Category: Announcements

Thanks to our hard-working workshop coordinator Laura Willenburg, we have an exciting line-up of workshops for the October 2024 conference! Here are their titles and descriptions:

• Appreciating the One True God Through Science and Creation – Tony Taylor
  • Have you ever wanted to know more about how to connect science and the beauty of God’s creation? If so, you won’t want to miss this presentation! In this workshop, you will: learn about the wonders of the created universe, witness visually stunning experiments and demos, examine the benefits of scientific curiosity and thinking critically, and learn how science is useful for testing and authenticating major aspects of biblical history. Whether you are a kid, teenager, or an adult, there will be something to learn and appreciate for all ages!
• Becoming Trauma-Informed – Laura Willenburg
  • Most everyone will experience trauma at some point in their life and will find themselves in situations where they need resources to help them understand trauma and/or get help for themselves or their loved ones. In this workshop, Laura Willenburg provides a framework for understanding trauma and how it affects people, and provides resources for finding hope, help, and healing for those experiencing the effects of current or past trauma. This workshop is designed for people from all walks of life, but will be especially helpful to pastors, lay ministers, people in helping professions, trauma survivors and their loved ones.
• Church Planting – Will Barlow and Sean Finnegan
  • In this workshop, Will Barlow and Sean Finnegan talk about their experience planting the newly established Compass Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky with the help of the seasoned organization Living Hope International Ministries. Together, they share how they turned a vision of a healthy thriving unitarian church into a reality. Topics covered include: pastoral and core leadership selection, finances, vision and mission, location, policies and procedures, and church culture. If you have an interest in being part of a unitarian church plant, you won’t want to miss this one.
• Community Building – John Truitt and Timypaul Lupe
  • John Truitt and Timypaul Lupe share practical ways churches and other Christian groups can grow through various community-building activities. They will share real-life experiences of connecting with those around them through both spiritual and recreational activities that help produce vibrant healthy groups and mature disciples of Jesus.
• Evangelism – Nate Swanson
  • Many Unitarians are looking for practical ways to share their beliefs about the One True God and his son. In this workshop, Nate Swanson shares wisdom from his experience with evangelism. His practical advice will help believers share their beliefs in a way that is winsome to others without compromising the truth. Come ready to be inspired and energized to share your faith!
• Hearing God’s Voice – Michele Norton
  • From the beginning, God desired a family that he can commune with. At some point, you became a part of his family and heard his call on your life. Now is the time to sharpen your “ears” to hear the Creator speak to you in ways that you may not experience currently. It is within the family of God that his voice is most heard. In this workshop, we will explore the tangible and intangible aspects of being sensitive to him. Whether you are a novice or a seasoned believer, all are welcome.

As I write this there are fewer that 20 places left. If you’re quick enough you can register now here.

We’ve got a great line-up of presentations:

• Will Barlow, “The Throne Room Problem: Responding to Trinitarian Claims about John 12:41”
• Kegan Chandler, “Cult-Rhetoric and Unitarian Christology: The Evangelical Creation of a Christological Other”
• Sean Finnegan, “Isaiah 9:6 Explained: A Theophoric Approach”
• Susanne Lakin, “Biblical Anthropomorphism: Evidence of a Unipersonal God”
• Bill Schlegel, “A Non-Genesis Creation Interpretation of John 1:3-4”
• Dustin Smith, “New Testament Portrayals of Wisdom Christology: Meaning, Function, and Purpose”
• Dale Tuggy, “Mainstream Christian Theologies in the year 240 and Early Trinitarian ‘Fool’s Gold’ “

These presentations will be filmed and posted on the UCA’s YouTube channel. By the way we’re currently posting the presentations from our amazing UK International Conference in Windsor, England from July.

If the practical workshops are more your thing (and these are not recorded) stay tuned: I’ll post again soon with our exciting workshop line-up.

The UCA is delighted to announce our first ever international conference in New Zealand. Thanks to the efforts of Zach Mayo and his New Zealand conference committee, this has been organized for November 22 – 24, 2024 at the Don Rowlands Centre in Cambridge, New Zealand.

You can register here. Thanks to the generosity of the local hosts, registration is free!

The program is still be developed, and there will be a call for presentations; watch this blog. So far the following have been confirmed as presenters:

• pastor Jeff Deuble, author of Christ Before Creeds: Rediscovering the Jesus of History
• Restitutio podcast host, UCA Board member, pastor, and author of Kingdom Journey: A Call to Recover the Central Theme of Scripture, Sean Finnegan
• UCA podcast host, puppeteer, and UCA Board member Mark Cain
• trinities podcast host, UCA Board member, and co-author of the forthcoming One God, Three Persons, Four Views, Dr. Dale Tuggy

To learn more about this conference and its organizer Zach Mayo check out this interview for the Restitutio podcast. He is what I call a “whistleblower,” an evangelical Christian who believes that doctrine should be based on Scripture even if it conflicts with later catholic traditions. Like so many, Zach and his wife carefully re-examined the Bible and found that there the one God is the Father only, and that Jesus is his unique human Son and Messiah. Now they have joined our worldwide reforming movement.

