Dr. Richard E. Burnett · Executive Director, Theology Matters
2026 Conference Recap
Annual Conference · March 3–5, 2026 · Hilton Head Island, SC
The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for the Sheep
Theology Matters' 2026 annual conference gathered pastors, elders, and friends of the ministry at Providence Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island for three days of preaching, lectures, panels, and worship around the witness of Christ as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
The lectures below are made freely available so the work of the conference continues. Click any talk to watch.
From John 10
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:11 · The passage that shaped the gathering
By the Numbers
What the gathering added up to.
Pastors, elders, and friends from across the country gathered on Hilton Head Island for three days of teaching and worship.
9
Lectures & sermons
3
Days on Hilton Head
24
States represented
117
Pastors, elders & friends
Featured Lecture
Conference Lectures
Doug Pratt · Senior Pastor Emeritus, FPC Bonita Springs
Deposit Insurance
Sara Jane Nixon · Senior Pastor, Crestview Presbyterian Church
Embodied Disciples in the Internet Age
Dr. James Miller · Senior Pastor Emeritus, FPC Tulsa
Which is the Way of the Savior?
Dr. Raymond Hylton · Senior Pastor, National Presbyterian Church, D.C.
Feed My Sheep
Dr. Raymond Hylton · Senior Pastor, National Presbyterian Church, D.C.
Shepherds After God's Heart: A Biblical Theology of Pastoral Vocation
Dr. J. Andrew Dearman · Professor of OT Emeritus, Fuller Seminary
Jeremiah & Israel's True Shepherd
Dr. J. Andrew Dearman · Professor of OT Emeritus, Fuller Seminary
A Shepherd who is The Lamb of God
Dr. Richard E. Burnett · Executive Director, Theology Matters
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Courage to Stand, Part II
Wednesday Afternoon Workshops
Six workshops, gathered in conversation.
On Wednesday at 2:15 p.m., conference attendees broke into six concurrent workshops, each led by a teacher or board member of Theology Matters. Descriptions and leader bios are preserved here as part of the conference record.
Workshop 01
Presbyterian Heritage and the Present Time: The Changing and the Changeless
Led by John M. Metzger
The workshop surveyed and highlighted important topics and themes of Presbyterian thought during the twentieth century, including the missionary movement, the ecumenical movement, Christian education, and biblical studies. President John A. Mackay (1889–1983) and Professor Bruce M. Metzger (1914–2007) were respected clergymen, scholars, and prolific authors who shaped the Presbyterian Church (USA) during that period. Beginning with reference to Reminiscences of an Octogenarian by Bruce Manning Metzger (1997), the workshop was structured around biographical sketches of each man, with bibliographical references and examination of certain published works. The witness and example of two major twentieth-century public intellectuals are very much worth recalling as Christians face the challenges of a new era.
John M. Metzger joined the board of Theology Matters in 2017 and serves as a director. He is the author of The Hand and the Road (Westminster John Knox, 2010) and editor of The Meaning of Life (Wipf and Stock, 2014). Earned his B.A. from Harvard, J.D. from NYU School of Law, with post-graduate study at the London School of Economics.
Workshop 02
The Devoted Groom Provided Wine for His Wedding: A Discussion about the Lord’s Supper
Led by Tim Meredith
Standing behind and above the ordinary wedding in Cana of Galilee is the true Groom, Jesus Christ, who will be wed to God's people at the end of John's gospel. Like ordinary grooms whose responsibility it is to provide the wine, Jesus will provide the wine, but it will be the wine of His own blood shed on the cross. As the headwaiter remarks about saving the best wine for last, the best of Israel's sacrifices comes at the end. The miracle is a sign pointing to the Messiah and to God's devoted love for the church, showing that Jesus was focused on His heavenly wedding from the beginning of His ministry.
Tim Meredith is a minister at large in the Holston Presbytery, PC(USA), and a board member of Theology Matters. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from Virginia Tech and his M.Div. from Gordon Conwell Seminary. He has pastored congregations in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Workshop 03
Presbyterians for the Kingdom: Who Are They? How Is It Going? What’s Next?
Led by James F. Cubie & David Yancey
Presbyterians for the Kingdom is a Generation Z renewal movement, started by Richard Ackermann (a.k.a. "Redeemed Zoomer"), whose YouTube channel has 670,000 subscribers. The group hosted their first conference the day before the Theology Matters conference, and this workshop reflected on what the movement is, how it is going, and what is next.
James F. Cubie is a pastor on Long Island, New York and a director on the board of Theology Matters. He has an M.Div. from Union Seminary, New York, and a Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary in Systematic Theology. David Yancey is President of Presbyterians for the Kingdom, a recent King University graduate (A.B., history), and is in his first semester at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama.
