Upper House Commons Events

Theologian and biblical scholar J. Richard Middleton joined us at Upper House on September 12, 2025. Middleton will explore the provocative question “Does God command immoral actions?” using the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) as a central example, inviting us to engage deeply with the moral and theological complexity of this foundational text. J. Richard Middleton is Professor Emeritus of...

Theologian and biblical scholar J. Richard Middleton joined us at Upper House on September 12, 2025. Middleton will explore the provocative question “Does God command immoral actions?” using the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) as a central example, inviting us to engage deeply with the moral and theological complexity of this foundational text. J. Richard Middleton is Professor Emeritus of...

Dr. Gavin Ortlund delivered a powerful and timely lecture titled  “How to Be a Christian Witness for a Disenchanted World.”  Drawing from theology, philosophy, and cultural analysis, Ortlund explored how Christians can offer hope in an age marked by spiritual emptiness and social isolation. Key Takeaways: Disenchantment Defines Our Age Ortlund described the modern West as spiritually dry and emoti...

In this talk from our annual Baccalaureate Service, Pastor Matt Metzger shares insights on faith, personal growth, and the challenges of transitioning into new life stages. He emphasizes the importance of understanding one's identity in God's eyes, especially during times of change and uncertainty. Through anecdotes from his experiences with athletes and personal stories, he encourages l...

In this recorded talk from our annual Baccalaureate Service, Dr. Rick Lindroth shares insights on the importance of education, the legacy of the Morrill Act, and the essential practices for human flourishing. He emphasizes the significance of lifelong learning, emotional intelligence, perseverance, and community building, while also addressing the urgent need for environmental stewardship. Dr. Ric...

This event was recorded live at Upper House on April 12, 2025. 💻 Watch this panel on YouTube https://youtu.be/fqxgDmSZGVk ABOUT THE MODERATOR CAM ANDERSON is an artist and a writer, a maker of things and texts. From the outside my career path seems to tell a different tale. Beginning with a two-year stint teaching art at Notre Dame High School in East Detroit, I found lifelong paid employment in...

This talk was recorded at our annual arts conference, "Let The Art Speak," at Upper House on April 12, 2025. 💻 Watch this talk on YouTube https://youtu.be/MbKVf3x25Cg SPEAKER: Bruce Herman is a painter, writer, and speaker. His art has been shown in more than 150 national and international exhibitions and is in many public and private art collections, including the Vatican Museum of Mod...

Scholar and author Karen Swallow Prior will explore the connections between art, beauty, and the evangelical tradition. This sometimes complicated relationship has important things to teach us about both art and the beautiful. She will also explore the human appetite for beauty and how it's all too easy to fill that appetite with poor substitutes. One such substitute is often branded as “evan...

This Friday Night Lecture was led by scholar and author Karen Swallow Prior, who explored the connections between art, beauty, and the evangelical tradition. This sometimes complicated relationship has important things to teach us about both art and the beautiful. She will also explore the human appetite for beauty and how it's easy to fill it with poor substitutes. One such substitute is oft...

This Friday Night Lecture was led by scholar and author Karen Swallow Prior, who explored the connections between art, beauty, and the evangelical tradition. This sometimes complicated relationship has important things to teach us about both art and the beautiful. She will also explore the human appetite for beauty and how it's easy to fill it with poor substitutes. One such substitute is oft...

Numbers are telling. On average, Americans spend nearly 5 hours a day on their phones. Research shows that 45% consider themselves addicted to their devices. Our hands naturally pick them up, open a screen, and voila, we enter another world. Yet there’s another technology that also helps us enter other worlds: a far older technology that might be considered an anecdote to our phone addiction… book...

Numbers are telling. On average, Americans spend nearly 5 hours a day on their phones. Research shows that 45% consider themselves addicted to their devices. Our hands naturally pick them up, open a screen, and voila, we enter another world. Yet there’s another technology that also helps us enter other worlds: a far older technology that might be considered an anecdote to our phone addiction… book...

