A sound education inspires curiosity in the cosmos and a desire to serve God and neighbor by pursuing legitimate vocations. The 2025 joint conference of Lutheranism and the Classics (L&tC) and the Consortium for Classical Lutheran Education (CCLE) aims to support, bolster, and enhance the emergence of classical education in our Lutheran churches and schools through an exploration of historical education as well as classical pedagogy and practice. Papers and panels will address topics including:

• The influence of Greco-Roman education on the Reformation
• The education of famous luminaries: Cyrus, Cicero, Caesar, Augustine, Luther, etc.
• Melanchthon, “praeceptor Germaniae”
• How music influenced the development of education
• The rise of Living Latin
• What does playing and/or recess have to do with education?

Friday, October 3, 2:10–3:25 p.m. — Sectional Papers 1

Cicero, Caesar, and Augustine (Sihler Auditorium)

• “The Holy Spirit is No Skeptic”: Cicero’s Presence in the Classic Controversy between Martin Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam — Dr. Gary M. Simpson, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Educating Caesar — Dr. John G. Nordling, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• “Others Talk; We Have Something to Say”: St. Augustine’s View of Rhetoric — Mr. David Fahrenthold, Classical School of Wichita, Wichita, Kansas

Friday, October 3, 3:35–4:25 p.m. — Sectional Papers 2

A. Education and Educators (Sihler Auditorium)

• Wittenberg: Conservative or Progressive? — Dr. Daniel Deen, Concordia University, Irvine, California
• Teacher Appreciation Day: Martin Luther’s Personal View of Education — Dr. Alden Smith, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

B. Luther’s De Servo Arbitrio (Loehe 7)

• Bound Will or Free Choice: Luther’s De Servo Arbitrio and Pedagogical Method — Rev. Brandon W. Koble, Pastor, Faith Lutheran Church, Plano, Texas, and PhD student, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• video meliora proboque, deterioria sequor: Pagans and Paul between the Lines in De Servo Arbitrio — Dr. C. J. Armstrong, Concordia University, Irvine, California

C. Councils and Doctrine (TBA)

• Council of Nicaea and Arianism: An Exploration of the Theological Questions — Mr. Ronald Eisner, Elder, First Lutheran Church, Boston, Massachusetts
• Johann Gerhard, Patrology, and the Lutheran Claim of Catholicity — Dr. Benjamin Mayes, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Saturday, October 4, 8:00–8:50 a.m. — Sectional Papers 3

A. Dionysius Thrax and John Chrysostom (Sihler Auditorium)

• The Six Parts of Grammar: The Ars Grammatica of Dionysius Thrax and Ancient Philological Methods — Mr. John R. L. James, PhD student, Department of Classics, State University of New York at Buffalo
• John Chrysostom, Treatise on Education: Teaching and Text — Dr. Margaret A. Schatkin, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

B. The Stubborn Free Will and Science Education (Loehe 7)

• Philip Melanchthon Exercises His Stubborn Free Will — Dr. James A. Kellerman, Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
• A Humanist Approach to University Science Education — Dr. Sarah Karam, Concordia University, Irvine, California (North Lantern)

C. Lutheran Education and Proper Latinity (TBA)

• Three Principle Influences upon Early Lutheran Education — Mr. Davis Smith, Hillsdale College Graduate School of Classical Education, Hillsdale, Michigan
• Proper Latinity? Latin Excellence and the Lutheran Corpus Auctores Latinae — Rev. Phillip Fischaber, MPhil, Pastor, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Walnut, Illinois

Saturday, October 4, 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. — Sectional Papers 4

Agricola and the Lutheran Organist (Sihler Auditorium)

• “Allein mit der Gotts Hülffe”: Martin Agricola (ca. 1486–1556) as Music Teacher and Author of Textbooks in Lutheran Magdeburg — Dr. William E. Hettrick, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
• Educating the Lutheran Organist in Vienna: Instructions in 1824 and 1848 — Dr. Jane S. Hettrick, Professor Emerita of Music, Rider University, Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Art, Imagination, and the Arts (TBA)

• How Form Affects Content: Analyzing the Internal Logic of Geometry in Biblical Visual Art — Dr. Sara Fletcher, Concordia University, Irvine, California
• The Role of the Imagination in Classical Pedagogy — Dr. Gabriel Haley, Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska
• Let No One Ignorant of Geometry Enter the Seminary? — Rev. Brennick Christiansen, Our Father’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, School, and Childcare, Greenfield, Wisconsin

Saturday, October 4, 1:40–2:55 p.m. — Sectional Papers 5

Melanchthon (Sihler Auditorium)

• “Pedagogy Should Not Be Despised”: Philip Melanchthon on Moral Philosophy — Dr. Eric J. Hutchinson, Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan
• Wittenberg Humanism and 21st Century Lutheran Education — Dr. Jason Soenksen, Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin
• A Vision of Lutheran “Liberal Arts” from Wittenberg — Dr. Susan Mobley, Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin

Friday, October 3, 2:10–3:25 p.m. — Sectional Papers 1, 2, 3

• Living Latin in the Classroom: Pros and Cons (Pedagogical) — Dr. Carl P.E. Springer, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee (Luther Hall)
• Frustration in the Classroom: Doorway to Despair or Avenue to New Heights? (Pedagogical) — Mr. Michael Staub, Memorial Lutheran Church and School, Houston, Texas (Daniels Lantern)
• The Socratic Method in Plato’s Dialogues (Pedagogical) — Rev. Steven Cholak, Our Savior Lutheran Church and School, Houston, Texas (Commons)

Friday, October 3, 3:35–4:25 p.m. — Sectional Papers 4, 5

• Christians Assert (Theological) — Mrs. Jocelyn C. Benson, Wittenberg Academy (Luther Hall)
• The Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor and Seminary Education (Pedagogical) — Dr. Geoffrey Boyle, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Daniels Lantern)

Saturday, October 4, 8:00–8:50 a.m. — Sectional Papers 6, 7

• Speaking the Truth in Love: The Urgent Need for Classical Lutheran Education (Apologetical) — Mrs. Julia Habrecht, Our Savior Lutheran Church and School, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Luther Hall)
• Education Is Political (Philosophical) — Mr. Nathaniel Pullmann, Redeemer Lutheran Church and School, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Daniels Lantern)

Saturday, October 4, 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. — Sectional Papers 8, 9

• Lingua Latina Lutherana Vivens (Philosophical) — Rev. Robert Paul, Memorial Lutheran Church and School, Houston, Texas (Luther Hall)
• Faithful Fiction: The Importance of Teaching Heroic Virtue through Literature (Pedagogical) — Mrs. Christy Rivers, Faith Lutheran Church and School, Plano, Texas (Daniels Lantern)

Saturday, October 4, 1:40–2:55 p.m. — Sectional Papers 10, 11, 12

• Get Reading! Lutheran Orthodoxy on the Necessity of Voluntary and Extensive Reading (Pedagogical) — Rev. Joshua Hayes, St. John Lutheran Church, Palmer, Kansas (Luther Hall)
• Adding Ørberg, Collins, and Steadman to the Latin Teacher’s Toolkit (Apologetical) — Rev. Carl Roth, Grace Lutheran Church, Elgin, Texas (Daniels Lantern)
• Translating Cavafy’s Historic Poems into Latin: Some Grammatical Challenges (Philosophical) — Dr. Christopher Synodinos, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts (Commons)