Wagner Center Events
Recovering First Principles.
Equipping Tomorrow's Leaders.
Lectures, Seminars, and Conferences
FEATURED EVENT: International Christian Professors Forum
JUNE 2026
From June 2 to 5, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center hosted the inaugural International Christian Professors Forum on the campus of Spring Arbor University, bringing together Christian scholars, educators, judges, and thought leaders from around the world for four days of rich conversation, rigorous lectures, and meaningful fellowship. Attendees came from Brazil, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Canada, India, and beyond, all united by a shared commitment to developing a comprehensive biblical worldview.
Eleven featured thought leaders delivered lectures spanning law, theology, education, philosophy, and public life — covering topics ranging from the role of Christian professors in a hostile age, to the influence of biblical worldview on healthcare, higher education, and governance.
FEATURED EVENT: WFFC Hosts Coach Kennedy
APRIL 2024
On April 24, 2024, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center hosted Coach Joe Kennedy at the McDonald Athletic Center in Spring Arbor, Michigan, co-sponsored by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the State Bar of Michigan's Religious Liberty Law Section. Known as the "Praying Coach," Kennedy became a national symbol of religious liberty after losing his job for kneeling in prayer on the football field.
Kennedy shared his personal story of standing firm in his faith despite professional consequences, recounting the legal battle that ultimately carried his case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. His testimony offered attendees an inspiring, firsthand account of perseverance, conviction, and the fight to protect religious expression in public life.
FEATURED EVENT: Celebrating the Legacy of MLK Jr. with Alveda King
JANUARY 2024
On January 16, 2024, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center hosted a program for MLK/Religious Freedom Day at South Church in Lansing, presented by Salt & Light Global and featuring Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., alongside Hon. William Wagner. The event centered on the sanctity of human life and drew a large gathering for worship, testimony, and community outreach.
Alveda King shared her Christian testimony and commissioned attendees to join the pro-life cause, forming an impromptu children's choir from the audience. Mary Grace Bratz, serving as Master of Ceremonies, shared her own testimony of being conceived in rape. Attendees connected with pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations present, and the event collected a large donation of diapers and baby wipes for local pregnancy centers.
FEATURED EVENT: WFFC Hosts Shannon Bream
OCTOBER 2023
In October 2023, bestselling author and journalist Shannon Bream visited Spring Arbor University, speaking to students, faculty, and the community at a campus presentation and delivering a chapel message centered on faith and Scripture. Bream, host of Fox News Sunday and Chief Legal Correspondent for Fox News, has covered landmark Supreme Court cases throughout her career.
Bream shared insights from her three bestselling books, including "The Women of the Bible Speak," a New York Times #1 bestseller, drawing on the lives of biblical women for lessons applicable today. A former lawyer who handled race discrimination and sexual harassment cases, she reflected on faith, purpose, and resilience, encouraging students and community members in their own walks with Christ.
Michigan State Bar Address
MAY 2026
Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Chair at the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, delivered a keynote address to the Religious Liberty Section of the State Bar of Michigan on the movement to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Michigan. He argued that the proposed legislative package would have authorized physician-assisted killing, restructured criminal law, integrated assisted death into insurance systems, and shielded participating doctors from disciplinary oversight.
Wagner grounded his address in the Declaration's affirmation of God-given human dignity, warning that abandoning moral limits harms the vulnerable first. He cited Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium as cautionary examples, and defended medicine's Hippocratic tradition, framing the issue as a worldview battle over human dignity.
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Keynote Address at St. John's University Law School
MARCH 2026
On March 30, Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, delivered the keynote address at St. John's University School of Law in New York City, hosted by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. The lecture, titled "Federalism, the Constitution, and Physician Assisted Killing," addressed one of the most consequential legal and moral questions facing the country.
Drawing on experience spanning all three branches of federal government, Wagner examined where federal authority ends and state authority begins amid the growing debate over physician-assisted killing, and what the Constitution demands when confronting the value and protection of human life. He framed the lecture as a call for thoughtful, principled examination of those tensions.
Washington D.C. Experience
MARCH 2026
The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center led families on a seven-day trip to Washington, D.C., featuring daily lectures from the Hon. William Wagner, WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, along with special presentations from the U.S. Under Secretary of State and a Member of Congress. The journey combined historical touring with structured teaching on Christian heritage and constitutional governance.
Participants visited landmarks including the WWII, Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, and MLK memorials, the Museum of the Bible, Supreme Court, White House, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, and the U.S. Capitol. Short lectures at each site explored the biblical and Christian influences woven into American history, while evening sessions examined constitutional governance and competing worldviews shaping the nation's founding.
Keynote Address to Right to Life Michigan
MARCH 2026
On March 18, 2026, the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.) delivered the keynote address to Right to Life Michigan, arguing that the nation faced a defining battle over truth itself — one touching marriage, procreation, and whether children belong under parental authority or government oversight. He framed the moment as a clash between two worldviews: one rooting rights in God, the other treating them as state-defined constructs.
