The 2015 C-Suite Symposium Program
The ECPA C-Suite Symposium, held November 8-10 in Sante Fe NM, will feature a legal panel with Greg Baylor with Alliance Defending Freedom, and a session with Dr. Jerry Pattengale on the 2017 debut of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. They join broadcast journalist and author Hugh Hewitt (The Happiest Life), Barna President David Kinnaman (You Lost Me), and Hobby Lobby president Steve Green.
HUGH HEWITT – Attorney, law professor, broadcast journalist, and author, Hugh will be with us to talk about the current political climate, the state of religious freedom, his view on the publishing industry, and The Happiest Life (which just happens to be the title of his latest book).
Professor Hugh Hewitt is a lawyer, law professor and broadcast journalist whose nationally syndicated radio show is heard in more than 120 cities across the United States every weekday afternoon. Professor Hewitt is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, and has been teaching Constitutional Law at Chapman University Law School since it opened in 1995. Professor Hewitt has been a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News Network, and MSNBC, and has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. He has received three Emmys for his work as co-host of the ground-breaking Life & Times program, a nightly news and public affairs program that aired on the Los Angeles PBS affiliate, KCET, from 1992 until 2007. Professor Hewitt also conceived and hosted the 1996 PBS series, Searching for God in America. He is the author of a dozen books, including two New York Times best-sellers.
STEVE GREEN – President of Hobby Lobby and the driving force behind Museum of the Bible (MOTB) scheduled to open in Washington DC in 2017, Steve’s passion is Bible engagement. He will be joined by scholar, researcher, author and speaker
Dr. Jerry Pattengale, MOTB’s Director of Education Initiatives, to share the vision and plans for MOTB.
Steve became President of Hobby Lobby in 2004, and has helped his family grow this business to over 600 stores in 46 states, over 30,000 employees, and over $3.65 billion in annual sales. He has become a national speaker on both business and philanthropy interests, always focusing on how his faith intersects with his life endeavors. Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary recognized his impact in these overlapping life arenas with an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree in 2013. In 2009, The Green Family purchased its first biblical artifact and has since has amassed over 40,000 items which now comprise The Green Collection. Steve now devotes more than half of his time to supporting this endeavor and its related projects, including the Museum of the Bible, the Green Scholars Initiative, Education, Traveling Exhibits and Research. The national Museum of the Bible is scheduled to open in 2017 in DC near the US Capitol. Green has written two books, Faith in America (2011) and The Bible in America (2013). They are available at all Hobby Lobby stores across the nation. Steve and his wife, Jackie, have been married for more than 30 years and have 6 children. They are actively involved at their church, as well as many other national and international Christian charities. www.hobbylobby.com www.hobbylobbycase.com www.museumofthebible.org
DAVID KINNAMAN – President of Barna Group and a best selling author (Un Christian, You Lost Me), David will bring a wealth of information on the state of faith and spirituality among teens and Millennials, as well as explore changing attitudes related to the Bible, revealing the keys that may unlock the Scriptures for future generations.
David is the president and majority owner of Barna Group, a visionary research and resource company located in Ventura, California. He is the author of two bestselling books, unChristian and You Lost Me, which focus on the spiritual lives of teens and twentysomethings. Under his leadership The Barna Team created the FRAMES project – brief meaningful books on contemporary culture. During Kinnaman’s 19 years at the firm, he has supervised or directed interviews with more than 400,000 individuals and leaders. He and his wife Jill have three children, Emily, Annika, and Zack.
JERRY PATTENGALE is author of several books and contributes regularly to national venues. Indiana Wesleyan University named him its first University Professor (2014), and he holds various other distinguished appointments and awards—including USC’s National Student Advocate Award. He serves on the boards of The Religion News Service, Yale’s Jonathan Edwards’ Center and Christian Scholar’s Review (as associate publisher). He was the founding director of both the Green Scholars Initiative and the Education Department for the Museum of the Bible (DC), two of its four pillars. His Wall Street Journal article, “How the Jesus Wife Hoax Fell Apart,” broke that story, and his Chicago Tribune feature, “The Naked Truth,” launched the first of over 200 humorous newsprint columns, the basis of his forthcoming book series, Buck Creek: Telling the Truth with a Smile. One of his most fulfilling engagements was delivering the keynote, “How to Hook an Editor” for McGraw-Hill’s editors’ retreat.
GREG BAYLOR — Senior Counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, where he advocates for the religious rights of individuals and organizations. Greg will present, along with a panel, on the current and future landscape of religious freedom and how this will affect Christian publishers and nonprofits.