This year's conference will be held August 7-8, 2023.
You can purchase tickets via Eventbrite.
The best hotel arrangements are at the Hampton Inn Skyline.
Those scheduled to present include:
You can purchase tickets via Eventbrite.
The best hotel arrangements are at the Hampton Inn Skyline.
Those scheduled to present include:
- Carl Trueman, Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies at Grove City College
- Jack Kilcrease, Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Christ School of Theology
- Aaron Kheriaty, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center for Bioethics and American Democracy
- Peter Scaer, Chairman and Professor of Exegetical Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary
- Matthew Eppinette, Executive Director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity
- Jordan Cooper, President of the American Lutheran Theological Seminary
- Adam Koontz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church
- David Fowler, President of Family Action Council of Tennessee
Tentative schedule:
Monday, August 7
11:00 – Registration
12:00 – Matins
12:45 – Break
1:00 – Jordan B. Cooper, Presentation Title TBA
2:00 – David Fowler, “‘Oh, How I Love Thy Law!’ But Civil Law?”
3:00 – Break
3:15 – Jack D. Kilcrease, “The Task of Theology in Pre-Modern, Modern, and Postmodern Contexts”
4:30 – Peter Scaer, Presentation Title TBA
6:30 – Dinner (provided) at Rock’n Dough Pizza and Brewery
3449 Dickerson Pike, Nashville TN 37207
Tuesday, August 8
8:45 – Matins
9:30 – Break
9:45 – Carl R. Trueman, Presentation Title TBA
11:00 – Lunch (provided)
12:00 – Aaron Kheriaty, Presentation Title TBA
1:15 – Break
1:30 – Matthew Eppinette, “Understanding and Responding to the False Promise of Techno-Resurrection”
2:30 – Adam C. Koontz, “The New Pioneers: What Sacrifices Are Needed in Our Time for the Gospel?”
Monday, August 7
11:00 – Registration
12:00 – Matins
12:45 – Break
1:00 – Jordan B. Cooper, Presentation Title TBA
2:00 – David Fowler, “‘Oh, How I Love Thy Law!’ But Civil Law?”
3:00 – Break
3:15 – Jack D. Kilcrease, “The Task of Theology in Pre-Modern, Modern, and Postmodern Contexts”
4:30 – Peter Scaer, Presentation Title TBA
6:30 – Dinner (provided) at Rock’n Dough Pizza and Brewery
3449 Dickerson Pike, Nashville TN 37207
Tuesday, August 8
8:45 – Matins
9:30 – Break
9:45 – Carl R. Trueman, Presentation Title TBA
11:00 – Lunch (provided)
12:00 – Aaron Kheriaty, Presentation Title TBA
1:15 – Break
1:30 – Matthew Eppinette, “Understanding and Responding to the False Promise of Techno-Resurrection”
2:30 – Adam C. Koontz, “The New Pioneers: What Sacrifices Are Needed in Our Time for the Gospel?”
About the presenters
Carl R. Trueman
Carl R. Trueman taught on the faculties of the Universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen before moving to the United States in 2001 to teach at Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. In 2017-18 he was the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Since 2018, he has served as a professor at Grove City College. He is also a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a contributing editor at First Things. Trueman’s latest book is the bestselling The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. He is married with two adult children and is ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
Aaron Kheriaty
Aaron Kheriaty is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he directs EPPC’s program in Bioethics and American Democracy. He is currently Chief of Psychiatry & Ethics at Doc1 Health and Chief of Medical Ethics at The Unity Project, and a Senior Fellow and Director of the Health and Human Flourishing Program at the Zephyr Institute. Dr. Kheriaty is also a Scholar at the Paul Ramsey Institute and he serves on the advisory board at the Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy.
Dr. Kheriaty graduated from the University of Notre Dame in philosophy and pre-medical sciences, earned his MD degree from Georgetown University, and completed residency training in psychiatry at the University of California Irvine. For many years he was Professor of Psychiatry at UCI School of Medicine and Director of the Medical Ethics Program at UCI Health, where he chaired the ethics committee. He also chaired the ethics committee at the California Department of State Hospitals for several years.
Dr. Kheriaty has authored books and articles for professional and lay audiences on bioethics, social science, psychiatry, religion, and culture. His work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Arc Digital, The New Atlantis, Public Discourse, City Journal, and First Things. He has conducted print, radio, and television interviews on bioethics topics with The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Fox, and NPR.
Jack D. Kilcrease
Jack D. Kilcrease is a Lutheran lay theologian and member of Our Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS) where he has served as an elder. He is currently a member of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations. Jack was born in Texas, but grew up in Oregon. He went on to receive a B.A. from Luther College and an M.A. from Luther Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and Ethics from Marquette University in 2009.
Jack’s theological work explores the gift of God’s self-donation in Jesus Christ. He is the author of several books including Justification by the Word: Restoring Sola Fide, a finalist for the Christianity Today academic book of the year award, the most recent volume of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series on Holy Scripture, and the forthcoming Justification by the Word and Lutheran Dogmatics: The Evangelical-Catholic Faith for an Age of Contested Truth (Lexham Press). He has also contributed to several edited collections and is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles. Jack is currently Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology’s Christ School of Theology. He is also an Assistant Adjunct Professor teaching philosophy at Aquinas College.
