Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU) will celebrate Constitution Day with a special Chapel lecture by Dr. John D. Wilsey on Wednesday, September 17, at 11:00 a.m. in the Roland Fine Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public.
This Constitution Day program is presented in partnership with the Moorman Foundation as part of the Free Society Speaker Series at HLGU. The University has long championed the principles of a free and virtuous society, and this event continues that tradition by engaging the community in meaningful dialogue about faith, freedom, and civic life.
Dr. Wilsey serves as Associate Professor of Church History and Philosophy and Chair of the Church History and Historical Theology Department at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also a Research Fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy and at the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Over the course of his distinguished career, Dr. Wilsey has held fellowships with the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. In 2017–18, he served as the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life with the James Madison Program in American Ideas and Institutions at Princeton University.
The author of three books exploring the relationship between nationalism and theology, Dr. Wilsey most recently published God’s Cold Warrior: The Life and Faith of John Foster Dulles in the Eerdmans Library of Religious Biography Series. He is currently writing two additional works: one on conservatism and religious freedom, and another on Christian nationalism and historical thinking for pastors and church leaders.
In addition to his academic work, Dr. Wilsey is an elder at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Mandy, a Raleigh native, have been married for 26 years and are the proud parents of two daughters, Caroline and Sally.
“HLGU is honored to welcome Dr. Wilsey to campus for this important observance of Constitution Day,” said Dr. Eric Turner, Chair, Division of Humanities and Fine Arts, Chair, Christian Studies Department, Associate Professor of New Testament and Greek, and Director of Church and Denominational Relations. “His scholarship and experience provide valuable insight into the enduring importance of freedom in both civic and spiritual life.”
For more information about Constitution Day at HLGU, email [email protected].
