April 21-22, 2023
The Caskey Conference is a free conference to encourage and equip ministers and their spouses.
Dr. Ted Traylor
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“This now is the Word of God.”
These seven words spoken at the beginning of each sermon preached by Dr. Ted Traylor is the foundation of his ministry.
Having served as pastor of Olive Baptist Church since 1990, Dr. Ted Traylor is committed to developing fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. His bold and practical preaching brings listeners to a fresh understanding of the Bible and challenges them to become bondservants for Christ.
A lifelong sports enthusiast, Dr. Traylor’s coaching style of leadership allows teams to develop their spiritual gifts as they serve the body of Christ and their communities. Mentoring and training young ministers is a passionate focus of his ministry. Preaching at various meetings and conferences throughout the country, he is known for his uncompromising stand on biblical issues and a strong defense of the Christian faith.
Dr. Traylor has served as First Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention, President of the Florida Baptist Convention, President of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference, Pensacola Bay Baptist Association moderator, and as a member of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. He is currently a speaker for the North American Mission Board’s Who’s Your One? conferences and serves on the board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes of the University of Alabama.
Having a family committed to Christ and the church is Dr. Traylor’s greatest honor. He has been married to his accomplished wife, Liz, since 1976. They have two grown children, Rachel and Bennett, and two adorable granddaughters, Kathryn and Elizabeth.
Dr. Robert Smith Jr.
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Robert Smith Jr. serves as professor of Christian preaching and holds the Charles T. Carter Baptist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School. Previously he served as the Carl E. Bates Associate Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Smith is the 2017 E. K. Bailey Expository Preaching Conference Living Legend. A popular teacher and preacher, he received Southern’s 1996 Findley B. Edge Award for Teaching Excellence.
An ordained Baptist minister, he served as pastor of the New Mission Missionary Baptist Church in Cincinnati, OH for twenty years. He earned his Ph.D. while serving as a pastor. He is a contributing editor for a study of Christian ministry in the African American church, Preparing for Christian Ministry, and is co-editor of A Mighty Long Journey. Additionally, he has served as an editor of Our Sufficiency Is of God: Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor (Mercer University Press, Macon Georgia: 2010) and Worship, Tradition, and Engagement: Essays in Honor of Timothy George (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2018). He has written the book, Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life (B&H Publishing Group, Nashville: 2008), which was selected as the winner of the 2008 Preaching Book of the Year Award by Preaching magazine and the 2009 Preaching Book of the Year Award by Christianity Today’s preaching.com. In 2010, Preaching magazine named Doctrine That Dances one of the 25 most influential books in preaching for the last 25 years. He also has written, The Oasis of God: From Mourning to Morning—Biblical Insights from Psalms 42 and 43, and has a forthcoming book called, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in Joshua (B&H Publishing Group, Nashville).
Smith has spoken at more than 135 universities, colleges, and seminaries in the United States, Great Britain, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean. He has taught congregations in several countries including Greece, Turkey, Rome, the Holy Land and Switzerland. Smith brought the closing message of the 22nd Baptist World Congress/Baptist World Alliance, which was scheduled to be held in 2020 in Rio de Janeiro and transformed into a fully virtual event held on July 7-10, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His research interests include the place of passion in preaching, the literary history of African American preaching, Christological preaching and theologies of preaching. Smith has contributed essays and articles to various books, magazines and commentaries. At Beeson, Smith teaches Christian preaching and other electives in homiletics. He received Beeson Divinity School’s “Teacher of the Year Award” in 2005. He and his wife, Wanda Taylor-Smith, Ph.D., are the parents of four adult children (one in heaven).
More Details
Caskey Pre-Conference
The pre-conference is connected to the Caskey Conference and offers an opportunity for additional and more extensive training related to ministry work in a church planting setting and/or established church setting. The pre-conference begins at 8:30 Friday morning and continues through 4:00 with six sessions focused on various aspects of the work of ministry, ranging from the general work of ministry in the local church to specific focus on new or established church works.
Caskey Main Conference
The Caskey Conference is a free conference that provides an opportunity for those serving in ministry settings to be encouraged and equipped for the work to which God has called them. The conference includes significant opportunities for worship and fellowship as well as hearing gifted pastors/preachers proclaim God’s Word in a way that encourages and equips ministers. In addition to opportunities for worship, the conference offers breakout sessions focused on sharpening ministry skills. Breakout sessions are also offered for ministry wives to be encouraged and refreshed.