thursday January 21, 2026 Day 5
Watch on Facebook Live
Focus: Affirming the value of life from the moment of fertilization and using apologetics to defend and uphold life from the beginning.
Speaker Information:
Dr. Adam Francisco
An Unapologetic Apology for Life
This presentation will demonstrate what a clear and faithful Christian apologetic for life might look like. It moves from shared cultural convictions about human worth, to a simple moral explanation of why life is sacred, and finally to the Christian confession that God Himself entered human life at every stage. The aim is to form Christians who can speak about life with clarity, confidence, and charity.
BIO: Dr. Adam Francisco is Director of Academics at 1517. He served for nearly two decades as Professor, Dean, and Assistant Provost in the Concordia University System. He earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford and has written extensively on Christian apologetics, Reformation history, and Christian-Muslim relations. He and his wife live in Wheaton, Illinois, with their four children and serve as foster parents to neglected and abused children. They are members of Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, and Adam serves on the board of Lutherans for Life.
This presentation will demonstrate what a clear and faithful Christian apologetic for life might look like. It moves from shared cultural convictions about human worth, to a simple moral explanation of why life is sacred, and finally to the Christian confession that God Himself entered human life at every stage. The aim is to form Christians who can speak about life with clarity, confidence, and charity.
BIO: Dr. Adam Francisco is Director of Academics at 1517. He served for nearly two decades as Professor, Dean, and Assistant Provost in the Concordia University System. He earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford and has written extensively on Christian apologetics, Reformation history, and Christian-Muslim relations. He and his wife live in Wheaton, Illinois, with their four children and serve as foster parents to neglected and abused children. They are members of Bethany Lutheran Church in Naperville, and Adam serves on the board of Lutherans for Life.
Dr. Dennis Norby
BIO: Pastor Dennis Norby has been married to Samantha since 2001. Dennis and Samantha have nine children ranging in age from 20 to 4 years old. Pastor Norby has served as pastor of AFLC churches in Illinois and North Dakota. He has served Grace and Zion Free Lutheran Churches in Valley City, North Dakota for the past seven years. Pastor Norby has served on the Publications and Parish Education Board of the AFLC as well as serving as the President of the Lutheran For Life of North Dakota Board.
