Toward a Free and Virtuous Society: Church, Community & Civil Society

Bruce Riley Ashford is Provost and Professor of Theology & Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author or co-author of six books, including Letters to an American Christian (B&H, 2018), One Nation Under God: A Christian Hope for American Politics (B&H, 2015), and Every Square Inch: An Introduction to Cultural Engagement for Christians (Lexham, 2015). His most recent book is called The Gospel of Our King: Bible, Worldview, and the Mission of Every Christian. He is married to Lauren, with whom he has two daughters and a son.

Anne Rathbone Bradley, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Economic Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics, where she develops and commissions research toward a systematic biblical theology of economic freedom. She is a professor of economics at The Institute for World Politics and Grove City College. She is a visiting professor at Georgetown University and George Mason University and has taught at Charles University, Prague. She is currently an Acton Affiliate scholar and a visiting scholar at the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy. She is a lecturer for the Institute for Humane Studies and the Foundation for Economic Education.

J. Daryl Charles, Ph.D. is the Acton Institute Affiliated Scholar in Theology & Ethics. He also is a contributing editor of Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy and the journal Touchstone and is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. Charles is author, co-author, or editor of eighteen books, including Natural Law and Religious Freedom (Routledge, 2018), (with David D. Corey) The Just War Tradition: An Introduction (ISI Books, 2012), (with David B. Capes) Thriving in Babylon (Pickwick, 2011), Retrieving the Natural Law: A Return to Moral First Things (Eerdmans, 2008), and most recently, (with Mark David Hall) America’s Wars and the Just War Tradition: A History of U.S. Conflicts (University of Notre Dame Press, 2019) and Wisdom’s Work: Essays on Ethics, Vocation, and Cultural Engagement (Acton Institute Press, 2019).

Wes Hamilton is the husband to Lesley, father to Jake and Elle, lead pastor of Hulen Street Church, and a lover of Texas and of good food. According to various assessments Wes is a lion/otter, maximizing communicator who is strategic and adaptable, but with a strong vein of belief. After graduating from Ouachita Baptist University Wes and Lesley moved to Fort Worth to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was during their time at Southwestern they both began to fall in love with the city of Fort Worth. It was also during this time that Wes began traveling and speaking to students across the state of Texas and eventually the United States. After graduating from Southwestern he founded Shoeless Ministries and continued to travel and speak full time.

Ismael Hernandez is the founder and executive director of the Freedom & Virtue Institute. Ismael grew up in a communist household and joined the Socialist Party of Puerto Rico. Eventually, he surrendered Marxism and embraced free markets. He has a master’s Degree in Political Science and served for 15 years as in inner-city Catholic ministry in SW Florida. In 2016, Ismael wrote his first book, Not Tragically Colored: Freedom, Personhood, and the Renewal of Black America—published by the Acton Institute. Ismael Hernandez currently lives in Fort Myers with his wife and three children.

Ronjour Locke serves as Instructor of Preaching and Urban Ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as an affiliate pastor for the Acton Institute. Previously, he served in Baltimore as pastor of First Baptist Church of Brooklyn and as a member of the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. He holds degrees from Lancaster Bible College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prof. Locke is happily married to Anne, and they have four children.

Oye Waddell is the executive director of Hustle PHX. Waddell grew up in inner city Los Angeles and has a long track record in urban education and entrepreneurship. He attended the University of Washington on a full athletic scholarship to play football. He later earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and a Master of Education from Arizona State University. He is the founder of Gameplan International and serves as a pastor at New City Church in downtown Phoenix.