Owen Strachan

OWEN STRACHAN is Associate Professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the Director for the Center on Public Theology at MBTS. He holds a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an MDiv from Southern Seminary, and an AB from Bowdoin College. Strachan has published fourteen books and writes regularly for The Gospel Coalition, the Christian Post, and Thoughtlife, his Patheos blog. He is married and is the father of three children. Strachan hosts the City of God podcast available at https://cpt.mbts.edu.

St Augustine

AUGUSTINE 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.

Ray E. Baughman

RAY BAUGHMAN (1925-1999) (B.A., Dallas Bible College; Ed.D., Luther Rice Seminary) taught for thirty years on the faculty of Dallas Bible College and ten years on the faculty of Southeastern Bible College. He was an ordained Baptist minister who also pastored four independent churches. He is author of a number of books including The Abundant Life, The Kingdom of God Visualized, and Creative Bible Study Methods. Ray and his wife, Lucy, were married for just over 50 years and had three children.

John Van Sloten

JOHN 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

C. Donald Cole

C. DONALD COLE served as a host and commentator on Moody Radio’s Open Line for 26 years before retiring in 2008. He previously served on the faculty at Emmaus Bible College and as a missionary in Angola with his wife, Naomi. Pastor Cole is the author of a number of books, including How to Know You’re Saved and All You Need to Believe: The Apostle’s Creed. Pastor and Mrs. Cole live in Carol Stream, Illinois.

Syd Brestel

SYD BRESTEL (B.A. Moody Bible Institute; M.A., Western Seminary) is a retired pastor who served a number of congregations for nearly fifty years. He has taught biblical classes at Kilns College in Bend, OR and is passionate about creating opportunities for lay people to receive biblical and theological training. He has ministered in several countries including India, Pakistan, UAE, Uganda, and Ireland. God has given him a passion to proclaim and defend both His grace and His holiness and wrath.

Crickett Keeth

CRICKETT KEETH is the Women's Ministry Director at First Evangelical Church in Memphis, Tennessee, where she writes and teaches the women's Bible studies. She is the author of several published Bible studies, including The Gift of Rest and Sumatra with the Seven Churches (co-authored with Sandra Glahn). Crickett was on staff with Cru for ten years and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. In addition to teaching regularly at her own church, she also speaks at women's conferences and retreats. She offers free resources for discipleship and encourages others in their own walk with God through her website at www.crickettkeeth.com. Her life purpose is to encourage others to passionately pursue Jesus Christ.

Erik M. Peterson

ERIK M. PETERSON has been a designer and art director of book covers and interiors for over twenty years. From time to time he works on other types of design projects but always come back to books. More recently he’s worked on large-scale visual storytelling projects such as Little Pilgrim’s Progress: Illustrated Edition (in collaboration with illustrator Joe Sutphin) and The Pursuit of God: A 31-Day Experience (a thoughtful, illustrative layout of A. W. Tozer’s classic work, designed for slow, meditative reading).

Lysa TerKeurst

LYSA TERKEURST is the New York Times bestselling author of The Best Yes, Unglued, and Made to Crave. She is president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and writes from her sticky farm table in North Carolina where she lives with her husband, Art, five kids, three dogs, and a mouse that refuses to leave her kitchen. Connect with her at www.LysaTerKeurst.com.

Geraldine Taylor

William Dyer

REVEREND WILLIAM DYER was born in England in 1632. During his earlier ministry he was a pastor with the Church of England at Chesham and Cholesbury. He and many other pastors were known as “Puritans” because of their desire to purify and reform the state church. However, in 1662, Dyer and over two thousand other Puritans pastors were ejected from their parishes because of a lack of compliance to the new policies of the church. In the year following his dismissal from the church he wrote two of his most enduring books, A Cabinet of Jewels and Christ’s Famous Titles. In his later life he worked alongside the Quakers because of their zeal for Christ and passion for souls. He was buried among them in Southwark, England in April of 1696. From his writings he is seen to have been a man of great character, earnest to win men to the Lord, and eager to build up the saints in the love and confidence of Christ.

Wess Stafford

WESS STAFFORD From the poor of Africa's Ivory Coast to President and Chief Executive Officer of Compassion International, Dr. Wesley K. Stafford — Wess — has maintained one simple belief: God's children are priceless resources. To that end, Wess leads Compassion's efforts to break the cycle of poverty for children everywhere. Wess joined the staff of Compassion International in 1977 and has worked with the ministry, both overseas and at headquarters, for 34 years. He has served as president since 1993. Wess lives on a small ranch near Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife, Donna, of 32 years who was a Compassion sponsor even before she met Wess! They have two daughters, Jenny and Katie — the two children in the world for whom Wess is the greatest advocate of all.

Justin S. Holcomb

JUSTIN HOLCOMB is an Episcopal priest and teaches theology, philosophy, and Christian thought at Gordon-Conwell-Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary. He holds two masters degrees from Reformed Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Emory University.Justin has written or edited numerous books: Know the Heretics, Know the Creeds and Councils, On the Grace of God, Acts: A 12-Week Study, For the World, and Christian Theologies of Scripture.He and his wife, Lindsey, are authors of: Is It My Fault?: Hope and Healing for Those Suffering Domestic Violence and Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault.Justin serves on the boards of REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade) and GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments). He also serves on the council board of the Biblical Counseling Coalition.Connect with Justin Holcomb on Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and his blog.