Faculty-Focused Events and Opportunities
Christian Scholars’ Conference Panels
Saunders Center Director, Dr. Claire Frederick is convening three conference panels at the Christian Scholars Conference June 4-6, 2025 at Abilene Christian University. She is also introducing our plenary speaker for Wednesday night’s Landon Saunders Lecture on the Human Being, Dr. John Barton of Pepperdine University.
Conference Sessions
The Legacy of Landon Saunders: Christ Shaped Ministry for a Post-Christian World
Panelists:
Ronnie McBrayer
Senior Pastor
A Simple Faith Church
Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Candace Nicolds
Senior Minister
Brookline Church of Christ
Brookline, MA
Seth Bouchelle
Director of Equipping
Exponent Group
NYC
Jared Mayes
Preaching Minister
Southside Church
Rogers, AR
Major Book Review - Raymond Carr's "Theology in the Mode of Monk: An Aesthetics of Barth and Cone on Revelation and Freedom"
reviewers:
Angela D. Sims
President
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
Rochester, NY
Tanya Smith Brice
Provost and VP of Academic Affairs
St. Martin’s University
Lacey, WA
Stanley Talbert
Assistant Professor of Religion
Seaver College at Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA
Respondent – Raymond Carr
Research Associate, Moses Mesoamerican Archive, Harvard University
Director, Codex H. Long Papers Project
President, Society for the Study of Black Religion
Major Book Review - Richard Beck's "The Shape of Joy: The Transformative Power of Moving Beyond Yourself
Reviewers:
Amy Nichols Boone
Teaching and Learning Specialist
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX
Rachael Milligan
Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX
Steven Moore
Professor of Language and Literature
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX
Cliff Barbarick
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Bible, Missions, and Ministry
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX
Marsha Vaughn
Professor of Couple and Family Therapy
Adler University
Chicago, IL
Reviewer – Richard Beck
Professor of Psychology and Senior Fellow
Saunders Center for Joy and Human Flourishing
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX
Makarios Conference
The Makarios Conference, held bi-annually in Rome, Italy, promotes research and discussion on the relationship between Christianity and human flourishing in historical and contemporary perspectives, and across the humanities and social sciences. The Saunders Center promoted the conference widely and provided generous travel grants to the eight ACU faculty members whose papers were accepted. Those ACU professors will present their research on this year’s theme “Love of Neighbor and Human Flourishing” in Rome from May 31-June 2, 2025.
Faculty presenting at this year’s conference includes:
- Lisa Merchant – Family Studies
- Ryan Richardson – Behavioral Science
- Todd Womble – Language and Literature
- Ben Peterson – Government and Criminal Justice
- Chris Riley – Government and Criminal Justice
- Kelly Barneche – Social Work
- Katelin East – Social Work
- Jon Camp – Communication and Sociology
Landon Saunders Lecture Series
Miroslav Volf
Scholar, author, and Yale theology professor, Miroslav Volf will speak at the Landon Saunders Lecture Series in October 2025. Professor Volf is the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture, and will speak to a campus-wide audience, to faculty cohorts, and other classes throughout his stay in Abilene.
