LA MIRADA, CALIF. — “Is it possible to offer your services as the “leader of the free world” and be humble?”, asked Evan Rosa, director of Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought, in a recent article on the center’s blog: “Proud to Be Humble: How Do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Talk about Humility?” On Sept. 16-17, Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought will host The Table Conference, Love & Humility in Politics, an annual conference focused on scholarship surrounding the center’s theme.  


The conference is an exploration of politics beyond the election, of neighbor love and confident humility in everyday life this year. Bringing together Christian scholars, thought leaders, and cultural influencers, the conference aims to serve as an encouragement to see beyond party politics and a culture of narcissism, to love others as neighbors with needs, and recognize human beings as bearing the image of God. Ultimately,  the conference will hone in on how to foster the virtues of love and humility during this political season.


According to Rosa, the conference provides what is often absent in today’s social media obsessed culture — an opportunity for people to interact seriously face-to-face about the key issues in the world's current political climate.


“Humble kindness doesn’t mean we go spineless or soft on convictions,” said Biola University President Barry H. Corey in an editorial on the shrill of this election season. “It just means we are quicker to listen and slower to speak, leading with love rather than legalese.”

In addition to keynote talks and on-stage interviews, there are numerous intimate discuss seminars and praxis labs which will allow participants to interact with speakers at a more intimate level and work through practical problems as one seeks to apply the ideas presented at the conference.

Some of the speakers include author and consultant Terrence Roberts, who is one of the Little Rock Nine — a group of African-American students who volunteered to desegregate schools in Arkansas, author and professor of theology at DePaul University William Cavanaugh, professor of philosophy at Biola University Thomas Crisp, and mayor of the neighboring city of Fullerton,  Jennifer Fitzgerald.


There will also be music, prayer, and scripture reading throughout the conference, led by The Brilliance, who are also playing a Friday evening concert.


View a full list of the conference speakers on the The Table Conference 2016 website.

For more information and to register, visit the The Table Conference website. A select number of press passes are available.


For more information and to apply for a press pass, contact Jenna Loumagne, media relations specialist, at 562.777.4061 or jenna.loumagne@biola.edu.