Events to bring Christian conservative leaders to city
Memphis hosting two gatherings this weekend
“We’re trying to make Memphis a ministry hub on this side of the Mississippi River.”
Chris Hughes founder and chairman of the Citizens for America Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates conservative Christian principles
Two conservative Christian events this weekend at Mid-america Baptist Theological Seminary in Cordova are drawing influential religious and political figures for worship and preaching and for a Culture Engagement Summit.
Those appearing range from Mark Meadows, a former congressman and chief of staff to former President Donald Trump, to Pastor Robert Jeffress, a Fox News contributor and First Baptist Dallas pastor.
Jeffress was one of Trump’s most prominent Evangelical advisers and advocates, frequenting the White House during his presidency.
The events, which include a Bible conference hosted by the Conservative Baptist Network and the summit hosted by the Citizens for America Foundation, could be just the start of conservative Christians using Memphis as a “ministry hub” not unlike Colorado Springs, home of Focus on the Family and numerous other religious organizations, said Chris Hughes, founder and chairman of the Citizens for America Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates conservative Christian principles.
The events coincide with the relocation of the foundation from Boone, North Carolina, to Memphis. The Conservative Baptist Network is already located in the city.
“We’re trying to make Memphis a ministry hub on this side of the Mississippi River,” Hughes said. “Mid-america is trying to make their campus a central point for activities not just in Memphis, but really across the country as they’re growing and have big plans around the country as well.”
Randy Redd, a vice president at Midamerica, said the organization hopes to fulfill a need for “equipped biblical leaders.”
“It’s the pressure that’s on our churches, it’s the pressure that’s on individuals. We need to be able to explain what the Bible says about salvation and to be able to give an authoritative answer
about the questions our culture is asking today. I think that’s why God put this school here is to declare, yes, the infallible, inerrant word of God, the sufficient word of God,” he said.
While the two events have different goals, there is overlap in terms of leadership and speakers, with organizers saying they were planned on the same weekend intentionally.
The Bible conference, which starts Thursday evening and goes all day Friday, is the second such event hosted by the Conservative Baptist Network, and will include hearing from Lee Brand, the first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Mike Stone, the Georgia pastor who was supported by the network in the 2021 election for the convention presidency, losing to Alabama Pastor Ed Litton.
“You’ve got pastors and church members around the country that are looking for conferences that are going to be centered on the Bible, so strong biblical preaching and teaching, where they’re going to be encouraged and equipped on issues going on in the day,” said Brad Jurkovich, a Louisiana pastor who is the spokesperson for the Conservative Baptist Network.
The Citizens for America Foundation’s Culture Engagement Summit is all day Saturday, drawing figures ranging from Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; former Republican Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas (whose 10-year prison sentence due to misusing charitable funds was commuted by Trump after Stockman served two years); Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia; controversial author and radio host Todd Starnes, who was born and raised in Memphis and Southaven; and Stephen Willeford, the former NRA firearms instructor who intervened in the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting.
“We tried to get a broad spectrum of people who worked in very different areas, because we really want to equip Christians,” Hughes said. “The whole purpose is to help Christians develop a biblical worldview and to take that into the arena and to write legislation or enact laws hopefully for us from a biblical worldview.”
Hughes, known particularly for his podcast “The Christian Perspective with Chris Hughes,” is founder of the Citizens for America Foundation and a member of the steering counsel for the
Conservative Baptist Network. Scott Colter, executive director of the Conservative Baptist Network, will be leading a breakout session and panel discussion at the Citizens for America event.
And Jeffress, the pastor who advised Trump, will be speaking at both events.
“The desire of all these organizations is to serve the church and the community well,” Colter said.
Some of those appearing at the Citizens for America event will have other Memphis appearances this weekend. Meadows, for example, is keynote speaker at Friday’s Lincoln Day Gala for the Republican Party of Shelby County.
Meadows is currently resisting a subpoena to appear before the Jan. 6 committee, claiming executive privilege. In December, the U.S. House voted to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for defying the subpoena.
After the day of the Citizens for America summit, there will be a 6 p.m. showing of “Enemies Within the Church,” a film touted by the Conservative Baptist Network that takes aim at major conservative figures, Christian leaders and denominations, portraying them as bringing Marxism into Christianity.
Jurkovich said it made sense for the two events to happen in tandem, both located at Mid-america.
“We love what his (Hughes’) organization is doing and it really is a part of a heartbeat of the Conservative Baptist network where we want to have a strong commitment to the Bible but we also know Christians need to be engaged and being salt and light and speaking hope into our culture,” he said.
Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-529-2799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.