CBE’s 2024 International Conference
Tell Her Story:
Women in Scripture and History
July 26–28, in Denver, Colorado!
Women in leadership is a tale as old as time. Women have been at the forefront of discoveries, new technologies, leaders in their communities, homes, even churches for hundreds of years — but their stories often go untold and eventually get forgotten. At CBE’s 2024 International Conference, “Tell Her Story: Women in Scripture and History” we spent three days rediscovering these stories and studying the mountains of evidence for women in leadership. We enjoyed exciting keynote lectures and in-depth workshops from renowned scholars, authors, and theologians, including Nijay K. Gupta, Karen Jobes, Philip B. Payne, Cynthia Long Westfall, Hélène Dallaire, Terran Williams, Taffi Dollar, Boaz Johnson, Jeff Miller, and more!
The conference was held at the DoubleTree Denver – Aurora hotel in Aurora, Colorado.
Speakers
Hélène Dallaire
Earl S. Kalland Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages
Denver Seminary
Hélène Dallaire joined the faculty of Denver Seminary in 2006, serving in the Old Testament Department. She is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Church Alliance, and is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, the Institute for Biblical Research, and the National Association of Professors of Hebrew. Dr. Dallaire earned a PhD and an MPhil in Hebrew and Cognate Studies (Comparative Semitics) from Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion and an MA in Biblical Literature from Oral Roberts University. She completed additional work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Jerusalem University College, McMaster University, and Western Pentecostal Bible College. Prior to coming to Denver Seminary, she served five years on the faculty of Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion, one year at the Alliance Biblical Seminary in the Philippines, and she completed ten years of pastoral work in Canada.
Kimberly Dickson
Podcast Host
CBE International
Kimberly Dickson has studied and worked in the Middle East, East Africa, India, and in her home state of California. In these various contexts she has seen how the status of women practically affects the health and wellbeing of families, communities, and nations. Further, she has seen the welfare of entire communities transform when those who are traditionally marginalized are brought into the center of community decision making. She completed her MA in theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in 2022, where she studied the Judeo/Christian faith’s perspectives on women.
Kimberly is co-host of CBE International’s Mutuality Matters podcast segment, “Global Impact: Egalitarian Activism and Human Flourishing.” Based on her experience in the field, she invites guests to reflect on the practical impacts of Christian theology, especially in regards to women, on their humanitarian work.
Rob Dixon
Senior Fellow
InterVarsity Institute
Rob Dixon lives in central California with his wife, Amy and four children, and works as a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He earned a Doctor of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he focused on discerning the attributes of flourishing mixed-gender ministry partnerships. Rob is the author of Together in Ministry: Women and Men in Flourishing Partnerships, and co-author with Amy of Penny Preaches, a children’s picture book coming out in August 2024 from IVP Kids.
Rob is also co-host of CBE International’s Mutuality Matters podcast segment, “Side by Side: Women, Men, and Everyday Mutuality.”
Taffi Dollar
Founder and Senior Pastor
World Changers Church International
Taffi Dollar, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a world-renowned author, teacher, spiritual leader, and motivational speaker. She is married to Creflo Dollar, and together they pastor World Changers Church International (WCCI) based in College Park, Georgia, World Changers Church-New York, and numerous satellite churches across the country. In addition to ministering from the pulpit, she frequently hosts prayer and Bible study meetings, retreats, workshops, and other events that empower women.
Bio and image from taffidollar.org.
Nijay Gupta
Professor of New Testament
World Changers Church International
Taffi Dollar, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, is a world-renowned author, teacher, spiritual leader, and motivational speaker. She is married to Creflo Dollar, and together they pastor World Changers Church International (WCCI) based in College Park, Georgia, World Changers Church-New York, and numerous satellite churches across the country. In addition to ministering from the pulpit, she frequently hosts prayer and Bible study meetings, retreats, workshops, and other events that empower women.
Mimi Haddad
President
CBE International
Mimi Haddad is president of CBE International. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary (summa cum laude). She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of Durham, England. Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University awarded Mimi an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 2013. Read more about Mimi here.
