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Benjamin serves as Associate Dean for Institutional Effectiveness and Assistant Professor of Theology and History of Ideas at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the College at Southeastern. He also serves as pastor of Holly Grove Baptist Church in Spring Hope, NC. Benjamin earned his doctorate of philosophy in theology from the University of Bristol, U.K., and lives with his wife and four children in Youngsville, NC.
Murray Rae is Professor of Theology at the University of Otago in New Zealand. After completing a Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Auckland, he began his working career as an architect in private practice before studying theology and philosophy in New Zealand, Germany, and the UK. His research interests include general areas of Christian doctrine, theological interpretation of Scripture, theology and the arts, Māori engagements with Christianity, Christian ethics, and the work of Søren Kierkegaard. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Dr Ian Randall comes originally from the north of Scotland. His Christian experience developed while at university in Aberdeen, where he and his wife, Janice, met. Following some years working in human resources, Ian trained in Oxford for Baptist ministry and had local church pastorates. He then joined Spurgeon’s College, London, teaching church history and spirituality there, and in Prague, and supervising PhD students. He has published extensively. In Cambridge, Ian has been a minister at Cambourne ecumenical church and a part-time chaplain at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He is involved in the Cambridge Theological Federation, in writing, and in spiritual direction.
After twenty five years as a college professor and university chaplain and almost forty years in ministry, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Rankin has founded Spiritual Maturity Project, a teaching ministry that links people hungry for good resources with scholarship deeply rooted in historic orthodox Christianity. A graduate of Northwestern University, Saint Paul School of Theology and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Steve’s research and advocacy efforts focus on the integration of pedagogy and discipleship in church and academy. He is author of Aiming at Maturity: The Goal of the Christian Life and a number of similarly themed book chapters and articles and is currently working on a project that advances a theological vision for higher education in the Wesleyan tradition. Steve is married to Joni Leeper and they have four grown children and seven grandchildren. Working in the garden is a new hobby and a spiritual discipline.
Dan grew up in Japan, where his parents were missionaries. After receiving his Ph.D in Biblical Studies, he returned to Asia where he taught at Asian Theological Seminary in the Philippines. In 1986 he joined InterVarsity Press USA as Reference & Academic Editor, and retired in 2017 as Senior Academic Editor and Director of IVP Academic. During his more than 30 years with IVP, Dan acquired and edited well over 200 academic and general-reader books, and was involved in the initiation, conceptualisation, and editing of more than a dozen reference works including, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, and many others. He is currently researching and writing about the history and context of his family’s missionary history in China and Taiwan, focusing on the U.S. Protestant experience there from 1889 to 1982. He and his wife live in Port Townsend, Washington State, have two adult children, and three delightful grandchildren. A lover of the outdoors, Dan is passionate about mountain climbing, hiking, backpacking, skiing, cycling, sailing, and trail running.
Michael J. Rhodes is the co-author of Practicing the King’s Economy: Honoring Jesus in How We Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give, and a lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College. Michael’s passion is to help the church hear and respond to Scripture’s call to embody God’s justice and mercy on behalf of the marginalized. This passion inspired Michael and his wife Rebecca’s decision to live, work, and worship in an economically impoverished community in his hometown of Memphis for the ten years prior to his coming to Carey, as well as Michael’s academic research on moral formation and economic justice in Scripture. Michael is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Megan C. Roberts holds a PhD in Christian Theology (HB/OT) from McMaster Divinity College (2020). Her doctoral research explored the connection between collective memory formation and the promises of comfort in Isaiah 40–55, and she is currently exploring how this research informs her Anglican sacramental and liturgical theology and practice. A native of Colorado, she enjoys climbing 14ers (mountain peaks over 14,000 feet in elevation) and gardening/landscaping. She discovered her gift and love for teaching during her fives years at Logos International School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2007–2012), and hopes to make teaching her long-term vocation. When she’s not teaching or researching, she enjoys singing, making music with others, finding good food from all over the world, and spending time with her very large family of siblings, nieces, and nephews.
