Theology Conference Speakers
Here is the line-up of speakers for the 2020 Wheaton College Theology Conference
M. Daniel Carroll R. (Rodas), Wheaton College
Dr. Carroll is half-Guatemalan and was raised bilingual and bicultural. In his youth, he spent many summers in Guatemala and later taught at El Seminario Teológico Centroamericano in Guatemala City for thirteen years. The realities of Central America sparked Dr. Carroll's fascination with the Old Testament. The relevance of the biblical text for the challenges of poverty, war, and politics in those developing countries led him to a passionate focus on Old Testament social ethics and the social sciences.
In addition, his studies in English literature and literary theory have generated an ongoing engagement with literary approaches to the Old Testament and critical studies. Experiences in this country and abroad have led him to a deep appreciation for the unique contributions that ethnic minorities, women, and the global church make to the interpretation of the Old Testament. Before coming to Wheaton, Dr. Carroll taught Old Testament at Denver Seminary for many years and founded a Spanish-language lay training program there. At Wheaton, he hopes to model a commitment to connecting careful biblical scholarship with the mission of the church as it engages today’s complex realities. Dr. Carroll has been involved in Hispanic churches and teaching on the Bible and immigration for many years. His research focuses on the prophetic literature and Old Testament social ethics. He has just completed a major commentary on the book of Amos.
Carly L. Crouch, Fuller Seminary
Carly L. Crouch joined Fuller’s faculty in September 2018, coming from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, where she served for seven years. At Nottingham she was most recently associate professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, teaching and researching in a number of areas related to Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Hebrew language and exegesis; she also directed the university’s Centre for Bible, Ethics, and Theology. Prior to her time at Nottingham, she was a research fellow at Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge and at Keble College in Oxford.
Dr. Crouch’s research focuses on the intersection of theology, ethics, and community identities, with a historical focus on the social and intellectual world of ancient Israel and a contemporary interest in the relevance of this work for 21st century ethics. She is especially interested in integrating insights from other disciplines, such as anthropology, refugee studies, and postcolonial theory, into biblical studies. This has led to monographs examining the intersection between creation theology and ethics in the conduct of war (War and Ethics), the social context of Deuteronomy’s distinctively Israelite ethics (The Making of Israel), and the relationship between oaths of loyalty to the Assyrian king and Deuteronomy’s emphasis on exclusive loyalty to God (Israel and the Assyrians).
Crouch, who speaks or reads multiple ancient and modern languages, has received numerous awards for her research and has published extensively in her areas of expertise.
Mark Douglas, Columbia Theological Seminary
Dr. Mark Douglas is a professor of Christian Ethics and Director of the M.Div. Program at Columbia Theological Seminary. He received his B.A. from Colorado College, M.Div. & Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. from University of Virginia. Dr. Douglas’s wide-ranging interests includes ethics in neo-orthodox theologies, medical and business ethics, the American philosophical tradition of pragmatism, and the role of religion in political philosophy. He is currently researching and writing at the intersection of environmental issues and conflict studies.
Daniel Groody, University of Notre Dame
Daniel G. Groody is associate professor of theology and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame and the director of the Global Leadership Program within the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, where he is also a faculty fellow. He is a Catholic priest, a Holy Cross religious, and an award-winning professor, author, and film producer.
Drawing on years of work on international migration and refugee issues, Groody has authored numerous books and articles, translated into seven languages, which include Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice: Navigating the Path to Peace (Orbis, 2007) and Border of Death, Valley of Life: An Immigrant Journey of Heart and Spirit (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002).
He is also the executive producer of several internationally acclaimed films and documentaries, including One Border, One Body: Immigration and the Eucharist, and Dying to Live: A Migrant's Journey. He teaches the courses “The Heart’s Desire and Social Change,” “Theology of Migration,” and “Christian Faith and Global Justice,” and he lectures widely around the world.
