Compelling and Credible Witness: The Church and Sexual Identity
Sexual identity remains one of the most talked about and divisive issues in the broader culture and in the church. Far too often, relationships are broken, families wounded, faith questioned, and hearts turned away from the gospel by the way we have engaged this issue in our pulpits and in the public square. How can we better address sexual identity in a biblically responsible, pastorally compassionate, and missionally meaningful way? That question will frame and guide our time together.
The conference will include two keynote addresses and Q&A with Dr. Sprinkle; guided table discussions over lunch; a panel with Dr. Greg Johnson, author and pastor of Memorial Park church in Saint Louis, and Mrs. Rachel Gilson, author and Theological Development leader at Cru.
Plenary sessions and Q&A with Dr. Sprinkle are only available in-person. Panel discussion will be available via Zoom.
In-person registration has reached capacity. Please register for the free virtual event here.
Virtual: 10:15am-11:30am | Register
Location
- Denver Seminary
6399 South Santa Fe Dr., Littleton, CO 80120
Harold and Virginia Simpson Leadership Center
Date and Times
- January 28, 2022
8:30 am – 1:45 pm | Doors open at 8:00 am
Cost
- In-person event
- General admission – $35
- Denver Seminary Alumni – $20
- Currently enrolled students – Free
- Virtual event
- Free
For more information, contact Jason Woodman, TGI Program Coordinator, at GospelInitiative@denverseminary.edu.
- 8:00 am | Doors open
- 8:30am | Opening Remarks by Denver Seminary President Dr. Mark Young
- 8:50am | Keynote Address #1 by Dr. Preston Sprinkle (President, Center for Faith, Sexuality, & Gender)
- 9:40am | Q&A with Dr. Sprinkle
- 10:00am | BREAK
- 10:15am | Welcome virtual guests; panel discussion with:
- Rachel Gilson (author and theological development specialist with Cru)
- Dr. Greg Johnson (Memorial Park Church, St. Louis)
- Dr. Preston Sprinkle
- 11:15am | Q&A with panelists
- 11:45am | LUNCH
- 12:45pm | Keynote Address #2 by Dr. Preston Sprinkle
- 1:05pm | Q&A with Dr. Preston Sprinkle #2
- 1:30pm | Closing Remarks by Dr. Mark Young
- 1:45pm | Dismissal
Parking
- Free parking is available for conference guests in Lot B. No parking pass is required.
Map of Parking.
COVID protocols
- Denver seminary follows the guidance of our local jurisdiction. At the time of writing, masks are required for all indoor guests, and we will prepare for the event as though this will not change. A limited number of paper masks may be available onsite; we recommend bringing one from home. We ask for good judgement and social distancing while consuming food indoors.
Refreshments
- Lunch will be provided. We intend to order all meals gluten and dairy free. Food from home is also allowed into the Chapel.
Contact: Jason Woodman, TGI Program Coordinator, is available before, during, and after the event to answer questions. You can reach him at GospelInitative@denverseminary.edu.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Preston Sprinkle
Preston Sprinkle (PhD) is an international speaker and a New York Times bestselling author, who’s written a dozen books including Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church & What the Bible has to say, and People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality Is not just an Issue. Preston currently serves as the president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, an organization that equips Christians to engage questions about faith, sexually and gender with theological faithfulness and courageous love. Preston also hosts the popular podcast “Theology in the Raw” and posts regularly on his YouTube channel “Preston Sprinkle.”
Panelists
Rachel Gilson
Rachel Gilson (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) serves on the leadership team of Theological Development and Culture with Cru, and is the author of Born Again This Way: Coming Out, Coming to Faith, and What Comes Next (The Good Book Company, 2020). She is pursuing a PhD in public theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Greg Johnson
Greg Johnson is lead pastor of historic Memorial Presbyterian Church (PCA) in St. Louis, where he has served on the pastoral staff since 2003. He holds a PhD in historical theology with a concentration in American religion from Saint Louis University and an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary. His doctoral research focused on the historical and theological development of the quiet time in Anglo-American Protestant devotionalism between 1870 and 1950.
He is the author of The World according to God: A Biblical View of Culture, Work, Science, Sex and Everything Else (InterVarsity, 2002) and Still Time to Care: What We Can Learn from the Church’s Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality (Zondervan, 2021). Greg is a contributor to Christianity Today, where he has shared his testimony as a gay atheist teenager who fell in love with Jesus while studying architecture at the University of Virginia.
Contact: Jason Woodman, TGI Program Coordinator, is available before, during, and after the event to answer questions. You can reach him at GospelInitative@denverseminary.edu.