CONTRIBUTORS
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ANDY STANLEY Andy leads one of the fastest growing churches in America today. He is a sought after speaker and leadership mentor with a special passion for raising up the next generation of leaders capable of leading from a core of integrity, faith and wisdom. A best selling author, Andy continues to challenge others through books such as: Choosing to Cheat, The Best Question Ever, The Next Generation Leader and Visioneering. |
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CHARLES COLSON Charles Colson was known as the White House “hatchet
man,” a man feared by even the most powerful politicos during
his four years of service to President Nixon. When news of Colson’s
conversion to Christianity leaked to the press in 1973, the Boston
Globe reported, “If Mr. Colson can repent of his sins, there
just has to be hope for everybody.” |
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JIM WALLIS Jim Wallis is a bestselling author, public theologian, preacher, speaker, activist, and international commentator on ethics and public life. His latest book, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, was on The New York Times bestseller list for four months. He is president and executive director of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, where he is editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine—whose print and electronic publication reaches more than 250,000 people—and also convenes a national network of churches, faith-based organizations, and individuals working to overcome poverty in America. Jim Wallis speaks at more than 200 events each year and his columns have appeared in major newspapers such The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe, among others Jim lives in inner-city Washington, D.C., with his wife, Joy Carroll, one of the first women ordained in the Church of England and author of Beneath the Cassock: The Real-life Vicar of Dibley, and their sons, Luke (8) and Jack (3). He is a Little League baseball coach. |
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JEFF JOHNSON Within the hip-hop community and abroad, Jeff Johnson is
a force and voice for a generation. An architect for social change,
Johnson’s role as a political activist has spanned from being
appointed Vice-President for the Hip-Hop Summit by Russell Simmons,
to serving as the National Youth Director for the NAACP. |
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LOUIE GIGLIO A passionate communicator and innovative thinker, Louie is the founder of Passion Conferences, a collegiate movement, calling people around the world to lives that make much of God. As a part of the Passion Network, Giglio heads sixstepsrecords, home to artist/worshippers David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Charlie Hall. A native of Atlanta, Giglio attended Georgia State University and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Louie and his wife, Shelley, who is also a partner in Passion Conferences and sixstepsrecords, live in Atlanta, Georgia. |
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SARAH CUNNINGHAM Sarah is a ministry visionary as the founder and executive director of Portal Ministries, a nonprofit ministry that serves as a doorway for churches who seek relationships with diverse people groups. Looking at the increasing absence of today’s generation from the church, Cunningham discusses how this generation can overcome disillusionment and actively change it for the better in her book, Dear Church. |
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ANDY CROUCH An award-winning journalist and essayist, Andy is editorial director for The Christian Vision Project at Christianity Today, a member of the editorial board of Books & Culture, and a senior fellow of the International Justice Mission’s IJM Institute. His book Culture Makers is forthcoming from InterVarsity Press. He is a son, brother, husband, and father of two children. He lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. |
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RICK WARREN Rick is passionate about attacking what he calls the five “Global Goliaths” – spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy/poor education. His goal is a second Reformation by restoring responsibility in people, credibility in churches, and civility in culture. He is a pastor, global strategist, theologian, and philanthropist. He’s been often named "America's most influential spiritual leader" and “America’s Pastor.” He founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., in 1980 with one family. He also leads the Purpose Driven Network of churches, a global coalition of congregations in 162 countries. His previous book, The Purpose Driven Church is listed in “100 Christian Books That Changed the 20th Century.” Forbes magazine called it, “The best book on entrepreneurship, management, and leadership in print.” TIME magazine named him one of “15 World Leaders Who Mattered Most in 2004” and in 2005 one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” Also, in 2005 U.S. News & World Report named him one of “America’s 25 Best Leaders”. |
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GARY HAUGEN Gary is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Haugen worked as a trial attorney with the Police Misconduct Task Force of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1994, Mr. Haugen was seconded to the United Nations to serve as the Officer In Charge of the UN's genocide investigation in Rwanda. Mr. Haugen previously worked for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and has published numerous popular and scholarly works on international law and human rights. |
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MARGARET FEINBERG Margaret invites people to discover the relevance of God and His Word in a modern world. Recently named by Charisma magazine one of the “30 Emerging Voices” who will help lead the church in the next decade, she has written more than a dozen books including the critically-acclaimed The Organic God (Zondervan). While Twentysomething and What the Heck Am I Going to Do With My Life? have established her as an expert on reaching the next generation, people of all ages connect with her relational teaching style. Margaret currently lives in Lakewood, Colorado, with her husband. |
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MARK BATTERSON Mark serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. Starting with a core group of 19 people, NCC has morphed into one church with two locations—the movie theaters @ Union Station in Washington, DC and Ballston Common Mall in Arlington, VA. Comprised largely of Capitol Hill staffers, NCC is 80% single and 80% twenty-something. Mark is also the author of ID: The True You; a weekly online evotional; and a daily blog. |
