The MTBA is pleased to announce that on Tuesday. February 16th, The Baptist Joint Committee For Religious Liberty will be our guests for a special Religious Liberty Conference. The conference will begin at 10:30 AM at Poroporone Baptist Church (view map below), to be followed by a luncheon. Please RSVP by email on or by February 10th (fill out form below). A love gift to MTBA of $15 per person is suggested to help offset expenses incurred in providing this great opportunity.
MTBA pastors and laity, as well as other pastors and laity from the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck, and neighboring associations are invited as we explore issues concerning religious liberty, and continue an ongoing dialogue on a subject of great importance.
The Baptist Joint Committee
The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is the only faith-based organization on Capitol Hill committed to ensuring religious freedom for all. Since 1936, the BJC has carried out its mission through legislation, litigation and education.
Primarily an education and advocacy organization, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty is a leading voice in Washington, D.C., fighting to uphold the historic Baptist principle of religious freedom. It stands guard at the intersection of church and state, defending the first freedom of the First Amendment by protecting both the free exercise of religion and defending against its establishment by government.
Speaker: Rev. Brent Walker
Brent Walker, Executive Director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, is both a member of the Supreme Court Bar and an ordained minister. He leads the organization as it upholds the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty, defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government. Published widely, Walker routinely speaks in churches, educational institutions and denominational gatherings and provides commentary on church-state issues in the national media.
Walker was a partner in the law firm of Carlton Fields in Tampa, Fla., until 1986 when he left to enter Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1989 and was named the most outstanding graduate. Walker pastored the Richland Baptist Church in Falmouth, Ky., while in seminary.
After teaching 10 years as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, Walker has, since 2003, served as an adjunct professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.
Walker earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Florida and holds a J.D. degree from Stetson University College of Law. Walker received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in 2013.
His wife, Nancy, is pastor for congregational care at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, Va. They have two children: Ryan is a singer/songwriter, and Layton is a teacher in Falls Church. Layton and her husband, Lucas, are the parents of Walker’s two grandchildren.
In October 2015, Walker announced his plans to retire from the Baptist Joint Committee at the end of 2016.
Location: Poroporone Baptist Church.
30071 The Trail, Shacklefords, VA 23156