Pastor, Pew, and Public: Communicating Truth in a Divided Nation

Lead Facilitator/Presenter: Brandon Knight, William Carey University

Keynote Presenters: Daniel Darling, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Rick Langer, Biola University; Tim Muehlhoff, Biola University

Description: “What is truth?” Even two millennia after the trial of Jesus, Pontius Pilate’s question similarly stands as an affront to the Christian church and its message. Christians are no strangers to critiques and the deconstruction of truth. The focus moving forward, therefore, should be on the effectiveness of our communicative response. Numerous Christian leaders, pastors, and lay professionals desire wisdom and discernment to move beyond the division and confusion of the current public arena that are all too like the trial of Jesus, where “truth” was not the goal. The upcoming 2024 presidential election provides an opportunity to reflect on how we can communicate truth to followers of Christ who love Jesus and the Church yet hold widely different political viewpoints. How do we accomplish this goal without dividing the Church? How can we communicate biblical truths that transcend political divisions? This workshop suggests that faithful Christian communicators discover effective tools for communicating the gospel in an ideologically divided culture by turning to the field of communication studies.

Throughout this workshop, several communication and rhetorical scholars will share ways to advance biblical truth in a post-truth age to both congregants and external publics. 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. Connect with Brandon here: https://www.wmcarey.edu/contact/brandon-knight

Daniel Darling is a bestselling author of several books, including The Original Jesus, The Dignity Revolution, The Characters of Christmas, The Characters of Easter, A Way With Words. and his latest, Agents of Grace: How to Bridge Divides and Love as Jesus Loves. He is the general editor, along with Trillia Newbell, of a small group study on racial reconciliation, The Church and the Racial Divide and is a contributor to The Worldview Study Bible. Dan is an award–winning writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. He is a columnist for World magazine and a regular contributor to USA Today. Dan’s work has been featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and The Dispatch and his op-eds have appeared in The Washington Post, CNN, Washington Times, Time, Huffington Post, National Review, First Things, The Spectator, and other leading outlets. Publisher’s Weekly called his writing style “substantive and punchy.” Dan speaks and preaches around the country and is regularly interviewed on radio and television, including MSNBC’s Morning Joe, CNN, and Fox News. He has been profiled by The New York Times. Dan is the host of a popular weekly podcast, The Way Home, where he interviews Christian leaders, politicians, and journalists. Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry from Dayspring Bible College, has studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Darling has also spoken at churches and conferences around the country and has lectured at Union University, Oklahoma Baptist University, Southwest Assemblies of God University, Taylor University, Judson College, and Dallas Baptist University. Dan has served churches in Illinois and Tennessee. He and his wife Angela have four children. Connect with Daniel here: https://danieldarling.com/

Rick Langer (PhD, University of California, Riverside) is a professor at Biola University, the Director of the Office of Faith and Learning, and co-director of the Winsome Conviction Project which seeks to help depolarize our discourse in the church, in Christian universities, and in the public square. He has authored three books and numerous journal articles applying theology to a wide variety of disciplines including business leadership, disability, suffering, bioethics, and vocation. He served as a pastor of a large evangelical church for 20 years before joining the faculty of Biola University in 2005. He has served on many boards and other leadership roles that have given him wide-ranging experience in conflict resolution within Christian churches, boards, universities and organizations. Connect with Rick here: https://www.biola.edu/directory/people/richard-langer

Tim Muehlhoff (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a Professor of Communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California where he teaches classes in conflict resolution, apologetics, gender, and family communication. He is co-director of Biola’s Winsome Conviction Project that seeks to reintroduce compassion and civility into our disagreements. He’s the co-host of the Winsome Conviction Podcast where people with differing viewpoints are brought on for engaging dialogue. For more, check out Winsome Conviction Project. Tim has written extensively in the area of cultural engagement and conflict resolution including Winsome Conviction: Disagreeing without Dividing the Church and Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post Christian World (with Biola professor Rick Langer) each having received a merit award from Christianity Today’s Book of the Year Awards. Tim’s newest book (co-written with Sean McDowell) is End the Stalemate: Moving Past Cancel Culture to Meaningful Conversations (Tyndale). Connect with Tim here: https://www.biola.edu/directory/people/timothy-muehlhoff