Volunteer at Resist the Drift 2025! Your time and talents can help make the Contend Conference an extraordinary event. We’re looking for volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks including setup, guest services, and breakout sessions. Please provide your top choices for volunteer positions and join our mission to inspire and equip others at Millington Baptist Church. Contact Sue Turner for Volunteer opportunities.
Brought to you by The Underground Sessions
Volunteer at Resist the Drift 2025! Your time and talents can help make the Contend Conference an extraordinary event. We’re looking for volunteers to assist with a variety of tasks including setup, guest services, and breakout sessions. Please provide your top choices for volunteer positions and join our mission to inspire and equip others at Millington Baptist Church. Contact Sue Turner for Volunteer opportunities.
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. -Jude 3, ESV-
Save the Dates: January 31- February 2, 2025
Resist the Drift: Contend Conference
Something is happening in our world … can you feel it? Do you see it?
It’s not surprising if you don’t. The change is slow, almost unnoticeable. Like a swimmer floating in the ocean, the waves can carry you far from shore. It doesn’t feel like you’ve moved until you open your eyes and look.
Culturally speaking, this “drift” has been happening for a long time. However, recent events have caused people to open their eyes and see how far the waves have taken us. What was once considered truth is now questioned. People we work with, go to school with, and live near have no understanding of the Gospel and the truths of the Bible. Their view of Jesus is skewed. These assumptions have made their way into the church. Leaders and institutions we once trusted … have drifted.
What Now?
On January 31 – February 2, 2025, Millington Baptist Church will be hosting its second “CONTEND” Conference. The theme for this conference is resisting the drift. It is so easy to be carried along by the cultural waves. It is so easy to drift. The writer to Hebrews was combating this same issue. In a culture—and church—filled with compromise, Hebrews exhorts us: “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it (Heb. 2:1).”
We must pay closer attention to what we have heard. This weekend conference will help you recognize the drift and resist it with clarity, boldness, and conviction.
Are you ready to Resist The Drift?
Conference Schedule
6pm- Bookstore, Food, Connections Lounge
7pm- Conference Open, Worship
7:20pm- Welcome Address: “Recognize the Drift ” (Bob Erbig)
7:35pm- SESSION ONE: “Progressive Christianity: A Biblical Response to a Growing Movement” (Alisa Childers)
8:45pm- Worship, Next Day Activities
9:00pm- Dessert Social
8:00am- Bookstore, Food, Connections Lounge
NOTE: Kids Programming Available During Morning Sessions (TBD)
9am- Day Two Open, Worship
9:20am- Short Talk: “Helping Kids Avoid the Drift ” (Rachel Rickershauser)
9:35am- SESSION TWO: “Parenting and Social Media” (Jason Thacker)
10:45am- BREAK
11:00am- Short Talk: “Helping Teens Resist the Drift” (Johnny Graves)
11:15am- SESSION THREE: “Live Your Truth” (Alisa Childers)
12:30pm- LUNCH!
1:30-2:30pm- BREAKOUT TRACKS (Local Leaders)
2:30-5:00pm- Discussion Groups/Break
5:00-6:30pm- SESSION FOUR: “Critical Theory and Social Justice Ideology” (Neil Shenvi)
Including BREAK/DINNER (SIT DOWN DINNER with Speaker)
7:00-8:30pm- Speaker Q & A + Worship (Bob)
- Short Talk: “Music of The Revolution” –Pastor Bob
8:30am- Bookstore, Lounge and Food available in FH Ministry Center.
9:00am- “The Gospel as an Apologetic” Neil Shenvi
NOTE: Alisa Childers interview in both services w/Bob (Deconstruction Focus)
10:45am- “Wisdom and Discernment in a Chaotic Public” Jason Thacker
Speaker Resources
As a lifelong church-goer, follower of Jesus, and former CCM recording artist with the Dove award-winning group ZOEgirl, I experienced a period of profound doubt about my faith in my mid-thirties. I felt as though I had been tossed in a stormy ocean of uncertainty with no life jacket or lifeboat in sight. I didn’t know where to find answers to my questions, or if answers existed at all. Did I have to accept it all on some kind of blind faith? I began to investigate my faith intellectually—I took seminary classes and read everything I could get my hands on. This began my journey from unreasoned doubt into a vibrant, rational, and informed faith.
Whether you’re a seeker, a doubting Christian, or strong Christian wanting to become better at articulating your faith, I pray that this website will be a lifeboat for you. So jump in and let’s tackle the tough questions together.
I grew up in Delaware and attended Princeton University as an undergraduate where I worked on high-dimensional function approximation with Professor Herschel Rabitz. I became a Christian in Berkeley, CA where I did my PhD in Theoretical Chemistry at UC – Berkeley with Professor Birgitta Whaley. The subject of my PhD dissertation was quantum computation, including topics in quantum random walks, cavity quantum electrodynamics, spin physics, and the N-representability problem. From 2005-2010, I worked as a postdoctoral associate with Prof. John Tully at Yale where I did research into nonadiabatic dynamics, electron transfer, and surface science. I moved down to Durham in 2010 to do research into nonadiabatic dynamics and electronic structure theory with professor Weitao Yang at Duke University.
A few days after arriving in Durham, I had a seizure caused by an undiagnosed 5cm brain tumor between my cerebellum and occipital lobe. By God’s grace, the emergency surgery was a success and I’ve been healthy ever since.
In 2015, I quit my job at Duke to homeschool my four children, although I still fiddle with quantum mechanics now and then for fun. In addition to my duties as the principal of the South Durham Academy for Math and Science (also known as Daddy Academy), I tutor the Master’s class at our local Classical Conversations homeschool co-op. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, weight-lifting, and video games.