J. Dwayne Howell
Professor, Pastor
Campbellsville University
Dr. J. Dwayne Howell is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Hebrew at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky and currently serves as adjunct professor at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has also pastored in Central Kentucky for over 30 years. He and his wife, Dr. Susan Howel are active supporters of CBE.
Karen Jobes
Professor Emerita
Wheaton College
Karen H. Jobes is the Gerald F. Hawthorne Professor Emerita of New Testament Greek and Exegesis at Wheaton College and Graduate School (Illinois). She earned her doctorate in Biblical Hermeneutics at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia) and has served as a tenured professor at Westmont College (Santa Barbara, CA, 1996–2005) and at Wheaton (2005–2015). She was a translator on the NIV Committee on Bible Translation 1996–2017.
Boaz Johnson
Professor of Hebrew Bible and Theological Studies
North Park University
Rev. Boaz Johnson (PhD, Trinity International University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is a professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at North Park University in Chicago, IL. His writing has appeared in publications such as Christianity Today and The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.
Kurt Knoll
Director of Member Relations
Barnabas Foundation
Kurt Knoll is the Director of Member Relations at Barnabas Foundation, a non-profit with the mission of helping generous Christians transfer their wealth in ways that honor God, provide for their families and support the causes close to their hearts.
Jeff Miller
Professor of Bible
Milligan University
Jeff Miller is the former editor of CBE’s academic journal, Priscilla Papers. He holds bachelor’s degrees in pastoral ministry and church music, an MDiv, and a PhD in biblical interpretation. Since 1999 he has taught biblical studies at Milligan University in eastern Tennessee. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and has published articles in journals such as The Bible Translator, Leaven, Restoration Quarterly, and Stone-Campbell Journal and CBE’s Mutuality. He and his wife Dana have two adult daughters and two grandchildren.
Barbara Murray
LCSW, SEP, ASDCS
Barbara Murray, LCSW, SEP has worked as a mental health clinician for 24 years. She currently works in private practice specializing in treating adults with a history of trauma. She and her husband have 4 kids and live in Colorado. Barbara has experience creating spaces for conversations about accountability and abuse free communities.
Alan Myatt
Theological Education Initiative Scholar
Mesa Global (United World Mission)
Alan Myatt (B.A. Vanderbilt, M.Div Denver Seminary, Ph.D. Denver University/Iliff School of Theology) teaches theology at the Faculdades Batista do Paraná, in Brazil and as an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He taught at the Faculdade Teológica Batista de São Paulo and the Seminário Batista do Sul do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to articles in Portuguese and English, he has co-authored a textbook widely used in Brazil, Teologia Sistemática (Edições Vida Nova) and an article titled “On the Compatibility of Ontological Equality, Hierarchy and Functional Distinctions” pages 22–28, in the special edition publication titled “The Deception of Eve and the Ontology of Women,” published by CBE. He also contributed to CBE’s “An Evangelical Statement on the Trinity.”
Kathy Myatt
Member Care Coordinator
Mesa Global (United World Mission)
Kathy Myatt is a psychiatric nurse practitioner with an emphasis on family and child development. A graduate of the University of Colorado with post-graduate studies at Vanderbilt University, she has extensive experience teaching courses on counseling, pediatrics, and child development. Having experienced religious abuse as a member of a Christian cult, she’s been able to speak at churches about cults as well as to aid ex-cult members reorient to life outside. She currently provides spiritual and emotional support for missionaries as a Member Care Coordinator with United World Mission.
Raewyn Orlich
Associate Pastor
La Sierra University Church
Raewyn Orlich serves as an associate pastor for discipleship and nurture at the La Sierra University Church in Riverside, California. Her book, “In Grandpa’s Shoes: An Invitation to Intergenerational Connection,” shares how her grandfather, Eric Webster (pastor and ultra-marathon runner) helped in spire her ministry and provides reflection questions for small groups. She and her physician-poet husband, Michael, are raising three members of Generation Alpha: Eleanor, Eric, and Desmond.
