Hannah Anderson

HANNAH R. ANDERSON lives in the haunting Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She spends her days working beside her husband in rural ministry, caring for their three children, and scratching out odd moments to write. In those in-between moments, she contributes to a variety of Christian publications and is the author of Made for More (Moody, 2014), Humble Roots (Moody, 2016), and All That's Good (Moody, 2018). You can connect with her at her blog www.sometimesalight.com and on Twitter @sometimesalight.

DM Freed

DM FREED, M.Ed. is a former elementary teacher and has been employed for the last 18 years as a school counselor with Central Valley School District. He holds an Elementary Education Degree from Boise State University and two Masters Degrees in education from Whitworth University. His school and district have been recognized with numerous awards by Washington State for “Outstanding Educational Excellence”. D.M. believes that a student’s academic success hinges on the positive relationships they build with other students, their family and school faculty. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his family at the lake and playing golf.

Steve Corbett

STEVE CORBETT is the Community Development Specialist for the Chalmers Center at Covenant College and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Community Development at Covenant College.

Crystal Renaud

CRYSTAL RENAUD DAY is a pastoral counselor, certified coach, author, and speaker with over a decade of experience working with women, couples, and teen girls. She holds a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling: Life Coaching from Liberty University and eight certifications in counseling and coaching specialties from the American Association of Christian Counselors. Crystal owns and operates Living on Purpose Coaching & Pastoral Counseling and is the founding director of Dirty Girls Ministries, a non-profit organization helping women overcome porn and sexual addiction. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, ABC News, CNN, Christianity Today, The 700 Club, Outreach Magazine, and more. Her books include Dirty Girls Come Clean, 90 Days to Wholeness, and Dating Done Right (releasing December 2019). Crystal resides in the Kansas City area with her husband Tim.

Noel Castellanos

NOEL CASTELLANOS has worked in full-time ministry in urban communities since 1982. He has served in youth ministry, church planting, and community development in San Francisco, San Jose, and Chicago. Noel is a highly sought after speaker, motivator, and mentor to young leaders throughout the USA, and has a deep passion to serve and invest in the lives of emerging leaders. After serving on the Board of the Christian Community Development Association for many years, he has established the new CCDA Institute, which is working to equip emerging church leaders in the philosophy of Christian Community Development, and currently serves as the CEO of CCDA. He and his wife, Marianne, have three children, and make their home in the barrio of La Villita in Chicago.

Virginia Jacober

SARAH "VIRGINIA" JACOBER was born in Dayton, Ohio and accepted Jesus as her Savior at age eleven. The first time she heard a missionary speak, she knew this was what God wanted her do. After graduating from Nyack College, she married Edward G Jacober. They pastored a church while he attended Dallas Theological Seminary, and then were appointed by The Christian and Missionary Alliance to do evangelistic work in India. Their four children attended school in the Himalaya Mountains. Transferred to Bethlehem, Israel, they taught the Bible and visited Bedouin tents for fifteen years. Sarah’s husband died, but she continued working and speaking in churches. After retiring, she made fifteen short term mission trips to various countries around the world.More than forty of Sarah’s articles and poems, plus six books have been published. Sarah lives near family in North Carolina, has seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and continues to write for God’s glory.

Jim Wilder

JIM WILDER (PhD, Clinical Psychology, and M.A. Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary) has been training leaders and counselors for over 27 years on five continents. He is the author of nine books with a strong focus on maturing and relationship skills for leaders. His coauthored book Living From the Heart Jesus Gave You has sold over 100,000 copies in eleven languages. Wilder has published numerous articles and developed four sets of video and relational leadership training called THRIVE. He is currently executive director of Shepherd's House Inc., a nonprofit working at the intersection of brain science and theology, and founder of Life Model Works that is building contagiously healthy Christian communities through equipping existing networks with the skills to thrive. Dr. Wilder has extensive clinical counseling experience and has served as a guest lecturer at Fuller Seminary, Biola, Talbot Seminary, Point Loma University, Montreat College, Tyndale Seminary and elsewhere.

Habits for Spiritual Growth

10.26.2022

Katherine Elizabeth Clark

Clarence Shuler

CLARENCE SHULER is the President/CEO of BLR: Building Lasting Relationships. Clarence is a counselor, diversity consultant, speaker, and author of ten books. He and his wife, Brenda, reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and have three adult daughters. For more information, visit www.clarenceshuler.com.

