The Exiles in Babylon conference is a collective of Christians and seekers who crave curious dialogues about important biblical, theological, and cultural l issues, and who long to see different perspectives presented in a gracious and humanizing manner. The conference is aimed to be diverse, Christ-centered, biblically based, and dialogical. Some of the speakers you’ll agree with; others you won’t. “Exiles” is not an echo-chamber where everyone agrees on everything; rather, it’s an exploration of different viewpoints where Christians are forced to think critically and engage different perspectives humbly and worshipfully.
Dr. Preston Sprinkle is a biblical scholar, international speaker, podcaster, and a New York Times bestselling author, who’s written over a dozen books including Exiles, People to Be Loved, Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage? and his forthcoming From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says about Women in Leadership. Preston currently serves as the president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender, an organization that equips Christians to engage questions about faith, sexually & gender with theological faithfulness and courageous love. He’s also the president of Theology in the Raw ministries, which includes the popular “Theology in the Raw” podcast and the annual “Exiles in Babylon” conference. Preston earned a Ph.D. in New Testament from Aberdeen University in Scotland (2007), and has taught theology at Cedarville University (OH), Nottingham University (U.K.), and Eternity Bible College (CA).
Preston loves talking and writing about hot-button cultural and theological issues with thoughtfulness, honesty, and grace. Topics like sexuality, gender, race, violence, patriotism, hell, politics, war, and women in leadership. He works hard to challenge himself and others to read the Bible with curiosity and conviction.
Tinika Wyatt is a singer, songwriter and children’s book author. She has traveled the world using her gifts, shared the stage with many renowned artists, and made appearances on television and in film. She has contributed to three volumes of The Ethnos Project, a musical collection of multilingual worship through global partnership, and featured on the “Urbana 18 Live: Faithful Witness” and “InterVarsity Live! Worship, Volume One” albums. Her purpose is to use her voice primarily to connect people to Jesus Christ and secondarily to amplify the voices of others for the sake of understanding and reconciliation.
Along with his lovely wife of 29 years (Tinika), Jason serves as a Marriage and Family Mentor and Worship Leader at Parkhill Church in Pt. Loma, CA. At different seasons of life, Jason has served local churches as an Associate Pastor, Children’s Ministry Director, Youth Pastor and Worship Leader!
Jason currently works full-time in healthcare but has an extensive background in the non-profit sector directing programs that support youth and families. For leisure, Jason enjoys fishing and coaching youth sports and has an accomplished history as a certified official and master’s track and field athlete. He is currently ranked #2 in the US for his event.
The Wyatts recently launched “Transformed Families Counseling and Community Services” a non-profit that will support youth and families throughout the greater San Diego area. This organization will be the first step towards their vision of opening a community center that will be a safe haven for youth and families, a place where generational, ethnic, and cultural barriers are bridged and people ultimately experience the love of the Father.
Mark Alan Schoolmeesters is a Minneapolis-based songwriter, producer and communicator who is focused on bringing the best out of people, projects, and ideas.Mark is a staff-writer at, Nashville based, Integrity Music and a music pastor at Eagle Brook Church in Minneapolis. Mark has written songs on GRAMMY and DOVE award nominated projects for Chris Tomlin, Holy Roar (Songwriter: I Stand In Awe); Jesus Culture, Let it Echo (Songwriter: In The River), Love Has a name (Songwriter: Fresh Outpouring) and Selah,One Name (Songwriter: Glory Hallelujah & God Of Ages) and produced projects for artists like REVERE (Leeland, DOE, Mark Barlow, Gabriel Guides de Almaeda), LO WORSHIP and many others. The local church remains an important part of Mark’s life. He has served in his current role as a central Music Pastor at Eagle Brook Church since 2019. Prior to that, Mark built teams at two other churches, for 10 years and 9 years. Mark spends time and energy investing in other leaders throughout the US regularly as he speaks at Conferences, retreats, on podcasts and coaching. In every project, no matter the size or scope, Mark considers it a privilege to come alongside artists, creatives and leaders to encourage them to be the fullest version of who God has created and called them to be.
As a musical & spoken word artist, writer, producer, & battle rapper— Street Hymns is as diverse as he is passionate about people.
He’s found that many of his perspectives have helped bridge gaps in seemingly contrasting places (whether in music or relationships).
Stirring up gifts, challenging stagnation, and pushing for reconciliation are his life goals and purposes because creating a controlled and safe environment where people can express differing views in a respectable way is important to Street.
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Yonathan Moya has spent most of his adult life serving on the mission field across Latin America and the Caribbean. He’s traveled all throughout the region and has been involved in community development projects in Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, and Cuba. Yonathan is the Founder and Executive Director of Border Perspective. He grew up on the U.S. and Mexico border and now lives with his wife, Megan, their 3 children and mini-Goldendoodle, Fitz, in Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Dr. Chinwé Williams is a Licensed and Board-Certified therapist whose expertise spans a variety of domains, including child and adolescent development, women’s wellness, & anxiety and trauma management. Dr. Chinwe’ is a sought-after clinician, speaker, author, and consultant. She has dedicated her career to empowering individuals and families through her extensive knowledge, unwavering compassion, and dynamic approach to mental and emotional wellness. Over the years, Dr. Chinwé has served in corporate, school, and faith-based work settings. She has also worked 15 years in academia, having taught graduate counseling students at institutions such as Georgia State University, University of Central Florida, Argosy University, and Rollins College. These experiences have honed her ability to connect deeply with diverse audiences and equip them with tools to navigate the complexities of mental health.
