Friday, May 4, 2023
9:30am-10:20am
Dive right into the heart of what’s driving the future of humanism. We’ll explore questions including: what are the values that drive humanism? To what extent are concerns like social justice core to our work in the world? And how might we best position humanism and humanists for greater impact in the years ahead? Bekius discusses these questions and more in an energy-forward talk that will challenge each of us to breathe deeply, dream daringly, and press for the boldest and brightest of tangible outcomes.
Drew Bekius is a humanist speaker, writer, and coach based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of The Rise and Fall of Faith and Your Next Life Now.
After starting an award-winning interfaith ministry at the age of sixteen, Drew went on to pick up a couple theological degrees and pastored two Evangelical Christian churches in the Chicago area. After leaving the pastorate and becoming an atheist, he served as president of The Clergy Project, a nonprofit providing peer support, community resourcing, and career transition assistance to deconverted religious leaders in more than thirty-five countries around the world.
An energy-forward values alignment coach, Drew works with individuals and the nonprofits they love to help identify and more fully live out their values, especially those of the humanist variety. His coaching work also includes post-faith lifestyle realignment, confidence work, and speaker coaching, along with consultation in community-building.
Drew currently serves on staff as lead speaker coach for TEDxMinneapolis where his team helps further change by preparing Twin Cities thought leaders for sharing their “local ideas worth spreading.”
Drew teaches and serves on the board at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis, the non-theistic religious community where back in 1917, a minister named John Dietrich kickstarted the controversial new movement that he called… humanism! Drew speaks and does workshops with various humanist communities around the United States as he strives to help folks more fully embrace and live out progressive humanist values.
Drew has a Master of Divinity degree from Moody Theological Seminary, a Bachelor of Arts in pastoral studies from Moody Bible Institute, personal and business coaching certificates from Life Purpose Institute, and a Humanist Celebrant endorsement from The Humanist Society. He is a member of the American Humanist Association, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Unitarian-Universalist Association, and The Loft Literary Center, among others. Drew and his two teenage daughters live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