Jack lives in beautiful West Michigan with his lovely wife, Bethany, and his two energetic daughters, Miriam and Ruth.
Matthew Eppinette
Matthew Eppinette, MBA, PhD, is Executive Director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity (CBHD). Dr. Eppinette has a decade and a half of experience in the field of bioethics, including serving CBHD previously, from 2002-2007.
He holds a PhD in Theology with concentrations in Christian Ethics and Theology & Culture from the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he also earned an MA in Theology. He is a 2004 graduate of the MA Bioethics program at Trinity International University, and he has an MBA with concentrations in Quantitative Analysis and Information Systems from Louisiana Tech University. His undergraduate degree is in Business Management and Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport.
When he moved to California to attend Fuller, Matthew joined the Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC) where he served as New Media Manager and Executive Director from 2009-2018. During his time at the CBC, he co-wrote and co-produced six documentary films addressing bioethics issues. Three of the films were Official Film Festival Selections, and one was awarded Best Documentary at the California Independent Film Festival.
Matthew and his wife Ginger currently reside in suburban Chicago.
Peter Scaer
Dr. Peter Scaer joined the Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), Fort Wayne, Exegetical Department in 2000. He serves as professor and chairman of the Exegetical department. His passions include the Gospel of Mark, highlighting the sacramental ministry of Jesus. He loves to show how the life and teachings of Christ anticipates and forms the life of the Church.
He did his undergraduate work in the Classics at Indiana University Bloomington. From there he went on to CTSFW (M.Div., 1992), and to Notre Dame, where he earned his M.A. (1995) and completed his doctoral dissertation on the Lukan Passion Narrative (Ph.D., 2001). From 1996 to 2000 Scaer served as the pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Arcadia, Indiana.
He is deeply involved in life issues and serves as president of Allen County Right to Life. He is a founding member of Shepherds United, an ecumenical Christian group formed to defend life, natural marriage and religious liberty. He speaks out on the issues that affect both our Church and society, always placing the focus on Christ, who gives us life and defines for us what it means to be truly human.
He and his wife, Amy, are blessed with three children.
Jordan B. Cooper
Jordan B. Cooper is an ordained Lutheran pastor, an adjunct professor of Systematic Theology, the Executive Director of Just and Sinner, and the President of the American Lutheran Theological Seminary. He has authored several books, as well as theological articles in a variety of publications. He hosts the Just and Sinner Podcast, and is a frequent guest on many other podcasts. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his wife Lisa and their two boys: Jacen, and Ben.
Adam C. Koontz
Rev. Dr. Adam C. Koontz is pastor and evangelist of Trinity Lutheran Church, Denver, CO. He has pastored and planted congregations in PA and taught New Testament at Concordia Theological Seminary in IN. He and his wife, Jen, have seven children and live in Lakewood, CO.
David Fowler
David Fowler, president of FACT, grew up in Chattanooga. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.S. in Accounting.
He attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law on the Chapin-Thomas Scholarship, receiving his J.D. degree in 1983. In law school, Mr. Fowler directed the Moot Court program and participated on the National Moot Court and Craven Constitutional Law teams. He also clerked for the late Harry J. Klusmeier in the Ohio Court of Appeals.
Following law school, Mr. Fowler practiced law in Cincinnati and Chattanooga and in 1994, he successfully ran for the Tennessee state Senate where he served for 12 years. For four years he also directed the Center for Law and Government at Bryan College, teaching classes in political philosophy and jurisprudence.
After leaving office in 2006, Mr. Fowler worked with leaders from across the state to form the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) to protect the interests of families with respect to state policy and to educate the public about the importance of a family-friendly culture.
He is married with one adult child and lives in the Nashville area.
Carl R. Trueman
Carl R. Trueman taught on the faculties of the Universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen before moving to the United States in 2001 to teach at Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. In 2017-18 he was the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Since 2018, he has served as a professor at Grove City College. He is also a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a contributing editor at First Things. Trueman’s latest book is the bestselling The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. He is married with two adult children and is ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
Aaron Kheriaty
Aaron Kheriaty is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he directs EPPC’s program in Bioethics and American Democracy. He is currently Chief of Psychiatry & Ethics at Doc1 Health and Chief of Medical Ethics at The Unity Project, and a Senior Fellow and Director of the Health and Human Flourishing Program at the Zephyr Institute. Dr. Kheriaty is also a Scholar at the Paul Ramsey Institute and he serves on the advisory board at the Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy.
Dr. Kheriaty graduated from the University of Notre Dame in philosophy and pre-medical sciences, earned his MD degree from Georgetown University, and completed residency training in psychiatry at the University of California Irvine. For many years he was Professor of Psychiatry at UCI School of Medicine and Director of the Medical Ethics Program at UCI Health, where he chaired the ethics committee. He also chaired the ethics committee at the California Department of State Hospitals for several years.
