- Keystone lecture will take place Monday, Nov. 6 from 6-7:30 p.m.
- Conference looks to tackle issues about Christian theological perspective of human sexuality
Apologetics and Cultural Engagement is hosting its second annual Next Gen Apologetics conference Nov. 6-7 to educate students on modern human identity issues.
The keystone lecture of the conference, “Human Identity: How Do Our Desires Shape Us?” will take place Monday night from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Center for Music and Worship’s concert hall.
Jack Carson, the coordinator for the Center for ACE, said the center partners with the Center for Youth Ministries for the Next Gen Apologetics conferences to equip Liberty students to face modern-day issues they will confront when they leave the university.
“Liberty students are about to go into an entire world that is going to be yelling and screaming at them that their identity is defined by things that, as students here at Liberty, they haven’t had to have much exposure to,” Carson said. “The world is rapidly changing its explanation of what it means to be human and what it means to live what philosophers call the ‘good life.’”
Carson said the conference will focus on the issue of human identity as it pertains to sexuality and gender.
“What we like to do with a lot of these events is tie it back to how we see ourselves as humans,” Carson said. “This particular lens for this conference will deal with how we see ourselves as humans with the view of how God views gender and sexuality.”
At the lecture Monday night, pastors Todd Wilson and Jay Thomas will speak about this issue. Wilson and Thomas have both written books that bring a Christian theological perspective to human sexuality.
“They’re both able to speak into some current cultural issues that sometimes get glossed over and sometimes don’t get talked about because they’re a little difficult,” Carson said. “Both of these men have put robust thought into it that we’re hoping they’re able to share with our students.”
Todd Wilson is the pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois and the author of “Mere Sexuality: Rediscovering the Christian Vision of Sexuality,” which was released Oct. 3. In an interview with Christianity Today published in September, Wilson discussed the philosophy behind his book.
“I’ve been confronted with the reality that your average, Bible-believing Christian lacks a deep understanding of the theological vision of sexuality given in Scripture,” Wilson said in the interview. “We don’t see male and female sexuality as theologically significant in their own right.”
Jay Thomas is the lead pastor of Chapel Hill Bible Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and coauthored the book “Sex, Dating, and Relationships: A Fresh Approach” with Gerald Hiestand.
Although the conference’s main audience is students from the Rawlings School of Divinity, Carson said the event is open to all majors, as many Liberty students will be involved with ministry no matter what their vocation is.
“It’s very helpful for Christians to understand how different people view their identity so we can speak into those people particularly,” Carson said. “When we start to understand how people view themselves, we can empathize with people and then contextualize what we are saying.”
Students in church ministry classes are required to attend, and many global studies, theology and Bible classes will offer extra credit for attending, according to Carson. The School of Music praise team E41 will open the event with
worship.
Although the main event Monday night is open to the public, the rest of conference is specifically geared towards divinity students. Wilson and Thomas will be speaking in classes and meeting with members of the faculty Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Through these larger conferences, the Center for ACE hopes to raise awareness for the other programs it offers, such as faith and culture lectures and a fellowship program of around 25 students.
“We have multiple types of events,” Carson said. “This is sort of our event that exposes Liberty students at large to how they can effectively engage the culture around them once they leave here.”
Carson said around 950 attendees came to the first Next Gen Apologetics conference in January 2017. However, he said numbers are not the goal for events like these.
“It’s specifically about continually helping students think through how to engage contemporary culture,” Carson said. “That’s not a goal that can be reached and achieved—it’s one that’s always refreshing itself because culture is always changing. (But) our theology as Christians doesn’t change.”
Registration is not required for the lecture Monday night. Contact the Center for ACE at ACE@liberty.edu or visit their website at www.liberty.edu/ace/ for more information.