We’re hoping to meet unitarian Christians from all over New Zealand, Australia, the rest of Oceania, southeast Asia, and beyond. It will be a place to fellowship, learn, be encouraged, and make new connections with like-minded believers. You can register now here.

The Board of the Unitarian Christian Alliance is pleased to announce a general call for papers to be presented at the fourth annual UCA conference in Little Rock, Arkansas October 17-20, 2024.

• The submission deadline is the end of the day (U.S. Eastern Standard / New York time) of August 1, 2024.
• Please do not submit multiple papers.
• Submissions will be blind-reviewed by a committee of three.
• We are looking for scholarly (or at least: informed, insightful, and well-argued) papers which are also accessible to an educated lay audience on topics which can advance the cause of unitarian Christianity.
  • Topics may include but are not limited to: biblical theology, systematic theology, biblical studies, textual criticism, history of theology, history of unitarian Christianity, apologetics, Christian philosophy, analytic theology.
  • The committee will favor papers focusing on claims common to UCA members, rather than on “in house” disagreements.
• Authors may submit even if they are neither a member of the UCA nor a unitarian Christian.
• Paper submissions must conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (Notes and Bibliography style, with footnotes and bibliography).
• The main text should be no longer than 6,000 words, so that the presentation is no longer than 45 minutes.
  • Submitted papers longer than 6,000 (in the main text – so not including footnotes) will be automatically rejected. 
  • Authors should plan on about 10 minutes of audience Q&A after their talk. 
• Papers may be read, although authors are encouraged to present the material in an engaging way.
  • Conference presentations will be video-recorded and may be posted on the UCA YouTube channel, and our social media committee may also snip out interesting “sound bites” for short videos. By submitting a paper, you agree that your presentation may be filmed and used in these ways by the UCA.
• Still, a fully written paper must be submitted; an outline or proposal is not enough. 
• Authors of accepted papers must supply a PowerPoint or Keynote or Google Slides (etc.) presentation to accompany their talk by the end of Friday, September 1, 2024. (This should be emailed to the address below.)
• After removing any self-identifying features (e.g. your name, references to your other publications or other work), please email your submission to conference@unitarianchristianalliance.org.
  • Our conference coordinator will ensure that the papers are suitable for blind review and then pass them on to the committee.

The committee’s decisions will be emailed to authors by the end of Thursday, August 15, 2024.

The UCA Board is pleased to announce that our fourth annual conference will be at the Vines Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, October 17-20, 2024! Registration will open in the coming weeks!

The conference will be all inclusive (connect, eat, sleep, repeat!) so show up Thursday afternoon, October 17, 2024, and settle in for the teaching, networking, and fellowship, till checkout after breakfast Sunday morning, October 20.

The venue has great meeting spaces; look at the comfy seats in the auditorium and the breakout rooms for workshops!

Sleeping accommodations are onsite: choose at registration for single occupancy, double, or triple if you want to save some money and room with new or old friends!

Their food gets rave reviews: 3 square meals a day, plus cinnamon rolls for brunch, popcorn for mid afternoons, and 24 hour beverage service if you need some caffeine to keep focused. (Post-conference diet plan not included.)

There will be plenty of room to relax and fellowship. I can’t decide if I want dibs on the firepit by the lake or the comfy couches more.

Their grounds are beautiful, quiet, and should probably have some fall colors.

The trip from the Little Rock airport to the conference center is about 30 minutes; we’re looking into shuttle ideas – stay tuned . . .

Last year, attendees had the opportunity to attend church on Sunday at one of the unitarian Christian groups in the area. It was a positive experience for many, and it will be an option again this year.

Watch this space for coming announcements about submitting a scholarly paper or an idea for a practical workshop to be considered for inclusion in the program.

Registration will be announced here, and also via the UCA Facebook Group, so stay tuned!

We can’t wait to see you there!

There’s more in store than just the workshops, meals, and excellent presentations!

Pre-party at “The Abbey”

Arrive early and drop in at “The Abbey” for the UCA Pre-party, Oct. 19, noon to 5pm. It’s just up the road, so stop in for refreshments, and visiting. Alan Cain shows you around in the video below!

Evening Visits

Gather with others after the evening meeting (ending around 8:30). There are restaurants, a brewery downtown, and plenty of space to just hang out and get to know others. If you are a young adult, hang out after the evening session on Thursday and Friday nights for a dedicated time together of encouragement and new friendships.

Baptistry

There is also a baptistry available Saturday lunch for any who want to use it.

Local Attractions

Come early or stay later and take in some local attractions, including the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, and more (listed on the Conference page).

See you there!

As I write this more than 150 people are registered for the third annual Unitarian Christian conference! We must give our “final” headcount to the awesome local caterers by the end of afternoon of Thursday, October 5, 2023—so please, if at all possible, register for the conference before then.  

We will still accept some registrations after that, but at some point the food will run short and you may have to pledge to be last in the food line. (And trust me, you don’t want to do that!) 

I’m looking forward to seeing new and old friends in Springfield, Ohio, October 19-21! To learn more about the conference and to register, go here.