Dr. Kheriaty has authored books and articles for professional and lay audiences on bioethics, social science, psychiatry, religion, and culture. His work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Arc Digital, The New Atlantis, Public Discourse, City Journal, and First Things. He has conducted print, radio, and television interviews on bioethics topics with The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, Fox, and NPR.
Jack D. Kilcrease
Jack D. Kilcrease is a Lutheran lay theologian and member of Our Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS) where he has served as an elder. He is currently a member of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations. Jack was born in Texas, but grew up in Oregon. He went on to receive a B.A. from Luther College and an M.A. from Luther Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology and Ethics from Marquette University in 2009.
Jack’s theological work explores the gift of God’s self-donation in Jesus Christ. He is the author of several books including Justification by the Word: Restoring Sola Fide, a finalist for the Christianity Today academic book of the year award, the most recent volume of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series on Holy Scripture, and the forthcoming Justification by the Word and Lutheran Dogmatics: The Evangelical-Catholic Faith for an Age of Contested Truth (Lexham Press). He has also contributed to several edited collections and is the author of numerous scholarly and popular articles. Jack is currently Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology’s Christ School of Theology. He is also an Assistant Adjunct Professor teaching philosophy at Aquinas College.
Jack lives in beautiful West Michigan with his lovely wife, Bethany, and his two energetic daughters, Miriam and Ruth.
Matthew Eppinette
Matthew Eppinette, MBA, PhD, is Executive Director of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity (CBHD). Dr. Eppinette has a decade and a half of experience in the field of bioethics, including serving CBHD previously, from 2002-2007.
He holds a PhD in Theology with concentrations in Christian Ethics and Theology & Culture from the Center for Advanced Theological Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he also earned an MA in Theology. He is a 2004 graduate of the MA Bioethics program at Trinity International University, and he has an MBA with concentrations in Quantitative Analysis and Information Systems from Louisiana Tech University. His undergraduate degree is in Business Management and Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport.
When he moved to California to attend Fuller, Matthew joined the Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC) where he served as New Media Manager and Executive Director from 2009-2018. During his time at the CBC, he co-wrote and co-produced six documentary films addressing bioethics issues. Three of the films were Official Film Festival Selections, and one was awarded Best Documentary at the California Independent Film Festival.
Matthew and his wife Ginger currently reside in suburban Chicago.
Peter Scaer
Dr. Peter Scaer joined the Concordia Theological Seminary (CTSFW), Fort Wayne, Exegetical Department in 2000. He serves as professor and chairman of the Exegetical department. His passions include the Gospel of Mark, highlighting the sacramental ministry of Jesus. He loves to show how the life and teachings of Christ anticipates and forms the life of the Church.
He did his undergraduate work in the Classics at Indiana University Bloomington. From there he went on to CTSFW (M.Div., 1992), and to Notre Dame, where he earned his M.A. (1995) and completed his doctoral dissertation on the Lukan Passion Narrative (Ph.D., 2001). From 1996 to 2000 Scaer served as the pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Arcadia, Indiana.
He is deeply involved in life issues and serves as president of Allen County Right to Life. He is a founding member of Shepherds United, an ecumenical Christian group formed to defend life, natural marriage and religious liberty. He speaks out on the issues that affect both our Church and society, always placing the focus on Christ, who gives us life and defines for us what it means to be truly human.
He and his wife, Amy, are blessed with three children.
Jordan B. Cooper
Jordan B. Cooper is an ordained Lutheran pastor, an adjunct professor of Systematic Theology, the Executive Director of Just and Sinner, and the President of the American Lutheran Theological Seminary. He has authored several books, as well as theological articles in a variety of publications. He hosts the Just and Sinner Podcast, and is a frequent guest on many other podcasts. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his wife Lisa and their two boys: Jacen, and Ben.
Adam C. Koontz
Rev. Dr. Adam C. Koontz is pastor and evangelist of Trinity Lutheran Church, Denver, CO. He has pastored and planted congregations in PA and taught New Testament at Concordia Theological Seminary in IN. He and his wife, Jen, have seven children and live in Lakewood, CO.
David Fowler
David Fowler, president of FACT, grew up in Chattanooga. He graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.S. in Accounting.
He attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law on the Chapin-Thomas Scholarship, receiving his J.D. degree in 1983. In law school, Mr. Fowler directed the Moot Court program and participated on the National Moot Court and Craven Constitutional Law teams. He also clerked for the late Harry J. Klusmeier in the Ohio Court of Appeals.
Following law school, Mr. Fowler practiced law in Cincinnati and Chattanooga and in 1994, he successfully ran for the Tennessee state Senate where he served for 12 years. For four years he also directed the Center for Law and Government at Bryan College, teaching classes in political philosophy and jurisprudence.
After leaving office in 2006, Mr. Fowler worked with leaders from across the state to form the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) to protect the interests of families with respect to state policy and to educate the public about the importance of a family-friendly culture.
He is married with one adult child and lives in the Nashville area.