Dr. Bob Roberts, Jr. is the founder of GlocalNet, a church planting family of churches and co-founder of Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, an organization committed to creating international religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships.
Known for his energetic rhythms, rich harmonic language, and striking colors, award-winning composer Josh Rodriguez (b. 1982) continues to gain recognition as an emerging composer and collaborator on a national and international scale. Born in Argentina and raised in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, Rodriguez’s musical imagination has been formed by this bilingual, multi-cultural heritage. He collaborates regularly with theatre and film directors and has received several notable concert commissions in a wide range of musical genres. He received his PhD from the University of California Los Angeles where his research culminated in a dissertation about Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. Rodriguez’ music is published by Walton Music (GIA), Murphy Music Press, and J.W. Pepper. co-founder of Deus Ex Musica, an organization that facilitates ecumenical and interfaith conversations with clergy, musicians, and non-musicians. Rodriguez serves as Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Elmhurst University.
To hear Rodriguez’ music, visit YouTube, BandCamp, and joshrodriguezmusic.com.
Mark Roques taught Philosophy and Religious Education at Prior Park College, Bath, for many years. As Director of RealityBites (Thinking Faith Network) he has developed a rich range of resources for youth workers and teachers. He has spoken at conferences in the UK, Holland, South Korea, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Mark is a lively and engaging storyteller and the author of four books, including The Spy, the Rat and the Bed of Nails: Creative Ways of Talking about Christian Faith. His work is focused on imaginative storytelling and how this can help us to communicate the Christian faith. He has written many articles for the Baptist Times, RE Today, Youthscape, Direction magazine and the Christian Teachers Journal. He is married to Anne and has a daughter, Hannah and a son, Emile.
Revd. Richard Russell spent his childhood in rural Somerset. He studied philosophy at Aberystwyth University (Wales) and McMaster University (Canada), and apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia). Then he taught philosophy at Manchester College (Oxford) and then, after marrying Janice in 1969 , atTrinity Christian College(Chicago).Then followed an MA in sociology of religion, a PGCE and and M.Ed. at Bristol University. After came teaching sociology at Derby Technical College and a Ph.D. in philosophy of education at Nottingham University. This was not completed due to moving to Trinity College (Bristol) for ordination training. Then after a curacy in Hartlepool(Durham Diocese) he became vicar of Widcombe in Bath, while also doing some part time teaching for Trinity College(Bristol) and Bristol University. Also with Janice he directed the Christian Studies Unit which involved much mentoring, networking, conferences and distributing Christian academic books in all disciplines within the Kuyperian tradition. This has continued in retirement at Radstock.
James Rusthoven is a retired practicing medical oncologist. He received broad undergraduate instruction in Reformational thinking at Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, Illinois. After graduation from medical school in Chicago, he and his wife Thea moved to Canada where he completed his general and oncology medical training in Toronto. He subsequently gained extensive experience in cancer patient care, teaching, and clinical research in academic positions at the University of Toronto and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. After 16 years, Dr Rusthoven obtained an MHSc degree in bioethics from the University of Toronto, then a PhD in theology from Trinity College, University of Bristol. His PhD research explored a covenantal ethical framework from a Reformational perspective. This work was published as Covenantal Biomedical Ethics for Contemporary Medicine (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2014). In his final four years before retirement, he was a medical officer and evaluator of new cancer biologics at Health Canada. He enjoyed exploring how a Reformational worldview could provide guidance for himself and for colleagues in identifying and responding to ethical issues arising during the evaluation of new cancer drugs. Dr Rusthoven continues to speak about bioethics from a Reformational perspective to university students, church goers, and to whoever else is interested.
Derek Schuurman worked as an electrical engineer for several years and later completed a Ph.D. at McMaster University in the area of robotics and computer vision. He has taught computer science at both Dordt College and Redeemer University and is currently professor of computer science at Calvin University. He is a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation and has written about faith and technology issues in a variety of publications. He is the author of the book Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology published by InterVarsity Press.
