Anita Lustrea

ANITA 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.

Ryan Lokkesmoe

RYAN LOKKESMOE PhD is the Senior Pastor of Community Church at Lake Wylie in the Charlotte area. He earned his master's degree in New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his doctorate in New Testament at The University of Denver. Ryan is the author of Blurry: Bringing Clarity to the Bible (CLC Publications), and has written Small Group curriculum for LifeWay as well as articles for the Lexham Bible Dictionary. Ryan previously served as the Small Groups Pastor at a multi-site church, and as the Lead Pastor of Real Hope Community Church for seven years. He lives in Richmond, TX with his wife Ashley and their two children.

Trip Lee

WILLIAM 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.

J. P. Moreland

J.P. MORELAND (B.S. University of Missouri, Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary, M. A. University of California-Riverside, and Ph.D. University of Southern California) is the Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, California. He has co-planted three churches and he and his wife Hope attend Vineyard Anaheim church and are deeply committed to the body of believers there.

John McNeill

James O'Donnell

JAMES O’DONNELL spent many years as an executive in the financial services industry with such firms as Fidelity Investments and the Dreyfus Corporation. He is currently a professor of Business and Economics at Huntington University. He received his undergraduate degree from Brown University and his MBA from Columbia University. He is the author of Letters for Lizzie and Walking with Arthur, which chronicle his wife’s battle with cancer and his spiritual journey as they walked through those trials together. O’Donnell currently resides in Huntington, Indiana.

Andy Partington

ANDY PARTINGTON leads the work of Novō Communities and Novō Adventures. Novō Communities’ vision is to bring new life to individuals, peace to families, and hope to communities gripped by addiction by empowering local teams in developing nations to create transformational communities that offer healing, wholeness, and hope. Andy has served as Director of Training at London School of Theology, in local church leadership in the UK and Bolivia, and as CEO of Yeldall Manor, an addiction treatment center in the southeast of England. Andy is married to Michaela and the proud father of Daniel, Jemimah, Phoebe, JJ, and Miah. To learn more about Novo, visit novocommunities.org and novoadventures.com.

Lorraine Pintus

LORRAINE PINTUS graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BA in journalism and dabbled briefly in politics as a lobbyist and press manager for a gubernatorial candidate. She has been a media relations manager for Frito-Lay/PepsiCo., Inc. and with her husband owned an IBM store before becoming a promotion manager for the University of California, Irvine. Lorraine now proudly serves as "vice president" of the Pintus Household where she is wife to Peter and driver to her teenage daughters Mandy & Megan. In her spare time, she writes books and travels all around the world with her dear friend and co-author of Intimate Issues, Linda Dillow. Lorraine and Linda speak to tens of thousands of women each year, telling them of the hope and healing they can know through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ramon Presson

RAMON PRESSON, PhD, a licensed marriage & family therapist, has been in practice for 30 years and is the founder of LifeChange Counseling and Marriage Center of Franklin. He is a newspaper columnist; and with a dozen books in print he is the most published practicing therapist in Tennessee. He is a charter member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. From 1989 to 2004 Presson served as an assistant pastor in large churches in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee. Ramon has had the unique privilege to serve on staff with and later co-author several books with Dr. Gary Chapman. He is currently co-authoring the teen edition of When Will My Life Not Suck? Authentic Hope for the Disillusioned with his 17-year-old son, Cameron. Ramon and his wife, Dorne, have been married for 28 years, have two sons, and live outside Nashville. He can be reached at ramonpresson@gmail.com.

Ray Pritchard

RAY PRITCHARD serves as the president of Keep Believing Ministries. He is a graduate of Tennessee Temple University (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.) and Talbot School of Theology (D.Min.). Ministering extensively overseas, speaking at conferences, and appearing on Christian radio and television talk shows, Dr. Pritchard focuses on evangelism and encouragement to spread the hope of Jesus Christ through all the world. For 27 years he pastored churches in Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago, and most recently served at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois. Dr. Pritchard is the author of 27 books, including An Anchor for the Soul, Stealth Attack, Names of the Holy Spirit, and Credo. Ray and his wife, Marlene, have three sons.

Michael Rydelnik

DR. MICHAEL RYDELNIK is Vice President/Academic Dean and Professor of Jewish Studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. He is also the Host/Bible Teacher on Open Line with Dr. Michael Rydelnik, answering listener Bible questions on over 225 stations nationwide across Moody Radio. The son of Holocaust survivors, he was raised in an observant Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York. As a high school student, Michael became a follower of Jesus the Messiah and began teaching the Bible almost immediately. Besides his work on The Moody Bible Commentary and The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy as coeditor and contributor, Michael is also the author of 50 Most Important Bible Questions, The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic?, and Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Michael and his wife, Eva, live in Chicago, love hiking with their collie and boxer, and have two terrific adult sons, a delightful daughter-in-law, and the cutest grandchildren in the world.

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.

Chelsea Patterson Sobolik

CHELSEA PATTERSON SOBOLIK is the author of Longing for Motherhood: Holding On to Hope in the Midst of Childlessness, and works in Washington, DC, as the Director of Government Relations for a nonprofit organization. Previously she’s worked for the leading evangelical child welfare organization in the country, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), and on Capitol Hill. Chelsea has been published at the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and other outlets. Chelsea was adopted as a newborn from Bucharest, Romania, grew up in North Carolina, and holds a BA in International Relations from Liberty University. She and her husband, Michael, are welcoming their son home through international adoption.