Drawing near to God, calling on Him “in truth”, begins with humbly acknowledging who we are-His creation and no one else’s, foolishly inclined to place ourselves or others in God’s place of authority over our lives-and who He is-the Divine Maker and Provider of all things, including a way across the gulf that divides us from Him.
Hugh Ross, The Creator and The Cosmos
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. 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).
We are co-sponsoring The Great Debate: Was Darwin Wrong?, April 28, 7 PM, Gregory Gym, University of Texas. This event will feature 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 will present their model for testing their theory of creation and Dr. Shermer will refute their arguments. A panel discussion will follow, and then questions will be taken from the audience. The university department which is sponsoring the event is the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The student sponsoring organization is Hill House. Other co-sponsors include the Center for Inquiry-Austin and Hill Country Bible Churches. We encourage you to attend and bring friends who are skeptical of Christians and science. Additional information and tickets are available on the event page.
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 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. We take great encouragement from this quote from Dana Gioia, Chairman for the National Endowment for the Arts, “It’s not about money. Do it even if they try to stop it. If it’s a good idea, it will find money. All great things started with passion and imagination.”
We have passion and imagination for serving the Body of Christ. If you would like to be part of the team as a financial supporter or 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 hope to see you in Austin for the upcoming events.
Under the mercy,
Larry Linenschmidt
Executive Director
Hill Country Institute for Contemporary Christianity