Faith and Law

Donald Larson is the CEO/Founder of Sunshine Nut Company in Mozambique. In 2011, he gave up a successful career in the corporate food industry and moved his family to Mozambique to start Sunshine Nut Co.The road to Mozambique began in 2007 when Don turned down a major career move and left his corporate life for a spiritual journey to discover God’s true purpose for his life. It was in this season of listening and waiting that God spoke to him with clarity that was almost audible – saying, “Go and build food factories in developing nations to bring lasting economic transformation.” Through prayer and solitude, he developed the Sunshine Approach business model, focusing on transforming lives at every level of the business. Not long after, he was led to Mozambique and its abundance of amazing cashews to start this grand adventure. Faced with a calling he had little desire to fulfill, he chose to be obedient. He and his family sold everything they owned and moved to Mozambique.This move transformed their lives. In the past six years, they have built a world-class food factory hiring primarily adult orphans. They developed relationships with orphanages and other community organizations throughout Mozambique where they support and develop projects with 90% of their profits. In 2014, their cashews landed on US shelves and today, they have an all-African staff of 30 producing the best tasting cashews under the sun!As CEO of Sunshine Nut Company, he presses forward relentlessly growing their operations in the US and Mozambique, while sharing their story all over the world. Don's wife, Terri, oversees all our philanthropic work as the Director of Social Impact and spends her days spreading love to the most needy in their community.Support the show

In this lecture, Os Guinness discussed the questions, "What does it say of us as human beings that we  see ourselves as 'post-Auschwitz,' 'post-Hiroshima' and now 'pre-Singularity'? What does the Bible have to say to humanity on the verge of transhumanism, and those who claim that through science and technology we are now 'the gods of planet earth'?"Os Guinness is an author and social critic. Great-great-great grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer, he was born in China in World War Two where his parents were medical missionaries. A witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of London and his D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College, Oxford.Os has written or edited more than thirty books, including The Call, Time for Truth, Unspeakable, A Free People’s Suicide, and The Global Public Square. His latest book, Last Call for Liberty: How America’s genius for freedom has become its greatest threat was published in 2018.Since moving to the United States in 1984, Os has been a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies, a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum and the EastWest Institute in New York. He was the lead drafter of the Williamsburg Charter in 1988, a bicentennial celebration of the bicentennial of the US Constitution, and later of “The Global Charter of Conscience,” which was published at the European Union Parliament in 2012. Os has spoken at many of the world’s major universities, and spoken widely to political and business conferences across the world. He lives with his wife Jenny in the Washington DC area.Support the show

Trillia Newbell is the author of  Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s Good Gifts (2016),  Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves (2015) and United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity (2014). Her writings on issues of faith, family, and diversity have been published in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Desiring God, True Woman, Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and more. She has spoken at numerous conferences, churches, women’s retreats, colleges and seminaries, including True Woman, The Gospel Coalition Women’s conference, Southeastern Theological Seminary, and more. She currently is the Director of Community Outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention.Her greatest love besides God is her family. She is married to her best friend and love, Thern. They reside with their two children near Nashville, TN.Support the show

The story of humanity (thus far) is a complex narrative that cycles through riveting victories while also plagued with the vicious wounds of sin. From the days of the Old Testament into the New Testament and beyond, humanity has challenged itself with racism and ethnic division. This talk will challenge the audience to explore the history and theology of race with an eye towards the historical, theological, cultural, sociological and spiritual necessity for reconciliation.   Emmett G. Price III is Professor of Worship, Church and Culture; Dean of the Chapel; and founding Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of the Black Christian Experience (ISBCE) at the Hamilton Campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He also serves as founding pastor of Community of Love Christian Fellowship in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, MA.Support the show

Vision, leadership, patience, strategic thinking - each is key to maximizing long-term success in our work and in our daily lives. But what is the best way to think about these often nebulous concepts, and how are they best practiced? Further, how do we persevere in the face of inevitable obstacles? Alan Sears, founder of Alliance Defending Freedom, presented the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in World War II and the 34th President of the United States, and how Eisenhower's faithfulness and perseverance is a model for us all to follow if we want to be used by God to make a difference in the world."[Ike's] story has many important lessons that we can apply to our lives today as we seek to shape our futures to please God and to be all that we can be.  And few things provide context better than understanding our collective past, learning from those that persevered and kept the faith often through circumstances that made no sense at all to enable us to live in freedom." - Alan SearsAs the first president, CEO, and general counsel of ADF, Alan Sears led all strategic initiatives from 1993-2017, strengthening alliances, forging new relationships, and developing the resources needed to ensure the ministry's capacity to respond to opportunities. Realizing the need for conservative lawyers, Sears created the world-class Blackstone Legal Fellowship leadership-training program which has since graduated more than 1,960 outstanding law students. At the same time, ADF has trained more than 2,000 lawyers to defend religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage and the family. Under Sears' leadership, ADF attorneys won more than three out of four cases and ADF has played various important roles in 52 victories at the United States Supreme Court.Support the show

