Speakers for EMNR’s national conference on August 21–22, 2026 in Palatine, Illinois. Plenary speakers are listed by date and time of their address. See the Program Schedule for workshop details.

Plenary Speakers

L.L. (Don) Veinot Jr., president of EMNR, is co-founder of Midwest Christian Outreach and a charter member of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. Don and his wife Joy have been in ministry since 1987. He is co-author of two books critiquing popular deceptions: Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret (2020) and A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and His Cultic Teachings (2003, updated 2023). Don has written for CRI Journal, Campus Life, the Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics and other periodicals. He co-hosts “The Unknown Webcast,” a weekly interview podcast on YouTube. He was ordained to the ministry by West Suburban Community Church of Lombard, IL, at the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1997.

Don will speak Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM (plenary #1). The title of his message is “Ambassadors in the Age of Re-Enchantment: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore.”

Carl Teichrib is a Canadian researcher, writer, and lecturer specializing in socio-religious trends, neopaganism, spiritual politics, global transformation, and Christian worldview issues. Carl was born and raised in Manitoba, Canada, where he currently resides with his wife, Leanne, and their two grown children. He began his research work in the mid-1990s, focusing on the forces shaping cultural, political, and spiritual transformation in the Western world. Over the years, his work has been utilized by authors, media hosts, documentary producers, pastors, professors, and students. He is also the author of Game of Gods: The Temple of Man in the Age of Re-Enchantment (2018). 

Carl will speak Friday evening at 7:45 PM (plenary #2). His title is “The Challenge of Re-Enchantment: Where Do We Go From Here?”

Mary Danielsen is the host of “Stand Up for the Truth” video podcast, a one-hour live program focusing on many issues of concern for the church today, found on Q90FM Radio from Green Bay, Wisconsin. She has written several booklets for and contributed to A New Narrative for a New World (2023) from Lighthouse Trails Publishing. Between 2004 and 2024, she wrote and produced two radio programs, “Behind the News” and “Two Minute Warnings.” Mary has taught many women’s bible studies and is an Inductive Bible Study leader. Her husband of 44 years pastors a fellowship in Appleton, Wisconsin. Her book Home Before Dark: Observations from the Road (2019) can be obtained at Amazon.

Mary will speak Saturday morning at 10:00 AM (plenary #3). Her topic will be “The Gnostic Empire in the Age of Re-Enchantment”

Roundtable Discussion. The fourth plenary session will feature an open panel discussion on the 2026 conference theme: “Christianity in the Age of Re-enchantment.” What exactly does this mean, and how does it differ from spiritualism, neopaganism, New Age, Eastern mysticism, or the “cult explosion” of the 1970s? Has the mainstream church been compromised by the New Spirituality? If so, how should evangelicals and missionaries respond to this?

Panelists will include EMNR president Don Veinot, Carl Teichrib, Mark Harris, and Bill Honsberger. Mary Danielsen will moderate this panel discussion on Saturday afternoon at 2:15 PM (plenary #4).

Pablo Herrera is the senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Roselle, Illinois, where he is has been a member since 2007. Pablo is committed to preaching Christ and strengthening believers in a confused and changing culture. A graduate of Trinity International University and Reformed Theological Seminary, he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry at Heidelberg Theological Seminary.

He desires to equip the church not only to believe the faith once delivered to the saints, but to confidently defend it. He makes his home in South Elgin, where he and his wife Angela have homeschooled three children.

Pablo will close the conference on Saturday at 5:00 PM (plenary #5). His topic is “The Challenge of Pastoring in the Age of Re-Enchantment.”

Workshop Leaders

Listings are alphabetical by last name. See the Program Schedule for the times and places.

David Clark is a Christian countercult apologist, a professional Thought Reform consultant, and a court-certified expert on cults. He was a former member of Church of the Living Word from 1972 to 1974. This pseudo-Christian movement, also known as “The Walk,” was a predecessor to the New Apostolic Reformation. In 1983, Clark was a script writer and associate producer for Vain Glory, a documentary on the Walk by filmmaker Tony Cox, who joined the Walk after his marriage to Yoko Ono collapsed.

Mark Harris, PhD, is the President of Spiritual Counterfeits Project. He is a former missionary to Russia, where he earned his doctorate in Intercultural Studies. He has taught acccounting and missions in Russia and other countries, and has been the CFO of several Christian organizations, including Frontier Ventures.

Steve Lagoon is the president of Religion Analysis Service, a Christian apologetics and counter-cult ministry based in Minnesota and publishers of the quarterly journal The Discerner since 1947. Steve has a Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies and a Master of Divinity degree, both from the University of Northwestern—Saint Paul. Steve is the author of numerous articles and books critiquing the cults and false teachers.

