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Redeeming the Times

the subtitle of redemption

June 14-17, 2022 · Dallas, TX & Virtual

About the conference

Redeeming the Times

The current cultural moment presents a host of challenges and opportunities for classical Christian schools. While it is tempting to become cynical or fearful, as believers, we are called to be wise and “redeem the times.” What does faithful cultural stewardship and engagement look like for classical Christian educators? For our schools? For our students? 

Please join us and a thoughtful group of scholars and educators as we explore Paul’s admonition to walk in wisdom, redeeming the time. We will draw from the Great Tradition to explore ways we can be discerning about the cultural context we are in, learn to see the good, and find ways our schools can speak into the troubling milieu we are in with clarity, purpose and hope.

Plenary Speakers

All Plenary Speakers will speak in-person in Dallas, TX

Justin Bailey

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David Bailey

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Joseph Pearce

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Kelly Kapic

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Keith McCurdy

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Company

Keith McCurdy

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Keith McCurdy

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Keith McCurdy

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Keith McCurdy

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Company

Keith McCurdy

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Keith McCurdy

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Keith McCurdy

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Pre-Conference Tracks

The SCL Pre-Conference is June 15th. This in-depth day of learning features all day workshops that equip and inspire teachers, leaders, and administrative staff around specific topics focused on helping you navigate the important issues in our world and in our schools. 

All Pre-conference Speakers will speak in-person in Dallas, TX

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Redeeming the Times

Schedule

We know how valuable your time is, so we scheduled the entire event around content and conversation.

All times are in Central Standard Time

Pre-conference

Wednesday, June 15

  • Coffee & Fellowship 8:00 AM
  • Session I 8:30 AM
  • Session II 10:15 AM
  • Lunch 11:30 AM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

  • Session III 1:30 PM
  • Session IV 3:00 PM
  • Dinner 6:00 PM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

Main Conference: Day I

Thursday, June 16

  • Coffee & Fellowship 7:00 AM
  • Plenary I 8:00 AM

    Speaker: Robert P. George

  • Affinity Group Meetup 9:45 AM

    Click here to learn more

  • Breakout I 11:00 AM
  • Lunch 12:00 PM

    Box lunch provided

  • Plenary II 1:15 PM

    Speaker: Margarita A. Mooney

  • Breakout II 2:45 PM
  • Head of School Reception 5:00 PM
  • Dinner 6:00 PM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

Main Conference: Day II

Friday, June 17

  • Coffee & Fellowship 7:00 AM
  • Plenary III 8:00 AM

    Speaker: Justin Ariel Bailey

  • Breakout III 9:45 AM
  • Breakout IV 11:00 AM
  • Lunch 12:00 PM

    Box lunch provided

  • Plenary IV 1:15 PM

    Speaker: Dana Gioia

  • Breakout V 2:45 PM
  • Affinity Group Reception 5:00 PM

    Click here to learn more

  • Dinner 6:00 PM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

Main Conference: Day III

Saturday, June 18

  • Coffee & Fellowship 7:00 AM
  • Plenary V 8:00 AM

    Speaker: Brian Williams

  • Breakout VI 9:45 AM
  • Breakout VII 11:00 AM

Friday Night Concert

Virtual Ticket Options

Preconference

$ 79 Per Ticket
  • Additional 10% off for Members
    *Check your email for discount code

Main Conference

$ 190 Per Ticket
  • Includes all plenary sessions live-streamed and 35 workshops:
    5 live-streamed in each breakout session via the Whova App.
  • Additional 10% off for Members
    *Check your email for discount code

Virtual Group

$ 99 per ticket
  • Bring your whole team!
    (10 or more for $99 EACH)
  • Includes all plenary sessions live-streamed and 35 workshops: 5 live-streamed in each breakout session via the Whova App.

Cancellation Policy: All cancellations are subject to a $100 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after May 16, 2022.

Traveling to the conference?

FAQs

Our event will be in line with the requirements of our hotel and the state of Texas. Masks are recommended, but not required. We will have masks available for you if you would like one. We request attendees adhere to Texas laws regarding masks, distancing, etc.

In addition, we have created a name tag system that will allow each attendee to self-regulate and for other guests to respect individuals’ desire for social distancing.

The hotel group discount rate at the Renaissance Dallas Addison Hotel is $159. Reservations can be made through the online reservation link or directly with the hotel at 888-236-2427.

