Lineup runs the spectrum at annual SBTC event

The speakers and musicians at the SBTC Empower Evangelism Conference Feb. 15-17 at the Arlington Convention Center will cover the spectrum from comedian Tim Hawkins to the sobering inspiration of missionary Carrie McDonnall, who survived brutal captivity in Iraq while serving as a missionary with her late husband, who died from injuries sustained in an ambush by Iraqi militants.

The annual conference will feature two days of preaching, speakers, and music from recording artists such as David Phelps and Charles Billingsley, dramatist Clyde Annandale and preachers such as Mac Brunson and Junior Hill, among others.

This year’s theme is “Awakened by His Glory,” based on Exodus 33:18: “Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.'”

TIM HAWKINS

Hawkins has been accused of being equally gifted and twisted. His parodies, musical and otherwise, are making him a household name as they receive thousands of hits on the online video site YouTube.com.

His arsenal is unique: high-energy stand up, physical comedy, slick guitar skills, myriad impersonations, improvisational chops, and a singing voice that adapts from hair band shrieking to country songster to a parody of the generic music minister.

“People think I live a rock-star life,” quipped Hawkins. “Believe me, Mick Jagger never gets lost in a Hertz parking lot looking for his Ford Focus.”

A former college All-American baseball player, he traded the sports stage for the comedy stage and never looked back. The St. Louis native taught himself to play guitar and tested the waters at area comedy clubs, launching a full-time comedic career in 2002.

His art form was honed primarily in churches, with a brief 6-month stint performing in prisons as part of Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship. Since his audience ranged from small children to married adults, he developed material to hit a wide age range.

Hawkins even pokes fun at himself, his four kids and his wife in a video called “A Homeschool Family” set to the theme music for the 1960s TV series “The Munsters.”

“Clean comedy is easy,” Hawkins said. “Funny comedy is hard.”

CARRIE MCDONNALL

Carrie McDonnall and her husband David served together as missionaries in Iraq. In 2004, the couple, along with three coworkers, was ambushed in the northern city of Mosul. The attackers killed her three friends instantly.

The McDonnalls were able to get to medical help, but David eventually succumbed to his injuries. Due to the physical trauma of the attack, Carrie McDonnall would not find out about her husband’s death until many days later. Once awakened from her coma, she began a journey she never dreamed she would have to endure.

Her testimony expands beyond the events of that day and beyond the boundaries of missions to remind believers to live out their faith intentionally in every area of life.

In her book “Facing Terror,” Carrie tells her story in detail.

She lives in Rowlett and is the founder