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Title: Pastor, Pew, and Public: Preaching Faithfully and Persuasively to a Diverse and Divided Public
Lead Facilitator/Presenter: Brandon Knight, PhD, MDiv, William Carey University
Keynote Presenters: Tim Muehlhoff, PhD, Biola University; Jim Shaddix, PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Date/Time: Friday, July 21, 2023 | 11:30 am – 3:00 pm EST
Description: How can pastors and others in ministry be better equipped to communicate effectively to a diverse public inside and outside the church? At a time when pastors must consider a growing number of complicated cultural hurdles and crises, many desire preaching methods and communication strategies that speak to those who seem beyond reach while maintaining unity in the church. This workshop suggests that pastors can find help in addressing such matters by looking at the field of communication and rhetorical studies.
Pastor and professor Tim Muehlhoff (Biola University), co-director of the Winsome Conviction Project and co-author of Winsome Conviction: How to Disagree without Dividing the Church, will open the workshop with a keynote presentation on preaching faithfully and persuasively in a divided culture. Pastor and professor Jim Shaddix, co-author of Power in the Pulpit and Decisional Preaching, will offer a closing keynote address speaking about his own personal growth and embrace of communication and rhetorical principles.
Throughout, several communication and homiletical scholars will share about ways of overcoming division in our divided age. Panelists include Scott Gibson (Baylor University), Rick Langer (Biola University), and Bill Mullen (Shorter University).
All participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in small-group discussion throughout our time together.
Brandon Knight (PhD, University of Southern Mississippi) is Assistant Professor of Speech Communication and Director of Forensics at William Carey University. Brandon also earned an MDiv with an emphasis in Biblical Studies from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to teaching in the Academy, Brandon served as a youth pastor for five years at two locations in the local Hub City area and, more recently, served as an interim at Leaf River Baptist Church in Collins, Mississippi. Brandon’s research is featured in the Journal of Communication and Religion, Management Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Christian Teaching Practice (in Communication Studies), the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, and, most recently, the Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society.
Tim Muehlhoff (PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) is Professor of Communication at Biola University where he teaches classes in conflict resolution, apologetics, gender, and family communication. For over 30 years he served with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) in the campus ministry, short-term missions (Kenya, Russia, Lithuania), and with Keynote as a trainer for The Comm Lab—a center that trains Cru staff, pastors, and lay people in evangelistic speaking and apologetics. For the past 20 years Tim and his wife, Noreen, have been frequent speakers at Family Life Marriage Conferences. Tim currently is co-director of the Winsome Conviction Project which seeks to reintroduce civility and compassion into how we disagree in the public square. Tim is the co-host of the Winsome Conviction Podcast. His book Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World (with Biola University professor Rick Langer) received a merit award from Christianity Today’s 2018 Book of the Year Awards in the category of apologetics/evangelism. His newest book, Winsome Conviction: Disagreeing without Dividing the Church (with Rick Langer) explores conflict between fellow Christ-followers. Connect with Tim: www.timmuehlhoff.com.
Jim Shaddix (MDiv, DMin, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; PhD, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, occupying the W. A. Criswell Chair of Expository Preaching. He also serves as a Senior Fellow for the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership, which exists to resource pastors in local churches. Jim has pastored churches in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Colorado. He served as Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, LA. He is the author of The Passion Driven Sermon (Broadman & Holman, 2003); Decisional Preaching (Rainer, 2019); and co-author of Power in the Pulpit (Moody, 1999, 2017) and Progress in the Pulpit (Moody, 2017), both with Jerry Vines; 2 Peter and Jude (Broadman & Holman, 2018) with Danny Akin; Psalms 51–100 (Broadman & Holman, 2020) with David Platt and Matt Mason, both in the Christ-Centered Exposition commentary series; and Expositional Leadership (Crossway, 2024 release). Jim and his wife, Debra, focus much of their attention on discipling and mentoring young leaders and spouses. They have three grown children and eleven grandchildren.
Registration Fee: $50.00