Grace family Baptist Church will be hosting its 6th Annual Spring Conference this year with guest speaker, Dr. Samuel Waldron.  This years topic will be Confession and Catechism and we will be exploring several topics including:

1. The purpose and benefits of confessionalism,
2. The historical and Theological background of the London Baptist confession of 1689,
3. The purpose and benefits of Catechism, and
4. Practical issues and concerns surrounding contemporary Baptist life as it relates to confessionalism and catechism (or the lack thereof).

Dr. Waldron has been married to his dear wife Charlene since 1975.  They have five children by natural generation and three more by marriage and six grandchildren from said marriages—all of whom they love very much.  Sam received a Bachelor of Religious Education from Grand Rapids Baptist College in 1973, completed studies equivalent to a Master of Divinity at Trinity Ministerial Academy in Montville, New Jersey in 1982, and graduated from the Master of Theology program at Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary in 1987.  His Master’s Thesis was Political Revolution in the Reformed Tradition:  An Historical and Biblical Critique.

Sam was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids from 1977-2001 and taught at Trinity Ministerial Academy from 1981 to 1989.  He has authored a number of books including The Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession, The End Times Made Simple, More of the End Times Made Simple, To Be Continued? and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.  He also was one of the four contributors to Who Runs the Church, a multiple views book on church government published by Zondervan.   He has also written a number of other works including Baptist Roots in America and Biblical Baptism: A Reformed Defense of Believer’s Baptism.

Sam obtained a PhD in Systematic Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2005.  His dissertation entitled, Faith, Obedience, and Justification:  Recent Evangelical Departures form Sola Fide has also been published by RBAP.  He has served as one of the pastors of Heritage Baptist Church since 2005. He also serves as the Academic Dean of and Professor of Systematic Theology at the Midwest Center for Theological Studies.  MCTS has for its motto informed scholarship with a pastoral heart.  Its goal is to provide current and topnotch biblical scholarship to its students in the context of an environment of pastoral mentoring. Sam enjoys reading, weight-lifting, walking, and spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.