The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) kicked off its fourth annual national conference Aug. 24, this time on the topic it receives more inquiries about than any other – parenting.
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ERLC photo by Kelly HunterA sellout crowd of about 1,250 people gathered Aug. 24 for “Parenting: Christ-centered Parenting in a Complex World” at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville.
“It takes more than a village to raise children; it takes the church of Jesus Christ,” ERLC President Russell Moore said in a written statement. “There is nothing that we as an organization get asked about more frequently than issues related to parenting.
“That’s why I am thrilled about this year’s National Conference and our talented lineup of speakers,” he said. “My goal is that this event would equip families to be cross-shaped, kingdom-oriented and empower parents to raise their children in the gospel within the context of the local church.”
The conference comes at a time in American culture when parents are facing new challenges in child-rearing – including how to respond to the growing acceptance of transgenderism and the pervasiveness of technology. In addition to addressing these issues, speakers will seek to help Christian parents apply the gospel in rearing counter-cultural children by dealing with such topics as sexuality, pornography, media, sports, school, adoption and foster care.
In addition to Moore, the speakers include:
– Sen. Ben Sasse, author of the new book The Vanishing American Adult.
– Sally Lloyd-Jones, author of The Jesus Storybook Bible.
– Crawford Loritts, senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Ga.
– Andrew Peterson, musician and author.
– Jen Wilkin, Bible teacher and author.
– Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family.
– J.D. Greear, senior pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
– Nancy Guthrie, Bible teacher and author.
The conference’s speakers are to cover topics in plenary addresses, short talks, panel discussions and breakout sessions.
The first ERLC National Conference, which was held in 2014, focused on applying the gospel to homosexuality and marriage, while the 2015 conference addressed the gospel and politics. Last year’s event addressed cultural engagement and gospel faithfulness.
The sessions on the main stage will be live streamed at live.erlc.com.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Tom Strode is Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention’s news service.)