Talk

Need a guest for your communications class? College chapel? Fellowship group? Church retreat? Advertising club?
 
For the past fifteen years, I've taught in barns and boardrooms, canyons, classrooms and auditoriums. I like to make people laugh and think, and I've been told that I can do both rather well. I've won awards in college campus ministry and even had a Greek fraternity honor named after me. I don't always get it right, but I would like to think I've influenced a few lives. Often I feel like the Kindergarten teacher who may never know.

Hosts: Please see below for an official promotional bio.

Topics
For a period of time, I talked almost exclusively about popular advertising and how we (especially followers of Christ) should respond. That focus has expanded over the past decade to include the following:

"Faith and Work: The Importance of Becoming 21st Century Samaritans." Read about this at The High Calling.

"Identity, Community and Spirituality," a favorite retreat theme based on Brennan Manning's Abba's Child and Henri Nouwen's three movements in Reaching Out.

"Surprised by Sin: Where it Led Me and Why I Don't Mind," based on connections between our foolishness and God's holiness. It's still holed up in an unfinished manuscript, but I've enjoyed sharing this material with many audiences in person.

Listen to a sample from a college chapel address:


Blurbs
My thanks to these who offered something nice to say:

"Sam's presentations were thorough, relevant, and winsome. He not only showed us how advertising is a mirror of our culture, reflecting both truth and lies of our human condition, but equipped us with resources to discern the difference between the two."
-     Celia King, Campus Minister

"Through his Chapel talks and classroom presentations, Sam brought to us that wonderful combination of engaging the contemporary culture and capturing the imagination of our students while always keeping a strong biblical foundation. The result for our campus was meaningful conversation for weeks to come. Sam knows how to speak to students because that has been the business of his life for the past decade as he has served Christ through the CCO. We look forward to having him back!"
-     Bill Fisher, Dean of Christian Faith and Life, Huntington University

"Sam Van Eman's presentation to my mass media class was engaging and provocative, and led to a number of students referring to his book and talk in their final integrative projects. Sam did an outstanding job of presenting scholarly literature and research in an engaging, lucid and practical way."
-     Andrew E. Rudd, Communication Arts Department, Malone College

"Sam possesses the remarkable gift of being at once an engaging speaker and a good listener -- and he's one of the most likable guys you'll ever meet. Thoughtful and relevant (some might say prophetic), Sam's 'dialogical' style will capture and hold the attention of your group, whatever its age or demographic, and encourage its participants to think outside their comfort zone."
-     Bob LeSuer, Conference Host

Contact
For questions about topics, dates and how many millions of dollars it will cost you to book me, contact samvaneman@gmail.com.

Promotional bio
Sam Van Eman was a public school teacher before joining the Coalition for Christian Outreach in 1998. As a staff specialist with the CCO, he created and directed a university-based wilderness program focused on developing student leaders. Sam writes about faith and work and has been featured in various publications, including the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, *culture is not optional and The High Calling. Since 2004, he has traveled frequently to speak on pop culture advertising as both a critic and fan. His book, On Earth as It is in Advertising? Moving from Commercial Hype to Gospel Hope, has been called "a soul-piercing...spotlight on advertising," and a "must-read."

Sam is the culture editor for The High Calling, a top-100 Christian site, and the host of his own blog, New Breed of Advertisers. He lives with his wife and two daughters in central Pennsylvania.

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