Mark Tooley stops by the ERLC’s Leland House on Capitol Hill to talk Methodism and politics, as well as give us a preview of his new book, released this summer by Harper Collins, The Peace that Almost Was, about the final attempt to avert the American Civil War.
Mark serves as president of the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD).

* Book: Methodism & Politics in the Twentieth Century (Amazon)
* Book: The Peace that Almost Was
* IRD
* IRD blog: Juicy Ecumenism
* Bio

Prior to joining the IRD in 1994, Mark worked eight years for the Central Intelligence Agency. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and is a native of Arlington, Virginia. A lifelong United Methodist, he has been active in United Methodist renewal since 1988, when he wrote a study about denominational funding of pro-Marxist groups for his local congregation. He attends a United Methodist church in Alexandria, Virginia.
 

E16: Mark Tooley on Methodism and politics

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The ERLC’s Andrew Walker and Daniel Patterson discuss proposed California legislation SB-1146 and its implications for religious higher education.
SB1146 is scheduled for committee vote August 11 and a vote in the full California Assembly August 19.

* Read, join, and share the statement in opposition to SB 1146.
* Christianity Today: Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Leaders: California, Please Protect Religious Liberty
* View existing signatories via ERLC.com
* Canon & Culture: In Higher Education, California is Becoming Anti-Choice

Other resources

* SB1146Discriminates.org
* Religious liberty trouble in California: An interview with the President of Biola Univerity – ERLC
* Biola, conscience and the culture war – Mere Orthodoxy


Andrew T. Walker serves as the Director of Policy Studies. In his role, he researches and writes about human dignity, family stability, religious liberty, public theology, and the moral principles that support civil society. He also helps direct the ERLC’s Research Institute. Andrew is currently a Ph.D. student in Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His most recent book is Marriage is: How Marriage Transforms Society and Cultivates Human Flourishing. He is married to Christian, and they have two daughters. @andrewtwalk
Daniel Patterson serves as Chief of Staff at the ERLC. In this role, he directs the executive office of the president and helps lead strategic initiatives across the organization. He completed an MDiv and PhD in systematic theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Molly have been married since 2010, and together they have two daughters, Emma and Claire. @dlpatterson

E25: Andrew Walker and Daniel Patterson on California’s SB1146

Travis Wussow serves as the ERLC’s Director of International Justice and Religious Freedom. Travis taps in via the interwebs to visit with Canon & Culture to answer the following questions and many more: What’s what’s it like move your family from Texas to the Middle East? What reflections does Travis have from his travels to Morocco, Taiwan, and Oxford?

* VIDEO: Why go international with the ERLC?
* ERLC resources by Travis
* Reflections on the Marrakesh Declaration
* AUDIO: Jenny Yang on refugee resettlement
* AUDIO: Making disciples in Syria
* Asian-Pacific Religious Freedom Forum
* Religious Liberty Partnership


Travis Wussow,@traviswussow, serves as Director of International Justice & Religious Liberty and General Counsel for the ERLC. Travis leads ERLC’s first international office located in the Middle East. He received a B.B.A. in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law. He and his wife, Katie, have two daughters.
 

E24: Travis Wussow, ERLC’s man in the Middle East

Canon & Culture is invaded by Aggies when Phillip Bethancourt, Ph.D. (ERLC Executive VP) joins us to talk about the ERLC’s collaboration with Southern Baptist seminaries. We also get a glimpse into the many events the ERLC has planned for 2016 and learn how Phillip instills Aggie values in his 4 boys while living in Tennessee. (Ok, not really. Maybe.)
Our conversation includes answers to the following questions, among many others:

* What does an executive vice president do, exactly?
* Is seminary only for pastors?
* What unique contributions does the ERLC provide a seminary curriculum?
* What events does the ERLC have planned for 2016?

Follow Phillip at PhillipBethancourt.com and @pbethancourt.
Education initiatives

* Big picture: ERLC Academy
* ERLC expands academic opportunities with Southern Baptist seminaries
* Google this.
* Baptist Press
* Louisville – Southern

* Ph.d. in christian ethics, emphasis in public policy


* Wake Forest – Southeastern

* Ph.D in public theology


* Kansas City – Midwestern

* Midwestern Seminary announces Doctoral Partnership with ERLC


* All SBC seminaries, including in

* New Orleans
* Fort Worth
* West Coast


* Training partnership with Ministry Grid

ERLC 2016 events

* All events
* National Conference: August, Nashville
* Annual Meeting of the SBC – June, St. Louis

* ERLC / 9Marks




Phillip Bethancourt is Executive Vice President of the ERLC. He leads the ERLC team to develop innovative strategies to equip churches to address the key moral and ethical issues of the day. He completed an MDiv and PhD in Systematic Theology at Southern after attending Texas A&M; University. Phillip and his wife, Cami, have been married since 2005, and have four boys.

E23: Phillip Bethancourt talks ERLC events & seminary programs

Following oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell (aka Zubik v. Burwell), our ADF friends Kristen Waggoner and Greg Baylor stop by Leland House to explain the case and share what they witnessed in the courtroom.

* Articles about the HHS mandate at Canon & Culture.
* Case overview via Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

* Visual explanation via TheLittleSistersOfThePoor.com
* HHS Central via Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
* Case details via SCOTUSBlog.


* Little Sisters, Big Case – by Russell Moore via The Hill (@thehill)
* Baptists are plaintiffs too:

* Ten things that might surprise you about GuideStone’s Supreme Court case – OS Hawkins


* Standing Together, the 2013 multi-faith open letter in opposition to the HHS mandate


Gregory S. Baylor, Esq.,serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he is the director of the Religious Schools Team. He litigates cases to protect the rights of Christian educational institutions across the nation. Since joining ADF in 2009, Baylor has focused his litigation efforts on protecting the religious freedom of Christ-centered educational institutions. He serves as religious liberty consultant to the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. He also works to protect the First Amendment freedoms of students, faculty, and staff at public colleges and universities.
Kristen K. Waggoner, Esq., serves as senior counsel and senior vice president of legal advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom, where she leads the organization’s legal and media efforts. Waggoner joined ADF in 2013 to support thousands of allied attorneys in their efforts to preserve religious freedom. She has trained allied attorneys and organizations on religious liberty issues and rights of conscience. She has also provided allies with legal support on cases pertaining to life, marriage, and family.

E22: Oral Arguments in Little Sisters v. Burwell

Canon & Culture welcomes a Lebanese missionary to Syria and a Syrian missionary to the United States to talk about the Gospel, the church in Syria, and the refugee crisis.
For more information about our guests, Micheline and Mouna, and their ministries please email me (Matt) via mhawkins (at) erlc.com.
To support them financially, visit my friends at The IRD:

* Go here.
* On the “Designate your gift” menu, choose “Other.”
* Then, write “Syria Project” in the blank that says “Tell us where your gift should go:”


E16: Mark Tooley on Methodism and politics

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