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JIM WHITE James Emery White is the former president and professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, with campuses in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, Boston, Charlotte and Jacksonville. Prior to becoming president at Gordon-Conwell, Dr. White was the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. He holds M.Div. And Ph.D. degrees in theology, history and biblical studies. Dr. White is the author of over a dozen books, including Embracing the Mysterious God, A Search for the Spiritual, Serious Times and The Prayer God Longs For. Dr. White and his wife, Susan, live in Charlotte with their four children, Rebecca, Rachel, Jonathan and Zachary. |
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BRIAN MCLAREN Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, pastor, and networker among innovative Christian leaders, thinkers, and activists. He has appeared on many broadcasts including Larry King live and nightline. His work has also been covered in Time (where he was listed as one of American’s 25 most influential evangelicals), Christianity Today, and the Washington Post. He is on the board of directors for emergent, a growing generative friendship among missional Christian leaders. he serves as a board chair for Sojourners (sojo.net), and is a founding member of red letter Christians, a group of communicators seeking to broaden and deepen the dialogue about faith and public life. In October, Brian will be releasing a new book entitled Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. Brian is married to Grace, and they have four young adult children. |
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ALFRED ELLIS Alfred Ellis is an ordained minister and founder-director of Leaders that Last Ministries™. He is a gifted counselor, coach and educator. Al is the author of several best-selling books and devotionals including One-Way Relationships; When you Love Them More Than They Love You. Al has founded or assisted in establishing numerous Christ-centered treatment programs for individuals, families, and youth including Samaritan Counseling Services, LifeGate Residential Treatment Center and Remuda Ranch Centers for Anorexia and Bulimia. Al resides in Mesa, AZ with his wife. He has four grown children. |
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CHRIS SEAY Chris Seay is a leader in the emerging church discussion, church planter, author, and third generation Baptist pastor. Currently, Chris is the president of Ecclesia Bible Society where he is orchestrating a scripture project that seeks to retell the biblical narrative with the literary beauty of great poetry and story as well as historical truth. As Pastor of Ecclesia Houston, Chris leads a unique congregation that is living out the gospel faithfully in an urban environment. He is also the author of seven books including The Gospel According to Tony Soprano, The Gospel Reloaded, and The Last Eyewitness. |
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DAVE GIBBONS Dave Gibbons has a passion for emerging, next-generation leadership development, community transformation and consulting business leaders and artists. Christianity Today recognized David as one of a new generation of leaders in America under forty. He has also been selected to participate in other innovative leadership development programs such as Max Depree's Roundtable and Leighton Ford's Arrow Leadership Program. David was one of the founders of the Catalyst Leadership Center and currently leads NewSong Church, one of the largest postmodern, multi-ethnic, third culture churches in America. Currently, Dave is on the board of World Vision US and serves as founder and chairman of Xealot, Inc, a global leadership development center focused on holistic transformation of communities among some of the most marginalized people in the world. |
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DAN KIMBALL Dan's role with Vintage Faith Church is currently the primary teaching pastor and overseeing the missional aspects of the church. Dan has been married to Becky since 1990 and have two daughters, Katie and Claire and one day hope to have a poodle. Dan is currently pursuing a doctorate degree (Doctor of Ministry) from George Fox Evangelical Seminary where he also serves as adjunct faculty mentor. Dan is the author of the books: The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations, Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations, They Like Jesus but not the Church, Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches and I Like Jesus but not the Church: Following Jesus without following Organized Religion. |
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JOHN STOTT John Stott has served London's famous All Souls Church, Langham Place, for 60 years. In addition to serving as the principle framer of the Lausanne Covenant, he has written over 40 books (including Basic Christianity, the Cross of Christ, and the soon to be published Through the Bible, Through the Year). This month, he received a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) designation from Queen Elizabeth and was recently named as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is now President of the Langham Partnership International (John Stott Ministries in the USA), helping Majority World pastors to preach and teach effectively; see www.johnstott.org for details. His favorite hobby is bird watching. |
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JONALYN FINCHER Jonalyn offers a distinctive voice as a female apologist. Holding a master's degree in philosophy of religion and ethics from Talbot School of Theology, as well as double bachelor's degrees in English and history from the University of Virginia, she is one half of Soulation (www.soulation.org), a husband/wife apologetics team. She and her husband, Dale, travel nationally, speaking to schools, churches, and conferences. They make their home and garden in Southern California with their Welsh Corgis - Lady Lucia, Lady Victoria, and Lady Jane. |
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JUD WILHITE Jud Wilhite serves as Senior Pastor of Central Christian Church. After becoming a Christian, Jud went on to graduate from Dallas Christian College and Lincoln Christian Seminary. He is a frequent conference speaker and the author of several books including Stripped: Uncensored Grace on the Streets of Vegas and That Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Jud’s role as Senior Pastor is to be the spiritual leader of the Central family, the primary Bible teacher, and the communicator of Central’s mission, vision, and values. |