Dr. Williams is a frequently invited speaker and the co-author of the best-selling book Seen: Healing Despair and Anxiety in Kids and Teens Through the Power of Connection, the anxiety book, Beyond the Spiral: Why You Shouldn’t Believe Everything Anxiety Tells You, and the newly released May 2025 book, Calm, Courageous, and Connected.
Outside of her professional achievements, Dr. Williams is a wife and the proud mother of three wonderful children. Her family treasures moments spent exploring nature trails, indulging in delicious meals at local restaurants, and cheering for the Georgia Bulldogs!
Brooke Keels, PhD, LPC-MHSP, LPC-S serves as Partner and Chief Clinical Officer at Lighthouse Recovery, a Dallas-based addiction and mental health treatment center, where she oversees clinical program design and operations. She is also a Partner and Co-Founder at Kind Psychiatry, a multi-state telepsychiatry practice focused on accessible, ethical, and evidence-based care.
Brooke’s work centers on complex mental health presentations, trauma, and the careful integration of clinical insight with whole-person care. She is especially interested in how faith, culture, and psychology intersect in contexts of suffering, recovery, and how people make sense of it.
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Paul Copan (Ph.D., Philosophy, Marquette University) is a Christian theologian, analytic philosopher, apologist, and author. He is currently a professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University (Florida) and holds the endowed Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics.
He is author or editor of 45 books, including the very popular, strong-selling book Is God a Moral Monster? as well as its companion volume, the award-winning Is God a Vindictive Bully? He recently contributed two lengthy chapters on Old Testament warfare and servitude in his coedited Christianity Contested: Replies to Critics’ Toughest Objections. He is coeditor of The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, The Naturalness of Theistic Belief, Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues, and The Kalām Cosmological Argument (a two-volume anthology).He is coauthor of Creation out of Nothing and Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom. He has also contributed nearly 90 essays and articles to edited books, both scholarly and popular, and he has authored a number of articles in professional journals.
In 2017 and 2024, he has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Oxford (Wycliffe Hall and Oriel College). For six years, he served as president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He also helped establish the PBA’s M.A. in Philosophy of Religion; PBA also has a B.A. in Apologetics, and it offers a Program in Cultural Apologetics (which is heavily scholarshiped). He is chair of Tyndale Fellowship’s Philosophy of Religion Study Group, which meets every summer in England.
Paul is married to Jacqueline, and they have six children.
Bill is founder of Posture Shift, author of Guiding Families, and creator of Youth Belong. He has served as President since founding our missionary organization in 2006.
Posture Shift offers a credentialed, biblically-sound missional training curriculum on LGBT+ inclusion and care. Over 300,000 pastors and leaders around the globe have been trained.
Guiding Families is one of the most comprehensive and highly endorsed care plans available. Over 50,000 copies of the book have been sold in multiple editions and languages.
Youth Belong Digital is our latest resource with a focus on protecting gender minority youth.
Bill previously served as a board member of The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender. He has taught Posture Shift at Denver Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
“I formed Posture Shift after witnessing the impact of mistreatment and trauma in the lives of countless LGBT+ youth. I am passionate about fostering safe churches and homes. It is a privilege to train and consult church leaders around the world – as well as serve LGBT+ people of all ages and offer thoughtful guidance for their families. The gospel calls us to faithfully honor God – and importantly, to radically love LGBT+ people.“
Our board, advisory council, and teaching staff hold to a traditional biblical view.
Bill enjoys family time, photography, hiking, adventure travel, and staying healthy. Bill and his wife Kang have two grown children. Anna is a registered nurse, and Andrew is a junior in college studying marketing and finance.
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Dr. Joel Lawrence serves as the President of the Center for Pastor Theologians. Prior to this role, Joel served as the Senior Pastor of Central Baptist Church in St Paul, MN, Teaching Pastor at Calvary Church in White Bear, MN, and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at Bethel Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota. Joel holds degrees from Texas A&M University (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM.), and Cambridge University (MPhil. and PhD.). He is the author of Bonhoeffer: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark, 2010) and co-editor of Confronting Racial Injustice: Theory and Praxis for the Church (Cascade, 2022), Reconstructing Evangelicalism (Cascade, forthcoming), and Power and the Pulpit (Cascade, forthcoming). In addition, Joel has an active ministry speaking in churches, seminaries, and conferences worldwide.
Joel and his wife Myndi live in St Paul, MN, with their four children and small, decorative dog.
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Wes Holland is Director of Fellowship at The Voice of the Martyrs. With over 17 years in pastoral ministry, including international ministry and church planting, he now leads efforts to equip the Church to make disciples, advance the Great Commission, and strengthen fellowship with our persecuted brothers and sisters ministering in the world’s most difficult places.