Habits for Spiritual Growth

10.26.2022

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.

Katherine Elizabeth Clark

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.

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.

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.

D.A. Horton

D.A. HORTON currently serves on staff at Summit Church in Durham, NC while he and his family are preparing to plant a church in Los Angeles. Prior to his current role he served as an urban church planter, pastor, and Lead Teaching Elder in Kansas City, MO for nearly six years; a National Coordinator of Urban Student Ministries and the Urban Initiatives Team at the North American Mission Board (NAMB); and the Executive Director at ReachLife Ministries, the non-profit arm of Reach Records. D.A. is currently working on his Ph.D. at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Applied Theology with a North American emphasis. With a heart to provide local churches with quality Bible-centered tools and resources for evangelism and discipleship, D.A. wrote two books: G.O.S.P.E.L. and DNA: Foundations of the Faith both published by Moody Publishers. His third book, Bound to Be Free: Escaping Performance to be Captured by Grace will be released through NavPress in spring 2016. He and his wife Elicia have two daughters, Izabelle and Lola and one son, D.A. Jr. (aka Duce).

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.

Jeff Haanen

JEFF HAANEN (B.A., Valparaiso University; M.Div., Denver Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Denver Institute for Faith & Work, an educational nonprofit that explores issues of faith, work, calling and culture. Jeff is a regular contributor to Christianity Today and has written numerous articles on finance, character, work, and calling. He is a nationally recognized voice on the intersection between faith and work.

Dustin Willis

DUSTIN WILLIS has served as a marketing consultant, organizational executive, and pastor over the last 17 years, working with small businesses, local churches and some of the largest faith-based nonprofits in North America. He is the author of Life in Community and the co-author of Life on Mission and The Simplest Way to Change the World. Dustin and his wife Renie have two children and are daily seeking to live on mission just outside of Atlanta, GA.

Cindy Easley

CINDY EASLEY was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Social Rehabilitation. Author of What's Submission Got to Do with It?, Cindy is a nationally known speaker with the Weekend to Remember Marriage Conference. Cindy and her husband, Michael, former President of Moody Bible Institute and Teaching Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Nashville, Tennessee, have three daughters and one son.

Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., MD

JOE S. MCILHANEY JR., M.D., is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist. In 2001, Dr. McIlhaney was appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. He also serves on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. McIlhaney has co-authored over six books including Hooked: The Brain Science on How Casual Sex Affects Human Development, and 1001 Health-Care Questions Women Ask. Dr. McIlhaney resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, Marion.

Larry Burkett

LARRY BURKETT (1939-2003) was a well-known authority on business and personal finance. He wrote more than seventy books, including non-fiction bestsellers like Family Financial Workbook, Debt-Free Living, and The World’s Easiest Guide to Finances. He also had a worldwide radio ministry. Larry founded Christian Financial Concepts and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Crown Financial Ministries®. He is survived by his wife, Judy, four grown children and nine grandchildren.

Earl Henslin

EARL R. HENSLIN (Psy.D., Biola University), is a licensed marriage and family therapist, former part-time faculty member at the Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology at Biola University, La Mirada, California, author of seven books, and co-author of three books and numerous professional articles. He is a member of several professional organizations and helped in the founding of Overcomers Outreach to aid churches in establishing support groups.For the past 14 years Dr. Henslin has been integrating brain imaging into the treatment of psychological, physical, and spiritual problems at his counseling practice, Henslin and Associates, a Christian counseling group in Brea, California. Dr. Henslin has four adult children and two lovely granddaughters.