Nigel spent the greater part of his life lecturing in church history at what became the University of Gloucestershire. He studied at McGill and Bristol Universities, earned a PhD in church history at the University of Aberdeen, and has been involved in church planting and led a C of E Fresh Expressions Church for thirteen years while lecturing full-time. From 2006-2017 he taught theology students at Bristol Baptist College and Trinity College Bristol. Nigel has authored more than twenty books, the most controversial being The New Passover Rethinking the Lord’s Supper for Today (Wipf and Stock) in which he argued that the Eucharist/New Passover was intended to be a domestic sacramental meal based in homes and small groups in the same way that the Jewish Passover was, and still is, kept to this day. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Gloucestershire and still does some lecturing at the Gloucester hub of Ripon College, Cuddesdon. He and his wife live in Woodmancote on the outskirts of Cheltenham in the UK and worship locally.
Esgrid was a Mathematics Lecturer in Guatemala, where he’s from, before moving to the UK to study Philosophy and Theology at the University of Edinburgh. His research concentrates on Philosophical Hermeneutics and the possibilities it opens for the multilayered nature of the various science and religion discourses, mostly in western contexts and of western provenance, with the view of contextualising whatever insights such discourses may have to non-western contexts and simultaneously feeding back to western discourses from these proceses of contextualisation. Also, as an engineer and an educator, he’s interested in showing as artificial the divisions between the humanities, the arts, and the sciences by way of attending to the spiritual nature of knowing and learning. Esgrid currently works in the UK as a Professional Development Expert, supporting apprentices in their Data Analysis apprenticeships.
J. Aaron Simmons is professor of philosophy at Furman University and holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. In addition to publishing more than 100 articles, essays, and reviews, he is author or editor of numerous books including: God and the Other; The New Phenomenology; Kierkegaard’s God and the Good Life; Christian Philosophy; and Kierkegaard and Levinas. He is the former president of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA) and the South Carolina Society of Philosophy, and he has held official positions with the Society of Christian Philosophy, and the American Academy of Religion. A professional drummer and avid trout fisherman, Simmons loves hiking and spending time in the mountains with his wife, Vanessa, and son, Atticus.
Vuyani Sindo is a Head of Biblical Studies and a Senior Lecturer at George Whitefield College (GWC) in Cape Town, South Africa. He joined the Faculty of GWC as a junior lecturer in 2014. Having completed his undergraduate degree at the college in 2008, Vuyani went on to work as a curate at Holy Trinity Church in Gardens, Cape Town, later serving as Assistant Minister there. During his term at the church, Vuyani also worked at the Student YMCA on the CPUT campus and still nurtures his interest in student ministry. Vuyani Sindo completed his PhD studies at Stellenbosch University in 2018. His thesis is entitled: “The interrelationship between leadership and identity formation in the Corinthian correspondence: A study of 1 Corinthians 1-4”. His main area of interest is the exploration of the relevance of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians for the South African context, with a particular focus on the subjects of Paul and slavery, and Paul’s theology of reconciliation, identity and leadership. Vuyani is married to Ronel and they have two daughters.
Joshua is a theologian researching the ethics of AI and robots. His work on the ethics of technology seeks to build an interdisciplinary community that will work towards the regulation of technology that leads to human and ecological flourishing. He hosts a podcast (The Dolores Project) that dialogues with international scholars about the possibilities and pitfalls of robot regulation. He serves as a senior pastor in Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and three children. He has two works forthcoming, Robot Theology with Wipf & Stock and On Violent Technologies with Trivent Transhumanism.
Dr. Gregory Soderberg teaches and mentors students of all ages at the BibleMesh Institute, Redemption Seminary, and Kepler Education. He has published articles in Common Good, Touchstone, SALVO, Intellectual Takeout, as well as numerous book reviews. As a historical theologian, his research focuses on learning from the past to help Christians live wisely in the present. His current research interests include worship, liturgy, and the connections between the Eucharist, economics, and theologies of justice. He writes at: gregorysoderberg.substack.com.
