WOW! What a weekend! After 19 years of conferences, it feels disingenuous to declare the latest edition to be the best ever. But that was the repeated refrain we heard from attendees this year. Maybe it was the engaging speakers or the superb music or the patent-pending Mbird mix of faith and fun, but this was a conference that truly lived up to its theme: Wow to the Deadness: Wonder for the Weary.
First off, a big thank you to all the dedicated volunteers who made the weekend so wonder-ful, most especially to Chris and Emily White, Calvary-St. George’s and all the amazing staff and volunteers, the speakers, and everyone in between. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
As always, all the talks below are free to stream and download, but we would greatly appreciate if you could chip in a donation to help defray the costs from the weekend. Conferences aren’t cheap to put together, and we definitely don’t make money off of them.
To donate, click here.
ALSO! The Fall Minnesota Conference, “Grace for the Ages,” is this October 2–3, 2026.
AND FYI registration for 20th Annual NYC Conference (April 15–17, 2027) is now open at a special early-bird registration discount. You really, really, won’t want to miss it.
Pre-conference events will be available soon. If you’re not already subscribed to Talkingbird, talks are also available via streaming on Apple and Spotify.
Plenary Talks:
“The Wonder of Grace (When Grief Is Everywhere)” — David Zahl
“An Age of Unknowing: A Generation’s Yearning for Mystery” — Belle Tindall Riley
“The Science of Revenge and Forgiveness” — James Kimmel, Jr.
“Modern Love (Or Lack Thereof?)” — Christine Emba
“Getting Through What You’re Going Through” — Tanner Olson
“Blaise Pascal: Addressing the Cultured Despisers of Religion” — Graham Tomlin
“A Conversation on Mattering” — Jennifer Breheny Wallace talks with David Zahl
“A Word for the Weary: The Consolation of Homiletics” — Tim Blackmon
Breakout Sessions:
“The Personality of Jesus: Meeting the Man the Church Forgets” — Todd Brewer
“Carpe Parvum: Embracing Little Ambitions in Light of the Resurrection” — Ryan Tinetti
“Grotesque Grace in the Works of Guillermo Del Toro, Flannery O’Connor, and David Foster Wallace” — Kylee Pastore Asirvatham
“Life Is Abundant: 15 Lessons from 15 Years of Church Planting” — Kevin Makins
“The Real King of Color (A God Beyond the Pantone)” — Emily Newton
“I’m Not Dead Yet, But I Could Use a Hug: Naming the Deadness and Waking Up to God With Us” — Marc Choi
“A Positive Charge: On Recovering Boyhood in the Lives of Lonely Men” — Ethan Richardson
“More Than a ‘Like’: When Grace Calls Us Beloved” — Timothy Jones
Short Talks:
Sara Kay Mooney poetry: Opening Night, Friday Morning, Saturday Morning.
Ben Dehart devotionals: Opening Night, Friday Morning, Saturday Morning.
Drinks with Paul Zahl:
