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FREDA MCKISSIC BUSH, M.D., is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and a partner in private practice with East Lakeland OB-GYN Associates in Jackson, Mississippi. She currently serves as Medical Director of the Center for Pregnancy Choices Metro Jackson and the Henry M. Johnson Women's Resource Crisis Pregnancy Center. Freda spends much of her time speaking on sexuality and social behavior education. Her passion is to help women "raise a standard" to become who they were created to be. To that end, she teaches and encourages a lifestyle of abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage. She co-authored her first book, Hooked, with Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney, in 2008.
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TIM DOWNS is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University in Graphic Design. After graduation in 1976 he created a comic strip, Downstown, which was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate. His cartooning has appeared in more than a hundred newspapers worldwide. In 1979 he joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, where he founded and directed the Communication Center, a communication training facility. He continues to serve as a speaker and writer. He and his wife, Joy, have spoken at FamilyLife Marriage and Parenting Conferences since 1985. He is author of First the Dead, Less Than Dead, Chop Shop, Head Game, Plague Maker, Shoo Fly Pie, and Finding Common Ground, which was awarded the Gold Medallion Award in 2000. He is also co-author of Fight Fair and The Seven Conflicts: Resolving the Most Common Disagreements in Marriage along with his wife Joy. Tim lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife and three children.
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JOHN TRENT, Ph.D., is the Gary D. Chapman Chair of Marriage and Family Ministry and Therapy at Moody Theological Seminary. He works to help train the next generation of family pastors and Christian counselors. He's also the President of StrongFamilies.com, a ministry committed to building strong relationships in these stressful times. Dr. Trent's main focus includes writing and speaking at retreats, conferences, business settings, churches, and seminars across the country. In addition to building family teams, Dr. Trent regularly speaks to corporate America on teambuilding, recruiting and retaining outstanding employees. He has authored and co-authored more than a dozen books for both adults and children, including Love For All Seasons, The Language of Love, and The Blessing. In addition to writing books, Dr. Trent has written numerous articles for both professional and popular publications. He and his wife, Cynthia, live in Scottsdale, Arizona and have two grown daughters.
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RON BLUE is a successful entrepreneur in the financial services industry and an admired leader and speaker on the topic of Biblical financial management. In 1970, he founded an Indianapolis-based CPA firm which has grown to be one of the 50 largest CPA firms in the United States. In 1979, he founded Ronald Blue & Co., a fee-only financial planning firm, convinced that Christians would better handle their personal finances if they were counseled objectively with the highest technical expertise and from a Biblical perspective. Ron is the author of twelve books on personal finance from a Biblical perspective, including the best-seller, Master Your Money, and his most recent book, Wealth to Last, co-authored with Larry Burkett. He is currently the President of Kingdom Advisors and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
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VICKI ROSE is a strong Bible teacher with a relevant, life-changing message. She was born and raised in New York City and upon graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1975, Vicki began her retail career at Saks Fifth Ave and went on to marry Bill Rose in 1977.After almost 10 years of marriage, Vicki found herself the single mother of a 1 ½ and 4 year old, separated from her husband who was addicted to cocaine, woman and work. 1 ½ years later, Vicki accepted Christ through an outreach dinner at age 35 and became a passionate follower of Jesus Christ with a deep hunger for His word. As Vicki began to pray for her husband to also know Christ, her heart toward him changed and they were reconciled after he accepted Christ, entered rehab and they spent time in counseling. They had been separated for 5 ½ years. Both Vicki and Bill are Jewish believers though neither was raised in a religious Jewish home. Vicki has taught, facilitated and led many Bible Studies for women in her church as well as acted as Prayer Coordinator for the Women’s Ministry and has taught and shared her testimony all across the U.S. as well as in Nicaragua, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria and Italy.
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GLENN C. DAMAN is the author of Leading the Small Church, Shepherding the Small Church, Developing Leaders for the Small Church, When Shepherds Weep and Shepherding the Small Church (ECPA Gold Medallion Finalist). He grew up on a farm in Northern Idaho and attended Big Sky Bible College, Western Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Since 1991 Glenn has served as the pastor of River Christian Church in Stevenson, Washington. He has also served small rural churches in Montana and Oregon. He has served as the director of Village Missions' Center for Leadership Development and has been an adjunct professor for a number of Bible colleges and seminaries in the area of small church studies. He has also taught in Russia, the Philippines, Canada, and Mexico. Glenn enjoys photography, woodworking, camping with his family, and spending time on the family farm.
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NICHOLAS SKYTLAND is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. He is also the Deputy Chief of the Exploration Technology Office at NASA. His technical and leadership experience has helped him build high-performing teams and pioneer new ways of doing business in both government and industry for over two decades. He has trained astronauts, designed next-generation spacesuits, developed open-source technology, led missional movements, and created some of the largest purpose-driven collaborations in history. Outside of work he is an experienced diver and avid triathlete, having completed more than twenty Ironman races. He lives in Houston with his wife and three kids, and serves as an elder at Clear Creek Community Church.
