Ken Anderson

Kristie Anyabwile

KRISTIE ANYABWILE is the author of Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genres Transforms Bible Study, and editor of His Testimonies, My Heritage: Women of Color on the Word of God. She is a Bible teacher at Anacostia River Church, and serves organizations that equip women to study and teach the Bible, such as The Charles Simeon Trust and Bible Equipping. Kristie is also a founding member of The Pelican Project, a women’s theology organization. Her work can be found at The Front Porch, Christianity Today, She Reads Truth, Risen Motherhood, The Gospel Coalition, and Revive Our Hearts. She is a pastor’s wife and has been married over 30 years. She and Thabiti have 3 children and live in Washington, DC.

Lina AbuJamra

Lina AbuJamra is a pediatric ER doctor, now practicing telemedicine, and founder of Living With Power Ministries. Her vision is to bring hope to the world by connecting biblical answers to everyday life. A popular Bible teacher, podcaster, and conference speaker, she is the author of several books including Thrive, Stripped, Resolved and her most recent book, Fractured Faith.Lina ministers to singles through her Moody Radio show, Today's Single Christian, and is engaged in providing medical care and humanitarian help to Syrian refugees and others in disaster areas in the Middle East. Her ministry also provides spiritual retreats for women at The Hope Ranch. Learn more about her at www.livingwithpower.org.

Marla Alupoaicei

Author and speakerMARLA ALUPOAICEI (Dallas Theological Seminary) serves as the Director for Leap of Faith Ministries, an intercultural marriage support ministry in Frisco, Texas. Marla has authored or co-authored over twenty books and Bible study guides, including Taking the Intercultural Leap, Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca, and In the Flow: Spiritual Insights for Living a More Creative Life, as well as numerous nonfiction articles and poems. Marla has fifteen-plus years of ministry, teaching, and speaking experience with a variety of organizations. Currently she works as a staff writer for East-West Ministries, a grace-based church planting organization in Addison, Texas. Marla and her husband, Catalin, whom she met while on a missions trip to Romania in 1998, have been married for 7 years and currently reside in Texas.

Matt Appling

MATT APPLING teaches Pre-Kindergarten through sixth grade art, as well as high school art history. He has taught and ministered in a variety of school and church settings. He has also been a popular blogger for four years, as the author of www.thechurchofnopeople.com, and as a featured contributor to many other online publications. Matt lives with his wife, Cheri in Kansas City, Missouri.

Matthew Lee Anderson

MATTHEW LEE ANDERSON is an Assistant Professor in Baylor University’s Honors College and the Associate Director of Baylor in Washington. He holds a DPhil in Christian Ethics from Oxford University and is a Perpetual Member of Biola University’s Torrey Honors Institute. He founded Mere Orthodoxy and co-hosts Mere Fidelity, a podcast on faith, theology, and ethics. He lives in Waco, Texas, where he enjoys piano and beating fourth graders at basketball in his spare time. Learn more at MatthewLeeAnderson.com.

Paul Angone

PAUL ANGONE is one of the leading voices in the nation to, and for, the Millennial generation. He is the best-selling author of two books, a sought after national speaker, and an organizational consultant who specializes in helping companies attract, retain, and develop Millennials. With over 10+ years writing, speaking, and engaging with Millennials, plus a master's degree in Organizational Leadership, Paul has created a cutting-edge process to help organizations called Millennial Mapping. Paul is also a media spokesperson on Millennials, executive coach alongside his father, Dr. Louis Angone, and the creator of www.AllGroanUp.com, which has been read by millions of Millennials in 190 countries. Read more of Paul Angone's work at www.AllGroanUp.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PaulAngone.

Quina Aragon

QUINA ARAGON is an author and spoken word poet residing in Tampa, Florida, with her husband, Jon, and their daughter. Her children's books Love Made and Love Gave, poetically retell the creation story and the good news of Jesus Christ respectively, both through a Trinitarian lens. Quina writes at her website QuinaAragon.com.

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.

Robert C. Anderson

ROBERT C. ANDERSON served for 15 years as professor of pastoral theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and as senior pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon. He also served as adjunct professor of pastoral theology at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary at the Pacific Northwest Campus. Robert is the author of Circles of Influence: Expanding Your Leadership Capabilities in the Church and The Practical Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry. Robert resides in Brush Prairie, Washington.

Robert L. Alden

ROBERT L. ALDEN (A.B., Barrington College; B.D., Westminister Theological Seminary; Ph.D., Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion) was professor of Old Testament at Denver Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary. He taught a wide range of courses related to Old Testament studies and traveled extensively in Israel.

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.

Tessa Afshar

TESSA AFSHAR’s books have been on Publishers Weekly, CBA, and ECPA bestseller lists and have been translated into many languages. Her Bible study, The Way Home: God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, won the ECPA Christian Book of the Year in the Bible Study category. Tessa’s novels have been the recipient of the ECPA’s Bronze Milestone, Christy, and INSPY Awards. She holds a master of divinity from Yale, where she was elected to serve as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship for one year. Tessa is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener, and an enthusiastic cook of biblical recipes. Learn more at TessaAfshar.com.

Thabiti Anyabwile

THABITI ANYABWILE is the full-time husband to a loving wife, Kristie, and father to three adorable children. He currently serves as a pastor of Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C. Previously he served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and as an assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Thabiti holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in psychology from North Carolina State University. A former high school basketball coach and bookstore owner, Thabiti loves reading, sports, and watching sci-fi films. He is the author of Reviving the Black Church, The Decline of African-American Theology, What Is a Healthy Church Member?, and The Faithful Preacher.

Thomas A'Kempis

THOMAS A’KEMPIS (1380-1471) was a Dutch priest, monk, and writer born in Kempen, Germany. He attended a school near Deventer in Holland. Thomas of Kempen, as he was known at school, was so impressed by his teachers that he decided to live his own life according to their ideals. When he was 19, he entered the monastery of Mount St. Agnes and spent the rest of his long life behind the walls of that monastery. Thomas wrote a number of sermons, letters, hymns, and lives of the saints. The most famous of his works, by far, is The Imitation of Christ, a charming instruction on how to love God. The Imitation of Christ has come to be, after the Bible, the most widely translated book in Christian literature.

Alice Brawand

ALICE BRAWAND (B.A., Mars Hill College; M.A., Azusa Pacific University) has served for thirty-one years with Wycliffe Bible Translators, eleven of them in counseling missionaries and pastors from Wycliffe's International Headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Alice contributed to the book Secrets of Your Family Tree: Healing for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families. Alice and her husband, John, have three children, all of whom were raised in Guatemala, where the Brawands served.