Wes Roberts
Conference Care Pastor
Wes is a creative leadership consultant, mentor, and spiritual friend. He is the author and co-author of several best selling books including God’s Original Intent for the Church (with Glenn Marshall) and Before You Say I Do (with H. Norman Wright). Since 1981 Wes has served as founder and President of Leadership Design Group/Life Enrichment, a worldwide ministry to Christian leaders that exists to see Christian leaders transformed in all their relationships at home, in their life work and ministry, and in their leisure through both personal and organizational consulting, counseling, coaching, mentoring, soul care, spiritual direction, and specialized training. He holds a B.S. in Christian education from Biola University and an M.A. in pastoral counseling from Denver Seminary. Wes loves to read, travel, hike, ski, paint with oils and acrylics, weave baskets, do landscaping, and enjoy films. He likes all kinds of music from bluegrass to Bach. He enjoys watching both sunrises and sunsets, meeting new people, and hanging with old friends. Wes resides with his wife, Judy, in Parker, Colorado.
Creighton Alexander
Pre-Conference Seminar: Leadership Development: Strengths Quest Assessment and Application Offered Mon., Dec. 14, 2 p.m.
Rev. Creighton Alexander is the pastor of young adults at New City/Central UMC in Kansas City (www.newcityministry.com) and Director of Campus Ministry in the Missouri Annual Conference. He is currently working on a PhD at the University of Kansas in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He answered his call to ministry through the Texas Tech Wesley Foundation in Lubbock, TX.
He is married to Nikki and they have three children–Canon, Whitby, and Cosmo. You can read his
blog at www.makingallthingsnew.wordpress.com or reach him at calex@ku.edu.
Mary Darling
Pre-Conference Seminar: Spiritual Formation: Soul Care Offered Mon., Dec. 14, 2 p.m.
Workshop: Spiritual Formation Offered Tues., Dec. 15, 1:30 p.m.
Mary Albert Darling is an associate professor of communication at Spring Arbor University. Darling received her master’s in communication arts and sciences from Western Michigan University and did post-graduate work in small group communication at Michigan State University. She teaches classes at Spring Arbor University in communication ranging from general communication and speech courses to corporate communication, persuasion, storytelling and intercultural communication.Darling has also been trained in spiritual direction, completing a two-year program through the Manresa Jesuit House in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. and has studied spiritual formation under Richard Foster and Dallas Willard.
In addition to teaching in the Department of Communication and Media, for which she received SAU’s Teaching Excellence Award, Darling designed and now teaches classes on spiritual directing, mentoring & leadership, as well as spiritual formation and justice, in SAU master’s program in spiritual formation and leadership. She regularly does spiritual direction, primarily with college students.
Darling published her first book, co-authored by Dr. Tony Campolo in July 2007, entitled: The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism and Justice (Jossey-Bass). It was released in paperback with a readers’ guide in September 2008.
Darling is also a frequent seminar and retreat speaker on developing fulfilling relationships and communicating more dynamically, specifically in the context of spiritual formation, spiritual disciplines, and justice issues. She is married to Terry Darling, professor of psychology at Spring Arbor University. They have two teenage sons, David and Michael, one yellow lab, and two cats.
Tom Nisbitt
Workshop: Campus Minister or Executive Director? Improving Your Org Skills Offered: Tues. & Wed., Dec. 15 & 16, 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
Campus Minister is your calling. Campus Ministers work with and serve students. That feels a lot different from “Executive Director.” Executives need skills – administrative skills, planning skills, fundraising skills, organizational skills. This workshop is not “one size fits all.” A better name for the workshop might be Unleashing Your Organizational Creativity!
Tom 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 PhD in economics Texas Tech University, is a certified fundraising executive (CFRE). He and his wife, Lou Ann, have owned retail businesses and are the parents of four children. His family lives in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Jack Ewing
Workshop: Making the Case for Campus Ministry Offered: Tues., Dec. 15, 1:30 & 3:30 p.m.
One of the most important responsibilities of campus ministers today is to be able to clearer communicate the mission, vision, and accomplishments of their local campus ministry. Being able to make a strong case for why it is important for your ministry to exist, the impact that you are having on the lives of students, and the contribution your ministry makes to the broader church is essential. In this workshop we will focus on 1) clarifying mission, vision, and goals, 2) how to determine whether you are accomplishing your goals, and 3) preparing a tight “case statement” for use with boards, church leaders, and donors.
