Our Writers

Sort Alphabetically

An experienced freelancer, Ken Walker devotes much of his time to ghosting, co-authoring and editing books and blogs. He edits material for several contributors to Biblical Leadership. A member of the Christian PEN (Proofreaders and Editors Network), he has co-authored, edited or contributed to more than 60 books. You can see samples of his work or ask about his services by going to http://www.KenWalkerWriter.com or by e-mailing kenwalker33@gmail.com.

Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a sought after speaker, church health consultant and award-winning writer of 13 books on missional leadership, church change and church growth. He is founding professor and former professor of missional leadership of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. He also holds two earned doctorates (D.Min. and Ph.D.) from Fuller Theological Seminary where he was awarded “The Donald McGavran Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Church Growth.” His website is ChurchHealth.net.

Thom Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. He is also a former pastor, seminary dean, and leader of a consulting firm. Rainer is the author or co-author of 25 books, including his latest release from B&H Publishing Group: Who Moved My Pulpit? Leading Change in the Church. His 2013 book, I Am a Church Member, has sold more than one million copies.

Ben Marshall is a Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Holland, Michigan. He oversees youth and young adults as well as serving as a campus pastor in a multi-site church. He is actively engaged in the social media platforms and website communication at Calvary. He is a blogger, guitar player, and sports enthusiast. Ben currently resides in Holland with his wife Connie and their daughter.

Roy Yanke is the Executive Director of PIR Ministries, a national ministry of renewal and restoration for pastors and their families. Roy has been a workshop presenter for a variety of ministry seminars around the country on the topic of pastoral self-care. He has been the principle speaker for pastor’s retreats, and is also a regular guest lecturer at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. Roy pastored for 17 years before experiencing his own “crash and burn.” Roy and Deb live in the metro Detroit area.

Because there is joy to be found in life... Roy play bass in the worship band, enjoys jazz music and hockey, and his dog, Keillor.

Dr. Gerry Lewis serves as Executive Director of the Harvest Baptist Association in Decatur, Texas. He is also Founder and CEO of YLM Resources, which includes Next Step Coach-Sulting and Life Matters Publications. He is also an author of four books, including Why “Bible Study” Doesn't Work. He and his wife live in Azle, Texas and have two grown children and three (so far) grandchildren. His weekly Life Matters blog and Your Church Matters podcast can be found at drgerrylewis.com.

Brian Thorstad is a Redevelopment Transitional Pastor. He is the author of Heaven Help Our Church! (A Survival Guide for Christians in Troubled Churches) and Redevelopment: Transitional Pastoring That Transforms Churches.

Brandon Cox has been a pastor for twenty years in churches of every size and context. After serving as a Pastor at Saddleback Church, he and his wife Angie planted Grace Hills Church in Northwest Arkansas. Brandon still serves in an editorial role with Pastors.com and Purpose Driven. He also blogs, writes, and coaches leaders and pastors. 

This article was first published on BrandonACox.com. Used with permission. 

Kent Evans is the Executive Director and co-founder of Manhood Journey, a nonprofit ministry
that helps fathers and mentors build the next generation of godly men. Kent has personally
experienced how the guidance of godly men can change the course of a life. Today he is
blessed with a solid 20-year marriage, five wonderful sons and a fulfilling life – largely because
of what he’s learned from other men. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Dr. Jeff Klick serves as the senior pastor of Hope Family Fellowship, an age-integrated church he planted in 1993. In addition, he is an instructor with The Institute of Church Management and is on the board of The Council for Gospel Legacy Churches. He has earned a professional designation, CFP, a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry, a Doctorate in Biblical Studies, and a Ph.D. in Pastoral Ministry. Jeff and his bride Leslie have been married more than 42 years and are blessed with three adult children and 13 grandchildren.

Robert Netzly is a respected leader and innovating visionary in the biblically responsible investing movement and is a frequent guest and contributor on major global media outlets such as FOX News, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. Robert is the CEO of Inspire Investing, a Christian social enterprise inspiring transformation for God’s glory throughout the world by providing low cost, biblically responsible investments to investors everywhere. Robert is also the CEO of Christian Wealth Management, a leading network of Christian financial advisors dedicated to helping investors glorify God with biblically responsible investing and engaging with major corporations to hear the voice of their Christian investors and customers. 

Advisory services are offered through CWM Advisors, LLC. dba Inspire, a Registered Investment Adviser with the SEC. 

Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and CEO of Networld Media Group, the site's parent company. He has written three books, including Through Colored Glasses: How Great Leaders Reveal Reality (DeepWater Books, 2018), Leading from the Lions’ Den: Leadership Principles from Every Book of the Bible (B&H, 2010), and Career Crossover: Leaving the Marketplace for Ministry (B&H, 2007). Tom serves as a lay leader at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., where he attends with his wife and three children.

Kim Niles is the author of Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You and is the co-founder of Grief Bites. She is also a writer and partner for YouVersion, a Community Leader at her church, and an inspirational speaker.

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., holds the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and serves as Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches, trained pastors and church planters on six continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Previously, he served as Executive Director of LifeWay Research.

This article was first published on EdStetzer.com. Used with permission. 

Lang Montgomery has served for more than 28 years as pastor in various size churches. He preaches, teaches and coaches pastors and ministry leaders. He currently serves as a hospital chaplain in Newport News, VA. He can be contacted at revlangdon@aol.com.

Eric Schansberg is Professor of Economics at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, IN. Eric has co-authored two books (with Kurt Sauder) and co-authored Thoroughly Equipped: A Disciple-Making Curriculum ("DC")-- a 21-month program for "thoroughly equipping" layleaders and Kingdom workers, with 2,200+ graduates at more than 50 churches. Eric is a lay-leader at Southeast Christian Church and organizes the DC portion of Kurt's Further Still Ministries. Eric has been married to Tonia since 1995 and is the father of four sons; he and Tonia are still trying to raise a few good men. 

Mike Bonem is an author, consultant, speaker, church leader, businessperson, husband and father. He loves to help ministries and their leaders reach their God-given potential through strategic planning, organizational design, and coaching. Mike’s books include Thriving in the Second Chair, In Pursuit of Great and Godly Leadership and Leading from the Second Chair. He has spoken across the country and internationally on topics related to ministry leadership and congregational effectiveness. Mike has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a breadth of experience in ministry and business, including 11 years as an executive pastor, consulting with Fortune 100 companies, and leading a start-up business. 

Phillip A. Foster, Ph.D., as a psychologist and Director of AuthenticQuest.org, provides spiritual direction, counseling, training and consulting, to those in ministry or other roles of leadership in the church. He is also the author of Here’s My Heart, Lord.

Wayne Cordeiro is the founding pastor of New Hope Oahu, one of the fastest-growing churches in the nation. Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, New Hope Oahu is known for redeeming the arts and technology for the Kingdom of God. He has authored 12 books total, including classics such as Doing Church as a Team, The Dream Releasers, The Seven Rules of Success, Attitudes That Attract Success, The Divine Mentor, Leading on Empty, The Irresistible Church, Sifted, and his latest, Jesus, Pure and Simple. He and his wife, Anna, have three married children and nine grandchildren. Cordeiro’s hobbies include playing music, reading, and being hands-on with horse training and boarding. The Cordeiros now split their time between Hawaii and Oregon, where they have a family ranch.

This article was first published on MentoringLeaders.com. Used with permission.

Greg's life mission statement focuses on his life passion, which is “to strengthen the great leaders, ideas and organizations of our time so the kingdom causes of Christ can be exponentially accelerated.” He is the CEO of Convene, which helps hundreds of Christian CEO’s meet regularly in small groups to live out their faith intentionally as they combine their love for business with the love for biblical truth. Greg’s career spans corporate Fortune 500 enterprises, franchise operations, non-profit and associations and academic sectors.

This article was first published on convenenow.com. Used with permission. 

A broadly-trained church consultant, Jim Farrer is the founder of Vital Signs Church Consulting and a member of the Society for Church Consulting. A veteran of ministry positions in Canada and the U.S., he has trained leaders from 18 denominations and led seminars and coaching sessions nationwide. His articles have been published in the Journal of Evangelism and Missions and the Great Commission Research Journal. You can reach him by e-mailing revup1@yahoo.com or calling 814 629-5211.

Ronald E. Keener was editor of the national business and leadership magazine, "Church Executive," for eight years, and writes from Chambersburg, Pa. His church interests lie with congregational transformation, church health movement, church strengthening and revitalization and reporting on churches that have not just survived but thrived. 

