Gilbert Peterson

Douglas M. Cecil

DOUGLAS CECIL (B.A., University of Cincinnati; Th.M., and D.Min., Dallas Theological Seminary) currently serves as a life stages pastor at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas. A certified chaplain with more than 25 years of experience, Cecil is also an ordained minister and a former officer in the U.S. Air Force. He served as an associate professor of pastoral ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary for 18 years and is a regular tour leader in Israel. Cecil’s interests include evangelism and pastoral care. The author of Seven Principles of an Evangelistic Life, Cecil resides in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife, Patty.

Gilbert Little

Steve Miller

STEVE MILLER, author of C.H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership, has worked in Christian publishing for 20 years as an editor and writer. He is co-author of several books including D. L. Moody on Spiritual Leadership, and has written five children’s books with his wife, Becky. Steve has served as a Bible teacher and in various leadership positions since 1980, twelve years of which was spent leading the deaf ministry for John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church. Steve and Becky reside in Oregon’s Willamette Valley with their three sons.

Mark Shoemaker

MARK SHOEMAKER is the dad of three kids, is a Moody Bible Institute and Seminary graduate, a gifted communicator, and has been a youth and family pastor for more than 12 years. He’s passionate about helping students discover—and stay—on God’s path for them. He currently serves as the Next Gen Pastor at a multi-location church of over 3,000 regular attenders. Mark has been happily married for more than ten years.

Ray Rhodes Jr.

RAY RHODES, JR. serves as founding pastor of Grace Community Church of Dawsonville, GA and as president of Nourished in the Word Ministries. He has served four congregations over three decades of pastoral ministry and for fifteen years, he has led Nourished in the Word. Ray has published several books and holds theological degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min.). He is married to Lori and they are blessed with six daughters and four grandchildren. Ray has long been a Spurgeon enthusiast, and his doctoral thesis focused on the marriage and spirituality of Charles and Susannah Spurgeon.

Gary Keisling

Dr. Gary Keisling is the senior pastor of The Alliance Church in Bryan, Ohio. He has served in pastoral ministry with The Christian and Missionary Alliance for more than 25 years. He is also a professor with Crown College on-line. He and his wife Susan have been married for more than 35 years and have two grown children.

Ramon Presson

RAMON PRESSON, PhD, a licensed marriage & family therapist, has been in practice for 30 years and is the founder of LifeChange Counseling and Marriage Center of Franklin. He is a newspaper columnist; and with a dozen books in print he is the most published practicing therapist in Tennessee. He is a charter member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. From 1989 to 2004 Presson served as an assistant pastor in large churches in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. Ramon has had the unique privilege to serve on staff with and later co-author several books with Dr. Gary Chapman. He is currently co-authoring the teen edition of When Will My Life Not Suck? Authentic Hope for the Disillusioned with his 17-year-old son, Cameron. Ramon and his wife, Dorne, have been married for 28 years, have two sons, and live outside Nashville. He can be reached at ramonpresson@gmail.com.

Ele Parrott

ELE PARROT, a Biblical Counselor by profession, is the Director of Member Care for the Paraclete Mission Group. She worked as a missionary in the Latin community with OCI for 12 years, has worked in women’s and children’s ministry in her local church and has also been involved in Christian Camping ministry. She continues to lead Bible studies and is the head Mentor Mom at Sun Valley Community Church in Gilbert, Arizona. In addition to Transforming Together, Ele has authored a Spanish-language musical, El Futboles es mi Vida as well as Spanish materials for use in Christian homes and Sunday School classes.Ele Parrot and her husband of 35 years, Don, the President and CEO of Finishers Project, have four grown children and three grandchildren.

Kate McCord

KATE MCCORD worked in Afghanistan for nine years after the fall of the Taliban. During her years in country, she worked as a humanitarian aid worker, delivering projects to benefit the people of Afghanistan. She also learned the local language and developed deep and lasting friendships with local Afghans. After evacuating from her home in Afghanistan, Ms. McCord transitioned into a mentoring, training, consulting and coaching role to other workers serving in the region. Prior to moving to Afghanistan, Ms. McCord worked in the international corporate community as a business process and strategy consultant.Currently, she serves Christ through writing, speaking, mentoring, and conducting workshops and seminars. She is the author of In the Land of Blue Burqas and Farewell Four Waters, both published by Moody Publishers.

Marla Alupoaicei

Author and speakerMARLA ALUPOAICEI (Dallas Theological Seminary) serves as the Director for Leap of Faith Ministries, an intercultural marriage support ministry in Frisco, Texas. Marla has authored or co-authored over twenty books and Bible study guides, including Taking the Intercultural Leap, Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca, and In the Flow: Spiritual Insights for Living a More Creative Life, as well as numerous nonfiction articles and poems. Marla has fifteen-plus years of ministry, teaching, and speaking experience with a variety of organizations. Currently she works as a staff writer for East-West Ministries, a grace-based church planting organization in Addison, Texas. Marla and her husband, Catalin, whom she met while on a missions trip to Romania in 1998, have been married for 7 years and currently reside in Texas.

Jason K. Allen

DR. JASON ALLEN is the fifth and youngest president of Midwestern Baptist Seminary. He has served as pastor and interim pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Alabama and Kentucky over the past fifteen years. He currently serves the church more broadly through writing and preaching ministries, including his own website www.jasonkallen.com, where he writes on various topics including higher education, theology, preaching, and cultural and local church issues. He and his wife, Karen, have five children: Anne-Marie, Caroline, William, Alden, and Elizabeth.

Rian Roux

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.