T. DeWitt Talmage

Shelly Beach

SHELLY BEACH has invested her life in the field of communication as an educator, administrator, writer, and writing consultant for the past thirty years. Her writing has been published in both the secular and religious markets in a wide variety of genres including poetry, short stories, feature articles, and interviews. Shelly speaks at writers’ conference, seminars, retreats, schools, and women’s conferences through the Midwest. In the editorial field, Shelly has also served as managing editor of specialty Bibles for Zondervan and was a contributing feature writer for the Stewardship Bible (Crossway Books).Shelly is a graduate of Oakland University and Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. She and her husband Dan reside in Rockford, Michigan, where they attend Blythefield Hills Church. They have two adult children who reside in Iowa and Washington State.

John C. Whitcomb

JOHN C. WHITCOMB (A.B., Princeton University; B.D., Th.M., Th.D., Grace Theological Seminary) is a former President of the Board of Spanish World Gospel Missions Inc and also served as Professor of Theology and Old Testament at Grace Theological Seminary Winona Lake, Indiana for 49 years. He has lectured around the world and is the author of Daniel and Esther from the Everyday Bible Commentary series, among other titles.

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).

Jim Shaddix

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.

David Wiersbe

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.

James Thomas

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.

Erik Thoennes

DR. ERIK THOENNES (B.A., Central Connecticut State University, M.A., Wheaton College Graduate School, Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Professor and Chair of the Theology Department at Biola University and is a pastor at Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, CA. He was voted Professor of the Year twice, and was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award by his colleagues at Biola University. He is the author of Life's Biggest Questions: What the Bible Says About the Things That Matter Most and Biblical and Theological Studies: A Student's Guide. Erik and his wife Donna have four children: Caroline, Paige, Samuel, and Isaac.

Alicia Llewellyn

ALICIA LLEWELLYN is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. She is also a strategist and collaboration leader at NASA, currently directing the 1958 Coworking Space at the Johnson Space Center. She has more than two decades of cross-sector experience in growing effective teams and building engaged communities with resiliency and foresight--including for some of the largest hackathons in the world. Ali has served as a teacher, a team trainer, a youth pastor, and the Director of Ministries at Antioch Community Church in Houston, TX. This background in education, communication, and theology provides the clarity and articulation necessary to help organizations and communities take their mission to the next level.

John Smed

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.

Dustin Crowe

DUSTIN CROWE (BA, Moody Bible Institute; MA, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) serves as the discipleship pastor at Stones Crossing Church, just outside Indianapolis, IN. He has written two books (with another forthcoming from Moody Publishers in 2025) and has written for websites such as The Gospel Coalition, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, and Christianity Today. Dustin and his wife have two young kids. You can follow his blog www.indycrowe.com or find him on X or Instagram (@indycrowe) and Facebook (Dustin Crowe).

Ron Moore

RONALD MOORE serves as Senior Pastor of The Bible Chapel, a multisite church with 4,000 people meeting at four campuses throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Before joining Back to the Bible, Ron's teaching was heard each week day on a national program called The Journey. Ron earned a Master of Theology (Th.M.) and a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He also holds a masters degree in education from Texas A&M. He has written several books including Journey Through the Bible, Journey Through the Psalms, Journey Through the Gospels and Ignite. He and his wife, Lori, have been married since 1980 and have four adult children.

Chase Replogle

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.

Richard Brown

RICH BROWN Rich and his wife Janet have served together in churches in the Midwest and the Seattle area. He and Janet have three adult children; Rich III, Jenna, and Ryan. In 2003, Rich transitioned from serving as Pastor of Student Ministries to become Associate Professor within the Department of Church Ministries at his alma-mater, Liberty University. It is in this context of mentoring, equipping, and teaching the next generation of youth ministry leaders where he ministers to the college students God has placed in his life. Along with his residential teaching load, he also teaches online to adult learners. He has developed a number of youth ministry courses, including published work texts.

Philip Nation

DR. PHILIP NATION is the Director of Content Development with the Resources Division of LifeWay Christian Resources. He is also the Teaching Pastor for The Fellowship and Assistant Professor of Leadership and Biblical Studies for Houston Baptist University. He holds a Master of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School and Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Philip is a frequent speaker in churches and conferences. From 2010 to 2012 he served as the national spokesperson for the "National Back to Church Sunday" campaign for Outreach, Inc. Philip and his wife, Angie, make their home in Tennessee with their two sons, Andrew and Chris.

Skye Jethani

SKYE JETHANI is an author, speaker, consultant and ordained pastor. He also serves as the co-host (along with Phil Vischer) of The Holy Post Podcast, a popular weekly show that blends astute cultural and theological insights with comical conversation. He has been a sought-after consultant for groups facing challenges at the intersection of faith and culture like The Lausanne Movement, The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and the Interfaith Youth Core. Included in his writings are The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, and Futureville. Skye and his wife Amanda have three children: Zoe, Isaac, and Lucy and reside in Wheaton, IL.