Bob Roberts

DR. BOB ROBERTS, JR. is founding pastor of NorthWood Church, Fort Worth, TX. NorthWood has started over 200 churches in the US and a center for training new pastors. He is a leading practitioner and writer on Glocal transformation of individuals, religious communities, NGOs, cities, and global engagement, having worked extensively with the UN and various State Departments globally. He is a nationally and internationally recognized speaker and author of books including Transformation, Glocalization, Real-Time Connections and Bold as Love. Bob is married to Nikki and they have two children and one grandson.

Ruth Paxson

RUTH PAXSON (1889-1949) was Bible teacher, missionary, and author. Born in Manchester, Iowa, she graduated from the State University of Iowa and then attended Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute. She served as YWCA secretary for Iowa and eventually traveled as secretary for the Student Volunteer Movement. In 1911, Ruth sailed for the mission field in China, sponsored by the YWCA. Health concerns forced her to leave China soon thereafter and she then taught Bible in Europe and the United States until her death. She is author of several books, including Life on the Highest Plane and Caleb the Overcomer.

Moody Publishers

Joseph Parker

Rich Robinson

RICHARD A. ROBINSON serves as Senior Researcher at Jews for Jesus in San Francisco and is a Jewish believer in Jesus who came to faith in 1973. He has served with Jews for Jesus since 1978, beginning with the mobile evangelistic music team, The Liberated Wailing Wall, and subsequently as a missionary at the Los Angeles, New York, and Boston branches. He holds an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1978) and a Ph.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary (1993).Rich is the author of The Messianic Movement and Christ in the Sabbath. He edited God, Torah, Messiah: The Messianic Jewish Theology of Dr. Louis Goldberg and co-authored Christ in the Feast of Pentecost with David Brickner. He has contributed chapters to various scholarly books, conferences papers (Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism--North America, Evangelical Theological Society), and is a frequent contributor to the journal Mishkan. Rich also edits Havurah, a publication for Jewish believers in Jesus.

Soong-Chan Rah

Soong-Chan Rah is Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. He is the author of The Next Evangelicalism (IVP Books, 2009). Prior to coming to North Park, Soong-Chan was the founding and senior pastor of Cambridge Community Fellowship Church, a multi-ethnic, urban church in Cambridge, MA. Soong-Chan has a B.A. from Columbia University, a M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Harvard University, and a D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell. Soong-Chan serves on the boards of Sojourners, the Christian Community Development Association, World Vision, and the Catalyst Leadership Center. He lives in Chicago with his wife Sue, a special educator and his two children, Annah and Elijah.

Ashleigh Slater

ASHLEIGH SLATER is also the author of the book Team Us: The Unifying Power of Grace, Commitment, and Cooperation in Marriage and Braving Sorrow: The Transformative Power of Faith and Community When Life is Hard. With over twenty years of writing experience and a master's degree in communication, she loves to combine the power of a good story with practical application to encourage and inspire readers. She and her husband Ted married in 2002 and have four daughters.

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.

A. J. Swoboda

DR. A. J. SWOBODA is a professor, author, and pastor of Theophilus Church in Portland, Oregon. He teaches biblical studies, theology, and church history at George Fox Evangelical Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary, among others. Previously he served as a campus pastor at the University of Oregon. He is the author of A Glorious Dark: Finding Hope in the Tension Between Belief and Experience, Messy: God Likes it That Way, and The Dusty Ones: Why Wandering Deepens Your Faith, and coauthor of Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology.

Allie Marie Smith

ALLIE MARIE SMITH is the Founder and Director of Wonderfully Made, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping teen girls and young women know their true value. She is an award-winning author, speaker, podcast host, and certified life coach. She lives in North Santa Barbara County where she loves surfing and adventuring up and down the California coast with her husband, Paul, and Golden Retriever Gidget.

Scott Rae

SCOTT RAE, Ph.D., is professor of Christian ethics and chair of the philosophy of religion and ethics department at Talbot School of Theology. He's written six books, including Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics and Beyond Integrity: a Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics.

A.B. Simpson

Albert Benjamin Simpson author, hymn writer, conference speaker, was an evangelist to the urban masses of New York City and a missionary statesman. Among his enduring achievements was the founding of The Christian and Missionary Alliance and what is now Nyack College.

Mark H. Senter III

MARK H. SENTER III contributed to or edited three generations of Moody Press youth ministry text books, the most recent of which is the Gold Medallion Book Award winning, Reaching a Generation for Christ, co-edited with Richard R. Dunn. He has authored five other books. Recognized as the leading historian of Protestant youth ministry in America, Senter was honored by the Association of Youth Ministry Educators with the Distinguished Youth Ministry Educator Award in 2011. A graduate of Moody Bible Institute who earned his PhD at Loyola University, Chicago, Senter is Professor Emeritus at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois.

Jill Savage

JILL SAVAGE is an author and speaker who is passionate about encouraging families. She is the author of nine books including Professionalizing Motherhood, My Hearts At Home, Real Moms...Real Jesus, Living With Less So Your Family Has More, and her most recent bestselling release No More Perfect Moms. Featured on Focus on the Family, Crosswalk.com, and as the host of the Heartbeat radio program, Jill is the founder of Hearts at Home, an organization that encourages moms. Jill and her husband, Mark, have five children, two who are married, two granddaughters, and one grandson. They make their home in Normal, Illinois.

Kendra Smiley

KENDRA 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.

Melinda Schmidt

MELINDA SCHMIDT graduated from Moody Bible Institute and holds a B.S. in Broadcasting-Bible from Calvary Bible College. She has served with Moody Radio since 1980 in various hosting capacities. She is now a co-host of the radio talk show for women, Midday Connection (www.middayconnection.org) . Melinda has served as an editor and contributing author to Come to Our Table: A Midday Connection Cookbook, Daily Seeds from Women who Walk in Faith, and Tending the Soul. Married to Dave, they are parents of two young adults, Kelly and Kevin.