Wisdom Conversations at Cornerstone University | Oct. 27, 2022How Should We Live Today?
God, the Bible and Human Flourishing

Samuel Rodriguez, lead pastor of New Season, one of America’s most influential mega churches according to Newsmax, is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, one of the world’s largest Christian organizations. Rodriguez stands recognized by CNN, FOX News, Univision and Telemundo as America’s most influential Latino/Hispanic faith leader. Charisma magazine named him one of the 40 leaders who changed the world. The Wall Street Journal named him one of the top 12 Latino leaders, and he was the only faith leader on that list. He has been named among the “Top 100 Christian Leaders in America” (Newsmax, 2018) and nominated as one of the “100 most influential people in the world” (TIME, 2013). Rodriguez has advised Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump and frequently consults with members of Congress to advance life, religious liberty and biblical justice initiatives, including immigration and criminal justice reform. He is the best-selling author of “Be Light” and executive producer of three films, including “Breakthrough.” Rodriguez is the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award presented by the Congress of Racial Equality.

Ian V. Rowe is the founder of Vertex Partnership Academies and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In addition to serving ten years as CEO of Public Prep, he held leadership positions at Teach for America, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the White House and MTV, where he earned two Public Service Emmys. With his recent book “Agency” (Templeton Press, May 2022), Rowe seeks to inspire young people of all races to build strong families and become masters of their own destiny. Rowe earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s College of Engineering and his high school diploma from Brooklyn Tech as part of a K-12 NYC public education.

Dr. Miroslav Volf serves as the Henry B. Wright professor of systematic theology at Yale Divinity School and the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. He completed doctoral and post-doctoral degrees from the University of Tübingen in Tübingen, Germany, having studied under theologian Jürgen Moltmann, and has held teaching appointments at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Croatia and Fuller Theological Seminary. A prolific writer and sought-after theological voice in interfaith conversations, Volf’s scholarship includes over 100 scholarly articles and 20 books, including “Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World” and “A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Common Good.” He regularly teaches in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and North America and has delivered lectures at higher education institutions such as Harvard University, Oxford University, Stockholm School of Theology, Duke University and the University of Birmingham. Volf’s latest book, “The Home of God: A Brief Story of Everything,” a project co-authored with Ryan McAnnally-Linz, will be released in September 2022.