In order to be eligible for the group discount rate, reservations must be made on or before June 3, 2022.

– 10% Early Bird discount which ends on Monday, May 16 @ 11:59 pm.
– An additional 10% off for groups of 10 or more.
– SCL Institutional Members receive an additional 10% discount. Become an institutional member today to receive your discount; click here.
– Don’t forget the Virtual All-In ticket is just $99 (no additional discount for members allowed)

Whova returns! The Whova app was a great success at the 2021 Summer Conference. 

Whova is our all-in-one conference app where you can access the following: full schedule, speaker and breakout info, virtual sessions, exhibitor booths, sponsor info, job boards, community chat, and more!

The Whova App is a must for both in-person and virtual attendees.

Download here.

Once you’re registered, you’ll be able to view the event on June 15 via the Whova App

You can learn more here and prepare by reviewing the Whova Event Guide.

This year we are offering a $99 Virtual All-In ticket. So, buy a ticket for each member of your team: faculty, administration, staff, and board.

Then, gather together at your school and enjoy the virtual conference in community!
Need further advice on how best to watch as a group? Feel free to email our coordinator here.

Back in a fully-equipped conference hotel this summer, we are prepared to offer guests our best virtual experience yet!

Significant investments in upgraded 4k cameras, microphones, switches, and the same high-quality Whova app experience mean breakout sessions will run with the clearest sound and video access.

Every Breakout Session includes 5 workshops that will be available to stream via the Whova app.

The virtual ticket includes all Plenary Sessions and 5 Workshops for each Breakout Session.

SCL institutional members will receive an email with a code to receive a 10% discount off of their registration to be used at checkout.

Main Conference Cancellation Policy: All cancellations are subject to a $100 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after May 16, 2022.
Pre-Conference Cancellation Policy: All cancellations are subject to a $50 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after May 16, 2022.

Have more questions?

About Us

The Society for Classical Learning exists to foster human flourishing by making classical Christian education thrive.

I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

– Isaiah 44:22

join the scl today!

want to volunteer?

© 2023 The Society for Classical Learning. All Rights Reserved.

What Are Affinity Groups?

A hallmark of the Society for Classical Learning is community: connecting and conversing around both the big ideas and the everyday practical issues we face as classical Christian educators.

This year, the SCL has created affinity groups: opportunities designed to facilitate connection by bringing together attendees with common roles to reflect, learn, and share ideas in community.

We have planned two occasions at the Summer Conference for these affinity groups to meet, mingle, and connect.

  • Thursday, June 16 – 9:45am – After Plenary I
    • This is a chance to get connected first thing at the conference and begin to form relationships that will benefit you for the rest of the conference, and maybe for years to come.
  • Friday, June 17 – 5:00pm – Before Dinner (on your own) at 6:00pm
    • After attending multiple breakout and plenary sessions, this is an opportunity to relax, continue conversations, and ask good questions – together!

Hotel Info

The Renaissance Hotel in Addison
15201 Dallas Pkwy, Addison, TX 75001
Group Rate: $162 per night

Rooms are going fast! SCL conference rate ends 5/29/23.
Book Now. All conference sessions take place at the Renaissance.

Parking Info

3 Different Parking Options:
Valet, Surface Parking or Garage Parking.
On-site parking, $15 daily
Valet parking, $28 daily

Airport Info

Two Options:
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Dallas Love Field (DAL)
*The hotel does not provide shuttle service.

Other Transportation

Justin Bailey

Author & Professor - Dordt University

Session: Sowing in Hope: Generative and Generational Education

Session Abstract

The temptation in a world gone mad is to stand on the sidelines and point out the problems with everyone and everything. But there is an alternative to this: to criticize by creating, cultivating beautiful and generative spaces that do the work of generational faithfulness. Whatever we cultivate will always be imperfect, but it can imperfectly point to the kingdom of God, to “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

“Theology must grow and be sown into the soils of culture, be fed by the spring rains of love to be cultivated in multiple generations.” (Makoto Fujimura)

Biography

Justin Ariel Bailey is associate professor of theology at Dordt University. He is the host of the In All Things podcast, and his written work has appeared in publications such as Christianity Today, Christian Scholars Review and the International Journal of Public Theology. He is the author of Reimagining Apologetics (IVP Academic, 2020) and Interpreting Your World (Baker Academic, 2022). He is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and has served as a pastor in Filipino-American, Korean-American, and Dutch-American settings. He is married to Melissa and they are blessed with two pre-teen children.

