College Union

Keynote Speakers:

Lauren Winner

She is the former book editor for Beliefnet, is the author of three books:

• Girl Meets God,
• Mudhouse Sabbath,
• and, most recently, Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity.

She has appeared on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, and Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in The Best Christian Writing 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Winner has degrees from Columbia and Cambridge universities and is currently at work on her doctorate in the history of American religion. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, Griff Gatewood.

Matt Russell

He is Pastor and founder of Mercy Street, a church for people that hate church and people in recovery. Matt received his M. Div., with a concentration in Systematic Theology from Fuller Seminary in 1998. He received his undergraduate from Texas Tech University in 1991 with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a minor from the Center for the Study of Addiction. In 1999 he planted Mercy Street with 25 people, since then Mercy Street has grown to a community of over 800 with a staff of 10. The community has over 30 ministry teams, and draws from over 110 zip codes in the Houston area. He is currently working on his PhD at Texas Tech in the area of Adult Identity Development. He has been married to his wife Michele for 11 years, and is a father of two boys, Miguel 4 and Lucas 3.

Sandra L. Richter, Ph.D.

She is an Associate Professor of Old Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Harvard University, her areas of expertise include pre-exilic Israelite history, biblical archaeology, and Hebrew grammar. At Asbury one of her particular contributions has been the creation of a summer archaeology program. Before coming to Asbury, Sandy taught as an adjunct professor at Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as an instructor at Harvard Divinity School, and as a teaching fellow at Harvard University. Her academic accomplishments include a number of teaching awards and scholarships, academic papers and articles, as well as the book: The Deuteronomistic History and the Name Theology: lesakken semô sam in the Bible and the Ancient Near East (BZAW 318). This year she will be publishing an important article addressing “The Place of the Name in Deuteronomy” in Vetus Testamentum. Prior to her service as an academic, Sandy spent ten years in pastoral ministry. Because of her passion for the Church, she continues to serve as a lecturer in numerous church and para-church settings including Redwoods Christian Park, Inter-Varsity Fellowship, and L’Abri Fellowship. She is married to Steven Tsoukalas, who is also an academic specializing in world religions and new religious movements. They have two (perfect) daughters, Noël Christianna and Elise Anastasis.

Dr. Craig Hill

Craig C. Hill is Professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. and the Director of Wesley Ministry Network, a new experiment in theological education which seeks to strengthen the ministries of the local church and to enable Wesley Theological Seminary to become a church-centered seminary.

He holds a doctorate in New Testament history from Oxford University and has served as a Henry R. Luce Fellow at Yale University Divinity School and as a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University. He also attended Illinois Wesleyan University (B.A.) and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (M.Div.). Hill worked as a visiting professor at Indiana University, an assistant professor at Presbyterian College, and a lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution. He is ordained in the United Methodist Church and served as a pastor (Illinois & Connecticut) and as a college chaplain (Christ Church, Oxford) prior to his career as a biblical studies professor. He is the author of Hellenists and Hebrews: Reappraising Division within the Earliest Church, In God’s Time: The Bible and the Future, the Romans portion of the Oxford Bible Commentary, and numerous articles. He is married and has two children.

General Theme Seminar Presenters:

Lauren F. Winner

Lauren F. Winner, the former book editor for Beliefnet, is the author of three books, Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and, most recently, Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. She has appeared on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, and Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in The Best Christian Writing 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. Winner has degrees from Columbia and Cambridge universities and is currently at work on her doctorate in the history of American religion. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, Griff Gatewood.

Dr. Steven Tsoukalas

Dr. Steven Tsoukalas, Ph.D. in Theology from The University of Birmingham [England]; Master of Divinity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Master of Theology in Religions of the World, Harvard University, the Divinity School) is the Executive Director and Senior Research Consultant for Sound Doctrine Ministries. Steven is also a missionary to cultists and is member of the adjunct faculty at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of Masonic Rites and Wrongs (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1995), Knowing Christ in the Challenge of Heresy (University Press of America, 1999), Christian Faith 101: The Basics and Beyond (Judson Press, 2000) and The Nation of Islam: Understanding the “Black Muslims” (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 2001),

Dr. Darrell Whiteman

Dr. Darrell Whiteman is Vice President and Resident Missiologist with the Mission Society for United Methodists. Dr. Whiteman served as a missionary for nine years and a professor for twenty-one years before joining the Mission Society staff. He combines his experience in the field and the classroom to develop curriculum of theological and missiological training for national church leaders that does not rely on formal seminary training. In addition, he provides advanced seminars and training sessions for Mission Society missionaries, and continues lecturing internationally.

Dan Lewis

Dan Lewis is the Father of two Bonnie (14) and James (11), and the husband of one wife: Mary, originally from NJ ? exit 4. He has been on staff with YoungLife since 1986, serving in New Jersey, Florida, and Kentucky. Currently, Dan is the Trainer for YoungLife in Kentucky and Indiana. He hold his M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and is completing his Doctorate of Missiology from Asbury Theological Seminary on Emerging Missional Leadership Training. With 2 Timothy 2:2 guiding him, Dan is passionate about equipping the next generation of college students to reach lost teenagers through relationships. He loves popsicles and long walks on the beach.

J.D. Walt

J.D. Walt, Vice President for Community Life and Dean of the Chapel at Asbury Theological Seminary, joined the Asbury Seminary administration in the fall of 2000. Prior to this, he was a Teaching and Preaching Pastor at The Woodlands United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. J.D. gives broad leadership to the areas of Worship, Prayer and Spiritual Formation on campus as well as ministries to Spouses, Families and International Student constituencies. As part of Rev. Walt?s work at Asbury, he is giving direction to Seminarius, a creative and innovative project funded by the Lily Foundation, designed to connect students with the full range of prayer and spiritual formation resources available through the Seminary community and beyond. In addition to his experience at The Woodlands, Rev. Walt served as the minister of students at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, Ark., from 1992-94. As a licensed attorney, during that same time period, he was an associate at the law firm of Burke and Eldridge in Fayetteville. He also served brief tours as an associate with Wright, Lindsey & Jennings Law Firm in Little Rock, Ark., and as a Legislative Aid for United States Senator David Pryor. Rev. Walt is an ordained elder in the Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Dr. Tom Nisbett

Dr. Tom Nisbett is the founder and President of The Nisbett Group, a consulting firm which provides services in fund-raising, stewardship, and strategic planning. He works primarily with nonprofit organizations including Christian ministries and educational institutions. Tom has over 25 years experience with Wesley Foundations and campus ministry. He has served as a university vice-president, business school dean, and professor of economics. He has a Ph.D. in economics from Texas Tech University, is a certified fund raising executive (CFRE), and is an ordained evangelist. He and his wife, Lou Ann, have owned retail businesses and are the parents of four children. His family lives on fourteen acres near Longview, Texas, with three dogs and three cats.