Conley Owens
Conley is a pastor at Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church and the father of ten kids. He is also the author of The Dorean Principle: A Biblical Response to the Commercialization of Christianity.
#doreancon2026
Retrieving a Doctrine of Simony
Tuesday–Wednesday, September 29–30, 2026
with a pre-conference on Monday, September 28
Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church · Sunnyvale, California
Join the growing movement of Christians who believe that
ministry should be supported, not sold.
Conference Schedule
Two days of messages, debate, lightning talks, and unconference time.
Pre-conference
Monday, September 28
- 2:00
Check in
- 3:30
Debate: “Is the Sale of Biblical Instruction Simony?”
Conley Owens (affirmative) vs. Tanner Cartwright (negative)
Moderated by Michael Coughlin
- 4:45
Q&A with the debaters
- 6:00
🌮 Dinner
Day 1
Tuesday, September 29
- 8:00
🥓 Breakfast & Check in
- 9:00
Day 1 Opening Remarks: The Need for Retrieval
Conley Owens
- 9:30
Message 1: The Sin of Simon Magus
Michael Coughlin
- 10:45
Book Launch: The Doctrine of Simony
with special guests TBA
- 12:00
🥪 Lunch
- 1:30
Message 2: Spiritual Words
Conley Owens
- 2:45
Lightning talks
Short 5–15 min talks on the dorean principle or simony — sign up to give one
- 3:30
Unconference
Attendee-driven sessions — propose a topic and others join in
- 4:45
Message 3: Begging Brothers: The Parachurch Problem of the 13th Century
Conley Owens
- 6:00
🌮 Dinner
- 7:30
Post debate analysis + Q&A with the speakers
Day 2
Wednesday, September 30
- 8:00
🥓 Breakfast & Check in
- 9:00
Day 2 Opening Remarks: Addressing Evasions
Conley Owens
- 9:30
Message 4: The Sin of Gehazi
Kyle Fitzgerald
- 10:45
Message 5: The Trial of Jan Hus
Andrew Case
- 12:00
🥪 Lunch
- 1:30
Message 6: The Heresy of Simony
Conley Owens
- 2:45
Q&A with the speakers
Andrew Case
Andrew is a graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Canada Institute of Linguistics. He serves as a Bible translation consultant, and produces a podcast about his field called Working for the Word. He spent seven years doing Bible translation work in Equatorial Guinea (Central Africa), and now he and his wife Bethany work in Mexico. Together they founded freehebrew.online where they teach Hebrew to the world. They have a beautiful baby girl named Naomi.
Michael Coughlin
Michael Coughlin is a Reformed Baptist who has spent all his life in Ohio—he served as a pastor for 2 years, and now is a member at Larue Baptist Church in LaRue, OH. He loves Christ’s Church, both universal and local, and frequently does evangelism, preaching, and writing. His latest hobby is designing websites and apps for the Church to use. He lives with his wife, Erin, and their 2 youngest boys whom she homeschools.
Kyle Fitzgerald
Kyle is married to his wife Stephanie and they have 5 children. He is a pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Stockton, California.
Pre-conference Debate Participant
Tanner Cartwright
Tanner Cartwright is a 35-year-old husband married for 12 years and father of seven children. He pastors a Reformed Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and builds fences for a living.
Airports
- San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) is 8 minutes away
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has more direct flights, but is 45 minutes away
Lodging
- Recommended hotel: Ramada Sunnyvale
- Some of the members at Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church are able to host; you can request hosting when you RSVP
Ground Transportation
- If you fly into SFO, you can take the Caltrain south to Lawrence station
- Uber & Lyft is highly available
- Parking is available at the church
Stay connected and coordinate rides on our Discord server.
Join the DiscordLightning Talks
Want to do a lightning talk? Let us know! A lightning talk is a short 5–15 minute talk related to the dorean principle or simony.
Sign Up to SpeakUnconference Time
Dedicated time during the conference to collaborate on a new project.
No signup neededDistributors & Exhibitors
Want to distribute material or showcase an effort? Fill out the application for approval or to request a table.
Apply to Exhibit