Gerald B. Smith

Habits for Spiritual Growth

10.26.2022

Paul Smith

PAUL SMITH (Wheaton College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Theological Seminary) has served as senior pastor of West Side Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington for more than 18 years and has also been active in renewal ministries with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Paul is the author of several books, including Enjoying God Forever and God’s Plan for Our Good. He and his wife, Careen, have one son and three daughters.

W Griffith Thomas

W. H. GRIFFITH THOMAS (1861-1924), a minister with the Church of England, was one of the founders of Dallas Theological Seminary. Saved at the age of 17, he had an energetic ministry in the Unites States, Canada and in England. Thomas wrote many books, including commentaries on Genesis, Luke, Matthew and Hebrews, as well as Principles of Theology, And God Spake These Words, and How We Got Our Bible.

J. Ryan Lister

RYAN LISTER is a professor of theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Story of Scripture and the Story of Our Lives and serves as Director of Doctrine & Discipleship for Humble Beast, where he helped start the Canvas Conference. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Chase, and their four children.

Joe Gorra

JOSEPH E. GORRA is engaged in content development and publicity, research, writing, editing, and speaking. His writings can be found through various outlets, including the Christian Research Journal, the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Through Veritas Life Center, he cultivates multidisciplinary research, writing, and speaking on practical theologies of spiritual formation designed for the flourishing of our public life with others. www.veritaslifecenter.org

Bev Hislop

BEV HISLOP (D. Min., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) has recently served as Professor of Pastoral Care for Women and the Executive Director of the Women's Center for Ministry at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. She also served on the board of Network of Women in Leadership and was the former host of the weekly radio program Western Connection for Women. Bev has authored Shepherding Women in Pain: Real Women, Real Issues, and What You Need to Know to Truly Help, and Shepherding a Woman's Heart: A New Model for Effective Ministry to Women. She is also a contributing author to Tending the Soul and Women's Ministry Handbook. Bev and her husband, Jim, have two married children and six grandchildren.

Bruce K. Waltke

BRUCE WALTKE (B.A., Houghton College; Th.M. and Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Harvard University) is a preeminent Old Testament scholar. His teaching appointments at Dallas Theological Seminary, Regent College, Knox Theological Seminary, and Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando, have earned him a reputation as a master teacher with a pastoral heart. Among his many books are Genesis: A Commentary and An Old Testament Theology, both of which were awarded the Gold Medallion Book Award in Biblical reference works and commentaries by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. An autobiography of Bruce can be found in Why I (Still) Believe, Byron and Lohr, eds. (Zondervan, 2015).

Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

ELYSE FITZPATRICK has been counseling women since 1989 and is presently a part-time counselor at Grace Church in San Diego. She holds a certificate in biblical counseling from the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation (San Diego) and an M.A. in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary. Elyse is the author of twelve books including Women Helping Women, Love to Eat, Hate to Eat, Idols of the Heart, and The Afternoon of Life. She is a member of the National Association of Nouthetic Counseling. A frequent speaker at women's conferences, she has been married for nearly thirty years and has three adult children and two grandchildren. She and her husband, Philip, reside in Escondido, California.

Fred Sanders

FRED SANDERS is a professor of theology at Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute, where he has taught since 1999. The doctrine of the Trinity is his main interest, but he writes and speaks on the full range of Christian doctrine. He is the author of several books, including The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything and Wesley on the Christian Life: The Heart Renewed in Love. He and his family live in La Mirada, California, and attend Grace Evangelical Free Church.

Chris Swain

CHRISTOPHER SWAIN is the Disciplemaking Pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church and the CEO of Replicate Ministries. After four years of service in the United States Marine Corps, Chris served in full-time ministry for two decades in Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee leading ministries ranging from students to collegiate to spiritual formation. He also served as the Director of Student Ministry Publishing at Lifeway Christian Resources, serving the church in its mission of making disciples. Chris has been with Replicate Ministries and Long Hollow Baptist Church since 2016, with a heart to expand the Gospel through disciplemaking in the local church. Along with his wife, two children, and Boston Terrier, Chris resides in the Nashville, Tennessee area.

Aaron Menikoff

AARON MENIKOFF is the Senior Pastor of Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Before entering pastoral ministry, he served as a legislative assistant for the late United States Senator Mark O. Hatfield. He earned an M.Div. and a Ph.D. at Southern Seminary where he studied Christian social engagement during the Second Great Awakening. He is the author of Politics and Piety: Baptist Social Reform in America, 1770-1860 (Pickwick, 2014). Aaron has a heart for encouraging pastors. He organizes a yearly conference called Feed My Sheep, leads a monthly pastors fellowship in his area, and is Visiting Lecturer in Church History at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta. He is married to Deana and is the father of Rachel, Jonah, Natalie, and Tori.

Peggy Bodde

PEGGY BODDE is an entrepreneur and the founder of Sacred Work, an organization that provides free career and leadership support for Christian women in the workplace. Peggy spent 25 years as a corporate executive and then pivoted to start a freelance writing business. Her clients include marketing firms and major textbook publishers. Peggy's passions are writing about the intersection between faith and work and empowering women to show up boldly in both spaces. She lives in the heart of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado alongside her husband, George, and rescue pup, Quill. Find her at peggybodde.com.

Rick Lawrence

RICK LAWRENCE is Executive Director of Vibrant Faith, a ministry resourcing, training, coaching, and research organization. He’s an award-winning author, journalist, cultural researcher, editor, and national speaker. For many years he led Group Publishing’s Youth Ministry Resourcing Team, and helped launch its “Jesus-Centered” line of adult resources. He also leads a “home church” for young people: Pursuing the Heart of Jesus, Not His Recipes. He’s the general editor of the bestselling Jesus-Centered Bible, and author of many books, including The Suicide Solution, Jesus-Centered Daily, and The Jesus-Centered Life. He’s host of the popular podcast Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus. He’s married to Beverly Rose and has two young-adult daughters, Lucy and Emma.