Rev. Ralph Mayhew has been leading people for more than 20 years. He is a lead pastor, author and seminary lecturer in practical theology and ministry and has a Masters in Christian Leadership. At the beginning of 2017, after 14 years of ordained ministry, he planted Burleigh Village Church; a local church encouraging people to think Jesus. He has written several books among them The Anonymous Leader: An Unambitious Pursuit of Influence and How To Create The Organizational Culture You Want. He posts regularly at www.ralphmayhew.com.

An experienced ministry leader, writer and educator, Bud Brown is co-founder of Turnaround Pastors and co-author of the ground-breaking Pastor Unique: Becoming A Turnaround Leader. He is a change leader in many venues — small rural, upscale suburban and mega-sized churches. He brings special expertise to change leadership in the local church, mentoring pastors to become revitalization leaders, training churches how to find and recruit the best talent, and training leadership teams how to achieve their shared goals. Bud also trains pastors in conferences, workshops and coaching sessions. 

Fred Noble is a recruiter for a hospitality/retail recruiting firm. He is also an elder and leads a pastoral discipleship training ministry at Chesapeake Christian Fellowship in Davidsonville, Md. In his free time, he hangs out with his family and likes to read and write.

Rev. Dave Blundell is the Executive Director of Hungry For Life International. Dave holds an M.A. in Leadership and is the author of Professionally Religious: The Spiritual Poverty of Spiritual Leaders.

Hettie Brittz is married and has three children. She was born and raised in South Africa. She is the Director of Tall Trees Profiles, a leadership and relationship coaching company, and the Founder of Evergreen Parenting, a ministry that equips families and educators with discipleship tools. Her motto is “Know your design; live your purpose,” and she is a firm believer that there is hope for every individual and relationship. She's the author of several parenting books and a traveling speaker. She hunts, hikes and loves good coffee.

Smallgroupologist Michael Mack believes life change happens best in groups because he has experienced it himself. He trains leaders; writes articles, books, and discussion guides; and consults with churches through Small Group Leadership.

At just twenty-two years of age, Bob became the pastor of Southeast Christian Church. That small congregation of 120 members became one of the largest churches in America, with 18,000 people attending the four worship services every weekend in 2006 when Bob retired. Now through Bob Russell Ministries, Bob continues to preach at churches & conferences throughout the United States, provide guidance for church leadership, mentor other ministers and author Bible study videos for use in small groups.

David Bowman (DMin, PCC) is a Younique Founding Master Trainer and an Auxano Lead Navigator. 

Dr. Charles Stone is Lead Pastor at West Park Church (London, Ontario) and founder of StoneWell Ministries. He has authored four books including, People Pleasing Pastors: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Approval Motivated Leadership (IVP 2014), and Brain-Savvy Leaders: The Science of Significant Ministry (Abingdon, May 2015). He is passionate about intersecting insight about the brain with Biblical insight. He posts regularly at www.charlesstone.com.

Jim Barber is the President of both the Society for Church Consulting and Barber Church Consulting. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the Society, facilitates training conferences, conducts webinar training, and coaches those aspiring to become consultants. In his consulting, he conducts various church assessments, facilitates strategic planning, and coaches churches through changes in leadership structure.

Dr. John B. MacDonald has served for decades as a lawyer and pastor-teacher. He is an associate with Outreach Canada and focuses on equipping and encouraging others to become more like Jesus Christ and to live all of life with God-honoring competence and joy.

Dr. Mike Mowery is the President of Servant Leadership Implementation for SGR, a leadership development company that develops leaders for local governments. He is a graduate of Baylor University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Gateway Seminary. Mike has been a student of leadership for over 25 years. He has pastored churches in Colorado and Texas and now serves as an interim pastor. He has a passion for helping leaders be more successful through encouragement, love, and truth. Mike and his wife, Mary Beth, live in Grapevine, Texas, and have three grown children and two young granddaughters.

Scott is Founder/CEO of Serving Strong Enterprises, an affordable coaching platform that helps church leaders conquer burnout as a lifestyle. He is a certified coach with a calling to maximize ministry leadership to widen kingdom impact

Jason Tucker (D.Min.) is the Lead Pastor at Tower Hill Church: First Presbyterian in Red Bank, New Jersey. He is a 25-year ministry veteran, and has been a national youth ministry speaker, writer and worship leader, helping hundreds of ministries connect their teenagers with God. Jason has an MDiv. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a DMin. from Fuller Theological Seminary where he focused on church revitalization. His weekly podcast, The Reclaimed Leader  discusses the critically important work of translating the gospel into the ever-changing language of culture.

