Contributors

• 

  Thomas A. Tarrants

  Author, President Emeritus, CSLI
×

Team Members



Thomas A. Tarrants

Author, President Emeritus, CSLI

Thomas A. Tarrants is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute. After serving twelve years as president and nine years as vice President, he retired from his position as Vice President for Ministry and Director, Washington Area Fellows Program, with CSLI in June 2019. He holds a Master's of Divinity Degree, as well as a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Spirituality. Tom is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He spends his time writing, mentoring, consulting and traveling. His life story is told in Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

 

• 

  Aimee Riegert

  CSLI Fellow
×
Team Members

Aimee Riegert
CSLI Fellow
Aimee Riegert, CSLI Fellow, earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and foreign language studies from Southern Methodist University. In addition to supporting various national security efforts in Northern Virginia, she has worked as an itinerant high school math teacher and drama coach, and has served in women’s ministries, praise teams, on the adult support team for Young Life and as a “mentor mom” for MOPS International ministries, as well as English instructor in several ESL programs in Japan. She is a graduate of the C.S. Lewis Institute Year One Fellows Program.
 
• 

  Anna Gray Smith

  Photographer
×
Team Members

Anna Gray Smith
Photographer
Anna Gray Smith is a photographer, podcaster and former skeptic who took the long road of deconstructing her adolescent faith but ultimately reconstructing a more solid rock in God upon which to stand.
 
• 

  Jana Harmon

  Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
×
Team Members

Jana Harmon
Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
Jana Harmon, Ph.D, is the Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics for the C.S. Lewis Institute and a Teaching Fellow for C.S. Lewis Institute Atlanta. She serves on the Atlanta Advisory Board and as an Adjunct Professor of Cultural Apologetics at Biola University. Her doctoral research studied the religious conversion of atheists to Christianity looking at the perspectives and stories of 50 former Atheists. She views apologetics through a practical, evangelistic lens. She is the host of the podcast eX-skeptic for the C.S. Lewis Institute. Jana received her PhD from the University of Birmingham, England.
 
• 

  Greg Koukl

  Apologist
×
Team Members

Greg Koukl
Apologist
Greg Koukl is a Christian apologist, radio talk show host, author, speaker and founder of the Christian apologetics organization Stand to Reason. Koukl received an M.A. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Talbot School of Theology, and also an M.A. in Christian apologetics from Simon Greenleaf School of Law. He has authored or co-authored several books including The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends and Everything Important that Happens in Between and Tactics.
 
• 

  Randy Newman

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
×
Team Members

Randy Newman
Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
Randy Newman (1956-2024) was the Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism at the C.S. Lewis Institute. He taught at several evangelical seminaries. After serving for over 30 years with Campus Crusade for Christ, he established Connection Points, a ministry to help Christians engage people’s hearts the way Jesus did. He has written seven books, Questioning Evangelism, Corner Conversations, Bringing the Gospel Home, Engaging with Jewish People, Unlikely Converts: Improbable Stories of Faith and What They Teach Us About Evangelism, Mere Evangelism. and his most recent, Questioning Faith: Indirect Journeys of Belief through Terrains of Doubt. Randy has also written numerous articles about evangelism and other ways our lives intertwine with God’s creation. He earned his MDiv and PhD in Intercultural Studies from Trinity International University. Randy went home to be with the Lord in May 2024.
 
• 

  Jon Wilke

  Media Relations Director
×
Team Members

Jon Wilke
Media Relations Director
Jon Wilke is a nonprofit media relations director. He's a Marine Corp and Army veteran and has worked as a journalist, radio news announcer, and producer.
 
• 

  Heather Holleman

  Author
×
Team Members

Heather Holleman
Author
Heather Holleman is an associate teaching professor at Penn State, speaker, and author. Dr. Holleman attended the University of Virginia, graduating with the highest distinction for her thesis on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. She authored Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison. She also authored: This Seat’s Saved, written for middle-grade audiences, helping young readers discover they are already seated at the best table with Jesus, winning Christianity Today’s Book of the Year in the Young Adult category. Heather and her husband, Ashley, work with the missions organization (Cru) serving as the Executive Director of Graduate Student Ministry. Heather enjoys writing and speaks regularly to encourage audiences to connect deeply with Jesus and one another.
 
• 

  Alister McGrath

  Professor
×

Team Members



Alister McGrath

Professor

Alister McGrath serves as Senior Research Fellow at the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at Oxford. He has also served as the Senior Research Fellow at Harris Manchester College in Oxford, the President of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and associate priest in Cotswolds for a group of village parishes (Church of England.) McGrath’s best known books include The Twilight of Atheism, The Dawkins Delusion?, Dawkins’ God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life, A Scientific Theology and his most recent, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 7th Edition. He received his MA and DPhil from Oxford University.
 

• 

  Lee Strobel

  Author
×

Team Members



Lee Strobel

Author

Lee Strobel, Author, was educated at the University of Missouri (Bachelor of Journalism degree) and Yale Law School (Master of Studies in Law degree). He was a journalist for 14 years at The Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois' highest honor for public service journalism from United Press International. Lee joined the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in 1987 and later became a teaching pastor, eventually moving on to write books and host the national network TV program Faith Under Fire. He is a member of the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He has won Gold Medallions for The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator, which have been made into documentaries distributed by Lionsgate.
 

• 

  John Hopper

  Author
×
Team Members

John Hopper
Author
John Hopper serves as Executive Director for Reach, the evangelism training arm of Search Ministries, and regularly encourages and facilitates gatherings and conversations aimed at helping others think more deeply about God and life. John earned a B.A. in Economics at Trinity University, an M.Ed. at the University of Houston, an M.A. in Transformational Leadership at Bethel University, and a D.Min. at Biola University, where he focused on Christian apologetics and worldview studies. He is the author of Questioning God: Answers to Questions Worth Asking.
 
• 

  Gary Thomas

  Pastor
×
Team Members

Gary Thomas
Pastor
Gary Thomas received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Western Washington University in 1984. He studied under the Christian theologian J. I. Packer at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, receiving a master's degree in 1988 in systematic theology. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, in 2006 in recognition of his contributions made in the field of spiritual formation. Thomas is a regular teaching pastor at Second Baptist Church Houston, the fourth-largest church in the United States in 2013, with over 21,000 in weekly attendance. Thomas is the author of 20 published books. His most notable works include Sacred Marriage, Sacred Pathways, and Authentic Faith.