BWi

November 8-9, 2018

click here to register for BWI 2018

We are very excited about Prestonwood Christian Academy’s 2018 Biblical Worldview Institute and are glad you are planning to join us. This year’s theme is “IMAGE- BEARER.” We look forward to the worldview training and pray it will be a blessing to you.

Download the BWi 2018 flyer

Thursday morning, November 8

8:30-11:30 a.m. – Prestonwood Baptist Church Worship Center - Doors open at 8:00 a.m.

What’s Happening to Gender and Sexuality

Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D., is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow in American Principles and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Author of the new book:When Harry Became Sally

Panel Discussion I- Believing the Gospel for Healing and Change

Panel Members

Ryan Anderson, Ph.D.

Ricky Chelette serves as Executive Director of Living Hope Ministries www.livehope.org and Minister of Pastoral Ministries at First Baptist Church, Arlington, TX. As an ordained pastor, Ricky has over thirty years of ministry experience with most of those years in youth/student/young adult work. He is a gifted speaker, teacher and lecturer and is committed to equipping the church in understanding sexual and relational brokenness.

Walt Heyer is a former transgender with a passion to help others who regret gender change. Walt travels extensively to share his story of redemption at conferences, churches and universities. Walt has appeared on numerous radio and television shows in the U.S. and Canada. Walt’s articles have been published online and his many books are a welcome resource in understanding the issue.

Hope Harris lived most of her adult life as an out and proud lesbian. In 2009 she surrendered her life to Jesus Christ and began a journey of resolving the issues of sexual identity and gender with the Word of God. She is currently finishing up her first book sharing that journey.

Panel Discussion II-When Faith and Freedom Collide

Panel Members

Ryan Anderson, Ph.D.

Jeremy Tedesco, Esq., serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. Advocacy and Administration for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he helps oversee the implementation of strategic initiatives and advocacy campaigns. Since joining ADF in 2004, Tedesco has litigated cases protecting religious liberty, free speech, and the sanctity of human life.

Chelsey Youman, Esq., is Counsel for First Liberty Institute, concentrating on religious liberty matters and First Amendment rights. Youman received her Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University, where she was a Dean’s Scholarship Recipient.

Panel Discussions will be moderated by Matthew Hall, Ph.d.

Matthew J. Hall, Ph.D. was appointed as dean of Boyce College in 2016 and also serves as senior vice president of academic strategy at Southern Seminary. Dr. Hall serves as assistant professor of church history. His academic and research interests focus on the intersection of theology and culture in American religion.

Thursday afternoon, November 8

Lunch available in Main Street Cafe
Visit Christian College booths
11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Prestonwood Baptist Church

New this year: Afternoon Breakout sessions in various room on the Prestonwood Baptist Church Campus

Students may pick one topic to attend each session.

Session 1 (1:30-2:20)

Finding True Freedom: A Transgender's Story led by Walt Heyer

Loving the LGBTQ+ with Grace and Truth led by Ricky Chelette and Hope Harris

Pornography: It's Real, Let's Get Real led by Joe Dallas and Noel Bouche BOYS ONLY

Pornography: It's Real, Let's Get Real led by Aszia Pearson GIRLS ONLY

Gender/Sexuality and Liberty Issues led by Jeremy Tedesco, Esq, and Chelsey Youman, Esq. With special guests; Jack Phillips, Kelvin Cochran and Carl and Angel Larsen (See bio below)

College, Is It a Safe Space? led by Matthew Hall, Ph.D.

Session 2 (2:30-3:20)

Finding True Freedom: A Transgender's Story led by Walt Heyer

Loving the LGBTQ+ with Grace and Truth led by Ricky Chelette and Hope Harris

Pornography: It's Real, Let's Get Real led by Joe Dallas and Noel Bouche BOYS ONLY

Pornography: It's Real, Let's Get Real led by Aszia Pearson GIRLS ONLY

Gender/Sexuality and Liberty Issues led by Jeremy Tedesco, Esq, and Chelsey Youman, Esq. With special guests; Jack Phillips, Kelvin Cochran and Carl and Angel Larsen (See bio below)

College, Is It a Safe Space? led by Matthew Hall, Ph.D.

Friday morning, November 9

8:30-11:30 a.m. – Prestonwood Baptist Church Worship Center - Doors open at 8:00 a.m.

Does the constituttion constrain liberty?

Jeremy Tedesco, Esq., serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. Advocacy and Administration for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he helps oversee the implementation of strategic initiatives and advocacy campaigns. Since joining ADF in 2004, Tedesco has litigated cases protecting religious liberty, free speech, and the sanctity of human life.