Philip Payne
President
Linguist’s Software
Philip Barton Payne (Ph.D. The University of Cambridge) has taught New Testament in Cambridge colleges, as a missionary in Japan, and as a visiting professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Bethel Seminary, and Fuller Seminary. He is well known for seminal articles on Jesus’s parables, textual criticism, Codex Vaticanus, and women in Paul’s letters and the Bible. He has two books published with Zondervan: Man and Woman, One in Christ (2009) and The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood (2023) and over 100 other books or articles.
Charles Read
Director of Liturgy and Director of Reader Training
Norwich Diocese
Charles Read, BA, MPhil, PGCE teaches Liturgy and shares in the teaching of Systematic Theology. Although he grew up in the West Midlands, Charles spent 21 years in Manchester before joining the staff in 1999. After reading theology at Manchester University, he was Head of Religious Studies in a secondary school and a Reader in a large church before training for ordination at St John’s College, Nottingham. He served in a wide variety of parishes in Manchester Diocese (urban, rural, suburban, evangelical, catholic and ‘just C of E’), ending up as Team Vicar in a UPA in Salford. He has been a member of General Synod, has helped to produce the new Eucharistic prayers for Common Worship and is involved with WATCH (Women and the Church). He is working on a PhD on Inclusive Language. Charles is married to Judith and they have two boys, Jonathan and Phillip. Among the family pastimes are films, eating out, gardening, knitting, trains and watching re-runs of The Avengers.
Liz Testa
Director for Women’s Transformation + Leadership and Equity-Based Hospitality
Reformed Church in America
Rev. Elizabeth (Liz) Testa, MDiv is a visionary leader, passionate community builder, and lover of all things multi-cultural who leads a Christian women’s empowerment movement for the Reformed Church in America. Since 2014, she and her team have encouraged, equipped and empowered women to live into their God-given gifts and callings, and equipped faith communities to create healthy, hospitable environments where everyone’s gifts can thrive, and the body of Christ is built and strengthened for mission in the world. Raised in New York and Madrid, Spain, she is a natural bridge builder between cultures and a freedom fighter for dismantling racism and fostering equity-based hospitality in the church and beyond. Rev. Liz hosted the Lavish Hope, Stories of Resilience and Overcoming podcast for four seasons and is pursuing her doctorate in transformational preaching from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, New Jersey, focusing on the power of biblical women’s stories to transform faith communities, locally and globally.
Seblewengel Tilahun
Country Director
Ethiopia Arise
Dedicated for holistic community development, Seblewengel is engaged in capacity building of different social groups including faith leaders in areas of gender, transformative masculinity, maternal and child health, mental well-being, child protection, and holistic family and youth development. She also works to design holistic approach to address the needs and challenges of family and youth in Ethiopia.
Cynthia Westfall
Associate Professor/Dr.
McMaster Divinity College
Cynthia Long Westfall, PhD, is assistant professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. She is the author of Discourse Analysis of the Letter to the Hebrews: The Relationship Between Form and Meaning (T. & T. Clark, 2006), and Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Baker Academic, 2016) and has been part of an urban mission to the inner city in Denver for more than twenty years. For the last five years, she has also been involved in urban ministry in the Greater Toronto area.
Westfall lectures widely for academic, popular and church audiences on gender and faith. She has mentored more than 50 graduate students, some of whom write and speak for CBE. Cindy serves on the ETS Gender and Evangelicals study group; the Regional ETS of Ontario and Quebec and the former Front Range CBE chapter in Denver. Cindy also founded and chaired The Sophia House, transformational housing for women at risk for homelessness.
In recognition of her achievements, CBE awarded her a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.
Terran Williams
Author, Pastor
terranwilliams.com, Signal Church Cape Town
Terran Williams from Cape Town, South Africa, is an author, church leader, dad of five, and avid surfer. He was the long-time lead teacher of a large church that prided itself in its doctrinal accuracy. When tasked with researching and writing a better defense for its complementarian theology, Terran made a shocking discovery. This led to him writing the comprehensive yet accessible, How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy.* See terranwilliams.com for more.
Student Paper Speakers
Jazmine Lawrence
Acadia Divinity College
Jazmine Lawrence lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and son and attends Acadia Divinity College as a second year MA (Theology) student. She hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, growing up as one of five girls before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force for fourteen years.
