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CHARLES DICKENS (1812–1870) is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works include Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations. He wrote works infused with spiritual themes, pointing to Christian ideas with Scripture allusions and metaphors.
Read MoreDR. EDGAR JAMES (Texas Institute of Technology; Wheaton College; Dallas Theological Seminary), a popular Bible teacher, is a former professor of Bible and Theology at Chicago's Moody Bible Institute. He is the author of over 30 books and more than a thousand articles. Among his published books are God, Man and Disaster, Armageddon, The Open Bible Owners Guide, Arabs, Oil and Armageddon and Armageddon and the New World Order. He is a contributor to the Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia and the Family Bible Encyclopedia. He has had regular columns in Moody Magazine and Power for Living and has also written for the Chicago Tribune. Dr. James resides in Sunnyvale, California.
Read MoreWILLIAM LEE BAREFIELD III, better known as TRIP LEE, is a Christian hip-hop artist under the Reach Records label. Trip Lee’s music has topped Billboard charts, the iTunes chart, and has received Dove nominations and a Stellar Award. His Christ-centered and God-exalting music has reached thousands with the Good News of Jesus Christ.Trip Lee now resides in Washington, DC with his wife and is finishing his Biblical and Theological Studies degree with Boyce College. Trip’s unending desire is to proclaim the grace and beauty of Jesus Christ to anyone that will listen. Ultimately, he hopes this journey will someday lead to pastoring a church.
Read MoreKENDRA DAHL is a Christ-follower and writer, wife to Jordan, and mom to Hadley, Adrienne, and Maximus. She holds an MA in biblical studies from Westminster Seminary California and is the author of How to Keep Your Faith After High School (Core Christianity, 2023). Kendra is passionate about helping people live in view of God’s mercies: united to Christ and anchored in the Scriptures. You can find her at kendradahl.com and on Instagram (@kendra_dahl_).
Read MoreANITA LUSTREA has been with Moody Radio for nearly 30 years. The past 14 as executive producer and host of Midday Connection, an NRB award winning radio program. Besides speaking and writing, Anita's other loves include her husband Mike and college aged son John. Anita has co-edited and contributed to Tending the Soul: 90Days of Spiritual Nourishment (Moody Publishers 2011) and authored What Women Tell Me: Finding Freedom From the Secrets We Keep (Zondervan 2010). If you want to start a conversation with Anita that might go on for a long while, ask her about her beloved Maine! Anita hails from the coastal town of Blue Hill, but soon after headed to The County, Aroostook County, that is, and with Shades of Mercy, she hopes to put Aroostook County on the map.
Read MoreGREGG QUIGGLE was the D. L. Moody professor of historical theology and dean of Study Abroad at Moody Bible Institute. He graduated from Wheaton College and Marquette University, then earned a PhD from Open University. Dr. Quiggle has written and lectured extensively on the impact of Mr. Moody, and recently contributed to Moody’s One Volume Seminary. Now retired from teaching, he operates Quotelos Travel Service, a Christian history tour company.
Read MoreSTEVE FARRAR (California State, Western Seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the founder and chairman of Men’s Leadership Ministries and a speaker for these and other conferences and events around the country, including Promise Keepers. Steve is the author of King Me, How to Ruin Your Life by Forty, Point Man, and God Built. The Farrars have three grown children and currently reside in suburban Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit www.stevefarrar.com.
Read MoreA graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, CRICKETT KEETH is the author of several women’s Bible studies, including On Bended Knee, Before the Throne, The Gift of Rest, and Sumatra with the Seven Churches (coauthored with Sandra Glahn). Crickett has served in ministry to women for decades on staff with Cru and large churches in Dallas and Memphis (Women’s Ministry Director). She teaches at her church in Memphis and at women’s conferences and retreats nationwide. Crickett has a heart for coming alongside other women’s ministry leaders, and her life purpose is to encourage others to passionately pursue Jesus Christ. Find free resources to encourage you in your walk with God at www.crickettkeeth.com.
Read MoreCANDY MCVICAR is an author, educator, speaker, and devoted advocate for parents who experience the loss of a baby or child. After the stillbirth of her daughter Grace in 2001, she committed to enhance the care bereaved families receive while in the hospital, to facilitate healing holistically, and to optimize outcomes for subsequent pregnancies. Candy is the founder of the Missing GRACE Foundation, a national nonprofit that provides support, resources, and education for families and professional care providers when there is loss of a baby, infertility, or adoption challenges. Find out more about Candy at www.candymcvicar.com.
