Thursday, September 23

RNA/RNF board meeting

Sacred Scriptures: The Challenges of Translating Culture, Gender and the Sacred
With a new version of a top selling Bible coming out in 2011, this program will help journalists better understand how scholars navigate issues of gender and culture in trying to make ancient scriptures fresh for 21st Century audiences. What does it mean to be a biblical literalist when faced with new translations? How much do we really know about what’s in the Bible and what does the Bible mean to today’s youth? How are politicians using—and misusing—scripture? What challenges exist when communicating the Bible to cultures with competing faith traditions and different views about the validity of translated sacred writings? Have new technologies made the job easier? Program includes top Bible scholars, translation specialists and marketers

Lunch: “For the Bible Tells Me So.” Or Does It? sponsored by Barna Group
Recent surveys suggest we don’t know as much as we think we do, especially younger generations. The Barna Group is the nation’s leader in surveying Christians about their faith life practice and beliefs. Barna Group President David Kinnaman will share some of their latest research showing a growing religious illiteracy to which marketers and ministries are responding.

Translation Hot Potatoes: Bible and Politics
The Bible gets quoted in political speeches used to justify political positions. Wayne Grudem of Phoenix Seminary, known for his advocacy of an inerrant and literal interpretation of the Bible, especially on issues of gender, looks to the uses and misuses of scripture as we prepare for fall election coverage.

Sacred Text Translation 101
A team of experts from the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at The American Bible Society will discuss what goes into Bible translation, from inception to publication, why it’s done, and ethical issues surrounding how stakeholders shape a translation project.
The American Bible Society

Translation and Power
Sacred texts, including the Bible, as translations involve more than a linguistic exchange of words or phrases. Cultural exchanges are a very important, but often seldom discussed, part of translation. Inherent in such exchanges are questions of ideologies, ethics, and power. Experts from the American Bible Society’s scholarly department of the Nida Institute will discuss these issues while providing examples from their considerable experience in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

• Steven Berneking, the American Bible Society

• James Maxey, the American Bible Society

• Kuo-Wei Peng, the American Bible Society

Why and How Bible Translations are Updated
For several hundred years the King James Version of the Bible was the only major English-language translation of the book held sacred by nearly one third of the world’s population. Why has there been such a proliferation of translations in the last 50 years or so? Why do new translations, once they are published, get updated? In what ways are they updated? How do they address the particularly sensitive issues of gender, culture, and particularly memorable texts? What can we expect in 2011, the four-hundredth anniversary of the publication of the KJV? Craig Blomberg, who has participated in four different translation projects over the last two decades, will address these and related topics.

Bible on Steroids
New technologies enable people to access ancient wisdom through new gadgets, gizmos, and games. Does this change how we use or what we know about what's at the heart of the Bible? A seasoned Bible marketing team from Somersault, a publishing services firm embracing Web 3.0 strategies for inspirational content, will clue us in with facts, figures, trends, and analysis. Consider this session a foundation for articles you’ll write for the 400th anniversary of the KJV Bible in 2011.

• Jeanette Taylor, Somersault

• John Sawyer, Somersault

Opening reception sponsored by Lovell-Fairchild Communications

Movie screening: “The Grace Card” sponsored by Lovell-Fairchild Communications

Friday, September 24

Breakfast and press conference: The Short List of Christian Book-Sale Phenomenons sponsored by Lovell-Fairchild Communications
As it passes 4.5 million books sold, “The Love Dare” joins “Purpose Driven Life,” “Prayer of Jabez,” and a few more household names in sales of "how-to" Christian books that stagger the authors as much as anyone else. John Thompson of B&H Publishing Group of Nashville, hands the mic to Christianity Today's Ted Olsen to discuss the phenomenon of phenomenal book sales. What do these books have in common? What universal chords do they hit? Who's buying? And how is it no one can predict—or contrive—the next headline seller?

Missions and Mayhem
When missions mix with global affairs and natural disasters, mayhem can occur. We all covered the case of the "Idaho 10” during the Haiti earthquake. How do faith-based mission groups and secular non-governmental organizations coordinate in facing disasters and in dealing day in and out with chronic problems like poverty, disease, starvation and war refugees?

