Breakouts:
- Stone Chapel: “Hope When Empires Are in Crisis: Reading Daniel 5” John Walton
- Lamb & Scroll: “Major Book Review: Richard T. Hughes and James L. Gorman, Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America, 3rd ed.” Corey, Markum, Douglas A. Foster, Loretta M. Hunnicutt, Edward A. Robinson, James L. Gorman
- Yarnton: “Christian Business Leadership” Andy Borchers, William Sharp, Carol Lusk, Makeba Lindsay D’Abreu
- Journals Room: “Explorations in Theology” David Mahfood, Andrew Gass, Fidel Arnecillo Jr., Finney Premkumar
- Malamat: “Beginning in the Present: Genesis 1-2 in the Lab, Classroom, and Sanctuary” Garrett Best, Josh Kingcade, Kevin Youngblood, John Lewis, Janet Kellogg Ray
- Grand Hall: “Higher Education Under Attack: Issues on the Front Lines” Candice McQueen, David French (LOCATION CHANGE)
- Pembrooke: “Hope in Peril” Garrett Smith, Robert Bugg, Andrew Wong (LOCATION AND TIME CHANGE)

10:45 a.m.-noon

Pack Plenary: David French, Location: The Grand Hall in the LLC

12:15-1:30 p.m.

Lunch – Box lunches, Location: Pick up lunches in the Cloister in the LLC, Participants are invited to picnic around the property or enjoy lunch in the Grand Hall in the Learning Center.

1:45-3:15 p.m.

Session Slot #4, Location: designated rooms in the LLC, Lamb & Scroll, LTL.
Christian Apologetics Lecture: Charlie Styles, Location: The Stone Chapel
Session 4 Breakouts:
- Stone Chapel: “Engaging the Changing Landscape: The Urgent Need for Intellectual Credibility in Christian Apologetics”
- Lamb & Scroll: Roundtable Discussion: “Gender and Race in the History of Churches of Christ: How Does the Past Speak to Today?’”– Scott Billingsley, Richard Hughes, James Gorman, Kathy Pulley, Loretta Hunnicut, Edward Robinson, Douglas Foster
- Yarnton: “Christian Business Topics” James Woodrow, Dutch Kendall, Ebenezer Danso
- Journals Room: “The Church in Crisis and Hope: Collaborative Engagement with the Work of Andrew Root” Gary Selby, Carson Reed, Jeff Brown, Tiffany Dahlman, Josh Kingcade, Bradley Steele
- Malamat: “The Theological Anthropology of Salvation” David Mahfood, Andrew Sutherland, John Kern
- Pembrooke: “Pedagogy and Practice in an Open-source, AI World” John Lewis, Sarah Parker, Juan Rojas, Finney Premkumar
- Grand Hall: “The Asbury Outpouring: Thinking Theologically About Revival” Mark Powell, Jason Vickers, Tom McCall (LOCATION and TIME CHANGED)

3:30-5 p.m.

Robert E. and Bonnie Cone Hooper Plenary: Mark Lanier, Location: The Grand Hall in the LLC

5:45-7:30 p.m.

Dinner, Location: Grand Hall in the LLC

7:30-8:30 p.m.

Networking, sponsor and publisher visits, and tours of the property.
Book Signings/Exhibitors, Location: Main Hall of the Library
Coffee and Beverage service

Friday, June 7

Session 5 BreakoutsAll day

Information Desk, Location: Alcove at the Staircase in the LLC
Book Signings/Exhibitors, Location: Main Hall of the Library.
Coffee and Beverage service

8:15-8:45 a.m.

Worship Greg Straughn & DJ Bulls, Location: Stone Chapel

9-10:30 a.m.

Session Slot # 5, Location: designated rooms in the LLC, Lamb & Scroll, LTL, Stone Chapel.
Session 5 Breakouts:
- Stone Chapel: Explorations in Philosophical Theology Andrew Wong, Fidel A Arnecillo Jr., (LOCATION and TIME CHANGE)
- Lamb & Scroll: “Hopeful Models of Christian Formation” Deron Smith, Ron Clark, Drew Davis, William Sharp
- Yarnton: “Navigating Southern culture, commerce, color and church: An ethnographic reflection on student and faculty learnings” Abby Bell, J. Goosby Smith, Ben Postlethwaite, Christopher Collins
- Journals Room: “Congregations: Challenging Times, Hopeful Solutions” Marsha Vaughn, Christ Conzalez, Holley Allen, Earl Lavender
- Malamat: “The Hermeneutics of Unity in and after Genesis 11:10–25:11” David Stark, Daniel Oden, Jared Saltz, Garret Best, Kevin Burr
- Pembrooke: “God and Gaming: the Intersection between Faith and the Burgeoning Art of Video Games” Micki Pulleyking, Grant Testut, Timothy Williford, Chris Rosser