Rich Frazer is President of Spiritual Overseers Service (SOS) International, a global training ministry equipping indigenous ministry leaders. He holds a Doctorate of Ministry with an emphasis on training ministry leaders to upcycle declining churches.

James Bruyn is a bi-vocational visionary leader, writer and speaker who enjoys helping individuals integrate their faith in God with their daily life. James leads a ministry to Christians in the marketplace in Calgary, provides leadership coaching, and consults for the rail industry. James is passionate about connecting the rich promises of our loving Heavenly Father that we find in the Bible, with the joys and challenges of living out our faith in the workplace. James writes a weekly devotional at marketplace-ministry.ca/blog.

Rob Streetman is the president of inLight Consulting and is author of The Map Maker. He is called to encourage, edify and equip Workplace Leaders as disciple makers and transformation agents. He began inLight in 2005, after 25+ years in the IT industry.

Bethany Macklin is a writer, speaker and ministry leader who has served more than 25 years in Christian leadership. She has served as a regional leadership trainer for Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and as Women’s Ministry Director of a thriving church in Northern California. She writes Bible studies on God’s attributes for area churches and has written for Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family, Today’s Christian Woman and other online outlets. As a blogger, she paints a Biblical portrait of God through words that encourage anchored faith and Biblical thinking.

Dr. G. David Boyd is the Founder and Managing Director of EA Resources, a non-profit that seeks to equip parents and churches to minister to emerging adults. David and Rachel have been blessed with three energetic boys – Josiah, Andrew, and Tobias.

Phil Wood pastors Fellowship Church in Carol Stream, Illinois and is director of The Wayside Center, a homeless outreach in the Chicago area.

Matt Fretwell is married, has three daughters, is an author, revitalization pastor, national director of operations for New Breed Network, and leadership coach. Matt holds a doctorate from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Great Commission reproducible disciple-making strategies. Matt also writes for Church Planter Magazine and interviews well-known evangelical leaders on his discipleship podcast, The Wretched & The Wrecked.

Andy Zawacki, a former pastor and teacher has a passion for developing leaders who will change the world. He serves as the Head of School at Arborbrook Christian Academy and is a doctoral student of strategic leadership at Regent University.

Dr. Rick Warren is a pastor, global strategist, theologian, philanthropist and founder of pastors.com. As a pastor, Rick 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.”

This article was first published on pastors.com. Used with permission. 

Paul E. Greasley holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and is an experienced servant leader, a retired aerospace engineering manager, a big rig driver, an active community volunteer, an adjunct professor and an entrepreneurial business owner.

Tami Heim is the president and CEO of the Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA). Her senior executive experience includes three decades of leadership in Fortune 500 companies. She has a passion for developing leaders and serves on a variety of nonprofit boards. Tami, her husband, and youngest daughter attend Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Their deep relationship with 133 orphans and a call to discipleship draws them to Haiti every chance they get!

Mark Deterding is the founder and principal of Triune Leadership Services, LLC. In 2011 he formed Triune Leadership Services to follow his passion of working with leaders to help them develop core servant leadership capabilities that allow them to lead at a higher level and enable them to achieve their God-given potential. He is married to his wife Kim, and they have two sons, two lovely daughter-in-laws, and three wonderful grandchildren.

This article was first published on triuneleadershipservices.com. Used with permission. 

Kris Eldridge lives in Chicago and is the Community Impact Pastor at Christ Community Church. He is also the founder of Outreach Ministry Solutions, where his focus is consulting with churches to help them reach their communities.

Parnell M. Lovelace, Jr., D.Min., is the founding pastor of the Center of Praise Ministries of Sacramento, California. He served as its senior pastor for 25 years, prior to leading the healthy and thriving congregation in a planned succession. He serves as CEO and lead consultant with the Lovelace Leadership Connection, Inc. He is a certified church consultant with the Society for Church Consulting and the author of the book, Set itUp: Planning a Healthy Pastoral Transition.

Ken Gosnell is CEO and Servant Leader of CXP (CEO Experience). CXP is a premier coaching and executive roundtable business that serves Christian CEOs in Washington DC, Maryland and Florida. Ken serves leaders by helping them and their teams to have great experiences that both transform the leader and their organizations to go further faster. He has worked with hundreds of CEOs and their leadership teams to enhance their strategic, operational and people accomplishments. He is a recognized author and member of the Forbes Coached Council. He is married to Shonda, and they have four children. 