Marlene Molewyk
Northern Seminary
Marlene Molewyk (B.A., University of Michigan; M.A., Fuller Seminary; Doctor of Theological Ministry in New Testament context, Northern Seminary, June 2024) is a homeschooling mother and is on the preaching team at her church. She has previously worked in broadcast journalism, syndicated network television production, corporate communications, and marketing and PR consulting.
Rosalie Brown
The Bible Seminary
Rosalie Brown is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. She earned an Master of Arts in Church History and Theology from The Bible Seminary in Katy, Texas, and is preparing to enter a Doctor of Ministry program. She loves studying the word of God and sharing what she’s learned with others.
Conference Workbook
Schedule
All times listed are Mountain Daylight Time (MDT/GMT-6)
All keynote lectures and workshop B sessions will be live streamed for virtual participants. All lectures and workshops will be recorded and available to watch on CBE’s conference app and website in the coming months.
Thursday July 25
- 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm Early Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Check-in at our registration table to pick up your name badge and workbook.
Visit the bookstore and exhibitor’s hall and connect with other conference participants as they arrive.
- 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm Early Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Friday July 26
8:00 am – 9:00 am Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Check-in at our registration table to pick up your name badge and workbook.
Visit the bookstore and exhibitor’s hall and connect with other conference participants as they arrive.9:00 am – 9:45 am Devotions | DoubleTree Ballroom
Liz Testa10:00 am – 11:15 am Keynote Session 1 | DoubleTree Ballroom
Her Story Alone: Identity and Authority without Contingency
Nijay K. Gupta11:30 am – 12:30 am Workshop Block 1
Workshop 1.A | Mt. Powell Room
Words for God 101: An Introduction to Gendered Language and Imagery in Scripture
Charles ReadWorkshop 1.B | Mt. Sopris Room
Women in Missions: Leaders on the Field, but Not at Home
Alan MyattWorkshop 1.C | Mt. Elbert Room
The Women of Israel: Treasures from Ancient Near Eastern Literature
Hélène DallaireWorkshop 1.D | Mt. Evans Room
The Power of Intergenerational Relationships
Raewyn Orlich and Eric Webster
- 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch
Visit nearby restaurants for lunch! The DoubleTree Hotel also provides free shuttle service to locations within a five-mile radius (must be scheduled in the morning). Lunch is not included with registration. - 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Keynote Session 2 | DoubleTree Ballroom
Breaking Chains: Pursuing Biblical Equality in Faith and Practice
Taffi Dollar - 3:30 am – 4:30 am Workshop Block 2
- Workshop 2.A | Mt. Powell Room
The Foreign-Outcaste Woman Transformed into the Strong Woman in the Bible: In the Works of Katharine Bushnell of Chicago
Boaz Johnson - Workshop 2.B | Mt. Sopris Room
Issues of Gender and the Engagement of Faith Leaders in Ethiopia
Seblewengel Tilahun - Workshop 2.C | Mt. Elbert Room
Dangerous Congregations: When Power and Authority Take Over
Kathy Myatt - Workshop 2.D | Mt. Evans Room
Honoring Our Stories: Cultivating Belonging for Women in Ministry (Bilingual Session in Spanish and English)
Liz Testa
- Workshop 2.A | Mt. Powell Room
- 4:45 pm – 5:45 pm Student Paper Presentations | Amphitheater
- Taking Ownership of the Church Landscape: The Daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27:1–11
Jazmine Lawrence - Reframing and Re-norming Her Story
Marlene Molewyk - Naaman’s Servant Girl
Rosalie Brown
- Taking Ownership of the Church Landscape: The Daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27:1–11
- 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Dinner | Double Tree Ballroom
This dinner will be a CBE hosted buffet dinner for all registered in-person conference participants. In case of overflow, additional tables will be available in the Colorado room. Dinner is included with in-person registration. - 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Keynote Session 3 | DoubleTree Ballroom