Dr. R. Lucas Stamps serves as Associate Professor of Christian theology at Anderson University and the Clamp Divinity School in Anderson, South Carolina. He is the co-editor of Baptists and the Christian Tradition: Towards an Evangelical Baptist Catholicity and the author of the forthcoming Thy Will Be Done: A Contemporary Defense of Dyothelite Christology. He has published numerous articles and essays in the area of systematic theology, focusing especially on the Trinity and the Incarnation. Dr. Stamps currently serves as the chair of the KLC Scripture and Doctrine Seminar.
J. David Stark is the Winnie and Cecil May Jr. Biblical Research Fellow at Faulkner University’s Kearley Graduate School of Theology, where he teaches for the institution’s fully online, face-to-face, and ATS-accredited MA, ThM, and PhD in Biblical Studies. David specializes in Pauline studies and biblical theology. David also runs an educational website (jdavidstark.com) where he helps emerging biblical scholars hone their craft so that they can invest in work and relationships that really matter.
Rev. Dr. Todd Statham is the Christian Reformed Chaplain at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus (Kelowna, Canada). After completing a PhD in theology (McGill University), Todd served as a lecturer at Zomba Theological College in Malawi and pastor in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, and then as a sessional lecturer at the Universität Lüneburg (Germany). His teaching and research ranges from missiology and global Christianity to modern Protestant theology and history, especially in the Reformed and Lutheran traditions. As a university chaplain he seeks to be catalyst for students and professors to faithfully engage culture and ideas under the lordship of Christ.
Brendan Steven has spent nearly a decade as a professional writer, a career which includes founding a student newspaper at his alma mater, Canada’s McGill University; serving as speechwriter for a former Canadian Finance Minister; and working as a senior creative copywriter within one of Canada’s leading communications agency families. Today Brendan is chief writer at a leading Canadian charity, ranked by Maclean’s and MoneySense magazines as one of Canada’s best charities in 2020. Brendan is passionate about Christian community-building and is an active leader within several Catholic organizations based in Toronto, including as executive director of Catholic Conscience—a non-partisan Catholic civic and political leadership lay apostolate, with the mission of forming faithful citizens through Catholic social teaching, and in turn, forming the Catholic community into a more impactful force for political love within civil society.
Michelle A. Stinson is a broadly-trained biblical scholar whose research interests span the fields of biblical studies, agrarian studies, and rhetorical studies. She served as an Associate Professor of Old Testament (Simpson University) until 2020 and presently is a “Visiting Scholar in Old Testament” at Denver Seminary. Her current research considers topics related to food, land care, and the Psalms and her work has appeared in a variety of edited collections and academic journals (CBQ, Word&World, BN). Michelle serves as co-chair of the SBL “Meals in the HB/OT and Its World” programme unit and is a board member of the “Religion and Bible Society of the Rocky Mountains Great Plains.” In addition to scholarly pursuits, Michelle has enjoyed gaining practical training in all things “farm to table,” including experiences as an amateur vintner, agricultural field worker, and formal training as a chef.
Mitch Stokes is a Senior Fellow of Philosophy at New St. Andrews College. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Notre Dame and an M.A. in religion from Yale. He also holds an M.S. in mechanical engineering and, prior to his academic career, worked for an international engineering firm where he earned five patents in aeroderivative gas turbine technology. In addition to biographies of Newton and Galileo, his books include A Shot of Faith (to the Head), How to Be an Atheist: Why Many Skeptics Aren’t Skeptical Enough, and Calculus for Everyone. He is currently working on a project funded by the Temple Religion Trust investigating the use of beauty as a guide to truth in contemporary physics.
Rev. Dr. Walter R. Strickland II is the Founder and President of The Strickland Institute LLC, and also serves as Assistant Professor of Systematic and Contextual Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC (USA). Born in Chicago and raised in Southern California, Walter’s passion is to equip people to flourish in their context from a deep commitment to God’s design. He has written and contributed to over 10 books and holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland).
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