IACE Fourth Annual Conference

IACE 4th Annual Conference

RILEY CONFERENCE CENTER | FORT WORTH, TEXAS | FEBRUARY 8-10, 2023

SCROLL DOWn for Conference photo gallery

News Release

TUESDAY, FEB 7

Wednesday, Feb 8

2:00 pm - Pre-conference session, Afternoon and Evening

Christian Faithfulness and Cultural Engagement

Conversations led by Nathan Finn, Mark Tooley, Daniel Darling, Bart Barber, and others

1:30 pm - Conference Check-in Begins

2:30 pm - IACE Board Meeting (Riley 250)

Ralph Enlow, presiding

Ken Kemper, devotional

3:30 pm - Pre-conference workshop

“Achieving Strategic Enrollment Health” – Tim Fuller, Fuller Higher Ed Solutions (Riley)

5:15 pm - Dinner (The Lane)

Prayer- Ralph Enlow

6:30 pm - Worship Service (Riley 150)

Welcome - David S. Dockery

Confessing Our Faith: Carl Zylstra, IACE Board Vice Chair

Worship Leaders, Joe and Amy Crider, Southwestern Seminary

Address: “The Lordship of Christ and Christian Education,”

Juan Sanchez, pastor, High Point Church, Austin, Texas

7:45 pm - Adjourn/Shuttle to the Hyatt

THursday, Feb 9

7:15 am - Breakfast on your own (The Lane)

8:30 am - Plenary Session Two (Riley 150)

Devotional: Felix Theonugraha, president, Western Theological Seminary

Address: "Faith, Work, Education, and Vocatio"

Tom Nelson, president, Made to Flourish

9:40 am - Break

10:00 am - Plenary Session Three (MacGorman Chapel)

Address: "The Future of Christian Higher Education"

R. Albert Mohler, president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

11:30 am - Lunch (The Lane)

Prayer: Ashley Hill (IACBU)

IACE Update: David S. Dockery

1:15 pm - Plenary Session Three (Riley 150)

Address: "Biblical Authority and Faithful Christian Higher Education"

John D. Woodbridge, prolific author and Research Professor of Church History, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

2:15 pm - Break

2:45 pm - Plenary Session Four (Riley 150)

Address: "Christian Educators: Responding to Anti-Christian Prejudice"

George Yancey, research professor of sociology, Baylor University

4:00 pm - Presentation: "Thinking Strategically about the Future of Christian Higher Education"

TG Three (Nicholas Willis, Robert Westervelt, and Ryan Dougherty)

5:15 pm - Dinner (The Lane)

Prayer: Carla Sanderson, IACE Senior Fellow

6:15 pm - Plenary Session Five (Riley 150)

Address: "Religious Liberty and Christian Education"

Mark Tooley, president, Institute on Religion and Democracy

7:15 pm - Dessert Reception

Panel Discussion: "Religious Liberty and Christian Education"

Participants: Mark Tooley, David Trimble, (vice president, Religious Freedom Institute), Shannon Royce (president, Christian Employers Alliance), and Greg Baylor

8:15 pm - Adjourn/Shuttle to the Hyatt

Friday, Feb 10

7:15 am - Breakfast on your own (The Lane)

8:15 am - Plenary Session Six (Riley 150)

Devotional: Andy Pettigrew, International Mission Board

Address: "Legal Challenges Facing Christian Education"

Greg Baylor, legal counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom

9:25 am - Presentation: "Guidance for Crisis Communication"

Anna Hutsell, communication strategist, Guardian

10:30 am - Break

10:50 am - Address: "Courage for the Living of These Days"

Kelvin Cochran, senior vice president, Human Resources and Faith Initiatives, Alliance Defending Freedom

11:50 am - Closing Words and Benediction - Phil Alsup, Impact 360

12:00 pm - Adjourn/Shuttle to DFW Airport

Conference photo gallery

Worship Service

Joe Crider, dean of the school of church music and worship at Southwestern, led the opening worship service.

Juan Sanchez

Juan Sanchez is pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. He preached the opening sermon at the 2023 IACE Annual Conference.

Felix Theonugraha

Felix Theonugraha, seen here with IACE president David S. Dockery, led a devotional time on Thursday morning (February 9). Theonugraha is president of Western Theological Seminary.

Tom Nelson

Tom Nelson, lead senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Kansas City, Missouri and president of the Made to Flourish ministry, described a moment when he stood before his congregation and confessed pastoral malpractice.

R. Albert Mohler. Jr.

The president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary spoke on the future of Christian Higher Education for the conference, a session that was shared with students in Southwestern’s chapel service in MacGorman Chapel.

John D. Woodbridge

John D. Woodbridge, research professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, addressed the importance of biblical authority within Christian higher education.

Mohler, Woodbridge, Dockery

The conference brought together three friends and colleagues in R. Albert Mohler, John D. Woodbridge (seated) and IACE president David S. Dockery.

George Yancey

George Yancey, a research professor of sociology at Baylor University, spoke about academic bias against Christianity.

TG Three

Members of the TG Three group encouraged schools to cut things they don’t do exceptionally well and focus on strengths.

Record Attendance

Nearly 200 attendees registered for the 2023 conference. Most attended in person, with several others joining through online streaming.

Mark Tooley

Tooley traced recent public policy changes and observed that there is strong sentiment to secularize all discussions and silence biblically based arguments.

Panel: Religious Liberty and Christian Education

Tooley then joined a panel with Board of Reference member Shannon Royce, president of Christian Employers Alliance, David Trimble from the Center for Religious Freedom Education, and Greg Baylor from the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Greg Baylor

Greg Baylor, from the Alliance Defending Freedom, updated attendees on pending legislation and recent political actions.

Sponsors and Exhibitors

President Dockery thanked 24 sponsors who led the way in making the conference affordable for attendees.

Anna Hutsell

Anna Hutsell is a crisis communication strategist with Guardian.

Kelvin Cochran

Kelvin Cochran is a senior vice president for the Alliance Defending Freedom, the firm that helped him win a lawsuit over the city of Atlanta. Cochran served as that city’s fire chief until he was terminated for writing a book for a Christian men’s Bible study.

Wang Yong Lee and Chris Kim

A hearty welcome and helpful directions were available at the registration tables throughout the run of the three-day conference.

Renewed Connections

IACE brings together educators, administrators, and students from around the world. Membership now includes 73 educational institutions and 26 like-minded organizations.