Popular Topics

  • Light Streams In

    This series of short talks (designed for a weekend retreat) emphasizes the importance of showing mercy to ourselves and others, as Christ does. What does it mean to offer oneself joyfully to God? How do we encounter one another with love and mercy? How do we let the light of Christ stream in to our hearts, our relationships, and ultimately, our American culture?

  • Teaching Love

    For Sunday school teachers and youth ministry workers. We’ll ask what true Orthodox education might look like, and how we can best transmit the living faith to our youth. Free to redesign existing structures and to question assumptions (whose roots are not Orthodox), we’ll explore the ways we might use or change our Sunday School and youth ministry structures to achieve our objectives. This approach stresses the centrality of relationship and of participation in the life of the Church, as well as the importance of storytelling.

  • The Life-Giving Cross

    When we answer our Lord’s call to be fruitful and multiply, we volunteer for martyrdom. Through sacrificial love for others (whether our children, spouses, aging parents or strangers), we learn to die to ourselves and to find true life in Christ. We’ll explore thought patterns that impact our ability to grow in Christ, and how taking on Christ’s yoke lightens the burden of the crosses we carry. Further, we'll ask how we need to take care of the caregivers, and what Orthodox Self-Care might mean.

  • Preserve Thine Inheritance

    Studies show that many young adults are leaving the Church, and also that a parent’s faith experience is a critical factor in whether a child grows up to embrace or abandon the Church. How can parents accustomed to outsourcing much of their children’s formation, become the examples their children need? What can the parish do to support families and to embrace young people? How do we best interact with young people who are struggling with the faith or experiencing doubt? How can we best engage this new age, where being Christian is no longer the default?

Speaking Engagement FAQs:

What sorts of talks do you give?

On this page, you’ll find titles and descriptions of my more popular talks. If you’re thinking about another topic, tell me about it and I may be inspired to write another!


Will you bring books?

I’m happy to sign books, whether for individual participants during the event, or simply to sign all of the books at once for sale in the bookstore.

It is difficult to travel with books, so ideally, the parish bookstore would order the books in advance from Ancient Faith Publishing, with a 40% bookstore discount (so that the parish can sell the books at the cover price for a 40% profit).

Where can I find your bio and photo?

You’ll find photos and biographical information in the “About” section on this website. You are encouraged to use these when preparing promotional materials or crafting introductions, etc.

If you'd like me to put together a flier for an event, I'm happy to do so.

What are your speaker fees?

The standard fee for a speaking engagement is $1,000. Note that the fees should increase if there are several long presentations or if it's a multi-day event. If you are a mission parish or if the cost is prohibitive, please use the contact form to contact me, and we can discuss a possible reduction.

Please plan to cover the cost of airfare to and from Austin, Texas, as well as hotel lodging.

Do you do talks over Zoom?

I have given a number of talks designed for Zoom (or other conferencing software).

I find that talks are more effective and interesting when they are interactive; we should be able to see each other's faces and to ask each other questions. I appreciate seeing my audience's faces to gauge reactions and to tailor my talk to the specific audience, and I believe that their experience is much improved when we get to know each other and enjoy a helpful Q&A at the talk's conclusion. Thus I do not broadcast talks over YouTube or Facebook Live, but am happy to arrange for more interactive talks over Zoom.

Finally, I do think that Zoom talks should be fairly short, as attention spans are shorter online than in person.