Workshop 04
Being Prophetic in a Denomination that Prides Itself on Being Prophetic
Led by Stephen D. Crocco
In The Prophetic Imagination (1978), Walter Brueggemann wrote, "The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perceptions of the dominant culture around us." Progressives within the PCUSA have long claimed to be prophetic in and to the dominant culture they describe as sexist, heteronormative, colonialist, white, and nationalist. This workshop explored speaking "truth to power" in and to the dominant progressive culture in the PCUSA, with a goal of establishing benchmarks for an alternative culture and agenda.
Stephen D. Crocco recently retired as Library Director at Yale Divinity School, having previously held similar positions at Princeton, Pittsburgh Theological Seminaries, and the U.S. Army War College. He holds an M.Div. from Pittsburgh, a Th.M. from Harvard, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is currently writing a book on Jonathan Edwards and Harvard historian Perry Miller and is Associate Pastor of Oakmont Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.
Workshop 05
Reformed Aesthetics: Visual Language for God’s Glory
Led by Randy Working
This interactive seminar explored the heritage of Reformed and Presbyterian engagement with the visual arts. Drawing on William Dyrness's Visual Faith, Hans Rookmaaker's Art Needs No Justification, and Working's own Visual Theology, the workshop traced how Protestants developed a distinctive aesthetic that glorifies God through everyday beauty. Through case studies including Rembrandt's biblical scenes and Dutch church architecture, participants considered art as a tool for theological witness, ideal for pastors, artists, and laypeople seeking to integrate faith and creativity.
Randy Working pastors two churches in the San Fernando Presbytery in Southern California and is President of Theology Matters. He earned his B.A. at Whitworth University, his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing at the University of Washington, and his M.Div., D.Min., and Ph.D. in Theology and Culture from Fuller Seminary. He is the author of From Rebellion to Redemption and The Visual Theology of the Huguenots.
Workshop 06
How a Young Pastor and His Wife Resisted the Nazis in the Third Reich
Led by Martha Burnett
They called him "the lion of Bavaria." Pastor Karl Steinbauer and his wife, Eugenie, took a clear and courageous stand against the lies of the Nazis and confronted not only government officials but also their own church leadership for its compromising attitude toward National Socialism. He was arrested four times, then was sent on personal orders by Reinhard Heydrich and Heinrich Himmler to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The faithful witness of this young couple remains a great source of inspiration for Christ's witnesses today.
Martha Burnett was born and raised in Germany. Her father was a Lutheran pastor near the North Sea. She studied English and Evangelische Theologie at the University of Saarbrücken. She has served as administrative assistant for Theology Matters since 2016 and for the Foundation for Reformed Theology since 2023. She is currently writing a book on women of the Confessing Church during National Socialism.
Beyond the Lectures
Plenary and panel conversations.
Two extended conversations bracketed the lecture sessions, drawing speakers and other voices into a wider exchange about renewal in the Reformed church.
Wednesday Evening Plenary
Presbyterians for the Kingdom
Featuring Richard Burnett, David Yancey, Jonathan Sundermeier, Richard Ackermann, and Helene Church
After dinner on Wednesday, the conference gathered in the sanctuary for a plenary conversation with leaders of Presbyterians for the Kingdom, the Generation Z renewal movement that had hosted its first conference the day before. The session looked at where the movement stands, the role of younger Presbyterians in renewing Reformed witness, and what comes next.
Thursday Afternoon Panel
Theology Matters Authors and Conference Speakers
Closing the conference, March 5, 2:00 p.m.
The conference closed with an open panel drawing the week's lecturers and contributing authors of the journal into a final conversation. Attendees pressed questions about pastoral vocation, the witness of the Reformed church in the present moment, and the connection between the Confessions and contemporary congregational life.
From the gathering
Three days at Providence Presbyterian, Hilton Head Island.
Voices on the bench
Who taught at the 2026 gathering
Doug Pratt
Senior Pastor Emeritus, FPC Bonita Springs
Senior Pastor Emeritus of First Presbyterian Church, Bonita Springs, Florida, with a longstanding passion for mentoring candidates for ordained ministry.
Sara Jane Nixon
Senior Pastor, Crestview Presbyterian
Senior Pastor of Crestview Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a Doctor of Ministry candidate at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.
Read full bio →James Miller
Senior Pastor Emeritus, FPC Tulsa
Senior Pastor Emeritus of First Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a Teaching Fellow for the Institute for Theological Education.
Read full bio →Raymond Hylton
Senior Pastor, National Presbyterian, D.C.
Senior Pastor of National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C., and a longtime friend of Theology Matters.
Read full bio →J. Andrew Dearman
Professor of OT Emeritus, Fuller Seminary
Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Fuller Seminary and a Teaching Fellow for the Institute for Theological Education.
Read full bio →Dr. Richard E. Burnett
Executive Director, Theology Matters
Editor of the quarterly journal. Has served the Reformed church as a pastor, scholar, and editor for more than three decades.
Read full bio →Continue with Theology Matters
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