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ANDY PARTINGTON leads the work of Novō Communities and Novō Adventures. Novō Communities’ vision is to bring new life to individuals, peace to families, and hope to communities gripped by addiction by empowering local teams in developing nations to create transformational communities that offer healing, wholeness, and hope. Andy has served as Director of Training at London School of Theology, in local church leadership in the UK and Bolivia, and as CEO of Yeldall Manor, an addiction treatment center in the southeast of England. Andy is married to Michaela and the proud father of Daniel, Jemimah, Phoebe, JJ, and Miah. To learn more about Novo, visit novocommunities.org and novoadventures.com.
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SUSIE LARSON is a national speaker, bestselling author, and the host of the daily talk show, Susie Larson Live heard on the Faith Radio Network. Susie has written 17 books and many articles. She's been a guest on Focus on the Family, The Life Today Show, Family Life Today, and other media outlets. Voted twice as a top-ten finalist for the John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award, she is also a veteran of the fitness field. Susie has been married to her dear husband Kevin since 1985 and together they have three sons, three daughters-in-law, two beautiful grandchildren, and one adorable pit bull named Memphis. Susie's passion is to see people everywhere awakened to the value of their soul, the depth of God's love, and the height of their calling in Christ Jesus.
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JOHN FULLER is vice president of Audio and New Media at Focus on the Family and co-host of the daily “Focus on the Family” broadcast. He leads the team that produces more than a dozen Focus programs reaching millions of listeners around the world. Many of these features and podcasts are also available at www.focusonthefamily.com. A media veteran of more than 30 years, John writes and speaks about creativity, media trends, influential leadership, excellence, and social media. As a father of six, he writes and speaks about strong marriages and effective parenting. John and his wife Dena are also advocates for orphan care and adoption. John has a M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado, and serves as an elected member of the board of the National Religious Broadcasters.
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LEE ECLOV is Senior Pastor of the Village Church of Lincolnshire (Evangelical Free) in the northern suburbs of Chicago where he has served since 1998. Previously, he served for 14 years as senior pastor of Chippewa Evangelical Free Church, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and for five years as an Assistant Pastor at North Suburban Evangelical Free Church, Deerfield, Illinois. His columns on preaching and his sermons appear regularly at www.PreachingToday.com and he is a Contributing Editor of Leadership Journal. He has been an adjunct professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for over ten years, currently teaching pastoral counseling. Lee is a native of South Dakota and the product of a rural church. He and his wife Susan have been married for nearly 40 years and have one son, Anders.
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PAUL ANGONE is one of the leading voices in the nation to, and for, the Millennial generation. He is the best-selling author of two books, a sought after national speaker, and an organizational consultant who specializes in helping companies attract, retain, and develop Millennials. With over 10+ years writing, speaking, and engaging with Millennials, plus a master's degree in Organizational Leadership, Paul has created a cutting-edge process to help organizations called Millennial Mapping. Paul is also a media spokesperson on Millennials, executive coach alongside his father, Dr. Louis Angone, and the creator of www.AllGroanUp.com, which has been read by millions of Millennials in 190 countries. Read more of Paul Angone's work at www.AllGroanUp.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PaulAngone.
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KEVIN BELMONTE holds a B.A. in English from Gordon College, an M.A. in Church History from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a second Master's Degree in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine. He has twice been a Finalist for the John Pollock Award for Christian Biography, and in 2003, his book, William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity, won that award. For five years, his biography of William Wilberforce has been taught as part of a course on leadership and character formation at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. On several occasions, he has served as a script consultant for the BBC, and also for the PBS documentary, The Better Hour. For six years, he was the lead script and historical consultant for the critically acclaimed film, Amazing Grace. Kevin resides in a seaside village in Maine with his wife, Kelly, and their seven-year-old son, Sam.
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CURT HAMNER is a pastor and cofounder along with his wife, Rhonda of Between Two Trees (betweentwotrees.org), a marriage ministry designed to resource couples and communities with tools to pursue God's design for marriage. Curt is also the founder of Bed and Breakfast with Purpose Retreats, and is a mentor with The Master's Program (a three-year marketplace leadership coaching ministry). Together Curt and Rhonda speak throughout the US and around the world helping couples enrich their marriages. They host DreamMaster Retreats for second half couples working together on vision and strategic plans for the years after career and family. Curt is a graduate of Dallas Seminary and served with Chuck Swindoll at the church they pastored in Fullerton, CA. The Hamners have three adult children and five grandchildren. They live in the mountains of southern California.
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JIM WILDER (PhD, Clinical Psychology, and M.A. Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary) has been training leaders and counselors for over 27 years on five continents. He is the author of nine books with a strong focus on maturing and relationship skills for leaders. His coauthored book Living From the Heart Jesus Gave You has sold over 100,000 copies in eleven languages. Wilder has published numerous articles and developed four sets of video and relational leadership training called THRIVE. He is currently executive director of Shepherd's House Inc., a nonprofit working at the intersection of brain science and theology, and founder of Life Model Works that is building contagiously healthy Christian communities through equipping existing networks with the skills to thrive. Dr. Wilder has extensive clinical counseling experience and has served as a guest lecturer at Fuller Seminary, Biola, Talbot Seminary, Point Loma University, Montreat College, Tyndale Seminary and elsewhere.
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