Wagner argued that the family predates the state and traced a constitutional tradition of parental rights through cases including Pierce, Meyer, Yoder, Troxel, and Mahmoud v. Taylor. He criticized schools facilitating children's gender transitions without parental knowledge, calling it a direct assault on parental authority, and urged renewed legal and cultural defense of the family.
Keynote Address at Scottsdale Power Luncheon
MARCH 2026
The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University hosted a luncheon program for friends and supporters in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Olive & Ivy restaurant. The gathering brought together members of the Spring Arbor University community for an afternoon of fellowship, encouragement, and reflection on the intersection of faith, family, freedom, and Christian higher education.
The event featured three distinguished speakers who shared timely insights on advancing truth and leadership in today's cultural moment. Guests connected with SAU leadership and learned more about the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center's growing mission, with the luncheon serving as an opportunity to gather with fellow believers invested in Christian education, constitutional freedom, and the Church's public witness.
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Debate at Michigan State University
FEBRUARY 2026
Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, addressed the Michigan State University Federalist Society on the constitutional and international-law dimensions of the President's Venezuela operation against indicted narco-terrorists. He examined the tension between Congress's war-declaring power and the President's role as Commander in Chief.
Wagner applied Justice Jackson's Youngstown framework, noting executive authority is strongest when backed by congressional statutes on narcotrafficking, and situated the action within past limited uses of force abroad. He also addressed UN Charter Article 2(4) and self-defense exceptions, acknowledging scholarly disputes over expanding those doctrines. He concluded that national security must be pursued with fidelity to constitutional and international law.
Education Freedom Legal Network Annual Summit
OCTOBER 2025
Hon. William Wagner, Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, participated in the 2025 Education Freedom Legal Network (EFLN) Annual Summit in Arlington, Virginia. The gathering brought together attorneys, scholars, and policy advocates from across the country for a day of strategy and collaboration focused on protecting and advancing the freedom to educate.
Sessions covered moving the education-freedom movement "from defense to offense" in litigation, the evolving jurisprudence of parental rights, and legal risks surrounding federal tax-credit programs, including Establishment Clause and Free Exercise concerns. The Summit also offered networking opportunities for advocates nationwide.
Annual Bonfire Address at Historic Withee Farm
OCTOBER 2025
Men from across Michigan gathered at the Historic Withee Farm for the Annual Bonfire Event, a two-day gathering of fellowship, faith, and renewal. The weekend opened Friday evening with a bonfire and hymn singing, followed Saturday by a country breakfast and address from the Hon. William Wagner, Distinguished Chair for Faith and Freedom at the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center.
Wagner offered a Supreme Court update on cases shaping faith, family, and freedom, warning that liberty's constitutional foundations require vigilant stewardship. "We stand at a moment when the meaning of freedom itself is being redefined," he said. The weekend closed with a keynote from Hillsdale College's chaplain on the Psalms' influence on moral character, calling men to lead with integrity.
Address at Go Local: School Board Training
OCTOBER 2025
The Freedom Embassy in Lansing hosted "Go Local: School Board Training," a daylong event sponsored by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Leadership Institute, and SLG, equipping current and aspiring school board members to lead with truth, courage, and constitutional grounding.
Hon. William Wagner delivered an address on local control and limited authority, arguing that educational freedom rests on parental rights and freedom of conscience. Sessions covered transparency laws, budgeting, and parental rights, led by figures including Dr. Kelly Kohls, Molly Macek, and Michael Van Beek. A legal panel featuring Wagner and several attorneys addressed Title IX, the Religious Freedom and Fairness Act, and parental rights in public education.
Keynote Address at Duke University
OCTOBER 2025
In October 2025, the Federalist Society at Duke University Law School hosted the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom, for a keynote lecture titled "The Virtue of True Meaning and the Tyranny of the Few." Drawing on his experience as a former federal judge, Wagner urged faithful constitutional interpretation as essential to preserving liberty and the rule of law.
Wagner argued that the Constitution protects unalienable liberty through representative governance, warning that politically unaccountable judicial policymaking threatens constitutional order. "When an unelected judiciary honestly interprets the Constitution to discern its truthful meaning, it furthers both democratic values and the Rule of Law," he said, cautioning that departures from faithful interpretation risk judicial tyranny.
Speaking for SBM at the Michigan Supreme Court
SEPTEMBER 2025
In Lansing, the Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), former chair of the State Bar of Michigan's Religious Liberty Law Section, spoke before the Michigan Supreme Court, urging justices to reject proposed amendments to the state's Code of Judicial Conduct and Rules of Professional Conduct. The changes would have barred judges and lawyers from language deemed biased regarding race, sex, gender identity, religion, or sexual orientation.
Wagner argued the amendments were unconstitutional content-based speech restrictions that would interfere with judges' and lawyers' Free Exercise rights, citing cases including Reed v. Town of Gilbert and Fulton v. City of Philadelphia. He also raised due process concerns, noting undefined terms like "bias" and "harassment" invited vague, overbroad enforcement, and urged the Court to retain the existing rules.
