Christian Life Commission to host Advocacy Day in Austin for Texas Baptists

AUSTIN - Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission will host 2017 Advocacy Day Feb. 28-March 1 in Austin for ministers, leaders, students and advocates. Workshops and general sessions will be held at Hyde Park Baptist Church Tuesday, Feb. 28, and appointments with legislative offices will take place at the Capitol building Wednesday, March 1.

Featured speakers for Advocacy Day include Vincent Bacote, professor at Wheaton College, and Gabe Lyons, co-author of Good Faith (2016), unChristian (2007) and author of The Next Christians (2010). Workshops will feature a variety of pivotal policy issues including religious liberty, immigration, race, payday lending, foster care and more.

"This will be a great opportunity for Texas Baptists to engage in the political process by hearing from leading experts, networking with Christian leaders and meeting with legislators on important issues impacting our churches, our communities and our state," said Kathryn Freeman, director of public policy for the Christian Life Commission.

The Austin-based Christian Life Commission hosts this event bi-annually to facilitate education, networking and dialogue on important policy issues impacting Texas Baptists.

Bacote is an associate professor of theology and director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.  He is author of The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life (2015), The Spirit in Public Theology: Appropriating the Legacy of Abraham Kuyper (2005), and has contributed to various books, magazines and blogs. He is a fellow of the Center for Public Justice and a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Christian Ethics.

Lyons authored The Next Christians as a manifesto for how Christians can faithfully lead in a changing culture. He is founder of Q, a learning community of Christian leaders where they are equipped to engage the culture.

Individuals interested in attending can visit texasbaptists.org/advocacyday for more information on the schedule and registration.