Center for Christianity and Scholarship

For the last thirteen years David Fleer has served as Professor of Bible and Communication, Special Assistant to the President at Lipscomb University and Executive Director of the Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars’ Conference. David holds degrees in Education, Theology, Ministry, and Rhetoric, with the DMin from Fuller Seminary and the PhD in Communication from the University of Washington. From 1995 to 2007, he was Professor of Religion and Communication at Rochester College, named Teacher of the Year (1996–1997) and Most Influential Professor (2003–2004) by his peers and students. He has published articles in peer reviewed, scholarly, and popular journals and initiated extensive collaborative editing projects resulting in fifteen books and four journal issues. He has been active on the editorial boards of Leaven and Restoration Quarterly. One of David’s central concerns is racial healing. Since 2013 he has led eighteen different groups on a “Pilgrimage to Justice,” through key southern cities. These trips are designed to provide participants opportunities to experience the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights movement, all of which speak clearly into our present national distress.

The scholarly interests of Richard Hughes, the Center’s Scholar in Residence, have ranged from religion and race in America, to religion and American self-understanding, to religion and American higher education, to the history of restorationist traditions in the United States, especially the history of Churches of Christ, to the use of narrative in teaching. He has authored, co-authored, or edited 17 books including Myths America Lives By: White Supremacy and the Stories that Give Us Meaning (Illinois); Illusions of Innocence: Protestant Primitivism in America (Chicago, with Leonard Allen); The Vocation of a Christian Scholar: How Christian Faith can Sustain the Life of the Mind (Eerdmans); Christian America and the Kingdom of God (Illinois); and Reviving the Ancient Faith: The Story of Churches of Christ in America (Eerdmans). He has held teaching positions at Southwest Missouri State University, Abilene Christian University, Pepperdine University, and Messiah College.

Joshua Fleer, the Center’s Associate Director, holds degrees in interdisciplinary studies, communication, and American religious history. He came to Lipscomb in 2019 after serving for the previous six years at Oakland University as special lecturer in Religious Studies and founding faculty member of the Center for Religious Understanding, where he collaborated with other OU faculty to conceive, launch, and advance interdisciplinary programming for religion and public life. Joshua has been associate editor of Communal Studies: Journal of the Communal Studies Association, and he worked as an assistant to the editors of Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. He held leadership positions with numerous academic conferences, including as section chair for the American Academy of Religion’s Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion and committee member for the American Religions section of the CSC since 2011. He has taught at Florida State University, Abilene Christian University, and Oakland University, where he was awarded the Order of the Plumb for impact on students.

Lori Ligon is the Coordinator for the Christian Scholars’ Conference. She holds a Master of Professional Studies with an emphasis on Organizational Leadership. During two decades at Lipscomb University, Lori has filled crucial roles throughout the University, including with President Randy Lowry in the Office of the President. Lori's vital experience and strong leadership provide essential facilitation and administrative skills for the Center. In addition to her role with the Center, she is the Outreach Coordinator for Undergraduate Admissions. Lori’s two daughters attended Lipscomb Academy and University. Lori and her husband, Wesley, live in Brentwood and attend the Otter Creek Church.