SPEAKERS

BIBLE LECTURE
Dan Schowalter is Chair of the Religion Department and Professor of Religion and Classics at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His academic interests include the development of the New Testament, archaeology, honors offered to the Roman Emperors, and the modern Science and Religion dialogue. He chairs the “Archaeology of Religion in the Greco-Roman World” section for the Society of Biblical Literature, and is an Assistant Director for the Macalester College excavations at Omrit in northern Israel. Dr. Schowalter lectures widely at churches, and conducts travel seminars around the world for the Biblical Archaeological Society and Carthage College. He coordinates the Sunday Symposium adult education program at the First Congregational Church, Wauwatosa, where he has been a member since seventh grade. His Dissertation, The Emperor and the Gods: Images from the time of Trajan was published by Fortress Press. His other writings include entries for the Oxford Companion to the Bible and a chapter on “Churches in Context: The Jesus Movement in the Roman World” in The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Along with Steve Friesen, he is co-editor of Urban Religion in Roman Corinth: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, forthcoming from Harvard University Press. His B.A. is from St. Olaf College and his M.Div. and Th.D. degrees are from Harvard University.

CONGREGATIONAL LECTURE
The Rev. Shawn P. Stapleton serves as Senior Minister of First Congregational Church, Beloit WI. He received his B.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1994, and earned his M.Div. from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in 2001. Rev. Stapleton has served FCC-Beloit since graduating seminary. He presented a paper at the Congregational Symposium in Derry, NH, and twice presented papers for the Wisconsin Congregational Theological Society, the most recent concerning the nature and function of Vicinage Councils in the 21st century. Rev. Stapleton worked with the Rev. Dr. Steven Peay to develop a worship resource for Congregational churches, which is now active on the Association’s web site. He also serves as moderator of the NACCC’s online forum, as vice-president of the Wisconsin Congregational Association’s Ministerial Association, and has worked with others to develop a staff position for the WCA. He serves as mentor for three students enrolled in the Lay Ministry Training Program, and co-mentor for two others. He is married to Cheryl, who is very active at FCC-Beloit and in the WCA. Together they are the parents of three sons.