Read MoreDR. CHARLES STONE (MDiv, DMin, PhD) has served for forty-three years in vocational ministry, thirty of those years as a senior pastor. He recently completed a nine-year role as lead pastor of West Park Church in London, Ontario, Canada, a multicultural congregation with over a thousand attendees. He has authored eight books and now serves as a coach-consultant to pastors and leaders. Over three hundred of his articles have appeared in magazines and online in publications such as Outreach Magazine, Leadership Journal, Pastors.com, SermonCentral.com, and Churchleaders.com. Charles and his wife, Sherryl, have been married for forty-five years and have three adult children and five grandchildren. You can reach him through his website at www.charlesstone.com.
Read MoreBEVERLY DAYTON, along with her husband Howard, has co-authored books, workbooks, and teacher’s guides designed to teach children and teenagers to handle money God’s way. Bev is an accomplished speaker and also owns a home-based business. Howard and Bev have been married for over 35 years, have two married children, Matthew and Danielle, and live in Gainesville, Georgia.
Read MoreERIC C. REDMOND is Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL and Associate Pastor of Preaching, Teaching, and Care at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL. He has a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Capital Seminary and Graduate School, and a Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the general editor of Say It! Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition, the Preaching Magazine 2020 Book of the Year. His teaching and research specialties are hermeneutics, interpretation of narrative and parable, interpretation of poetical literature, homiletics and Bible exposition, and the Gospels. Eric is a fellow of the St. Augustine Cohort of the Center for Pastor Theologians, a Teaching Fellow for the C. S. Lewis Institute-Chicago, and previously served as a church-planting senior pastor.
Read MoreKENDRA SMILEY, named Illinois Mother of the Year in 2001, hosts a daily radio program, Live Life Intentionally, and speaks nationally and internationally. She graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois then went on to earn her Master of Science from University of North Dakota.She has written more than half a dozen books including High Wire Mom and Empowering Choices. She and her husband are co-authors of Do Your Kids a Favor...Love Your Spouse and Journey of a Strong-Willed Child. Kendra has also written numerous magazine articles, contributed to several books, and currently writes a monthly column for Hearts at Home magazine.Kendra and her husband, John, live in East Lynn, Illinois.
Read MoreSARAH J. HAUSER is a writer and speaker living in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and four kids. She shares biblical truth to nourish the soul—and the occasional recipe to nourish the body. She loves cooking but rarely follows a recipe exactly, and you can almost always find her with a cup of coffee in hand. Sarah completed her BA and MA at Wheaton College. She's a member of the Redbud Writers Guild and has written for Coffee + Crumbs, Risen Motherhood, The Rabbit Room, The Gospel Coalition, (in)courage, and more. Find her at sarahjhauser.com, on Instagram (@sarah.j.hauser), or check out her monthly newsletter at sarahjhauser.com/subscribe.com.
Read MoreMATT MARKINS serves as the President and CEO of Awana, a global leader in child discipleship. As a researcher in child discipleship and children’s ministry, Matt has commissioned eleven research projects since 2013, including a study conducted by Barna Group called Children’s Ministry in a New Reality. He’s a board member at large for the National Association of Evangelicals and is the author or coauthor of four books, most notably The Faith of Our Children: Eight Timely Research Insights for Discipling the Next Generation and RESILIENT: Child Discipleship and the Fearless Future of the Church. He’s also the cofounder of the Child Discipleship Forum and D6 Conference. Matt and his wife, Katie, have been involved in children’s ministry for more than 25 years and spend their time in Nashville with their two sons. For more information go to www.ChildDiscipleship.com and www.Awana.org.
Read MoreDR. JOHN M. PERKINS is the founder and president emeritus of the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation and co-founder of Christian Community Development Association. He has served in advisory roles under five U.S. presidents, is one of the leading evangelical voices to come out of the American civil rights movement, and is an author and international speaker on issues of reconciliation, leadership, and community development. For his tireless work he has received 14 honorary doctorates from universities including: Virginia University of Lynchburg, Wheaton College, Gordon College, Huntington College, Geneva College, Spring Arbor University, North Park College, and Belhaven College. In 2004 he partnered with Seattle Pacific University to launch the campus-based John Perkins Center for Reconciliation, Leadership Training, and Community Development.
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