News About the Denomination The following news items apply to (or affect) the Free Will Baptist denomination scattered across the nation and around the world.To read more about Free Will Baptists and the various departments that make up the national organization, visit www.nafwb.org. Read a brief history of Free Will Baptists in the United States.

Theological Symposium Meets at Welch College

Gallatin, TN — The Free Will Baptist Theological Symposium, hosted by the Commission for Theological Integrity, met on October 7–8, 2024, at Welch College in Gallatin, Tennessee. It featured eight papers and a panel discussion, as well as a chapel presentation in which Dr. Picirilli was gifted with a copy of Teacher, Scholar, and Shepherd: Essays in Honor of Robert E. Picirilli.

• Jesse F. Owens, “Thomas Monck’s Apologia: A General Baptist Use of Reformed Orthodoxy to Defend the Trinity”
  

• Joshua Hunter, “Egyptian Anthropogeny in the Book of Jeremiah? The Imago Dei for a Post-Exilic Israel”
  

• Alejandro Johnson, “More than Fabric and Leather: Toward a Theology of Clothing”
  

• Phillip T. Morgan and Matthew Steven Bracey, “Honoring Dr. Robert Picirilli”
  

• Robert Picirilli, “‘Lift Up One’s Horn’: The Meaning of an OT Metaphor”
  

• Adam Blehm, “What’s So Wrong With Biblical Counseling?”
  

• Sarah J. Bracey, “Exploring the Complex Integration of Theology and Psychology”
  

• Martin Sheldon, “Καρδ?α: A Fundamental Aspect of Pauline Anthropology”
  

• Matthew McAffee, “A Little Lower Than Elohim? The Exaltation of Humanity in Psalm 8”
  

• Panel Discussion (with Rodney Holloman, Matthew McAffee, Jesse F. Owens, W. Jackson Watts), “The Genesis of Gender by Abigail Favale”
  

Registration numbers exceeded one hundred, in addition to nearly five hundred views on YouTube. Interested parties may access these recording through the Commission’s Facebook page.

The Commission also announced several changes to its makeup: Kevin Hester (chairman), Rodney Holloman (secretary), J. Matthew Pinson, Cory Thompson (program chairman), and W. Jackson Watts. The Commission is grateful for the twelve years Pinson served as chairman and the ten years Hester served as secretary. Additionally, the Commission announced Watts’s resignation as member (concluding in July 2025) and is thankful for his twelve years of service, which included eight years as program chairman.

Next year’s symposium will occur October 6–7, 2025, in Moore, Oklahoma, and will revolve around turning points in the National Association of Free Will Baptists to commemorate ninety years since its inception.

People may visit fwbtheology.com to read blog posts and purchase copies of Integrity, past symposia digests, and De Doctrina. Any questions may be directed toward fwbtheology@gmail.com.