Groody has worked with the US Congress, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and the United Nations on issues of theology, globalization, migration, and refugees. In 2007–08 he was a visiting research fellow at Oxford University's Refugee Studies Centre.
He holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, an M.Div. and a licentiate in sacred theology from the Jesuit School of Theology, and a Ph.D. in theology from the Graduate Theological Union.
Jehu Hanciles, Emory University
Dr. Jehu J. Hanciles has lived and worked in Sierra Leone, Scotland, Zimbabwe, and the United States and been a visiting professor at schools around the world. Before coming to Candler in 2012, Hanciles was associate professor of the history of Christianity and globalization, and director of the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary.
Hanciles’ current research surveys the history of global Christian expansion through the lens of migration. He has written and published on issues related to the history of Christianity (notably the African experience) and globalization, including two books, Euthanasia of a Mission: African Church Autonomy in a Colonial Context (Praeger, 2002) and Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration and the Transformation of the West (Orbis Books, 2009), and countless articles. His article "The Future of Missiology as a Discipline" was one of the top ten most read articles in Missiology in 2015. He serves as associate editor of Missiology, one of the premier scholarly journals of mission studies, and on the editorial advisory committee for Baylor University Press’s Studies in World Christianity.
George Kalantzis, Wheaton College
I was born and raised by the shadow of the Acropolis, a stone's throw away from the bank of the Ilisus river where Socrates took the young Phaedrus for that famous walk; and though the sounds and smells of the megalopolis have for generations replaced the bucolic descriptions of Plato, the ancient sentiments remain the same: writing and, even more, reading, is a tricky business; especially as one engages sacred Scripture and the history and theology of the Church. This endeavor, most rewarding of all, demands attention, perseverance, and a curious and open mind, to really engage the multifaceted vision of the Painter, the author of the beauty that confronts us.
My research and writing interests focus on this dynamic relationship between the written documents and their interpretation in early Christianity. I pay particular attention to the development of Christological and Trinitarian thought, as well as the interplay of classical Greco-Roman and early Christian philosophical understandings, biblical hermeneutics, and ethics. Whether I study history or theology, first I seek to study the subject within its own historical, theological, and socio-political context so that I may understand it on its own terms; only then do I attempt to interpret it diachronically and explore its impact on theology and the life of the church today.
For over two decades I have had the opportunity to teach undergraduate and graduate students as they prepare to engage the world and the Church. Together, we are challenged to allow ourselves to become agents of change in a world in desperate need of God; to learn how to be, in Stanley Hauerwas' words, “a community of character.” My wife, Irene, and I share this goal and vision with our local congregation where we serve in missions, the worship arts programs, and in adult and children’s education.
Nelson Morales, Seminario Teolóico Centroamericano
Nelson Morales Fredes was born in Chile in 1968. He studied in Chile (Lic. Chemical Engineering), Guatemala (Lic, M.Th. Bible) and the United States (Ph.D. New Testament). Since 1996 he is professor of biblical languages and New Testament. He is also director of postgraduate studies at the Central American Theological Seminary, Guatemala.
Morales, who moved from his native Chile to Guatemala City in 1993, also works as the director of SETECA’s doctoral and master’s programs and preaches regularly at his church. After nearly 25 years in Guatemala, Morales has witnessed the collaborative nature of the evangelical church—inspiring him in training pastors and church leaders.
Peter Phan, Georgetown University
Peter C. Phan, a native of Vietnam, emigrated as a refugee to the U.S.A. in 1975. He obtained three doctorates, the Doctor of Sacred Theology from the Universitas Pontificia Salesiana, Rome, and the Doctor of Philosophy and the Doctor of Divinity from the University of London. He was also awarded the honorary Doctor of Theology from Chicago Theological Union and the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the College of Our Lady of the Elms. He began his teaching career in philosophy at the age of eighteen at Don Bosco College, Hong Kong. In the United States, he has taught at the University of Dallas, Texas; at the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, where he held the Warren-Blanding Chair of Religion and Culture; at Union Theological Seminary, N.Y.; at Elms College, Chicopee, MA; and at St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI. and at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, where he is currently holding the Ignacio Ellacuría Chair of Catholic Social Thought. He is the first non-Anglo to be elected President of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In 2010 he was given the John Courtney Murray Award, the highest honor of the Catholic Theological Society of America, in recognition for outstanding and distinguished achievement in theology.
