2026 HCU Theology Conference
April 16-17, 2026
抖阴入口 will hold its annual Theology Conference on April 16鈥�17, 2026, on HCU campus in Houston, TX. The conference will discuss the book of Acts in its cultural and theological context, and we are pleased to announce that we will host two keynote lecturers, Dr. Craig S. Keener and Dr. Isaac W. Oliver.
Call for Papers
The conference will also feature several breakout sessions. To that end, we invite proposals for papers discussing various passages and/or topics in Acts, including, but not limited to, the Torah, Christology, eschatology, atonement, reception history, etc. Previous conferences have focused on the reading of Paul鈥檚 letters and the Gospels as Jewish texts, and while that will be a major theme of this conference and the keynote lecturers, paper proposals need not be confined to such topics. Please submit proposals of no more than 300 words to Paul T. Sloan (psloan@HC.edu) no later than December 1, 2025.
$40- Standard In-Person
$10- Graduate student In-Person
Conference Schedule
| Time | Description |
| Thursday, April 16 | |
| 10:00 | Daniel Dicken, 鈥淲ill the 鈥楳en of Israel鈥� Please Stand Up? Peter, Paul, and Jewish Priority in Acts 2 and 13鈥� |
| 10:40 | Jeffrey Austin Lynch, 鈥淐leansing Their Hearts by Faith: Purity and Inclusion at the Jerusalem Council鈥� |
| Lunch Break | |
| 12:30 | Cassidy Gossage, 鈥淎cts 16:1-3: Timothy鈥檚 Permissible Gentile Circumcision鈥� |
| 1:10 | Trent Hipp, 鈥淪tephen鈥檚 Speech and a Non-Temple Judaism鈥� |
| 2:00 | Andrew Waller, 鈥淲hy has Satan filled your heart?鈥�: Ananias and Sapphira as Deuteronomic Covenant Violators in聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽Acts 5:1鈥�11鈥� |
| Break | |
| 3:30 | Dustin Turner, 鈥淚mprovisational Ecclesiology in Acts: Learning from Early Church Polity for Contemporary Church聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Polity鈥� |
| Break, Coffee + Dinner | |
| 6:30-7:15 | Craig Keener (Keynote Lecture) |
| 7:15 | Q/A |
| Friday, April 17 | |
| 9:00 | Kyle Sherling, 鈥淒elaying the Kingdom鈥檚 Restoration: Reading Acts in the Context of Hellenistic and Roman Historiography鈥� |
| 9:40 | Jason Moraff, 鈥淓veryone Who Calls Upon鈥� Caesar? A Literary and Theological Reappraisal of Paul鈥檚 Appeal to Caesar鈥� |
| Break for Lunch | |
| 12:00 | Isaac Oliver (Keynote Lecture) |
| 1:00-2:30 | Panel with Isaac Oliver, Craig Keener, and Paul T. Sloan |
Helpful links
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鈥檚 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 class starts. See the list of courses for surveying at our main Houston Theological Seminary page. Then you can 聽register as a surveyor.
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.