• Moderator: J.D. Kaleem, the Miami Herald

• Abe Levy, San Antonio Express-News

• Mike Ebert, North American Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention

• Heather Paul, SOS Children's Villages

Featured Speaker
The Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver
Moderator: David Gibson, Religion News Service

Lunch sponsored by the Knights of Columbus
Carl Anderson, who has now served a decade at the helm of the 1.8 million member Knights of Columbus, has written a book that challenges the conventional wisdom regarding the purported polarization of America. During Friday’s luncheon Anderson will provide a preview of the research and conclusions in "Beyond a House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored by Washington, Wall Street and the Media," which will be published by Doubleday on Election Day.

An Afternoon with Rainn Wilson
When is a celebrity’s faith on or off limits? Is it anybody’s business? And how do you write about a celebrity’s religion without making them sound like poster children for the cause? Rainn Wilson, a star of NBC’s "The Office,” tells how he chooses to discuss his faith. Moderated by Jeff Diamant, The Star-Ledger

Guiding Lights or Opportunists? The Rise of Spiritual Teachers
We are familiar with spiritual directors, a long-standing tradition in the Catholic Church and other faiths. But today there are self-appointed spiritual teachers all over the internet and networks of speakers. They often claim to help people find spiritual peace. But who are these people? Do credentials matter? How do you know a genuine teacher from a guru with a gimmick? What are the uses, abuses and charm of this self-appointed role?

• Moderator: Kimberly Winston

• Jamie Korngold, “The Adventure Rabbi”

• Fr. Vincent Hovley, Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House

• Duncan Scribner, Ridhwan School

Dinner sponsored by Lovell-Fairchild

Dinner to welcome new members & first-time attendees

Saturday, September 25

Breakfast and press conference sponsored by HarperOne
John Dominic Crossan, author of “The Greatest Prayer: Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord's Prayer”

Press briefing: Embargoed U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey Results
On September 28, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life will release a new survey exploring religious knowledge in the U.S. The survey, which polled more than 3,400 Americans, examines how religious knowledge varies among adherents of different traditions and the non-religious, and analyzes how this knowledge is impacted by demographic and social factors. Presented by Greg Smith.

American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us
In his seminal book "Bowling Alone,” Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam wrote about the demise of community in our culture. Now he and his colleague, Professor David Campbell of Notre Dame, release the results of a four-year study focused on faith’s role in maintaining society’s sense of community.

• Moderator: Bob Smietana, The Tennessean

• Robert Putnam, Harvard University

• David Campbell, University of Notre Dame

The Holy Grail of Religion Reporting: Seeking Audiences Online
We are all keeping our eyes on the online audience. What will draw audiences in and keep them? Serious explorations of news, theology and denominations? Or the "fog” of spirituality (as one blog calls it). Or angel-puppies inspirational fluff? What do the metrics tell us? Religion journalists at the forefront of communicating online share their experiences

• Moderator: Cathy Grossman, USA TODAY

• Alana B. Elias Kornfeld, The Huffington Post

• Rod Dreher, John Templeton Foundation

• Eric Marrapodi, CNN.com

Lunch sponsored by Jossey-Bass
Donald Kraybill, author of “The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World”

New Faces of Evangelicalism?
Who is the next public face of Evangelicalism? With Billy Graham retired and James Dobson gone from from his powerful spot, who will replace these forceful voices among evangelicals? When news happens and you’re looking for an evangelical perspective, whom do you call? Moderated by Steve Rabey.

• Moderator: Steve Rabey

• Esther Fleece, Focus on the Family

• R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Southern Baptist Seminary

Investigating Faith
Investigating religious institutions and their leaders differs from any other topic. Investigative skills have been crucial for the latest reports on clergy abuse and faith groups. Yet investigations into faith communities also bring charges of bias and public attacks on the character of journalists. RNA members share their tips in how to weather public rebuke, how to find time for long-term projects and how documents can be a reporter’s best friend.

• Moderator: Melissa Nann Burke, York Daily Record

• Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times

• Dan Burke, Religion News Service

RNA member meeting

Silent auction and awards banquet sponsored by FaithWords/Hachette Book Group
Philip Yancey, author of “What Good is God? In Search of a Faith that Matters”