Theme: Fruit of the Spirit: Developing a Spirit-Filled Life

Theme Verse- Galatians 5:22-23(ESV)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Dr. Earl Lavender will speak on Gentleness. 

Earl was born to missionary parents in Trieste, Italy. He earned undergraduate degrees from Ohio Valley College and David Lipscomb College (Physical Education and Coaching). He is married to the former Rebecca Nance of Nashville, Tennessee. They have three grown and happily married children: Rachel, Beth, and David. They also have six grandchildren. Rebecca and Earl planted churches in Italy (1978-1984) and Illinois (1986-1990).

Earl has an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Lipscomb and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University (1991). He has taught at Lipscomb University since 1991. Since 1999, he has served as director of missional studies and as a professor at the College of Bible and Ministry and the Hazelip School of Theology. He was recently named executive director of Lipscomb’s Center for Vocational Discovery, a focused initiative on presenting vocation as a continuation of God’s creative work in the world for every Lipscomb student.

He has served as an adjunct professor for the graduate school of theology of Abilene Christian University and a visiting professor at Pepperdine and Oklahoma Christian University. As director of missional studies at Lipscomb, he has led mission and education efforts and seminars in Italy, Germany, Scotland, England, Australia, India, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Ghana, Lithuania, and China. From 2005 until 2019, he delivered the final keynote for the international Festival Biblico in Vicenza, Italy.

Earl has authored numerous books and published articles, including entries in The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Everett Ferguson, ed., Garland) and The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). He is a regular lecturer at the International Conference of Patristic Studies at Oxford University in England. 2004, he co-authored Living God’s Love: an Invitation to Christian Spirituality with Gary Holloway. He is also a primary contributor to the Meditative Commentary series on the New Testament (Leafwood Publishers). His commentaries on Mark, Luke, Acts, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Paul’s Prison Epistles are now available. Earl authored Un Viaggio Nel Vangelo di Luca, published in 2011 by Perciballi in Rome, Italy. It is a meditative commentary explicitly written for the Italian culture. He has since published several chapters and papers, including “Dreams, Visions, and Real Life” in Owning Faith: Reimagining the Role of Church & Family in the Faith Journey of Teenagers (Leafwood Publishers, 2017).