Sep 23–25, 2024 | Oak Park, IL
As people of faith, hope, and love, how should Christians think about and engage our polarized and contentious political moment?
Congregations and individual Christians have by no means been immune to the forces of division and dread that accompany election season in our fractured society. These tensions present an urgent and crucial challenge for pastors seeking to faithfully lead their congregations. It’s difficult to imagine a more pressing issue for discipleship and Christian witness in our day––which is why the Center for Pastor Theologians has selected politics as our theme for our 2024 conference.
Kingdom Politics, our ninth annual theology conference, is an event to help pastors, Christian leaders, students, and interested laypeople think theologically about politics in 2024 and beyond. This conference will not be an exercise in uncritically commending or condemning various representatives of the kingdoms of this world. Rather, we will consider how Christians can faithfully witness to the Gospel within the political structures that exist, while also pointing toward the ultimate reality of Christ’s kingdom that transcends those structures.
As always, our conference will be held at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL––just outside Chicago. This year we have moved the date up from our usual slot in late October to September 23–25. This is to create more space between the conference and Election Day, so that pastors and leaders can process and apply insights from the event for their congregations in the final weeks of the campaign season.
We invite you to join us.
PLENARY SPEAKERS
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Christina Edmondson
Author & Speaker
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Malcolm Foley
Pastor of Discipleship, Mosaic Waco
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Collin Hansen
Vice President for Content & Editor in Chief, The Gospel Coalition
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Gerald Hiestand
Senior Pastor, Calvary Memorial Church
Co-Founder, Center for Pastor Theologians -
Carmen Joy Imes
Associate Professor of Old Testament, Biola University
Author, Being God’s Image -
Russell Moore
Editor in Chief, Christianity Today
Author, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America -
Kaitlyn Schiess
Author, The Ballot and the Bible
Co-Host, The Holy Post Podcast -
Preston Sprinkle
Host, Theology in the Raw
Author, Exiles: The Church in the Shadow of Empire -
Miroslav Volf
Professor of Theology, Yale Divinity School
Author, A Public Faith
SCHEDULE
Monday
September 23
9:00am
Registration Opens
10:30am
Plenary Session One | Collin Hansen
From Ideology to Identity: Tim Keller and the Post-Christian Right
11:30am
Lunch Break
1:00pm
Breakout Session One
2:30pm
Panel Session
4:00pm
Plenary Session Two | Gerald Hiestand
Baptism and Politics
5:30pm
Dinner Break
7:30pm
Plenary Session Three | Miroslav Volf
The World as God’s Home
Tuesday
September 24
8:30am
Morning Office (Prayer)
9:00am
Plenary Session Four | Kaitlyn Schiess
A Strange New World: The Bible and Political Life
10:30am
Plenary Session Five | Christina Edmondson
Welcomed Deception and Likable Lies: Why Christians Must Be Political Truthtellers
11:30am
Lunch Break
1:00pm
Breakout Session Two
2:30pm
Panel Session
4:00pm
Breakout Session Three
5:00pm
Dinner Break
7:30pm
Plenary Session Six | Preston Sprinkle
Exile in Babylon: A Christian Political Identity
Wednesday
September 25
8:30am
Morning Office (Prayer)
9:00am
Plenary Session Seven | Malcolm Foley
A Political Economy of Love: How to Fight Racial Capitalism
10:30am
Plenary Session Eight | Carmen Joy Imes
Bearing God’s Name in the Public Square
11:45am
Benediction
12:00pm
Dismissal
*All scheduling and times are tentative and subject to change
BREAKOUT SPEAKERS & PANELISTS
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Vincent Bacote
Professor Theology, Wheaton College
Author, The Political Disciple -
Amy Black
Professor of Political Science, Wheaton College
Author, Honoring God in Red or Blue -
Gayle Doornbos
Associate Professor of Theology, Dordt University
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Mika Edmondson
Pastor, Koinonia Church Nashville
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Kathryn Freeman
Writer & Speaker
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Chris Ganski
Senior Pastor, City Reformed Church
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Danny Houck
Senior Pastor, Calvary Hill Baptist Church
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Joel Lawrence
President, The Center for Pastor Theologians
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Karen Swallow Prior
Author, The Evangelical Imagination
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Joey Sherrard
Associate Pastor of Disciplesip, Signal Mountain Presbyteran Church
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Ryan Tafilowski
Lead Pastor, Foothills Fellowship
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Obbie Tyler Todd
Pastor, Third Baptist Church, Marion, IL
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Steve Turnbull
Senior Pastor, Upper Arlington Lutheran Church
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Michael Wear
Founder & President, The Center for Christianity and Public Life
Author, The Spirit of Our Politics -
Todd Wilson
Co-Founder, The Center for Pastor Theologians
Founder and Senior Coach, Integrated Leaders
REGISTRATION & INFORMATION
$189
Final Registration Rate
$179 group (5+)
$129 student
INFORMATION
Information about travel, lodging, food, refund policies and more can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
VENDORS
We welcome sponsorship inquiries from like-minded organizations, publishers, and schools. More information can be found on our Vendor Information page.
VOLUNTEERS
Interested in serving as a conference volunteer in exchange for free conference registration? Learn more and apply on our Volunteer page.
CONTACT US
If you would like to reach the conference organizers or have a question not addressed on our FAQ page, you can Contact Us here.