Jack is the Executive Director of The Foundation for Evangelism. He come from a long line of Methodist ministers and has a rich background in higher education. Jack holds degrees from Asbury College, University of Kentucky, and University of Minnesota. He served on the faculty of his alma mater and South Dakota State University, as well as serving as president at Dakota Wesleyan University and Mount Union College. He is married to Cynthia and they reside at Lake Junalusk, NC. They have two grown daughters, and three granddaughters.
Jim Griffith
Workshop: Networking and Recruiting Offered: Wed., Dec. 16, 1:30 p.m.
Jim is the Founder of Griffith Coaching Network. A veteran of 6 church plants, Jim focuses on assessing, training, and coaching new church starts. Since 1996 he’s assessed over 1900 church planting candidates, trained over 7,000 planters, and coached over 1500 projects in their efforts to reach the mission field around them. He works with over thirty (30) organizations. Jim will be the keynote for the morning on the 16th.
Bob Beckwith
Workshop: Building a Discipleship Ministry Offered: Tues., Dec. 15, 3:30 p.m., Dec. 16, 1:30 p.m.
Bob Beckwith is the Director of the University of Georgia Wesley Foundation. He has a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Iowa, an MBA from Augusta State University, and an M.Div. from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. Bob’s wife Annette is a middle school counselor. They have four children: Emily, Rob, Caleb and Laura. Bob has served as the UGA Wesley director since 1999. Prior to that he spent 15 years pastoring local churches. He is an ordained elder in the North Georgia Conference.
Michael Buckingham
Workshop: Vomit Ninjas & Jesus (Creative Church Marketing) Offered: Wed., Dec. 16, 1:30p.m.
In recent years, churches have recognized the need to promote themselves in our competitive world. The church, and other faith-based ministries, have begun to realize the importance of communicating through creative. A whole new category of marketing and design has emerged, church marketing. From the folks behind Church Marketing Sucks and Holy Cow Creative comes an intelligent, intentional and sometime irreverent approach to marketing for the faith-based world. This is not about butts in seats, this is about helping churches and ministries communicate in a way that is relevant, original and above all impacts people’s lives. This is about more than marketing faith, this is about creating change.
Workshop: Vomit Ninjas & Jesus (Creative Church Marketing) Offered: Wed., Dec. 16, 1:30p.m.
Twitter, websites, Facebook, blogs, podcasts … so many options in the online world, but where does your ministry fit into it all? How do you decide what to spend time and resources on? Can you have effective ministry without embracing technology? Once you jump on board, then what? Join a conversation with the folks behind Church Marketing Sucks and Holy Cow Creative, as we explore the many tools and resources available and learn how to use them for the greatest impact. We’ll talk about both technology and strategy and most importantly how online impacts the offline.
Michael’s business card says founder & creative director of Holy Cow Creative but really, he’s just a guy that wants to help the church stop being so…churchy. Seriously, no one’s paying attention to clipart or powerpoint stock templates anymore; it’s time for originality and impact. That’s what he’s trying to do with Holy Cow Creative and his work with the Center for Church Communication. Holy Cow Creative is the church’s design studio created to link arms with the church and make it the most ridiculously creative place on the planet.
www.holycowcreative.org
www.twitter.com/holycowcreative
www.twitter.com/cmlabs
www.churchmarketingsucks.com
www.cfcclabs.org/cml
www.cfcclabs.org
Bridgette Young
Workshop: Spiritual Disciplines and Sabbath Keeping Offered: Wed., Dec. 16, 1:30 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.
Bridgette is the Assistant General Secretary for Campus Ministry and College Chaplaincy at the Division of Higher Education. Young works with campus ministers and college chaplains providing support, resources, networking, and continuing education. She trains annual conference Boards of Higher Education and Campus Ministry, and serves as a consultant to annual conferences, local churches and campus ministry groups. Young is liaison to the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association, the National Association of College and University Chaplains, and the Ecumenical Campus Ministry Team. She also advocates across the wider church for support of ministry in higher education.
