Proclaiming the Parables
2025 HCU Theology Conference
Feb 20-21, 2025
Thomas G. Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. A Presbyterian minister, Dr. Long has served churches in Georgia and New Jersey. He has taught preaching for over forty years — at Erskine Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and, from 2000-2015, at Candler. Dr. Long has served as the president of the Academy of Homiletics and as senior homiletics editor of the New Interpreter’s Bible. He has been editor of Theology Today, is currently an associate editor of Journal for Preachers, and serves as an editor-at-large at The Christian Century. He is the author of textbooks on preaching and worship, collections of sermons, and biblical commentaries on Matthew, Hebrews, and the Pastoral Epistles. In 2011, he was awarded the Emory Williams prize for excellence in teaching by Emory University, and in 2015 he received Emory’s “Scholar/Teacher Award,” the top faculty award for scholarship. He delivered the 2006 Lyman Beecher Lectures in Preaching at Yale Divinity School, and these have been published as Preaching from Memory to Hope. His most recent book is Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God.
The conference will include invited presentations by professors and pastors from a variety of perspectives on proclaiming the parables and the power that unleashes.
Conference is in Belin Chapel in the Morris Cultural Arts Center on HCU’s Campus (MCAC on this campus map).
Conference Schedule
Thursday, February 20
8:15-9:00 | Worship led by Heights Church
Message by Thomas Long
9:15-10:00 | Jeannine Brown, Professor of NT, Bethel Seminary
10:00-10:45 | Renjy Abraham, Dean of Scholarship, BibleProject
10:45-11:00 | BREAK
11:00-11:45 | David Capes, Director of the Library, Lanier Theological Library
11:45-1:00 | LUNCH
1:00-1:45 | Scot McKnight, Visiting Professor of NT, HCU
1:45-2:30 | Paul Sloan, Associate Professor of Early Christianity, HCU
2:30-3:00 | Panel Discussion
3:00-5:00 | Coffee and Conversation in the Green Room
Friday, February 21
8:15-9:00 | Worship led by Heights Church
Message by Thomas Long
9:15-9:45 | Sean Palmer, Teaching Pastor, Ecclesia Houston
9:45-10:15 | Duane Brooks, Senior Pastor, Tallowood Baptist Church
10:15-10:30 | BREAK
10:30-11:00 | Kelly Edmiston, Lead Pastor, The Vineyard Church, Sugarland/Stafford
11:00-11:30 | Jason Tarn, Lead English Pastor, Houston Chinese Church
11:30-12:00 | Panel Discussion
12:00-1:30 | LUNCH
1:30-2:30 | KEYNOTE Thomas Long
2:30-3:15 | Lynn Cohick, Distinguished Professor of NT, HCU
3:15-4:00 | Panel Discussion
4:00-5:00 | Coffee and Conversation in the Green Room
Register Now
$40- Standard In-Person
$10- Graduate student In-Person
$40- Virtual
Helpful links
HCU Theology Conference 2025 sponsored by
Going Further. . .
In case you would like to explore these issues beyond one weekend, we encourage you to consider the further options with Houston Theological Seminary.
Surveying. We offer several options for those interested to go further without starting up a formal degree program. A surveyor is someone who is taking a course in a not-for-credit capacity, simply for one’s own enjoyment and personal development. The cost to take a class as a surveyor is $180 if registered before the classes start. It is $200 after that. See the list of courses for surveying at our main Houston Theological Seminary page. You can register as a surveyor from here.
Pursuing a Degree. We offer a variety of graduate and undergraduate degrees that focus on biblical, theological, and ministerial studies. For more details, check out the links to our specific degrees through the Department of Theology.
