Ron L Deal

RON L. DEAL is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, Director of FamilyLife Blended® for Family Life®, the author of numerous videos and books on stepfamily living including the bestselling The Smart Stepfamily, and is consulting editor for the Smart Stepfamily Series of books. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular speaker, and host of the podcast FamilyLife Blended. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Find events and resources at RonDeal.org.

Whitney K. Pipkin

WHITNEY K. PIPKIN lives with her husband, three children, and a dog named Honeybun in Northern Virginia, where where she works as a journalist. She has worked as a journalist for over 13 years, with articles appearing in The Washington Post, National Geographic and NPR alongside her regular work at the Chesapeake Bay Journal. She also has written for Christian publications such as The Gospel Coalition, The ERLC and Gospel-Centered Discipleship and serves as the Written Content Coordinator for the ministry Women & Work. She loves studying the Bible with her local church and reading on Sunday afternoons while her kids play (quietly?) nearby. You can find her on social media @whitneykpipkin and sign up for her newsletter at whitneykpipkin.com.

Diane Elliot

DIANE LYNN ELLIOT is an author, professional photographer and business administrator. With a heart for people and a passion for ministry she has worked and volunteered with children, teens, women, and short-term missions and relief projects. Diane's interest in the global orphan crisis started many years ago with a trip to a hospital for terminally ill children in Siberia, and later to an orphanage in Mexico. Seeing a small snapshot of the great need started her journey and fueled her passion for the orphaned child. For the research of the book Diane also traveled to Peru and Haiti which continued to expand your vision and passion for orphaned children. Diane has a BA in Communication from Trinity International University and an M.B.A. in Global Management from the University of Phoenix. Professionally she has co-written two youth management books, and has spent many years as a freelance meeting and events planner and business manager in both not-for-profit and corporate settings. Diane, her husband David, along with their trained Alaskan Klee Kai therapy dog named Kody, live in Wauconda, Illinois and attend Willow Creek Community Church.

Lyle W. Dorsett

DR. LYLE W. DORSETT is a prolific author and accomplished speaker and teacher. Dr. Dorsett received his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is now retired from teaching and pastoral ministry after serving many years in a number of different roles, including universities in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Alabama. He is the author of numerous books, among them biographies of Joy Davidman (Mrs. C.S. Lewis), E.M. Bounds, Dwight L. Moody, and Billy Sunday. Keenly interested in the life and writings of C. S. Lewis, he published a volume of Lewis's Letters to Children, The Essential C. S. Lewis, and Seeking the Secret Place: The Spiritual Formation of C. S. Lewis. His most recent book is Serving God and Country: U.S. Military Chaplains in World War II. Dr. Dorsett and his wife, Mary, have a grown son, a daughter in heaven, and four grandchildren.

Michael Hare

DR. S. MICHAEL HARE never imagined a life looking for conflicts to resolve. Becoming a Christian at 19, he went to Bible college simply desiring to find out how to better serve God. However, following that path has led to over two decades of serving in the role of senior pastor in church turnaround ministries, 15 years of working as a church conflict consultant, and recently completing a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Dr. Hare also serves as a senior staff chaplain and ombudsman for Compassion with its nearly 4,000 employees ministering in 26 third world countries. He has served as an adjunct instructor in several universities and is currently teaching mediation courses in a doctoral program in Denver. Michael and his wife Colleen live in Colorado Springs, CO and have four children and six grandchildren who live in Africa, Germany, and the US.

Isobel Kuhn

ISOBEL KUHN (1901-1957) (Moody Bible Institute) was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She and her husband, John, served with the China Inland Mission (now Overseas Missionary Fellowship) from 1928 to 1954. She is author of numerous books including Second Mile People, In the Arena, Green Leaf in Drought, and By Searching: My Journey through Doubt into Faith.

Dennis Shere

DENNIS SHERE was a reporter, editor, and then publisher for the Dayton Daily News before becoming the senior media manager at Moody Bible Institute. He is currently an attorney working on behalf of death penalty defendants in Illinois. He is author of Cain's Redemption: A Story of Hope and Transformation in America's Bloodiest Prison. He resides in North Aurora, Illinois.

Alice Brawand

ALICE BRAWAND (B.A., Mars Hill College; M.A., Azusa Pacific University) has served for thirty-one years with Wycliffe Bible Translators, eleven of them in counseling missionaries and pastors from Wycliffe's International Headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Alice contributed to the book Secrets of Your Family Tree: Healing for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families. Alice and her husband, John, have three children, all of whom were raised in Guatemala, where the Brawands served.

Christine Hunter

CHRISTINE HUNTER (1910–1988) attended a teacher training college in Liverpool, England, where she married John Hunter. They both taught in Carlisle and later at a village school in Atworth. Born as Maud Lilly Wheeler, she adopted the pen name of Christine Hunter and became a well-known Christian writer. She befriended Gladys Aylward, who frequently stayed with the Hunters and told stories of her missionary work.

Don Hawkins

DON HAWKINS, (Th.M.) is Director of radio communications for Rapha, Inc., and the host and executive producer of Life Perspectives and Confident Living radio call-in programs. He previously co-hosted Back To the Bible radio, has nineteen years of pastoral experience, is a conference speaker, and is author or co-author of numerous books, including Friends in Deed, How to Beat Burnout, and Overworked. He resides in Birmingham, Alabama.

Lois Hoadley Dick

LOIS DICK is a freelance writer with over thirty years of experience. She specializes in historical biography. In addition to numerous articles and lessons for such organizations as Child Evangelism Fellowship, Inc., she is the author of several books, including Mercy at Midnight, False Coin, True Coin, Isobel Kuhn, Devil on the Deck, and Amy Carmichael. Lois resides in New Jersey.

James Spiegel

JAMES S. SPIEGEL is a Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. He has published several books, including The Benefits of Providence, Faith, Film, and Philosophy, Gum, Geckos, and God, and the award-winning How to be Good in a World Gone Bad. Jim and his wife, Amy, blog together at www.wisdomandfollyblog.com. They have four children and live in Fairmount, Indiana.

Sergey Sologub

SERGEY SOLOGUB is pastor of Irpin Bible Church in Kiev reg., Ukraine. He graduated from the the Institute of Preparing of Church Ministers (CLZ) in Irpin, Ukraine, and is completing his studies at Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine. Prior to becoming a pastor he served for seven years with Youth for Christ. He and his wife, Tatiana, have three children. He considers acknowledging God and leading others to know Him to be his life calling.

Becky Beresford

BECKY BERESFORD lives in North Carolina and is happily outnumbered by her husband and three wonderful boys. She is an author, speaker, and coach with a master's certificate in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship from Moody Theological Seminary. Becky loves encouraging God’s daughters to embrace Christ-centered empowerment through the truth found in the gospel. Connect with Becky at BeckyBeresford.com or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.

Alistair Begg

ALISTAIR BEGG (Trent University; London School of Theology; Westminster Seminary) was born in Scotland and spent the first 30 years of life in the United Kingdom. Since September of 1983, he has been the senior pastor at Parkside Church in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. He is the daily speaker on the national radio program Truth For Life which stems from his weekly Bible teaching at Parkside, and is the author of Made for His Pleasure, Lasting Love, and What Angels Wish They Knew. He and his wife, Susan, have three grown children.

R. E. Hough