David Bailey

Founder & Chief Vision Officer - Arrabon

Session: The 5 Challenges to Being a Reconciling Community

Session Abstract

People form communities and communities form people. Christian communities ought to be reconciling communities, but unfortunately, too many Christian communities mirror the same practices as secular communities around conflict and division. In this breakout session, we’ll introduce the five practices leaders need to build a reconciling community within their organization.

Biography

David M. Bailey is a public theologian, culture maker, and catalyst focused on building reconciling communities. David is the founder and Chief Vision Officer of Arrabon, a spiritual formation ministry that equips the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities. He is the co-author of the study series, A People, A Place, and A Just Society, and the executive producer of the documentary 11 am: Hope for America’s Most Segregated Hour and the Urban Doxology Project. David is rooted at East End Covenant Fellowship, serving on the preaching team, and his greatest honor is to be married to his wonderful wife, Joy.

Joseph Pearce

Best-Selling Author

Session: Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder: Life Lessons from G.K. Chesterton

Session Abstract

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly whereas the devil takes himself far too seriously, falling by the force of his own gravity. So says G. K. Chesterton, the self-described “jolly journalist” who is worth taking seriously because he took himself so lightly. With wit, wisdom and eyes wide open with wonder, Chesterton shows us the way to paradise by way of paradox. Joseph Pearce, author of Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton, gives a guided tour of Chesterton’s life, work, wit, wisdom and legacy.

Biography

A native of England, Joseph Pearce is the internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc. His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Croatian and Polish.
 
He has hosted two 13-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN, and has also written and presented documentaries on EWTN on the Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. His verse drama, Death Comes for the War Poets, was performed off-Broadway to critical acclaim. He has participated and lectured at a wide variety of international and literary
events at major colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Europe, Africa and South America.
 
He is editor of the St. Austin Review (https://staustinreview.org/), series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions (www.ignatiuscriticaleditions.com), senior instructor with Homeschool Connections (www.homeschoolconnectionsonline.com), and senior contributor at the Imaginative Conservative and Crisis Magazine. In 2022, he was awarded the St. John Henry
Newman Visiting Chair of Catholic Studies at Thomas More College (Merrimack, NH). His personal website is http://www.jpearce.co.

Kelly Kapic

Author & Professor - Covenant College

Session: Learning to Value Process: God Likes to Take His Time

Session Abstract

We know that God is perfect and complete, but we are not. In our time together we will consider how God loves process. While we often judge only according to finished products, God has always been comfortable with process, and learning to appreciate this truth about God can free us to more fully embrace the process of growth and learning. The implications of this for Christian education are enormous, as we see our work not merely in terms of a ‘final product,’ but in terms of the value of formation and growth.
 

Biography

Kelly M. Kapic (PhD, King’s College, University of London) is a professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where he has taught for twenty years. He is an award-winning author or editor of more than fifteen books, including You’re Only Human and Embodied Hope, which each won a Christianity Today Book Award. Kapic, a popular speaker, has been featured in Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition, has worked on research teams funded by the John Templeton Foundation, and contributes to the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care and various other journals.
 

SANDRA McCRACKEN

GUEST MUSICIAN

Performances

Sandra McCracken will be leading worship from the main stage in the morning and afternoon of Friday, June 16, followed by her highly-anticipated concert at 6:00pm. See the conference schedule for further information!

Biography

Sandra McCracken is a singer-songwriter and hymn writer from Nashville, Tennessee. A prolific recording artist, McCracken has produced 14 solo albums over two decades. Her best selling release, Psalms (2015) received critical acclaim, followed by God’s Highway (2017) which made the top 50 on Billboard Heatseekers chart without a major label. She has had songs featured in TV, including ‘Ten Thousand Angels’ on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and has over 15 million streams. Blending the old and new, Sandra has also shown a unique ability to recast sacred scripture texts into theologically rich yet accessible songs. Her thoughtful lyrics and gospel melodies in songs like “We Will Feast In The House Of Zion,” “Steadfast” and “Thy Mercy My God” have become staple anthems in churches across the U.S. As a published writer, she contributes a regular column in Christianity Today and released her first book “Send Out Your Light” in September 2021.