Christopher J. Harris, a native of Palatka, Florida, is currently Executive Pastor of Crossover Church of Tampa, Florida. He is also oversees Strategic Implementation for Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International. He's served at ministries in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Chicago. He’s an author and blogger and most recently wrote, Temporary Assignments.He's an alumnus of Florida State University, University of South Carolina, and special studies at Princeton Theological Seminary. Harris currently resides in Tampa with his wife Carmen and their children.

Rev. Margaret Marcuson helps ministers do their work without wearing out or burning out, through ministry coaching, presentations and online resources. Margaret is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry and MoneyandYour Ministry: Balance the Books While Keeping Your Balance. She served as a pastor for 15 years.

Ryan Sanders is the Director of Outreach at Manhood Journey. Ryan is married to Tonia and they have two daughters and one son. He lives in Reston, Virginia, serves at McLean Bible Church in Washington, DC and is a diehard Redskins fan. 

Jonathan Hayashi (B.A. and M.A., Moody Theological Seminary) is a Pastoral staff at Troy First Baptist Church in Troy, Missouri. He is also a Doctoral student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to that, he served at an inner-city church in Chicago, Illinois for six years and taught Apologetics/Philosophy at the PGM center. He is married to Kennedi and a father to two beautiful daughters.

Rob Gassman currently serves as President of Precision Products, LLC, a regional technology firm that provides hardware, software and knowledge-based solutions for specialized geospatial and UAV applications. He has guided several organizations—both as an internal leader and an outsourced consultative adviser—through periods of rapid development, dramatic transformation and high growth, and has successfully led multiple organizations through the processes that culminated in strategic business acquisitions.

Rob earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Louisville, and Master of Arts in Management and MBA from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. A native of Louisville, he attends Southeast Christian Church with Terry, his wife of 33 years. He and Terry are proud and honored to be parents to three children, “parents-in-law” to two great sons-in-law, and grandparents to three beautiful grandchildren.

Julie Tilman is the Executive Assistant to Dr. Ben Skaug, Co-Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland, California. At age 8, she was drawn into a relationship with the Lord while helping pass out “Four Spiritual Laws” tracts for a church revival. Julie graduated from Gateway Seminary (then Golden Gate Seminary) in 2006. Exceeding 25 years’ experience in ministry, she has been published in more than 25 magazines and curriculum pieces. A native of southern California, Julie currently lives in Ontario, California.

Joel Westa, Col. (Ret) is the President/CEO of Christian Schools International. He retired from the United States Air Force after serving 25 years as a B-52 Radar navigator/Weapons officer and lastly as a Wing Commander, he served in administration at the university level and at the pre-K-12 level. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in music education from The King’s College, an M.M. from Penn State University, a Masters in Operational Planning from the US Army Command and Staff College and a Master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, where he also taught decision making and implementation. Westa is also a graduate of the Harvard Senior Executive Fellows program, the Van Lunen Fellows program, and holds two executive certificates from Notre Dame in Non-Profit Leadership and Management and Advanced Negotiation. Currently, he teaches and writes on board governance, executive leadership, and organizational change and implementation. He is married to Deborah and they have four children and eight grandchildren.

Tony Llewellyn is an Australian pastor, author, musician and songwriter. He and his beautiful wife Alli have two adult children. Tony authored 11 books on biblical and musical topics, released five CDs and runs two websites: HotSermons.com and HotPraise.com.

Joseph Lalonde is an award-winning leadership blogger and the host of the Answers From Leadership podcast. He has a strong desire to see 20-somethings step into their roles as leaders. Previously, on the E3 staff, Joseph has mentored many students and has seen their lives changed through this teaching. His mission is to help equip leaders with the knowledge and information to boost their leadership to the next level. 

This article was first published on JMLalonde.com. Used with permission. 

Richard is the president of Blackaby Ministries International and lives in Jonesboro, Georgia. Richard travels internationally speaking on spiritual leadership in the home, church, and marketplace as well as on spiritual awakening, experiencing God, and the Christian life. Richard regularly ministers to Christian CEOs and business leaders. He has written or co-authored 33 books including Experiencing God: Revised Edition; Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda;and Experiencing God: Day by Day.

This article was first published on RichardBlackaby.com. Used with permission from Blackaby Ministries International.