Phoebe, Deacon of the Church of Cenchreae and Leader of Many, Including Me
Philip B. Payne - 9:00 pm – 9:30 pm Vespers | Double Tree Ballroom
Charles Read
Saturday July 27
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Check-in at our registration table to pick up your name badge and workbook and visit the bookstore and exhibitor’s hall. - 9:00 am – 9:45 am Devotions | DoubleTree Ballroom
Taffi Dollar - 10:00 am – 11:15 am Keynote Session 4 | DoubleTree Ballroom
The Central Role of Old Testament Prophetesses
Hélène Dallaire - 11:30 am – 12:30 am Workshop Block 3
- Workshop 3.A | Mt. Powell Room
Planned Giving: Increase Your Impact
Kurt Knoll - Workshop 3.B | Mt. Sopris Room
Created to Thrive: Cultivating Abuse-Free Faith Communities
Barbara Murray - Workshop 3.C | Mt. Elbert Room
Julian of Norwich: A Medieval Feminist
Charles Read - Workshop 3.D | Mt. Evans Room
Church Fathers Explain Head in 1 Corinthians 11:3 as Source
Philip B. Payne
- Workshop 3.A | Mt. Powell Room
- 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch
Visit nearby restaurants for lunch! The DoubleTree Hotel also provides free shuttle service to locations within a five-mile radius (must be scheduled in the morning). Lunch is not included with registration. - 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Keynote Session 5: Panel | DoubleTree Ballroom
- A Familiar Picture: An Update on CBE’s Translation Project Jeff Miller with Boaz Johnson, Cynthia Long Westfall, and Philip B. Payne
- 3:30 am – 4:30 am Workshop Block 4
- Workshop 4.A | Mt. Powell Room
Examining Julia Smith’s (1792–1886) Translation
Karen H. Jobes - Workshop 4.B | Mt. Sopris Room
“Victim-Blaming” and the David and Bathsheba Narrative
Dwayne Howell - Workshop 4.C | Mt. Elbert Room
Unlikely Partnerships: Mentorships Bridging Age, Race, Gender, and Class
Kimberly Dickson - Workshop 4.D | Mt. Evans Room
Women in Ministry in the Biblical Narrative: An Overview
Cynthia Long Westfall
- Workshop 4.A | Mt. Powell Room
- 4:45 pm – 5:45 pm Fellowship Time
Connect with other egalitarian conference participants, visit our bookstore, or check out the exhibitors in our exhibitor hall! - 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Dinner and Awards Ceremony | DoubleTree Ballroom
A CBE-hosted banquet dinner celebrating CBE’s 2024 award recipients. We are thrilled to recognize and honor these long-time advocates of women’s biblical equality. Registered in-person conference participants, award winners, and their ticketed guests are welcome. In case of overflow, additional tables will be available in the Colorado room. Dinner is included with in-person registration; award winner guests may purchase a banquet ticket in the CBE bookstore. - 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Keynote Session 6 | DoubleTree Ballroom
Telling Her Story in Such a Time as This
Karen H. Jobes with Mimi Haddad - 9:00 pm – 9:30 pm Vespers | DoubleTree Ballroom
Charles Read
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Sunday July 28
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Check-in at our registration table to pick up your name badge and workbook and visit the bookstore and exhibitor’s hall. - 9:00 am – 9:45 am Devotions | DoubleTree Ballroom
Ron Pierce - 10:00 am – 11:15 am Workshop Block 5
- Workshop 5.A | Mt. Powell Room
Should I stay or should I go?
Rob Dixon - Workshop 5.B | Mt. Sopris Room
Women Mystics, Martyrs, Missionaries, Movers, and Shakers: God’s Strong Rescuers in History
Mimi Haddad - Workshop 5.C | Mt. Elbert Room Priscilla and The Explosion of Woman Church Planters Today
Terran Williams
- Workshop 5.A | Mt. Powell Room
- 11:30 pm – 12:30 pm Keynote Session 7 | DoubleTree Ballroom
What’s in a Name…or a Title?
Cynthia Long Westfall - 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm Worship and Communion | DoubleTree Ballroom
Kathleen Rankin
- 8:00 am – 9:00 am Registration and Check-In | Lobby
Thank you to our Sponsors and Exhibitors
SILVER SPONSOR
Fuller University
BRONZE SPONSOR
Baylor University
