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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.
Read MoreJOHN VAN SLOTEN is a Calgary-based writer, teacher, and pastor who is passionate about helping people engage God everywhere. Over the past ten years he has preached dozens of creation/bible-based sermons on topics like radiation therapy, DNA repair mechanisms, river hydrology, chemical catalysts, tree branches, human knees, and the Giant Squid. John is a regular columnist with the Calgary Herald and his books include The Day Metallica Came to Church and Every Job a Parable. Over the past ten years, he has been awarded three John Templeton Foundation subgrants for preaching science, has been part of an Ambrose Seminary Science for Seminaries, and has been a Sinai and Synapses fellow. www.johnvansloten.com
Read MoreCHRIS MARTIN is editor of BibletoLife.com and a content marketing editor at Moody Publishers. You can follow him on Twitter at @ChrisMartin17
Read MoreBRAD 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.
Read MoreANDREW MONTONERA is the great-grandson of Cornelius Stam, younger brother to John Stam. He holds a BA in communication from Trinity International University and resides in suburban Chicago.
Read MoreNELL BRANUM is a former editor and elementary school librarian who is the daughter of both a World War II paratrooper and a Rosie the Riveter and believes God still uses lessons from history. She was married for 43 amazing years to her minister husband, and now she writes from a small town near Birmingham, Alabama, where she keeps chickens in the backyard, likes to go on adventures with her grown kids and their families (including nine grandkids), and enjoys watching sunsets on her front porch while drinking blueberry-flavored coffee.
Read MoreCYRIL J. BARBER has served as a visiting professor in Biblical Studies at Talbot Theological Seminary and a Counseling Associate with Insight for Living in Fullerton, California. Previously, Dr. Barber was Professor of Bibliography at the International School of Theology in Arrowhead Springs, California. Dr. Barber is author of numerous books, including Ruth: A Story of God’s Grace, Introduction to Theological Research, Joshua: A Devotional Exposition, and The Faithfulness of God: Devotional Studies in I Chronicles. He lives in Hacienda Heights, California.
Read MoreEDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS (1835-1913) was born in Missouri. He studied deeply in the Scriptures and was greatly inspired by the writings of John Wesley. At the age of 24, he felt called to be a preacher and became a Methodist Pastor around the time of the American Civil War. At the age of 58, and for the next nineteen years (until he went home to be with the Lord at age 77), he began to write books. It is said that he prayed daily, from 4 A.M. to 7 A.M., before he would begin work on his writings. Bounds is author of many books, including Purpose in Prayer, The Weapon of Prayer, and The Reality of Prayer.
Read MoreAUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (354-430) was one of the foremost philosopher-theologians of early Christianity and the leading figure in the church of North Africa. He became bishop of Hippo in 396 and held that position until his death. Before becoming a Christian, Augustine lived a very secular life. His mother Monica prayed for him diligently and at age 32, during a trip to Milan, Augustine heard the preaching of St. Ambrose, was convicted by the Holy Spirit, and became a Christian. His numerous written works, the most important of which are his Confessions and City of God, shaped the practice of biblical exegesis and helped lay the foundation for much of medieval and modern Christian thought.
Read MoreBRYAN LITFIN grew up in Dallas, TX; Oxford, England; and Memphis, TN. He earned a degree in print journalism from the University of Tennessee, a master's degree in historical theology at Dallas Seminary, and a Ph.D. in the field of ancient church history at the University of Virginia. He now serves as Education Projects Editor at Moody Publishers in Chicago, IL. Bryan lives with his wife and two teenaged children in Wheaton, IL, and is a member of College Church in Wheaton. Connect with Bryan at www.bryanlitfin.com.
Read MoreKENNETH O. GANGEL (B.A., Taylor University; M.A., Fuller Summer Seminary; M.Div., Grace Theological Seminary; S.T.M., Concordia Seminary; Ph.D., University of Missouri) is a Scholar-in-Residence at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia and the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Christian Education at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of a number of books including Team Leadership in Ministry and The Christian Educator’s Handbook series. He now resides in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Read MoreLEE ELLIS is the President and Founder of Leadership Freedom and FreedomStar Media. He serves as a management consultant in leadership development and team-building. Lee is the author of a number of books, including Finding the Career that Fits You, Your Career in Changing Times, and Leading Talent Leading Teams. He and his wife, Mary, reside in Dawsonville, Georgia. They have four children and six grandchildren.
Read MoreDR. RICHARD R. DUNN (M.A., Ed.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is the lead pastor at Fellowship Evangelical Free Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his responsibilities include directing a large student ministries program. He was formerly chair of educational ministries at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is a fifteen-year veteran of church, campus, and camping youth ministries. Dr. Dunn is the author of Shaping the Spiritual Life of Students and Can’t Fight the Feeling and the co-editor of Reaching a Generation for Christ. Dr. Dunn and his wife, Teresa, have two children and live in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Read MoreMATTHEW CORK has served in a number of key roles over his many years at Friends Church, including: WorshipPastor, Executive Pastor and the position he currently holds, Lead Pastor. Matthew’s focus since 2003 has been on therenewal of Friends Church. He has a strong pastor’s heart that has led him to be a key part of transitioning a church incrisis. On a trip to India in 2007, Matthew saw firsthand the plight of the Dalit people and the impact education canhave on improving their lives. Since then, Friends Church has launched a new vision called Global Freedom and hasbeen instrumental in building a large number of Education Centers throughout India. Matthew lives in Yorba Lindawith his wife Mardi and their three children: Nolan, Sophie and Ella.
Read MoreDAVID THOMPSON was born in the U.S. but grew up in Cambodia where his parents worked for 16 years. When he was 14 he and his father tried unsuccessfully to save a Cambodian man who was seriously injured when a truck and a bus collided. God used the incident to plant in David's young heart a desire to become a doctor and help people who had limited access to healthcare. David graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1973 with a M.D. degree and eventually completed five years of residency in general surgery in southern California. In 1977 he and his wife Rebecca moved to Gabon, Africa and for the next 34 years built a 150-bed full-service hospital to provide medical services to Gabon's least served provinces. In 1966, Dr. Thompson helped establish the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an organization that trains African surgeons at Christian hospitals throughout the continent. Since 2014, Dr. Thompson has been working as a volunteer to train Egyptian surgeons at Harpur Memorial Hospital.
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