Cab Malone is a graduate of Phoenix Seminary (with additional studies at Talbot School of Theology). He has produced multiple apologetics programs over the years and currently hosts Urban Theologian, a livestream focused on theological growth through discussion, debate, and real-time engagement. Cab writes and speaks on New Religious Movements and Christianity and has been consulted by various outlets for his expertise on Black Israelism. He has lectured for Ratio Christi, Grand Canyon Seminary, and the American Academy of Religion. He regularly engages in public apologetics dialogue in the U.S. and abroad.

Bill McKeever is the founder/director of Mormonism Research Ministry that has been challenging the truth claims of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1979. MRM operates the Utah Christian Research Center and sponsors the daily radio program, Viewpoint on Mormonism. Bill lives in the Salt Lake City area with his wife Tammy. They have been married 50 years.

Sanjay Merchant is a Professor of Theology at Moody Bible Institute and Pastor of Living Hope Bible Church, Roselle IL. He has a BS in computer engineering from the University of Southern California, and three earned master’s degrees: an MA in Theology (Talbot School of Theology), an MA in Philosophy (Talbot School of Theology), and an MA in Apologetics (Biola University). He has a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Theology from Claremont Graduate University.

Jason David Oakes is an author, researcher, and pastor with over 20 years of experience, connecting the Christian academic world with everyday believers. He holds a Master of Divinity and a Bachelors in Church Ministry. Author of Sharing Jesus with the Cults and creator of the Why Does My Bible Say…? series, he simplifies translational differences to help readers confidently engage with God’s Word. His goal is to make scholarly insights accessible to the church.

Barbara Pement, former Senior Editor of Cornerstone magazine in Chicago, is a writer, teacher, mother of three, and grandmother of three. Barbara grew up on Chicago’s Southside in Maple Park. Barbara joined Jesus People USA in her 20s where she met her husband Eric. They have been married for 45 years. Her life story with JPUSA is told in Was … Was That Jesus? 23 Years in a Jesus Commune (2024), detailing her incredible communal experience. She leads a student group at Bible Study Fellowship and assists her husband in evangelism and apologetics with Ratio Christi at UNF. Her most recent book is Maple Park: Gathered Treasured of Black Life in the 60s (2025).

Eric Pement is a chapter director for Ratio Christi at the University of North Florida. A former member of the RLDS Church, he found Christ in college. He has been involved with Christian apologetics since the age of 21, and has served with several ministries. He has two masters degrees (MDiv, MBA) and has been on the board of EMNR for 35 years. He and his wife Barbara are members of Harvest Jacksonville and Restoration Church.

John Pyon is pursuing an MDiv at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary while co-directing the Bible Vaccine Center. I also serve as an Elder at GJH Ministry Cumberland Presbyterian Church and sit on the Young Adult Committee for the TN-GA Presbytery, leading young adult ministry for twelve churches in the TN-GA region. His passion is bringing pastoral care and apologetics together in a way that equips people to think clearly and stand firm in their faith. He cares deeply about helping local churches recognize and resist the theological drift and counterfeit spiritualities that are so prevalent today.

Chris V is a former member of a Korean cult named “Shincheonji”, or “New Heavens New Earth.” He works closely with the Bible Vaccine Center, and has been interviewed often on YouTube. Chris has helped over 1,000 cult members, primarily from Shincheonji, leave cultic movements and renew their relationship with Christ.

L.L. (Don) Veinot Jr is co-founder and president of Midwest Christian Outreach, a national apologetics ministry. He and his wife of 54 years, Joy, have been missionaries to cults and new religious movements since 1987. Don is co-author of Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret; A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and His Cultish Teachings; and a contributor to Preserving Evangelical Unity: Welcoming Diversity in Non-Essentials. He co-hosts “The Unknown Webcast” each week on YouTube for Midwest Christian Outreach. Don is a charter member of the International Society of Christian Apologetics and is also the current President of EMNR.

Donald T. Williams, PhD, is  Professor Emeritus of Toccoa Falls College and a past president of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. An ordained minister in the Evangelical Free Church of America, he has spent several summers training local pastors in Africa and India for Church Planting International. He is a border dweller, permanently camped out on the borders between serious scholarship and pastoral ministry, theology and literature, Narnia and Middle-earth. He is the author of fourteen books.

Joe and Susan Wolf formed OddDuck Ministries out of a desire to help people learn about the pseudo-Christian religions. By first teaching the difference between the non-negotiables of Christianity vs what is open for discussion, they then compare it all to the false religion’s beliefs. Their intention is to give people tools to be able to discern for themselves the difference between a false religion and sound doctrine.