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CHASE REPLOGLE is the pastor of Bent Oak Church in Springfield, Missouri. He holds a degree in Biblical Studies and an M.A. in New Testament from The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He is currently a D.Min. student in The Sacred Art of Writing at Western Theological Seminary. His work draws from history, psychology, literature, and a rich narrative approach to Scripture to help readers think more deeply about faith and life. He has written for Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Ekstatis, Bible Engagement Project, and Influence Magazine. A native of the Ozark woods, he enjoys being outdoors with his wife and two kids, sailing, playing the mandolin (badly), and quail hunting with his bird dog Millie.
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KERWIN A. RODRIGUEZ is an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Studies at Moody Bible Institute where he teaches homiletics, spiritual formation, and cultural dynamics for congregational ministry. He has an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Seminary and is currently completing a PhD at Baylor University's Truett Seminary with a particular interest in Latino preaching. Kerwin is passionate about preaching and teaching others to preach. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Meredith and their two children, Ezra Joel and Elias Rowe.
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BRAD AND MARILYN RHOADS founded Grace Marriage in 2015 to help churches and couples prioritize marriage. Prior to this, Brad was a practicing attorney for 22 years. He served as a marriage pastor at their local church, where he noted the nationwide absence of an intentional, ongoing strategy to keep couples on a trajectory of growth. Marilyn holds a masters in social work and worked at Counseling Associates before choosing to stay home with their children. In 2015, Brad left the practice of law to pursue marriage ministry full-time. The Rhoads currently lead Grace Marriage, author curriculum together, speak at conferences, and work with individual couples. They are the proud parents of five amazing kids and live in Owensboro, Kentucky.
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Originally from South Africa, RIAN ROUX spent his adolescence in a small fishing and farming community in the far north of Australia. Intrigued by the stories that shape our lives, he travelled widely and pursued studies in Applied Science, Education, and Theology. After a year at Oxford University, he commenced a PhD in Australia with a focus on transformative learning and student leadership development in higher education. Rian has experience in pastoral ministry, teaching, and business and currently lives and works in Toowoomba with his wife, Sally, and their three children.
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CARY SCHMIDT (MMin, DMin) serves as the senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newington, Connecticut. He and his wife, Dana, have been blessed with three children, their spouses, and four grandchildren, and they have enjoyed over thirty years of marriage and ministry together. Cary is the author of more than a dozen books, and his passion is to point people to Jesus Christ through leading, teaching, and writing. You can connect with Cary at www.caryschmidt.com.
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ED YOUNG has been the pastor of 32,000-member Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, since 1978 and is also a trustee of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Houston Baptist University. A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ed is the author of many books including The Ten Commandments of Marriage and The Ten Commandments of Parenting, and ministers through the international television and radio broadcasts of Winning Walk. He and his wife, Jo Beth, have three adult sons and seven grandchildren and reside in Houston.
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KEVIN D. ZUBER is Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Theology at The Master's Seminary in Los Angeles, California. Before that he was a professor at Moody Bible Institute for seventeen years and he also served as a teaching pastor at Grace Bible Church Northwest in Schaumburg, IL. Over the years, Kevin has ministered around the world, teaching graduate and undergraduate classes in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He is a graduate of Grace College and Grace Theological Seminary, and he holds a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity school. Kevin is married to Diane, and they have two sons, David and Christopher.
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DR. GEORGE SWEETING (1924-2024) was the former president and chancellor of the Moody Bible Institute (1971-1999). As a world-renowned evangelist, pastor, teacher, and writer, few were better equipped to explain how to grow in your salvation. How to Begin the Christian Life is a modern classic with more than a million copies in print in English and other languages.
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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.
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JIM SHADDIX (BS, Jacksonville State University; M.Div., D.Min., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ph.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, occupying the W. A. Criswell Chair of Expository Preaching. He has pastored churches in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Colorado, and also served as Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in New Orleans, LA. Jim is the author of The Passion Driven Sermon (Broadman & Holman, 2003) and co-author of Power in the Pulpit with Jerry Vines (Moody, 1999). Jim and his wife, Debra, focus much of their attention on discipling and mentoring young leaders and spouses. They have three grown children.
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JOHN SMED is the founding director of Prayer Current, an organization that helps leaders make multiplying disciples through prayer and evangelism. Since 2000 John and his team have developed prayer training materials and conferences for church planters, pastors, and network teams in North America, Cuba, India, China, and Russia. His book 7 Days of Prayer with Jesus has been translated into ten languages. His conviction for prayer was born out of thirty years of experience in church planting and urban mission.John and his wife Caron have 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and live in Lake Country, British Columbia, Canada.
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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).
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STEVE VANDEGRIFF (Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary) is a professor of youth ministries at Liberty University in Virginia. A former youth pastor, Steve enjoys ministering and speaking to young people and their parents. He previously spent thirteen years as the executive director of Youth for Christ in Alberta, Canada. He is co-author of Timeless Youth Ministry, Disturbing Behavior, and Protecting Your Teen from Disturbing Behaviors. The parents of three children, Steve and his wife, Pamela Jo, reside in Lynchburg, Virginia.
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DUSTIN WILLIS has served as a marketing consultant, organizational executive, and pastor over the last 17 years, working with small businesses, local churches and some of the largest faith-based nonprofits in North America. He is the author of Life in Community and the co-author of Life on Mission and The Simplest Way to Change the World. Dustin and his wife Renie have two children and are daily seeking to live on mission just outside of Atlanta, GA.
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DAVID W. WIERSBE (Moody Bible Institute; North Park College; Northern Illinois University) has pastored four churches and currently serves at Calvary Evangelical Free Church of Spring Grove, Minnesota. He is the author or co-author of Ministering to the Mourning, Comforting the Bereaved, Making Sense of the Ministry, and Gone but Not Lost: Grieving the Death of a Child. He has also served as chaplain for a community fire/rescue unit and as facilitator of support groups for bereaved parents. David and his wife, Susan, have one son and reside in Caledonia, Minnesota.
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JAMES H. THOMAS (1890–1973) was a Bible teacher, pastor, and John Bunyan scholar. Born in Maury City, Tennessee, Thomas graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University and earned a ThD from Central Baptist Seminary, Kansas City. After discovering the Phillips New Testament in Modern English, Thomas wanted to take a similar approach with an updated version of John Bunyan’s most famous book. The resulting work, Pilgrim’s Progress in Today’s English, is the bestselling modern version of Bunyan’s classic.
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