Michael Hare

DR. S. MICHAEL HARE never imagined a life looking for conflicts to resolve. Becoming a Christian at 19, he went to Bible college simply desiring to find out how to better serve God. However, following that path has led to over two decades of serving in the role of senior pastor in church turnaround ministries, 15 years of working as a church conflict consultant, and recently completing a PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Dr. Hare also serves as a senior staff chaplain and ombudsman for Compassion with its nearly 4,000 employees ministering in 26 third world countries. He has served as an adjunct instructor in several universities and is currently teaching mediation courses in a doctoral program in Denver. Michael and his wife Colleen live in Colorado Springs, CO and have four children and six grandchildren who live in Africa, Germany, and the US.

Eric Demeter

ERIC DEMETER (B.S., Purdue University; M.A., Bethel University) is a relationship and conflict resolution specialist with advanced studies in mediation, peacemaking and negotiation from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and Peacemaker Ministries. He is currently a missionary with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) based in Athens, Greece where he disciples young people from the Middle East, and teaches conflict resolution and healthy relationships to YWAM staff and missionary students. His experiences growing up listening to heavy metal, working alongside ex-convicts, and being raised in the Roman Catholic tradition give him the ability to connect well with people of diverse belief systems. He considers every reader a friend and challenges everyone to become more like Christ in everything they do.

Hans Finzel

HANS FINZEL (D.Miss., Fuller School of World Missions; Th. M., Dallas Theological Seminary) is the president of HDLeaders. He served for 20 years as president of WorldVenture (formerly CBInternational). He and his wife, Donna, spent ten years as missionaries in Eastern Europe, working with WorldVenture to train pastors behind the Iron Curtain. Hans is the author of ten books, including Change is Like a Slinky, Launch Your Encore, The Power of Passion in Leadership, Unlocking the Scriptures, and his bestseller The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make. He co-authored The Top Ten Ways to Love Your Wife with his wife. He is the host of the Leadership Podcast, The Leadership Answer Man and is a widely sought-after speaker as an expert in leadership development, change management and international studies. The Finzels make their home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and have four children.

Curt Hamner

CURT HAMNER is a pastor and cofounder along with his wife, Rhonda of Between Two Trees (betweentwotrees.org), a marriage ministry designed to resource couples and communities with tools to pursue God's design for marriage. Curt is also the founder of Bed and Breakfast with Purpose Retreats, and is a mentor with The Master's Program (a three-year marketplace leadership coaching ministry). Together Curt and Rhonda speak throughout the US and around the world helping couples enrich their marriages. They host DreamMaster Retreats for second half couples working together on vision and strategic plans for the years after career and family. Curt is a graduate of Dallas Seminary and served with Chuck Swindoll at the church they pastored in Fullerton, CA. The Hamners have three adult children and five grandchildren. They live in the mountains of southern California.

David C. Thompson M.D.

DAVID THOMPSON was born in the U.S. but grew up in Cambodia where his parents worked for 16 years. When he was 14 he and his father tried unsuccessfully to save a Cambodian man who was seriously injured when a truck and a bus collided. God used the incident to plant in David's young heart a desire to become a doctor and help people who had limited access to healthcare. David graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1973 with a M.D. degree and eventually completed five years of residency in general surgery in southern California. In 1977 he and his wife Rebecca moved to Gabon, Africa and for the next 34 years built a 150-bed full-service hospital to provide medical services to Gabon's least served provinces. In 1966, Dr. Thompson helped establish the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS), an organization that trains African surgeons at Christian hospitals throughout the continent. Since 2014, Dr. Thompson has been working as a volunteer to train Egyptian surgeons at Harpur Memorial Hospital.

Winfred Neely

WINFRED NEELY (B.A., D.Min. Trinity International University; M.A. Wheaton) is currently working towards an advanced research degree in Old Testament at the University of Bristol, England. He is an ordained minister of the Gospel and a full time professor of hermeneutics, homiletics, and pastoral studies at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Prior to joining the faculty at Moody, Winfred served churches in the City of Chicago and is currently interim pastor of the Judson Baptist Church in Oak Park, IL. He brings to his ministry a global perspective, having served as a missionary/pastor in Senegal, West Africa for nine years. He is also involved in a global equipping ministry, speaking and conducting workshops and training events at churches and conferences in the US and abroad. He and his wife Stephne have been married for forty years and have four adult children and nine grandchildren. He takes acting classes from time to time and is an ardent fan of science fiction films such as Star Wars and Star Trek.