CT-NAE-EEN Conference on Creation-care June 28-30, 2004
Biographical Information on Keynoters and Dialogue Session Leaders
Monday Evening June 28: Biblical-Theological Keynote Presentation
Rev. Howard Snyder, Ph.D.
Howard is a prominent Free Methodist theologian and Professor of the History and Theology of Mission at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has written 13 books, including EarthCurrents: The Struggle for the World's Soul (Abingdon, 1995), Models of the Kingdom (Abingdon, 1991) and the classic The Problem of Wineskins (InterVarsity Press, 1975). Howard has given decades of thought to how Christians should care for God's creation. (See http://www.wineskins.net for more information on Howard and his work.)
Tuesday Morning June 29: Scientific Keynote Presentation
Sir John Houghton, Ph.D.
Sir John currently serves as Chairman of the John Ray Initiative (http://www.jri.org.uk/index.htm), whose mission is to "promote responsible environmental stewardship in accordance with Christian principles and the wise use of science and technology." Sir John previously served as Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Oxford, Director of the UK Meteorological Office, Chairman of the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, member of the UK Government Panel on Sustainable Development, and Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Scientific Assessment. His numerous awards include Fellowship of the Royal Society of London and the International Meteorological Organisation Prize. His publications include The Physics of Atmospheres (3rd ed. CUP, 2002), Global Warming: the Complete Briefing (2nd ed. CUP 1997) and The Search for God, Can Science Help? (Lion, 1994).
Tuesday Evening June 29: Keynote on Outreach to Environmentalists & Update on Other Religious Communities
Mr. Larry Schweiger
Larry currently serves as President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation (http://www.nwf.org), one of the oldest and largest environmental organizations in the U.S. with over 4 million members. He is a life-long evangelical Christian and has been a senior leader in the environmental community for over 20 years.
Dialogue Session Leaders (Tuesday June 29)
How to Approach Hot-Topic Environmental Issues From a Biblical Perspective
Howard Snyder (please see above)
Sir John Houghton (please see above)
Rev. Jim Ball, Ph.D.
Since 2000 Jim has served as the Executive Director of the Evangelical Environmental Network (http://www.creationcare.org). He is an ordained Baptist minister with a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Drew University. His dissertation focused on evangelical approaches to creation-care. Jim was the organizer of the "What Would Jesus Drive?" educational campaign.
How to Reach Out to Young People and the Unchurched with a Biblical Approach to the Environment
Rev. Brian McLaren
Brian is Senior Pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, 55% of whose members were previously unchurched. Brian's third book, A New Kind of Christian (Jossey-Bass, 2001), won Christianity Today's Award of Merit in 2002. Brian serves as one of the leaders of Emergent, a network of missional Christian leaders focused on the development of new ways of being Christians and living biblically, new understandings of mission, new kinds of faith communities, and new approaches to worship and service.
Problems Evangelicals Have with Environmentalism and How to Address Them
Cal DeWitt, Ph.D.
Cal is currently President of the evangelical Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies (http://www.ausable.org), and has led Au Sable since it began offering college-credit courses for Christian students in 1980. He is also Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the author of numerous books including Earthwise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues (CRC Publications, 1994).
Rev. Ted Haggard
Ted is President of the National Association of Evangelicals (http://www.nae.net) and Senior Pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, the largest church in Colorado. The NAE has over 50 denominations and 250 organizations. Ted is also President of both the Association of Life Giving Churches and the World Prayer Center. He is the author of Primary Purpose; Loving Your City Into the Kingdom (co-authored by Jack Hayford, Regal Books, 1998) and The Life-Giving Church (Regal Books, 1998).
Families, the Unborn, and Creation-care
Phil Landrigan, M.D.
Phil is Professor of Pediatrics and Preventative Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Chairman of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, and directs the Mt. Sinai Center for Children's Health and the Environment in New York. From 1988-1993 he chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children, whose report led to groundbreaking federal legislation. Besides over 100 academic publications, Phil is co-author of Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World: 101 Smart Solutions for Every Family (Rodale Press, 2002).
Crystle Numan
Crystle is a Program Assistant with the Evangelical Environmental Network. Her work focuses on the Healthy Families, Healthy Environment campaign which imparts environmental health information to families. Crystle holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Redeemer University College.
Lunch Presentation (Tuesday June 29)
Tangier Watermen's Stewardship for the Chesapeake (TaSC)
The Tangier Watermen's Stewardship for the Chesapeake (TaSC) is a nonprofit organization formed in 1998 to implement biblically-based solutions to care for the Chesapeake Bay and Tangier Island. Tangier Island is located in the Chesapeake Bay, VA. TaSC members include watermen (fishermen) and their families who have lived on the island for generations. TaSC members have taken a covenant to live out their Christian faith by not overfishing, not polluting, and by speaking out to other communities and government leaders about Christian creation care. TaSC promotes biblically-based solutions to environmental conflict. They have produced an award winning video entitled Between Heaven and Earth: The Plight of the Chesapeake Watermen, which has been shown on public television stations around the country.