In Case You Missed It: 2026 Winter Conference

Posted On January 26, 2026

On January 15–16, we hosted our 2026 Winter Conference, Think on These Things: Celebrating Fifteen Years at RBC, on our campus in Central Florida.

Together, we considered on Paul’s admission in the book of Philippians to think on that which is true, beautiful, and worthy or praise. We also reflected on how these virtues reflect the character of God and shape Christian maturity.

Ligonier Teaching Fellow Dr. Derek Thomas opened our conference by considering how the Christian life is built on the foundation of God’s Word and that every Christian should therefore strive to shape their lives around the truth of Scripture.

“Open your Bible. Read its pages. Because every word of Scripture is true. What you have in Scripture are God’s words.” —Dr. Derek Thomas

To close day one of time together, Drs. Nichols, Thomas, and Tweeddale took part in a panel discussion that considered Philippians 4:8 and the call on every Christian to cultivate excellence in their lives to the glory of God.

Our vice president of academics and professor of theology, Dr. John Tweeddale, opened day two of the conference by explaining how justice is ultimately a reflection of God’s own righteous nature. Dr. Tweeddale also explored the Christian’s calling to uphold God’s standard of justice in the church, the classroom, and the world.

“Justice in Scripture is not ideologically driven. It’s theologically divine. Justice reflects the righteous character of God in the life of His people.” —Dr. John Tweeddale

Members of the RBC faculty then led four respective breakout sessions that reflected on various aspects of Philippians 4 and the cultivation of Christian virtue.

• Dr. Benjamin Shaw, our professor of Old Testament, explored the relationship between the list of virtues found in Philippians 4 and the poetic reflection in the Psalms on God’s revelation in nature and in His Word.
• Dr. Keith Mathison, our professor of systematic theology, looked at the ways in which an unbelieving world attempts to force believers to think in terms of its own categories—as well as how Christians can and must actively counteract these temptations.
• Our associate professor of theology, Dr. Levi Berntson, explained why ancient and modern unbelievers manifest the true, good, and beautiful in their thoughts and works, as well as how this relates to human depravity and God’s grace.
• Our associate professor of New Testament, Dr. Matthew Dudreck, explored the similarities and important differences between Paul’s virtue list and those of the wider Greco-Roman world.

In the next main session, our president, Dr. Stephen Nichols, examined how beauty—ultimately found in God’s creation, truth, and holiness—trains us to recognize and delight in the beauty that reflects our Creator.

“Any reference to beauty that fails to lead us to God falls infinitely short of a right definition for beauty. Ultimately, we turn to God to understand what is beautiful.” —Dr. Stephen Nichols

Next, Rev. Joel Kim, president of Westminster Seminary California, helped us consider how to put the virtues we reflected on during our conference into practice as we seek to live faithfully in an ever-shifting world.

“A mind captivated by Christ Jesus leads to a life transformed by Christ Jesus. As you think His thoughts after Him, you cannot help but seek those things that He loves.” —Rev. Joel Kim

In our closing session, Drs. Nichols, Thomas, and Tweeddale joined Rev. Joel Kim in a Q&A session, answering questions from conference attendees about Christian virtue and the life of the mind.

Many of the sessions from our Winter Conference were livestreamed, and you can watch the recording of each stream on our YouTube channel. Subscribe today to find messages from other RBC events. For more information about RBC, visit ReformationBibleCollege.org.