WFFC Co-Sponsors 2025 CCCU Law and Public Policy Conference in Dallas
SEPTEMBER 2025
The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center at Spring Arbor University co-sponsored the 2025 Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) Law and Public Policy Conference in Dallas, Texas, a premier gathering of Christian scholars, legal practitioners, university presidents, and human resource leaders addressing pressing cultural and constitutional questions.
The Hon. William Wagner (Ret.), Distinguished Chair of the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, opened the conference with a devotion titled "Guarding That Which Has Been Entrusted to Us," setting a tone of prayerful reflection. He also participated in the featured Constitution Day Debate on the constitutionality of federal involvement in education, drawing on his background as a constitutional scholar, former federal judge, and law professor.
Wagner Center Co-Founds International Online Fellowship of Christian Professors
SEPTEMBER 2025
In September 2025, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center, alongside the Institute of Christian Jurists and other partners, co-founded International Christian Professors, a global fellowship of distinguished Christian scholars spanning many academic disciplines and countries. The initiative formed an online think tank where faith and scholarship intersect to address pressing issues facing the world today.
Through this network, professors contributed thoughtful analysis, engaged in cross-cultural dialogue, and offered biblical wisdom for shaping society and the academy. Their lectures and writings reflected both deep academic expertise and a commitment to Christ-centered perspectives on global challenges, with sample lectures made available to showcase the breadth and depth of insights from these international thought leaders.
Wagner Center Hosts Immersive Leadership Experience in Washington D.C.
MAY 2025
The Wagner Faith & Freedom Center led a seven-day educational trip to Washington, D.C., pairing site visits with daily "Christian Heritage and Worldview" lectures and "Good Governance and the American Constitution" sessions exploring the nation's founding principles.
Participants visited the WWII, Lincoln, Jefferson, MLK, Iwo Jima, Vietnam, and Korean War memorials, the Museum of the Bible, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, White House, Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Holocaust Museum, National Archives, and U.S. Capitol, meeting a Member of Congress. Lectures traced biblical and Christian influences woven through American monuments and institutions, from Lincoln's references to divine providence to the Constitution's structure of legislative, executive, and judicial power, closing each evening with reflective presentations on faith and governance.
Keynote Address to Caribbean Pastors on the Foundations of Freedom
APRIL 2025
In Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the Council of Evangelical Churches hosted a landmark gathering of Caribbean pastors and ministry leaders, featuring a keynote address from the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center. The event equipped church leaders with a deeper understanding of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law.
Drawing from his book, The Foundations of Freedom, Professor Wagner challenged attendees to reaffirm the moral and constitutional truths sustaining just societies, emphasizing that true freedom requires governing under the rule of law with reverence for the Creator. He also drew lessons from Caribbean nations' constitutions on representative democracy and human dignity. Attorney Rebekah Ali-Gouveia, who facilitated the event, called the address a timely message for the region.
Wagner Center Hosts Summer of Parental Rights Series
JULY 2024
In summer 2024, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center hosted a three-part "Summer of Parental Rights" Sunday evening seminar series at Victory Baptist Church in Manchester, Michigan, kicking off on July 14 with sessions continuing through July 28. The series, led by Professor William Wagner, was free and open to the public.
Grounded in Scripture, Wagner examined cultural pressures facing Christian families and the legal protections available to parents on issues shaping the road ahead. Sessions covered topics affecting religious freedom, freedom of speech, education, and parental rights, equipping attendees with biblical and legal understanding to protect their families amid shifting cultural and legal landscapes.
Wagner Center Hosts Bioethics Seminar
MAY 2024
In May 2024, the Wagner Faith & Freedom Center and Spring Arbor University's School of Nursing and Health Sciences presented a Bioethics Seminar for faculty, administration, and clinical leaders. The seminar featured Nikolas T. Nikas, President and General Counsel of the Bioethics Defense Fund, who has directed national legal strategy on bioethics issues for over three decades.
The seminar provided in-depth discussion on human cloning, embryonic stem cell research, abortion, and end-of-life questions, examining these issues through legal and ethical frameworks relevant to healthcare professionals. Nikas, who holds a Juris Doctor from Arizona State University and a master's in political philosophy from Notre Dame, brought decades of litigation experience to bear on the seminar's exploration of life-and-death questions in modern medicine.
Wagner Center Presents Seminar in Wisconsin
FEBRUARY 2024
In February 2024, Professor William Wagner traveled to Wisconsin for a gathering of Christian men, presenting a seminar on "Contending for the Faith" and moderating a pastor training session. The event drew a strong turnout of men committed to their faith in Christ.
Wagner's seminar emphasized that believers are called not only to state the truth but to actively guard and defend it. "God calls us to do more than state the Truth. He calls us to guard the Truth and contend for the Faith," Wagner said. The pastor training component equipped local church leaders to strengthen their ministries and stand firm in biblical conviction.