The Christian Church amid Seismic Shifts

About the Speakers

Dr. Gene Edward Veith is a retired English professor and college administrator, most recently at Patrick Henry College and Concordia University Wisconsin. He is the author of 27 books, including Spirituality of the Cross, Authentic Christianity, and Post-Christian. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and currently lives in Oklahoma.

Dr. Paul Wendland is professor of New Testament and Preaching at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, where pastors of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod receive their seminary training. As professor of New Testament, his specialties are biblical interpretation and the books of 1 Peter, Galatians and Romans. He grew up in Zambia where he also served as a missionary. Later, he was called to be a parish pastor in Michigan and then to be a home missionary in Utah. From 1993 to 2001 he taught Latin and English literature at Martin Luther College, New Ulm MN. Since 2001 he has been serving at the seminary. He is the author of two volumes of the People’s Bible: 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles (Northwestern Publishing House, 1994 and 1998).

Dr. A. Andrew Das is professor of Religious Studies and Assistant Dean of the Faculty for Assessment and Accreditation at Elmhurst University in Illinois. Dr. Das has been listed among twenty-five leading Pauline theorists of the last century (Perspectives Old and New on Paul). An internationally recognized New Testament scholar, he is the author of numerous books, including Galatians (Concordia Commentary Series, CPH) and Baptized into God’s Family (NPH). His expertise in the New Testament is reflected in his many articles, presentations, and work, including his contribution to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), a translation released in 2017, for which he continues to serve on its Translation Oversight Committee. Dr. Das received graduate degrees from Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, Concordia Theological Seminary, and has done doctoral work at Duke University. He and his wife have three children (all currently in college).

Dr. Ryan MacPherson serves as director of the Center for Apologetics and Worldview Studies and Professor of History at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn. He formerly served as senior editor for The Family in America: A Journal of Public Policy and as a board member for the Evangelical Lutheran Synod Historical Society. His books include: Rediscovering the American Republic: The Quest for Ordered Liberty, Telling the Next Generation: The Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s Vision for Christian Education, and Studying Luther’s Large Catechism: A Workbook for Christian Discipleship. Learn more at www.ryancmacpherson.com.

Karim Yaghleji was born in Hassaka, Syria. He moved to Aleppo, Syria when he was 12 years old. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English literature and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Aleppo University, Syria. Karim taught English as a second language and English for specific purposes at Aleppo University for over 4 years. He was the head of the English department in a United Nations location in Syria before he moved to the United States at the end of 2012. His parents and only sister, Antoinette, are still in Aleppo, Syria. After arriving here, Karim taught English for immigrants at Neighborhood Adult Literacy Action in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from Martin Luther College with a seminary certificate, enrolled in Bethany Lutheran Seminary, and recently graduated. He completed a year of vicarage at Bethany Lutheran Church in Port Orchard, WA. Karim travels all over the country presenting about the persecution of Christians in Syria. He also currently helps translate books from English to Arabic. He came to St. Timothy in July 2020 to reach out to the nearby Arabic speaking community.