Upcoming Lectures
Dr. W. Robert Godfrey will deliver the 2027 Hughes Lectures at RTS Jackson. More details and the schedule will be shared soon.
2026 Hughes Preaching Lectures
Dr. Philip Ryken presented RTS’s Hughes Lectures in 2026 in Jackson, MS. Dr. Ryken serves as the president of Wheaton College, a role he has held since 2010. He completed his undergraduate studies at Wheaton College, majoring in English literature and philosophy, before earning a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and a doctorate in historical theology from the University of Oxford.
Dr. Ryken has authored more than 50 books, including numerous Bible commentaries in the Bible Speaks Today, Preach the Word, and Reformed Expository Commentary series. He also serves on the boards of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the Lausanne Movement, and the National Association of Evangelicals.
In the 2026 Hughes Lectures, Dr. Ryken spoke on the theme “Theology for Ministry,” exploring the relationship between doctrine and the faithful proclamation of the gospel.
About the Lectures
The Hughes Lecture Series was started as a part of the Hughes Initiative for Pastoral Excellence. The Hughes Initiative aims to identify candidates for the Gospel ministry with evident Christian character and personal maturity, a clear calling to preaching and pastoral work, a record of service in the local church, and proven academic performance and potential in order to give them the best ministerial preparation for a lifetime of service to the Lord and his people. Mrs. Robbie Hughes, a long-time supporter of Reformed Theological Seminary, established a generous scholarship program to prepare the next generation of pastors. This lecture series is a component of that initiative.
RTS, the flagship seminary of the Reformed evangelical world, hosts named lectures across our campus system. The John Reed Miller Lectures in Jackson, the Simon Kistemaker Lectures in Orlando, the Harold O.J. Brown Lectures in Charlotte, the Francis Grimké Lectures in Atlanta, and now the Hughes Lectures. These lectures enable our students to hear from the leading scholars of our time.
In Jackson, the Hughes Lectures bring in the most accomplished Bible-believing theologians and scholars of our day to address our students on topics that relate to the biblical, doctrinal and historical theology. The core of the RTS MDiv curriculum focuses on “Bible, Theology, and Ministry.” In Jackson, the John Reed Miller Lectures address pastoral theology, the “ministry” component of our curriculum, and the Hughes Lectures address the Bible and theology portion of our curriculum. At RTS, we aim for our graduates to be expert and faithful interpreters and teachers of the Scriptures, to know, understand and embrace the “faith once delivered,” and thus to be able to articulate, commend, and defend the doctrinal truth of the Christian faith, and to do these things with a view to loving and faithful pastoral ministry. These lecture series further this aim.
It is wholly appropriate that the Hughes Lectures will focus on these subjects, because Robbie Hughes is an avid student of the Scriptures who began to teach Sunday School as a teenager and has continued in Christian service and leading Bible studies ever since. Her life has been characterized by seeking to know God and to make Him known. Fittingly, the Hughes Lectures will assist and equip the students of RTS to do just that – to know God better and to make Him known among the nations.
Past Speakers
To listen to past lectures, select the year you would like to hear (if available).