GRAPEVINE, Texas, July 24, 2018—The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention will host its fifth annual 2018 National Conference on “The Cross-Shaped Family,” Oct. 11-13 at The Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.
The conference is designed to equip attendees to discover how family life should point to the gospel of Christ. Whether single, married or in the trenches of parenthood, attendees will be challenged by speakers to see how the gospel is the central focus of the family.
Conference speakers will offer content through plenaries, short talks, panel discussions and breakout sessions on a variety of topics related to family life, including:
- God on Sex: The Creator’s Ideas about Love, Intimacy and Marriage
- The Church as the Family of God: Singleness, Same-Sex Attraction and the Hope of Hospitality
- You Are (Not) Your Family
- Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel
- Christ-Centered Parenting: How to Have Gospel Conversations with Your Kids on Complex Cultural Issues
- The Danger of a Kid-Centered Family
- Build a Better Us: Equipping Churches to Strengthen Marriages
- Marriage, Parenting and Discipleship
- Bruised Reeds in a Broken World: Getting Gender Right in a Gender-Confused Age
Speakers include:
- Russell Moore, President, ERLC
- Danny Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
- Beth Moore, Author, Bible Teacher, Founder of Living Proof Ministries
- Sam Allberry, Pastor, St. Mary's Church, Maidenhead, UK; Author of “Is God Anti-Gay”
- Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church; President, Acts 29 Network
- Jamie Ivey, Author, Speaker, Podcaster of The Happy Hour
- Todd Wagner, Senior Pastor, Watermark Church
- Jen Wilkin, Author and Speaker
- Ray Ortlund, Lead Pastor, Immanuel Nashville
Commenting on the 2018 National Conference, Moore said:
“Understanding the family starts first not at the dinner table or in a honeymoon suite, but at the cross. We can be free to be family when we see how God designed families but also how these families point beyond our individual stories to the ultimate story of our lives—the gospel.
“There are few issues that reach right to the core of our lives like the issue of family, and that’s why I’m very much looking forward to this year’s National Conference. My hope is that this event will equip the Christians and churches to better understand how the cross informs what it means for us to be a family, and how our lives in our families are meant to drive us back to the cross.”
Previous topics addressed at ERLC National Conferences include parenting, cultural engagement, politics, homosexuality and marriage.
Registration is now open and more conference details and speaker information can be found online.
Follow the conversation on Twitter by following @ERLC, @dmoore and #ERLC2018.
