J. Ryan Lister

RYAN LISTER is a professor of theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of The Presence of God: Its Place in the Story of Scripture and the Story of Our Lives and serves as Director of Doctrine & Discipleship for Humble Beast, where he helped start the Canvas Conference. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Chase, and their four children.

Arthur W. Pink

ARTHUR W. PINK (1886-1952) was born in Nottingham, England, became a follower of Jesus at age 22 and left England in 1910 to study at Moody Bible Institute. He had a handful of short term pastorates in Colorado, California, Kentucky, and South Carolina, as well as in Australia. He is author of a great number of books including The Ability of God, Gleanings in Exodus, and The Nature of God.

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.

Kathy Hawkins

KATHY HAWKINS is a graduate of Southeastern Bible College and holds an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. She and her husband, Christian broadcaster and author Don Hawkins, frequently speak at Bible conferences and seminars.

Ralph Alexander

RALPH H. ALEXANDER (B.A., Rice University; Th.M., Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) was professor of Hebrew Scripture and chairman of the Division of Bible Studies at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, Portland, Oregon. He did graduate work at Hebrew University and specialized in Hebrew and archaeology.

Keith M. Bailey

Keith M. Bailey held earned and honorary degrees from several institutions of higher learning. After more than forty years of missionary, pastoral, and administrative ministry, he communicated a wealth of wisdom and practical how-to to the Church at large.

D Edmond Hiebert

D. EDMOND HIEBERT (B.S., John Fletcher College; Th.M., Th.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) served on the faculties of Tabor College and Mennonite Brethren Seminary, Fresno, California. Dr. Hiebert is the author of The Epistle of James, Introduction to the New Testament, Volumes I, II, and III; and The Thessalonian Epistles.

Robert B. Hughes

ROBERT B. HUGHES (B.A. California State University; M.Div., Th.M., Western Conservative Baptist Seminary; Ph.D., University of Edinburgh) was a professor of biblical studies and academic dean at Miami Christian College, Miami, FL. He is author of First and Second Corinthians Everyman's Bible Commentary and New Bible Companion.

Abraham Kuruvilla

ABRAHAM KURUVILLA is Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He centers his ministry around the art and science of preaching: exploring preaching through research and scholarship, explaining preaching by training the next generation of church leaders, and exemplifying preaching in regular pulpit engagements in the U.S. and elsewhere. He has served as the interim preacher at churches in Texas, Massachusetts, and as President of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. In addition, he has written several preaching commentaries and he blogs regularly at www.homiletix.com. In his other life, Dr. Kuruvilla is a Diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology, and he maintains an active clinical schedule seeing patients and taking care of their skin, hair, and nails. Single by choice, Abe has a special interest in the theology of Christ-centered singleness and celibacy.

Jeff Simmons

JEFF SIMMONS is the founding and senior pastor of Rolling Hills Community Church, which he and his wife, Lisa, planted twenty years ago. The church has grown from 15 people meeting for a Bible study in an apartment clubhouse on Thursday nights to several thousand people and five campuses in Franklin, Nashville, Nolensville, Columbia, and Haywood Hills. Jeff is a follower of Jesus, husband, and father of three wonderful children. He serves alongside an amazing staff team at Rolling Hills and is the President of Justice and Mercy International doing mission work in the countries of Moldova and the Amazon jungle. Jeff is an author and speaker while overseeing the ministry work with over 80 full-time church staff, 55 international staff, 70 learning center teachers, and multi-million-dollar budgets. Jeff is passionate about God's work and longs to make a difference for the glory of God in His day and generation.

Cheryl Dunlop

CHERYL J. DUNLOP is a freelance writer and editor. She received her B.A. in Communications from Moody Bible Institute. She is author of Follow Me as I Follow Christ and co-author of Complete Idiot’s Guide to the World of Narnia. Cheryl lives on the West Side of Chicago.

Emma Moody Fitt

John Owen

JOHN OWEN (1616-1683) was an English Nonconformist church leader, theologian, and one of the greatest minds of the English Puritan movement. He served as academic administrator at the University of Oxford and was briefly a member of parliament for the University.