OCTOBER 9-10, 2025
Fall ConferenceThe A.A. Pedersen Lectureship will explore “preaching by heart” and the Continuing Education sessions will explore decreasing worship attendance and the perception that the Church in America is dying.
Seminars
Dr. Ryan Tinetti
A.A. Pedersen Lectureship | Oct. 9
Many pastors would like to be able to preach without notes, but are unsure whether they could ever do it or how. Ryan Tinetti will provide an overview of what it means to preach by heart, why it matters, and how to do it.
Pastor Jim Davis
Continuing Education | Oct. 9 & 10
We hear from many sources that the church is dying. But is that really the case? In The Great Dechurching, authors Jim Davis and Michael Graham investigate numerous insights gleaned from a recent study of dechurching in America. Jim Davis will help us understand the reasons why so many people are no longer attending worship and, more importantly, what can be done about it.
Speakers
Dr. Ryan Tinetti
Dr. Ryan Tinetti is assistant professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Tinetti earned a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) (2019) at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) (2010) from Concordia Seminary. Before joining the CSL faculty, Ryan served for 14 years as a parish pastor in three different parishes in Michigan, Washington, and California. Ryan is the author of Preaching by Heart (Cascade Press, 2021). Pastor Tinetti also writes a regular column for 1517’s Craft of Preaching website called “The Preacher’s Toolbox.” Tinetti and his wife, Anne, have four children
Pastor Jim Davis
Pastor Jim Davis (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is teaching pastor at Orlando Grace Church and host of As in Heaven podcast. He and his wife, Angela, speak for Family Life’s Weekend to Remember marriage getaways. They have four children.