His publications range far and wide in theology. They deal with the theology of icon in Orthodox theology, patristic theology, eschatology, the history of mission in, and liberation, inculturation, and interreligious dialogue. In addition, he has edited some 20 volumes. His many writings have been translated into 10 languages. He is general editor of a multi-volume series and his writings have received many awards from learned societies.
Leopoldo A. Sánchez M., Concordia Seminary
Dr. Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. is the Werner R. H. and Elizabeth R. Krause Professor of Hispanic Ministries at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. A faculty member since 2004, he is professor of Systematic Theology and director of the Seminary’s Center for Hispanic Studies. He received his Doctor of Philosophy from Concordia Seminary (2003) and his Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. (1999). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon (1995).
Sánchez’s published work includes multiple books, and he has written numerous articles for books and journals, including essays on immigration for Secular Governance: Lutheran Perspectives on Contemporary Legal Issues (Wm. B. Eerdmans), on pneumatology for Third Article Theology: A Pneumatological Dogmatics (Fortress) and on Lutheran identity for Nuestras 95 tesis: A quinientos años de la Reforma (Abingdon/AETH). His primary research interests are in pneumatology (Holy Spirit), Spirit Christology, sanctification, issues in Hispanic ministries (especially immigration and the intersection of theology and culture) and Trinitarian theology. Sánchez teaches regularly in the United States and abroad. He has delivered courses and workshops in eight countries. In addition to his Seminary work, Sánchez served as the main drafter for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) Commission on Theology and Church Relations report Immigrants among Us: A Lutheran Framework for Addressing Immigration Issues (2012). He served as president of the LCMS’ Fifth National Hispanic Convention (2012-15) and chairman of Lutherans in Medical Missions (2012-16), an LCMS Recognized Service Organization. He also has served organizations such as the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, Lutheran Hour Ministries, and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service as a theological consultant for various projects.
Sam George., Global Diaspora Institute, Wheaton College
Sam George was born in the Andaman Islands (India) to Christian parents with the heritage of the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala and had a life-changing personal encounter with Jesus at the age of 15. Sam holds degrees in mechanical engineering, business management, theology, and missiology, and worked for a decade in Asia and the US. He studied at Fuller and Princeton Seminaries, and God used Sam to pioneer two family organizations, Urban India Mission and Parivar International. He did a PhD in Theology researching family, church, and diaspora at Liverpool Hope University (UK). He now teaches global migration, diaspora missions, and world Christianity and has authored many articles, book chapters, and books. He is now the director of the Global Diaspora Institute in the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. He lives with his wife, Dr Mary M George, and their two boys in the northern suburbs of Chicago, USA.
Joshua W. Jipp, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Joshua Jipp is Associate Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He completed a BA at the University of Northwestern, an M.Div. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a Th.M. at Duke Divinity School, and a PhD at Emory University. While primarily interested in exploring the relationship between early Christianity and Greco-Roman religion, the research for his dissertation led him to focus upon the religious, ethical, and cultural practices of hospitality to strangers in antiquity. The academic study was published as Divine Visitations and Hospitality to Strangers in Luke-Acts (Brill, 2013). Jipp later returned to the study of hospitality in the Christian Bible and produced a more accessible study – Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Eerdmans, 2017). Here Jipp argues that our salvation is frequently conceptualized as an act of hospitality on the part of God. Given that the church’s identity and salvation is rooted in God’s saving hospitality, the church has a mandate to be a community always looking for ways to extend God’s welcome to others.