[3] Caner's dissertation was entitled “Truth Is Unkillable: The Life and Writings of Balthasar Hubmaier, Theologian to the Anabaptists.”[3] Prior to arriving at Truett McConnell, Caner held the following academic positions: Assistant Professor of Church History and Anabaptist Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina (1999–2004); Associate Dean of The College at Southeastern in Wake Forest, North Carolina (2004–05); and Dean of The College at Southwestern, Director of the Center for Free Church Studies and Professor of History at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (2005–08).
[4] In 2018, Caner announced that Truett McConnell would no longer sell Nike apparel in its campus bookstore because of the athletic company's hiring of Colin Kaepernick.
[6][7] Under Caner's leadership, Truett McConnell regularly hosts events focused on political conservatism, such as the Todd Starnes Faith and Freedom Celebration, which has featured former National Security Council member Oliver North (2018), former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (2019), and former Trump administration press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (2021).
[12] name=":2" />[13][14] In addition to the above controversy, former Southern Baptist Convention president Jerry Vines cited Emir and Ergun Caner's book for the source of his claim at a 2002 pastors' conference that the Islamic prophet Muhammad was "a demon-possessed pedophile.
"[19] Such statements have led scholars to identify Emir and his brother Ergun as leaders in pushing evangelical Christians to embrace Islamophobia and militant nationalism in the post-9/11 era.