The Beauty of God: Preaching, Worship and the Arts Conference, Oct. 24-25, 2022

Pastors, worship leaders, visual artists and musicians are invited to join in learning from and interacting with a diverse group of experienced practitioners and speakers who will focus attention on the beauty of the Triune God whom Christian people gather to worship and adore.

Worship, informative talks, breakout sessions, meals and informal conversations will provide opportunities to deepen your understanding on how the beauty of God's love is manifested through the ministries of preaching, worship and the arts.

Event Speakers

Daniel Cason

Daniel Cason is an ordained minister, concert pianist and a former high school music teacher. He received his formal education at the Cleveland Music School Settlement (Rainey Institute), the renowned Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Southern California (ISOMATA), where he studied master classes with Lee Thompson of the Julliard School of Music. Cason holds two earned music degrees (Bachelor of Arts and Masters) from MTC School of Theology.

Joe Cory

Joe Cory is associate professor of art and design for Samford University’s School of the Arts and faculty fellow of the Center for Worship and the Arts. He is an accomplished artist and educator who has been using a mix of traditional and innovative teaching methods for over 15 years to help students learn artistic skills and think creatively. As an educator, practicing artist, former gallery director, and leader of the non-profit CIVA | Christians in the Visual Arts, he's gained extensive experience in all facets of the art world. He exhibits his artwork across the country and regularly gives conference presentations on pedagogy, curriculum development and the art of teaching art. Cory holds an M.F.A. from the University of Chicago, a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a B.A. from Central College (IA).

Cliff Duren

Cliff Duren is the worship pastor at First Baptist Church Woodstock, GA. He also writes, arranges, orchestrates and produces music resources for various publishers while also producing various artist recordings. He is a five-time Dove Award winner for his contributions in Christian music.

Tyshawn Gardner

Tyshawn Gardner is associate professor in Samford University’s Department of Biblical and Religious Studies and director of the department’s Preministerial Scholars program. Gardner currently serves as the senior pastor of the Plum Grove Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and previously as the vice president for student affairs at Stillman College. He is the author of two forthcoming books, Sacred Anthropology: Prophetic Radicalism for Pulpit and Pew (Fortress Press, 2022) and Social Crisis Preaching: Biblical Proclamation for Pulpit and Pew (B&H, 2023). He earned an M.Div. from Beeson Divinity School and a Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Debra Dean Murphy

Debra Dean Murphy is associate professor of Religious Studies at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She is the author of Teaching That Transforms: Worship as the Heart of Christian Education (Wipf and Stock) and Happiness, Health, and Beauty: the Christian Life in Everyday Terms (Cascade). She serves as co-convener of the Liturgy and Ethics Interest Group of the Society of Christian Ethics and is a contributing editor and featured columnist for The Christian Century.

Overflow

Overflow is made up of a husband-and-wife team, Cliff and April Duren, along with their good friend, Heather Richardson. They have recorded five projects together as a trio over the past twelve years of ministry. Each recording contains an eclectic mix of modern worship, gospel and a cappella music. No matter the style, Overflow has their heart set on lifting high the name of Jesus and sharing the true saving message of the gospel.

Matt Papa

As a veteran songwriter and Christian musician, Matt Papa has carved an even more unique space for himself as one of the world’s top modern-day hymn writers. With songs like, “His Mercy Is More,” “Christ Our Hope In Life And Death” and “Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery,” Matt tours regularly across the U.S. as a songwriter with Getty Music and frequently guests on their tours. A two-time Dove Award nominated artist, Matt is on a mission to write songs that are singable, beautiful, and timeless. He serves as an artist-in-residence at Cedarville University and Marco Presbyterian Church.

Kevin Twit

Kevin Twit is the RUF Campus Minister at Belmont University. In 1999, he began Indelible Grace Music, which has been at the heart of the movement to reset old hymn texts to new music. Twit is also an adjunct professor at Covenant Seminary and Belmont University. He is an avid book collector and lectures widely on topics of hymns and worship. Twit is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and Covenant Theological Seminary.

John D. Witvliet

John D. Witvliet is the director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship (CICW) and professor of worship, theology & congregational and ministry studies at Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. A graduate of Calvin University, Witvliet holds graduate degrees in theology from Calvin Theological Seminary, in music from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in liturgical studies and theology from the University of Notre Dame. As a teacher, he has mentored student research and offered courses on worship and theology, the Psalms, Trinitarian liturgical and sacramental theology, the history of worship, the Christian year, the arts in worship, as well as recent co-taught exploratory courses and seminars on global Christianity, intercultural learning, disability and African American religious autobiography. He is the author of many books, including Worship Seeking Understanding (Baker Academic, 2003), a co-edited volume, Worship in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel: Ancient Sermons and Hymns for Contemporary Christian Inspiration (Baker, 2004) and The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship (Eerdmans, 2007).

The Beauty of God: Preaching, Worship and the Arts Conference is co-sponsored by the Center for Worship and the Arts and Beeson’s Robert Smith Jr. Preaching Institute.

2021 22 Divinity Beauty of God Conference FB1

October 24 – October 25

Samford University

Contact: Anna Russell

Email: akumpuri@samford.edu

Get Tickets Schedule of Events Share on:

This conference will focus on how the beauty of God's love is manifested through the ministries of preaching, worship and the arts and how the arts may support ministries of preaching and worship. More fundamentally, this conference aims to give a more profound awareness of how such practices are rooted in the beauty and glory of the Triune God.