Pano Kanelos

President - University of Austin

Session: Coming Soon

Session Abstract

COMING SOON!

Biography

Panayiotis (Pano) Kanelos is the founding president of the University of Austin.
 
From 2017 to 2021, Dr. Kanelos served as the 24th President of St. John’s College, Annapolis. After earning degrees from Northwestern University (B.A.), Boston University (M.A.), and the University of Chicago (Ph.D.), he taught at Stanford University, the University of San Diego, and Loyola University Chicago.
 

He served most recently as dean of Christ College, the Honors College of Valparaiso University. An outspoken advocate for liberal education, he oversaw the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, comprising a network of more than 100 colleges and universities. Among the earliest participants in the Teach for America program, President Kanelos is as passionate about teaching as he is about writing and scholarship. He founded the Cropper Center for Creative Writing at the University of San Diego and is a noted Shakespeare scholar, having served as the resident Shakespearean in the Old Globe MFA Program and the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Shakespeare Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago.

Beck A. Taylor

President - Samford University

Session: Coming Soon

Session Abstract

COMING SOON!

Biography

Beck A. Taylor comes to Samford University after serving as the 18th president of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, since 2010. Prior to this appointment, Taylor served as dean and professor of economics for Samford’s Brock School of Business (2005-2010), and associate dean for research and faculty development for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business (1997-2005).

Taylor’s tenure at Whitworth was highlighted by a renewed emphasis on community involvement; efforts to enhance academic programs and quality; the building of new campus infrastructure to facilitate the university’s academic, athletic, and student life programs; the creation of newly endowed faculty positions and centers; leading Whitworth’s largest-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign; and an emphasis on overall institutional effectiveness.

After earning his undergraduate degree from Baylor with majors in economics and finance, Taylor was employed as an analyst for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Houston, Texas. He went on to earn his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University. After returning to the Baylor faculty, Taylor was named the first holder of the W.H. Smith Professorship in Economics. In 2002, he was appointed as a visiting scholar by Harvard University where he spent one year in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

As dean of Samford’s Brock School of Business, Taylor led the rapid transformation of the business school, including its renaming to honor Harry B. Brock, Jr., founder of Compass Bank. Taylor led the Brock School of Business to establish eight new academic programs, as well as the school’s new honors program. The school’s entrepreneurship program was recognized in 2010 as the nation’s top emerging program by the U.S. Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. In an effort to build bridges between students and the Birmingham business community, Taylor established the Samford Business Network, as well as a 45-member advisory board of the region’s top business leaders.

As a scholar, Taylor has published dozens of studies in economics journals such as Review of Economics and StatisticsJournal of Labor EconomicsJournal of Human Resources and Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking. Illustrating his diverse research interests and his connections to the social sciences, Taylor has also published groundbreaking research in public health and child developmental psychology. His research has been cited in testimony given before the U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and the California State Assembly, and also has been referenced in publications such as The New York TimesThe Boston Globe, and The Christian Science Monitor.

Taylor is a member of numerous professional and academic organizations, and he has served as a strategic business consultant for dozens of organizations. Taylor and his wife of 28 years, Julie, have three children: Zachary, 25, a Nashville-based music recording artist, Lauren, 22, a recent Whitworth graduate, and Chloe, 14.

Savannah Kimberlin

Associate VP of Church Engagement - Barna Group

Session: Faith & Culture

Session Abstract

Barna Group has researched faith trends in the United States and around the world for more than 40 years, specializing in the study of generations and the intersection of faith and culture. Together, let’s explore a handful of key cultural shifts and their impact on and implications for our organizations.

Biography

Savannah serves as the Associate Vice President of Church Engagement at Barna. Savannah loves facilitating Barna’s mission to provide the Church with knowledge to navigate a changing world through consulting services, CoLab learning cohorts and research efforts. She is passionate about taking Barna’s research and synthesizing it into helpful, actionable insights for Christian leaders.
 
As a certified data miner and predictive modeler, Savannah specializes in advanced analytics. Prior to her time at Barna, she worked in the big data and software development spaces.
 
She earned her B.S. in Mathematics from Samford University and her M.S. in Decision Analytics from the University of Alabama. Savannah currently lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Josh and her daughter Zoe.