by C. S. Lewis Miracles (New York: McMillan, 1952), p. 47.
Greetings and welcome to the web site of the Hill Country Institute for Contemporary Christianity.
The Institute has grown out of the work of a team of folks in the region who have worked together to organize and host a variety of events, including C.S. Lewis Conferences, Narnia Sneak Peeks, Influential Leader Simulcasts, Spiritual Formation Conferences and Events, and Christian Leadership Training. Our goal is to serve the Body of Christ by bringing together thought leaders to address issues of concern to followers of Christ and those who may be considering His place in our times.
We work to address those issues in a variety of forums, such as conferences, symposiums, quotes and written articles to be displayed on the web site and articles and books to be published. We also seek to support and encourage Christian artists in the expression of their faith in their artistic endeavors.
We are now in the planning and organizational stages of a major symposium on faith and science. The Vibrant Dance of Faith and Science: Empowering the Church to Transform the Culture, will be held in Austin, Texas, October 26-28, 2010. Confirmed speakers include Andy Crouch (Senior Editor, Christianity Today), Ross Hastings (Regent College), Hugh Ross and Fazale Rana (Reasons to Believe), Darrel Falk (Biologos Foundation), Stephen Meyer (Discovery Institute), Dinesh D’Souza (Author), Jack Collins (Covenant Seminary), Walter Bradley (Baylor University), Rob Norris (Fourth Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD), Dan Heinze (Geophysicist), and Deborah Haarsma (Calvin College). Topics will include an overview of key issues including the interpretation of Genesis and the origins of the universe, life and mankind; worldview and science; the limitations and dangers of science; the nurture and spiritual formation of the scientific person, and how the Body of Christ can impact and transform the culture in the area of science. Please click on the logo above for additional details and to register at early bird registration rates.
Dan Heinze will present Why Science Cannot Be God: The Limitations of Science Evoke an Expectation of Divine Revelation, Saturday, June 19, 2010, at Hill Country Bible Church Northwest, 12124 RR 620 North, Austin, TX 78750, Room 4.114. The public is invited and there is no charge. Coffee and breakfast tacos will be provided. The presentation is co-sponsored with Reasons to Believe.
How Children Raise Parents: Dan Allender on Parenting was offered on the evenings of February 11-12, 7-9PM, at City School. Dan is a well known author and speaker on parenting, counseling, and healing. He was the founding president of Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, and is now a professor there. Cd’s are available from City School.
Past events include Transforming Culture: A Vision for The Church and The Arts (featuring Eugene Peterson, Jeremy Begbie, David Taylor, Andy Crouch, Barbara Nicolosi and John Witvliet), C.S. Lewis Conferences and other events to serve the Body of Christ (CD’s are available, contact us by clicking here). David Taylor will sign copies of For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts, his book which includes the plenary presentations of the Transforming Culture Symposium and other essays, June 12, 7-10PM, Hope Chapel, 6701 Arroyo Seco, Austin, Texas.
We co-sponsored The Great Debate: Was Darwin Wrong?, April 28, at Gregory Gym, University of Texas. This event featured Dr. Hugh Ross and Dr. Fazale (Fuzz) Rana of Reasons to Believe, a Christian think tank which presents evidence for a Biblical view of creation and science; Dr. Michael Shermer, author and founder of The Skeptics Society; Dr. Sahotra Sarkar, Integrative Biology and Philosophy, University of Texas, and Dr. Ken Diller, Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas. Drs. Ross and Rana presented their model for testing their theory of creation and Dr. Shermer offered comments on their arguments. A panel discussion followed, with questions from the audience. The university department which sponsored the event was the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The student sponsoring organization was Hill House. Other co-sponsors included the Center for Inquiry-Austin and Hill Country Bible Churches. The debate was videoed and is on YouTube.
As our web site grows and develops, we will feature additional articles and events on the core areas of character and leadership development, the work of C.S. Lewis and The Inklings, spiritual formation, worldview and apologetic issues, and Christians in science and the arts. We will feature links to sites of interest and to the web sites and online articles of the Fellows of the Institute.
As a young, growing organization, we are actively seeking financial support and assistance from volunteers. If you would like to be part of the team as a financial supporter, you can contact me or donate online. If you are interested in learning more about our efforts to serve the Body of Christ, if you would like to be part of the team as a volunteer, or if we can be of assistance to you, please contact me.
Thank you again for visiting. Come back and see us soon and we hope to see you at upcoming events.
Under the mercy,
Larry Linenschmidt
Executive Director
Hill Country Institute for Contemporary Christianity