I closed out today's time at the "Defending The Faith" conference at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary by attending an inspiring worship service. The praise and worship was awesome and was followed by an enlightening message by former Mormon, James Walker. Here is Dr. Walker's biography from the NOBTS website.

James Walker, the president of Watchman Fellowship, is a former fourth generation Mormon with over twenty years of ministry experience in the field of Christian counter-cult evangelism, apologetics, and discernment. He has been interviewed as an expert on new religious movements and cults on a variety of network television programs including Nightline, ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He has spoken at hundreds of churches, colleges, universities, and seminaries throughout the United States and internationally.

Walker holds a BA in Biblical Studies and an MA in Theology (Summa cum Laude) from The Criswell College in Dallas. He serves on the faculties of Arlington Baptist College and The Criswell College as adjunct professor and co-teaches an annual workshop on alternative religions at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an ordained Baptist minister and a member of the Society for the Study of Alternative Religions, the Evangelical Press Association, and serves on the Board of Directors of Evangelical Ministries to New Religions.

Walker was born in 1955 to a Mormon family in Jacksonville, Florida. As a fourth generation Mormon, he was trained in their programs. At the age of eight he was baptized and received the “laying on of hands” for the “gift of the Holy Ghost.” In his teens, Mr. Walker participated in the baptism for the dead rituals in the Mormon temple in Salt Lake City. He also received the Aaronic Priesthood in which he served as Deacon, Teacher, and Priest. Mr. Walker left the Mormon Church and in 1976, he received Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.

Because of his background and love for those lost in the cults and alternative religions, James Walker has invested his life into reaching them with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. His desire is to work together with local churches to evangelize those in the cults and to bring them into healthy, Bible-centered churches.