Leadership Bios
Sally Morgenthaler
Sally Morgenthaler is recognized as an innovator in Christian practices worldwide. Since 1992, she has been pioneering new worship forms characterized by both cultural relevance and worship faithfulness. Her prophetic role among church leaders and local congregations continues to increase in denominational scope and impact, as her work now broadens into new forms of leadership and the untapped potential of women.
Known best for her book Worship Evangelism (Zondervan, 1998), Morgenthaler became a trusted interpreter of postmodern culture and a guide to the crucial shifts the North American church must make if it’s to have a transforming presence within pre-Christian communities. She also has been a contributing author in eight books. Her latest collaborative effort is An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, released in April 2007 by Baker Books. Morgenthaler’s chapter, “Leadership in a Flattened World: Grassroots Culture and the Demise of the CEO Model,” has been hailed as a prophetic work - a clear alternative to the ego-driven ministry leadership paradigms of the 1980s and 1990s.
For the past 12 years, Morgenthaler has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses. Academic venues include Yale University, Asbury Seminary, Bethany Seminary, Claremont Institute for Continuing Ministry Studies, Denver Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, George Fox University, Gordon Conwell Seminary, Mars Hill Graduate School, Baylor University, Oral Roberts University, Regent University, Texas Christian University, The Conservatory for Praise and Worship, Hesston College, Malone College, and Covenant Bible College.
Morgenthaler has been a featured speaker at numerous worship conferences, including Injoy’s Catalyst, The American Society for Church Growth, The Beeson Institute, The Emergent National Conference, Net Results, Integrity Hosanna’s Seminars4Worship, and The National Pastors Convention.
Morgenthaler lives in her native state of Colorado, where she runs SoulPix, a card company featuring her intimate photography of the Rocky Mountains.
Rudy Rasmus, Pastor at St. John’s UMC in Houston, TX
Rudy and his wife, Juanita, have led the St. John’s United Methodist Church for 17 years. In this brief span of time the couple has transformed the spiritual landscape and the face of poverty in Downtown Houston. Beginning with 9 existing members in 1992, St. John’s has grown to over 9,000 members (3,000 of the total either are or were formerly homeless) in seventeen years into one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country where every week people of every social and economic background share the same pew. They attribute the success of the church to a compassionate congregation who has embraced the vision of tearing down the walls of classism, sexism, and racism and building the bridges of unconditional love, and universal recovery.
Workshop Leader TBA
Workshop: Title TBA
Offered: Tues. Dec. 16, 1:30-2:45 p.m., 3:30-4:45 p.m.
Wed. Dec. 17, 1:30-2:45 p.m., 3:30-4:45 p.m.