Holly J. Burkhalter serves as Senior Advisor for Global Partnerships at IJM. She stewards IJM’s relationships in the global policy, human rights and development communities and speaks and publishes regularly on IJM’s behalf.Before joining IJM, Holly spent nine years serving as the U.S. Policy Director for Physicians for Human Rights and fourteen years as the Advocacy Director and Director of the Washington office for Human Rights Watch. Holly also staffed the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations from 1981 to 1983. From 1977 to 1981, she worked for Representative (later Senator) Tom Harkin, D-IA.She is the author of Good God, Lousy World & Me, the Improbable Journey of a Human Rights Activist from Unbelief to Faith.Holly graduated from Iowa State University (Phi Beta Kappa).Support the show

At a time when there are more forcibly displaced persons than at any other time since World War II, the international community has struggled with how to tangibly and practically respond to the refugees arriving at their borders. The U.S. has traditionally welcomed more refugees than any other country in the world while also leading the world in providing humanitarian assistance to refugees overseas. How should the international community and the United States continue to respond to the global refugee crisis? Also, how can the church think Biblically and respond holistically to refugees and displaced persons, overseas or right in their own back yards?Jenny Yang provides oversight for all advocacy initiatives and policy positions at World Relief. She has worked in the Resettlement section of World Relief as the Senior Case Manager and East Asia Program Officer, where she focused on advocacy for refugees in the East Asia region and managed the entire refugee caseload for World Relief. Prior to World Relief, she worked at one of the largest political fundraising firms in Maryland managing fundraising and campaigning for local politicians. She is co-author of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion and Truth in the Immigration Debate, serves as Chair of the Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) Africa Work Group, and was named one of the “50 Women to Watch” by Christianity Today. Support the show

Dr. Eric Patterson will discuss just war thinking within the context of a Christian worldview and our current political climate.Dr. Eric Patterson is dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University. His research and teaching focus on religion and politics, ethics and international affairs, and just-war theory in the context of contemporary conflict. Prior to his arrival at Regent, Patterson served as associate director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs and visiting assistant professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. As part of the Berkley Center's Government Outreach program he has spoken and led seminars at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis), the Armed Forces Chaplains Center, National Defense University, the Pentagon, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Foreign Service Institute, and other government venues.Patterson has considerable U.S. government experience. He served as a White House Fellow and special assistant to the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and has spent two stints in the State Department's Bureau of Political and Military Affairs. He continues to serve as an officer and commander in the Air National Guard.Patterson is the author or editor of 10 books, including most recently: Ending Wars Well: Just War Thinking and Post-Conflict (Yale University Press, 2012) and Ethics Beyond War's End (Georgetown University Press, 2012.) He has also edited two volumes on Christian realism and has been published in numerous journals including Survival, International Studies Perspectives, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, International Politics, Journal of Diplomacy and International Affairs, and Journal of Political Science, among others.Support the show

A 1990s Republican Revolution in helping the poor came close to critical mass but then fizzled: The result was tragic for poor people, for idealistic reformers, for the GOP, and for America generally. We’ll look at how and why that happened, and whether Christians can help to revive the spirit of those years at a time when callous conservatism seems to reign.Marvin Olasky is editor in chief of WORLD News Group and the author of more than 20 books, including The Tragedy of American Compassion. His latest book is World View: Seeking Grace and Truth in Our Common Life. Support the show

Pastor Brett Fuller is the Senior Pastor of Grace Covenant Church.  He currently serves as the North American Leadership Team Director for Every Nation Churches, and as Chaplain of the Washington Redskins.  From 2005 to 2014 he served as Chaplain for the National Association of Basketball Coaches.  In 2000, he initiated a bill in Congress to build a memorial honoring the African American Slaves who helped build America. Though the bill was never passed, he still hopes to complete the mission.  Also, from 2007-2009 he served on President George Bush's Advisory Board for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  He has written two devotional books:  Live Well and Relate Well.He and his lovely wife of 30 years, Cynthia,  frequently conduct marriage and family seminars.  Brett also coordinates relational and professional development seminars helping leaders in every walk of life to become better leaders.  He and his bride reside in Chantilly, VA and have parented 7 children.Support the show