The 2024 Pastor Theologians Conference

This conference took place in a time of disunity, anxiety, and uncertainty in American culture. The past few years had exposed deepening fissures in our civic life; we were approaching an election that pundits have declared to have existential consequences for the country.

The church is not immune to the upheavals shaking our culture. Social media is inundated with vitriolic attacks between those who claim the name of Jesus. Anger and bitterness have divided too many congregations. Political figures are divinized or demonized, depending on one’s party affiliation.

We came together to think deeply about the political issues of our time, but also to root ourselves firmly in the eternal reality of Christ’s rule.

Plenary Sessions

Plenary Session One

Collin Hansen
From Ideology to Identity: Tim Keller and the Post-Christian Right

Plenary Session Two

Gerald Hiestand
Baptism and Politics

Plenary Session Three

Miroslav Volf
The Church as God’s Home

Plenary Session Three

Katherine Sonderegger
Confidence and Humility, Twin Virtues for the Pastor

Plenary Session Four

Amy Peeler
The Good Shepherd

Plenary Session Five

Eric Rivera
Shepherding the Flock in a Time of War

Plenary Session Six

Douglas Sweeney
Good Shepherds Feed the Sheep

Plenary Session Seven

Matt O’Reilly
To What End Our Labor? The Telos of the Pastor’s Vocation

Plenary Panel
The Future of the Pastorate and the Future of the Church

Plenary Panels

Panel
Pastoring in a Polarized Nation

Malcolm Foley | Gerald Hiestand | Kaitlyn Schiess | Obbie Tyler Todd | Zachary Wagner (Moderator)