With special guests:

Jack Phillips, a Colorado native and cake artist, opened Masterpiece Cakeshop in 1993 and has served the community of Lakewood, Colorado for more than 20 years. In July 2012, two men came into Jack’s cakeshop requesting a custom wedding cake celebrating their same-sex marriage. In a very brief exchange, Jack politely declined the request, saying that he could not design cakes for same-sex weddings, but offering to design them custom cakes for other occasions or to sell them anything else in his shop. The couple filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission for sexual orientation discrimination against Jack Phillips The commission ordered Jack and his staff to either violate Jack's faith by designing custom wedding cakes that celebrate same-sex marriages or stop designing all wedding cakes, which was approximately 40% of Jack's business. In addition, Jack was ordered to "reeducate" his staff by teaching them that he was wrong to operate his business consistently with his faith. The state also required Jack to file quarterly “compliance” reports telling the government every time that he declines a custom cake request and explaining the reasons why. In July 2016, ADF attorneys and allied attorneys petitioned the United States Supreme Court to take up Jack’s case. After the Supreme Court granted review, it ruled 7 to 2 in favor of Jack on June 4, 2018. The ruling reversed the state’s decision to punish Jack for living and working consistently with his religious beliefs about marriage.

Kelvin Cochran built a record of service and expertise that made him one of the most respected Fire Chiefs in the country. He was the first African-American Fire Chief in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was among the responders to Hurricane Katrina. President Obama appointed him as the U.S. Fire Administrator, whose job is to improve both fire prevention and response across the country. And until a few years ago, he was the Chief of the Atlanta Fire Department, a job he would probably still hold if city officials had any respect for Cochran’s rights to freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Cochran got into trouble over a book he wrote on his own time for a small group that he led in his church. The book entitled “Who Told You That You Were Naked?,” was directed at Christian men seeking to fulfill their biblical roles as “husbands, fathers, community and business leaders.” When the contents of Cochran’s book came to the attention of Mayor Kasim Reed, Reed ultimately fired Cochran, but not before saying “when you’re a city employee, and [your] thoughts, beliefs, and opinions are different from the city’s, you have to check them at the door.”

Carl and Angel Larsen are owners of Telescope Media Group (“TMG”), a video and film production company that exists to tell great stories that honor God. The Larsens know the power of film — of great story-telling — to change hearts and minds. They want to use their wedding cinematography to reanimate the hearts and minds of people about the goodness of marriage between a man and a woman. But the Larsens’ desire to enter the wedding cinematography field has hit a huge obstacle — a speech coercing state law. According to Minnesota officials, the State’s Human Rights Act mandates that if the Larsens make films celebrating marriage between one man and one woman, then they must make films celebrating same-sex marriages as well. State officials have repeatedly threatened to prosecute expressive business owners who decline to create speech promoting same-sex marriages. And there are steep penalties for violating the law, including payment of a civil penalty to the state, triple compensatory damages, punitive damages up to $25,000, and even up to 90 days in jail. They have filed a lawsuit before entering the wedding field, seeking a court order that says Minnesota cannot threaten them with severe penalties and jail time if they exercise their First Amendment right to decline to promote a message with which they disagree. Until they get a favorable ruling, the Larsens are refraining from making wedding films and muzzling their speech about God’s design for marriage to avoid the severe penalties for violating Minnesota’s law.

Finding True Freedom

Walt Heyer is a former transgender with a passion to help others who regret gender change. Walt travels extensively to share his story of redemption at conferences, churches and universities. Walt has appeared on numerous radio and television shows in the U.S. and Canada. Walt’s articles have been published online and his many books are a welcome resource in understanding the issue

Panel Discussion: Justice, Dignity and the Problem of Pornography.

Joe Dallas is an author, conference speaker, and ordained pastoral counselor. He directs a Biblical counseling ministry for those dealing with sexual and relational problems, and with their families as well. He received his Master’s Degree in Christian Counseling from Vision University, San Diego, CA and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is also the author of the daily blog Joe Dallas Online.

Noel Bouche is a Vision Advocate for pureHOPE, Noel is a “voice for the vision” of a world free of sexual exploitation and brokenness. As a writer and speaker, he communicates pureHOPE’s life-giving message to audiences across the country, and works with the pureHOPE team to form strategic and collaborative partnerships globally to advance the life-changing reality that everyone who hopes in Jesus purifies him or herself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:3).

Aszia Pearson is the Discipleship Director at pureHOPE. Aszia trains leaders to be effective advocates for the exploited by helping them experience God’s love, engage with truth, and live boldly out of the overflow of their hope and freedom in Jesus.

This Culture, You, and the Gospel

Ben Schettler is the Founder and President of Ask or Think Ministries, a non-profit focused on aiding the church with Biblical advice and teaching on cultural engagement and gospel advancement.

For more information contact

Mary Carl Finkelstein

972-820-5070

mcfinkelstein@prestonwoodchristian.org

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If you are traveling from out of town we have arranged for special conference rates at:

Holiday Inn Express

3101 Dallas Parkway

Plano, TX 75093

972-403-7330

Click Here for Holiday Inn Reservations

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Plano

The Colony 5909 Stone Creek Drive

The Colony, TX 75056

972-370-7732

Click Here For Fairfield Inn & Suites Reservations

Click Here For Hyatt Place Reservations