If You’d Like Me to Speak at Your Church, College, Library, Etc. in 2022-23

Posted on by Chris Gehrz

It happened last month: that annual moment when I realize that all of the events on my Speaking page are now in the past and nothing is yet listed for the future. Not coincidentally, that moment almost always comes in mid-spring, which happens to be the time when churches are planning adult education speakers for the following year. Likewise, colleges are thinking about speakers for events like faculty retreats, colloquia, and chapel series, and maybe some libraries are ready to restart speaker series after shutting down during the pandemic…

So before my 2022-2023 schedule starts to fill in, I’ve put together a two-page summary for interested churches, colleges, libraries, and other organizations that might be looking for speakers. It includes a brief bio, plus a list of topics that I’ve taught recently… and one that has suddenly become timely in the first half of 2022 and doesn’t look to be receding in timeliness during the months to come.

Chris Gehrz, 2022-23 Adult Class OptionsDownload

I enjoy any excuse to talk about history with people older than college students. For that matter, I’d love to turn any of my other Bethel courses into adult classes. (Sports history, anyone?) But I’m particularly eager to do more events related to my spiritual biography of Charles Lindbergh.

While I was grateful for the few I was able to schedule after the book’s publication last August, the waning days of a global pandemic were clearly not an ideal time to launch a new book. So as things seem to get back to something like a post-COVID normal, I’m looking forward to taking a second crack at a series of talks on Charles (and Anne) Lindbergh, which could fold in related topics like the “spiritual but not religious” phenomenon, Christian approaches to biography, debates over historical commemoration, and the history of eugenics.

(Or if you’re part of a book club or church small group, feel free to use the discussion guide that I created this past winter. I’ve already been asked to meet with one church group this summer to help begin and end their conversation about the book.)

While I prefer to speak in person, I’m also happy to arrange for events via Zoom, if you’re located far from the Twin Cities or don’t have a travel budget for speakers. Just email me and we can start talking about dates, topic, mode of delivery, etc.!