Numbers are telling. On average, Americans spend nearly 5 hours a day on their phones. Research shows that 45% consider themselves addicted to their devices. Our hands naturally pick them up, open a screen, and voila, we enter another world. Yet there’s another technology that also helps us enter other worlds: a far older technology that might be considered an anecdote to our phone addiction… book...

Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment Magazine, joins us to explore the possibilities offered by a revived Christian humanist approach that flows from scripture and two thousand years of Christ-centered tradition. In her view, such an approach offers a hopeful and creative way to navigate the destabilizing currents of this late modern moment. Because we are in a "time between eras when no o...

This preaching class was recorded at our third annual Midwest Gospel Preaching Summit on October 9 & 10, 2024. Rev. Dr. Danielle L. Brown is the 10th Senior Pastor of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey, the first woman to hold this position since the church’s founding in 1908. An increasingly sought-after preacher and workshop leader with the ability to communicate across gene...

This preaching class was recorded at our third annual Midwest Gospel Preaching Summit on October 9 & 10, 2024. Rev. Dr. Phillip Pointer, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Saint Mark Baptist Church, one of the largest Baptist churches in the state of Arkansas. Raised in the Greater Washington D.C. area, Pastor Pointer is a fourth-generation Baptist pastor from lines of Baptist pastors that run on bot...

Reverend Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Jr. is the Senior Pastor/Teacher of The Historic Tabernacle Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia. In his role, he established “one church in multiple locations” that serves a TAB Global audience with multiple weekly services, virtually and in-person. Pastor Goodman is also the author of four books: You Can’t Run from Purpose, Road to Recovery, The Flip Side of Favor,...

Rev. Dr. Marcus D. Allen, Sr. is the senior pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Madison, Wisconsin. He holds a doctor of ministry from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. His profound love for God's word and people, coupled with his generous spirit, defines his ministry. ---- 🖥️ Watch this talk on YouTube https://youtu.be/CKdhcA3csl0 Send us Fan Mail Upper House Commons gathers the unive...

Isaiah Oby, Associate Pastor at Northside Christian Assembly, presented on AI tools for ministry. https:// www.perplexity.ai/ https://notebooklm.google.com/ https://gemini.google.com/ ---- 🖥️ Watch this talk on our YouTube page https://youtu.be/Mho50H-mfx4 Send us Fan Mail Upper House Commons gathers the university community for spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation. We explore big ide...

Have archaeologists “disproved” the historical reliability of the biblical texts? These concerns are as common as they are serious for believers, whether confronting flashy news articles or hearing well-articulated, challenging claims from scholars. This lecture aims to contextualize such questions by describing what biblical archaeology is and why it is important for understanding the biblical wo...

Have archaeologists “disproved” the historical reliability of the biblical texts? These concerns are as common as they are serious for believers, whether confronting flashy news articles or hearing well-articulated, challenging claims from scholars. This lecture aims to contextualize such questions by describing what biblical archaeology is and why it is important for understanding the biblical wo...

Have archaeologists “disproved” the historical reliability of the biblical texts? These concerns are as common as they are serious for believers, whether confronting flashy news articles or hearing well-articulated, challenging claims from scholars. This lecture aims to contextualize such questions by describing what biblical archaeology is and why it is important for understanding the biblical wo...

This event was recorded live at Upper House on June 6, 2024. This contentious era has tested many of us who long to positively engage on issues that matter, yet find ourselves instead engaging in fruitless arguments, or distancing ourselves from people we care about, or occasionally disparaging those we oppose. We know that God desires us to work out our differences and seek mutual flourishing. In...

This event was recorded live at Upper House for our annual Baccalaureate Service. Adam Penning serves as lead pastor of Blackhawk Church Downtown. Previously, he was the Cru Campus Ministry Director for the New York City Metro Area; from 2001 to 2015, Penning served with Badger Cru on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, including as Area Director. Penning studied at Iowa State University a...

This was recorded live at our annual Baccalaureate Service. Thomas Browne is the Senior Assistant Dean in the Office of Academic Affairs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW–Madison. He is an advocate for meaningful culture and climate change to encourage and support those who might feel undervalued or marginalized. Since 2000 he has worked at UW–Madison, where he also completed...