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JANNAH SCOTT Jannah Scott understands what it’s like to
be on the outside of Christianity |
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KEVIN KELLY Kevin is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He helped launch Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor until January 1999. He is currently editor and publisher of the Cool Tools website, which gets 1 million visitors per month. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers' Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. He authored the best-selling New Rules for the New Economy, and the classic book on decentralized emergent systems, Out of Control. |
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LEROY BARBER Leroy was called to serve as a faith missionary with the Atlanta Youth Project, a partner of FCS Urban Ministries. He relocated with his family to the East Lake Community in 1997 and served as the founding Director of Atlanta Youth Academies, a private elementary school, to provide quality Christian education for low-income families in the inner city. Barber attended Temple University and the Center for Urban Theological Studies in Philadelphia and received his Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from Immanuel Bible College and his M. Div. at Immanuel Seminary in Atlanta. Currently, Leroy Barber serves as President for Mission Year, a national urban missions organization; Pastor of Community Fellowships church; and as a director on the boards of Atlanta Youth Academy and DOOR. |
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MARK RODGERS Mark is currently the Staff Director of the Senate Republican Conference, which is the third-ranking Republican leadership office in the U.S. Senate. Prior to serving in his current capacity, he was Chief of Staff for 10 years to Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), four of which when the Senator was a House member. He is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Petroleum Engineering, and attended Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. Mark is married and the father of four children. |
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MICHAEL LINDSAY Michael is recognized as an expert on the relationship between faith and culture. Recently, Dr. Lindsay completed the largest and most comprehensive study on religious identity among the country's most recognized, public leaders. This research has already received international acclaim, garnering awards from the International Leadership Association as well as several scholarly bodies. With degrees from Baylor, Oxford, and Princeton, Lindsay is now a faculty member at Rice University in the department of sociology. He is married with one daughter, and he and his family live in Houston, Texas. |
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MIKE FOSTER Mike is the President of Ethur, a non-profit organization developing fast, inspired initiatives that promote spiritual and social change. This innovative company utilizes creative professionals to jumpstart kingdom related projects. In 2002, Mike founded XXXchurch.com and led the creative vision for the ministry. His work has appeared on CNN, FOXNEWS, The Daily Show, and in The New York Times. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife Jennifer and his two children Jackson and Taylor. |
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REGGIE JOINER Reggie is the founder and Chief Creative Officer of The reThink Group (formerly known as FamilyWise), a non-profit organization providing resources to help parents and children rediscover family time. The reThink Group provides curriculum for preschool, children, families, and students over the internet to churches throughout the US and 8 other countries. Reggie is also one of the founders of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. In his role as Executive Director of Family Ministry, Reggie developed a new concept of relevant ministry for preschool, children, students and married adults over the course of his ten years with the church. Reggie is the coauthor of “The 7 Practices of Effective Ministries” along with Lane Jones and Andy Stanley. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Cumming, Georgia, and have four grown children: Reggie Paul, Hannah, Sarah, and Rebekah. |
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RICK MCKINLEY Rick is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon, which he and his wife, Jeanne, planted in October of 2000. Imago Dei has grown rapidly in Portland, loving and blessing the city through the arts, justice and community while embodying the life of Jesus to the culture. He coaches church planters and serves as a consultant to a denominational organization in the areas of church planting and the emerging church. He is finishing his Doctorate from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. He and his incredible wife Jeanne have four children: Josh, Kaylee, Zach, and Bryce. Rick recently released his first book, Jesus in the Margins and his second book, This Beautiful Mess: Conversations on the Kingdom. |
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SHAYNE WHEELER Shayne is the founding Pastor/Planter of All Souls Fellowship in Decatur, GA, an urban neighborhood of Atlanta with one of the highest homosexual population densities in America. Shayne and his wife Carrie, along with their three children, moved to Decatur in 2001 not knowing anyone. In 2003, they began public worship with a vision of extending the grace of the Gospel into that wonderfully eclectic and liberal culture. All Souls has also assisted in starting three additional churches and recently hired their first full-time Church Planting Apprentice. |
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TRI ROBINSON Tri is Senior Pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Boise, a growing fellowship of more than 3,000 members. He is also the founder of “Let’s Tend the Garden,” an environmental stewardship ministry that currently serves as a model for churches across the country. He is the author of two books, Saving God’s Green Earth and Revolutionary Leadership. Tri served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Vineyard Churches for 10 years until 2004. With a degree in education and biology, he was a secondary science teacher for 10 years. Along with his responsibilities at Vineyard Boise, Tri is in demand as a speaker where he transfers his working insights and experience to a wide spectrum of church leaders. A true leader of leaders, Tri is a great communicator and practical encourager. |
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