Speakers
DR. JASON VICKERS
TRUETT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Topic: Ordered to God: Theological Foundations for Constructing a New Denomination
Jason Vickers serves as the inaugural William J. Abraham Chair of Wesleyan Studies. A popular teacher, prolific author, and ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Vickers holds a PhD from Southern Methodist University. Prior to joining Truett Seminary, Vickers taught at Asbury in Wilmore, Kentucky. He also has taught at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina, and United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Vickers has been a member of numerous editorial boards and is a past president of the Wesleyan Theological Society. Vickers is presently the editor of the Wesleyan Theological Journal.
DR. BILL ARNOLD
ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Topic: Reconstructing Theological Education
Dr. Bill T. Arnold is the Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary where he joined the faculty in 1995. While at Asbury, Bill has served as Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost, Director of Postgraduate Studies, Chair of the Area of Biblical Studies and Director of Hebrew Studies. He has written or edited twelve books, including Introduction to the Old Testament (Cambridge University Press).
REV. PAUL LAWLER
CHRIST CHURCH MEMPHIS
Topic: Reconstructing Our Global Mission
Paul Lawler is a husband, father, teacher, pastor, and church planter. He often speaks at conferences and events and has taught in locations ranging from Ocean Grove Camp in New Jersey to the Upper Room Chapel in Nashville to Dave Ramsey’s employees at Ramsey Solutions. He is a graduate of Asbury University, and Asbury Theological Seminary. He has led local churches to engage in planting hundreds of new churches on four different continents. Paul and his brother worked with the Compassionate Hope Foundation in founding and establishing two Patricia B. Hammonds Homes of Hope for orphans in Thailand.
DR. ANDREW THOMPSON
TULSA FIRST METHODIST CHURCH
Topic: Reconstructing Ordination
Dr. Andrew Thompson is Lead Pastor at Tulsa First Methodist Church in Oklahoma. He is an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church and the author of The Means of Grace: Traditioned Practice for Today’s World (Seedbed).
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DR. CHRIS BOUNDS
ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Topic: Reconstructing Our Doctrine of Scripture
Dr. Chris Bounds serves as Professor of Theology at Asbury Theological Seminary. Before that, Chris served as the Dean of the School of Theology & Ministry and Professor of Systematic Theology at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is an Ordained Elder in The Arkansas Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he served as an appointed pastor for eight years. He has published a variety of articles both popular and scholarly, and is the co-author of Holiness: A Biblical, Systematic, and Historical Theology (IVP)
BISHOP SCOTT JONES
GLOBAL METHODIST CHURCH
Topic: Reconstructing the Office of Bishop
Scott Jones was elected a bishop in the United Methodist Church in 2004. He was received as a bishop in the Global Methodist Church in 2023. He holds degrees from the University of Kansas (B.A. in Philosophy), Perkins School of Theology (Master of Theology) and Southern Methodist University (Ph.D. in Religious Studies). He is the author of multiple books including John Wesley's Conception and Use of Scripture.
DR. MADELINE CARRASCO HENNERS
UNITED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Topic: Reconstructing a Holy Spirit-Driven Movement
Madeline Henners teaches in the areas of spiritual formation and field education. She directs the Contextual Ministries program with an emphasis on spiritual disciplines, discipleship, accountability, ministerial theology, and the doctrine of God. Madeline also serves as the Director of the Internal Review Board of Human Subject Research for the DMin program.
REV. ANGELA PLEASANTS
GMC CHURCH PLANTER
Topic: Reconstructing Methodism as a Multiethnic Kingdom Movement
Angela Pleasants serves as Director of Clergy Church Relations for the Global Methodist Church. She is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (Greensboro) and Duke Divinity School (Durham, North Carolina). In addition to leading local churches, she has also served as a District Superintendent and Chief Missional Strategist of her District, as the chairwoman of the conference’s board of elders, and as a member of its board of ordained ministry. Her colleagues twice elected her as a General Conference delegate (2008 and 2012).
DR. CHRIS LOHRSTORFER
WESLEY BIBLICAL SEMINARY
Topic: Reconstructing our Doctrine of Holiness
Dr. Chris Lohrstorfer serves as Associate Professor of Wesleyan Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary and the author of Learning to Breathe: Mastering the Art of Spiritual Respiration and There's No Place Like Home: Hope and Help on Your Journey toward Heaven. Chris is from Elizabeth, Indiana, where he met and married his childhood sweetheart. He now resides in Raymond, Mississippi, where he and his wife, Mary, are the parents of two teenagers, Diana and Nicolas. Chris has served as Senior Pastor at Hinds Independent Methodist Church in Raymond since 1997 and has been actively involved in higher education for 25 years both teaching and as an administrator.
DR. MATT O'REILLY
CHRIST CHURCH BIRMINGHAM
Topic: Reconstructing Preaching
Dr. Matt O'Reilly is Lead Pastor of Christ Church Birmingham, a Global Methodist Congregation; Director of Research at Wesley Biblical Seminary; and a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians. A two-time recipient of the Stott Award for Pastoral Engagement, he's the author of Paul and the Resurrected Body: Social Identity and Ethical Practice (SBL Press) and 1-2 Thessalonians (Seedbed).
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