My wife and I are members at the Summit Church. If you have questions about Christianity or anything else, feel free to email me at:
Jason Thacker serves as an assistant professor of philosophy and ethics at Boyce College and Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He also is a senior fellow in bioethics and director of the research institute at The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is the author of several books including Following Jesus in the Digital Age and The Age of AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. He also serves as the editor of The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society and co-editor Baptist Social Ethics and the Essentials in Christian Ethics series with B&H Academic.
He was the project leader and lead drafter of Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles, and his work has been featured at New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Slate, Politico, The Week, USA Today, Christianity Today, World Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, and Desiring God.
He is a graduate of The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. He also holds a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is currently a PhD candidate in ethics, public theology, and philosophy. He serves as an associate fellow with the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge, an advisor for AI and Faith, and fellow in science and technology at the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Seminary. He is married to Dorie and they have two sons.
Travelers resources???:
Hotels? Block room rate, by certain date?
Local Restaurants?
SESSION INFORMATION
SESSION ONE, Friday, 7:35 pm.
“Progressive Christianity: A Biblical Response to a Growing Movement” (Alisa Childers)
SESSION TWO, Saturday, 9:35 am.
“Parenting and Social Media” (Jason Thacker)
SESSION THREE, Saturday 11:15 am.
“Live Your Truth” (Alisa Childers)
SESSION FOUR, Saturday, 5 pm.
“Critical Theory and Social Justice Ideology” (Neil Shenvi.
BREAKOUT INFORMATION
BREAKOUT ONE: Human Trafficking (Adrienne Livingston)
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
BREAKOUT TWO: Muslim Theme (Alfonse Javed)
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
BREAKOUT THREE: Teens
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
BREAKOUT FOUR: Kids Programming available Saturday, 9am-12pm
“TBD” (TBD) Text Description to come
Brought to you by The Underground Sessions
(Last year’s content below. Placeholder. Content to come)
SESSION INFORMATION
SESSION ONE:
“Mama Bear Apologetics” (TEASI CANNON) The youngest and most vulnerable members of the Church are growing up in a society that is vastly different than the one in which many of us grew up. While unbiblical ideas aren’t new, their accessibility, volume, and frequency are. It’s been said we are navigating a battle of ideas, many of which strategically target the next generation of Christians, tossing them in an onslaught of animosity, skepticism, and sophisticated arguments that seek to demolish their faith. That’s where Mama Bears come in. And Papa Bears … and any Bears who love all our cubs and are willing to do what it takes to shore up our own faith so we can help them trust the authority of God’s Word, sort through the noise, and cling to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
SESSION TWO:
“Cultural Apologetics” (PAUL GOULD) Christianity has an image problem. No one wants to hear what we have to say. All too often our lives are fragmented and unlovely. And we generally don’t see the world any different than anyone else. As a result we’ve lost the Christian voice, the Christian conscience, and the Christian imagination. The gospel is often viewed as unreasonable or undesirable or both. In our time together we’ll explore this question: Given this cultural moment, with all its challenges, how can the gospel get a fair hearing? To answer our question, we’ll take a look at Paul’s encounter with the Greeks in Athens and then apply our insights to this day and this age.
SESSION THREE:
“Cultural Intelligence” (DARRELL BOCK) How do we have cultural intelligence in a culture that is so pluralistic and contentious? How we see the challenge will determine how we approach it. Our weekend will give a fresh biblical look at how we should see our engagement, especially with those who are not a part of the church. We have no theology of cultural engagement in the church and we need it. We hope to give you a way of approaching engagement that is biblical and practical by looking specifically at 6 core texts and also how to have difficult conversations. We hope you can join us and be equipped.
BREAKOUT INFORMATION
BREAKOUT ONE:
“Lord, Where’s My Calling: When the Big Question Becomes the Big Distraction” (TEASI CANNON) This session will focus on understanding the difference between a calling and your divinely designed purpose. Once we get this paradigm shift, it can change our life today and forever—as well as how we represent our faith to others.
BREAKOUT TWO:
“Seeing Suffering as an Apologetic Opportunity” (PASTOR BOB AND AMANDA ERBIG) We live in a broken world and everyone experiences pain at some point in their lives. When the trials come, and they will, we have a choice: do we get angry at God? Or do we show others our hope in Christ despite suffering? While it is important to find healing in the midst of pain, these moments are also opportunities to grieve with people who have walked our same path. In this session, we will discuss how our suffering can be seen and used as an effective opportunity to point people to the hope we have in Christ.
BREAKOUT THREE:
“Evangelism to Muslims” (AMOON SHARON)
BREAKOUT FOUR:
“Navigating Your Faith In The Workplace” (JESSE NASH) For many of us, the vast majority of time spent with unbelievers, and our closest connection with those who need Christ happens at work. What does God ask of us in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission through our interactions at the workplace? How do we navigate tricky relationships and HR issues?
BREAKOUT FIVE:
“Sharing Christ with Tibetan Buddhists” (MARK AVERY) Imagine living with the idea that your past lives govern your present options, that black magic is as normal as technology, that a human is as inherently valuable as a worm, and that the only way to pay off your past is to suffer. Imagine a world where you don’t believe Jesus can save you, there is no way to know what will happen to you when you die, and if you ever achieve release from the cycle of rebirth, your ultimate destination is total obliteration. Then imagine the consequence of that worldview on every relationship, commitment, community, and challenge you will ever have. Now, let’s talk about sharing Jesus with a Tibetan Buddhist– a worldview that grew out of Hinduism has deeply affected global “new age” thinking, and is increasingly evident in America today!
BREAKOUT SIX:
“Don’t Have a Debate, Have a Discussion” (STEVEN DISEBASTIAN) Sharing your faith can be difficult, especially in these contentious times. Learn to use a simple technique of asking questions to create spiritual conversations while defusing heated debates.
