Contributors

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  Randy Newman

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
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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.
 
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  Joel Woodruff

  President, C.S. Lewis Institute
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Joel Woodruff
President, C.S. Lewis Institute
Joel Woodruff, President, C.S. Lewis Institute, has worked in higher education, “tent-making,” nonprofit administration, and pastoral ministries in Alaska, Israel, Hungary, France, and Northern Virginia. He served as Dean of Students, Chaplain, and Professor of Bible & Theology at European Bible Institute, where he helped train Europeans both for professional ministry and to be Christian leaders in the marketplace. Prior to joining the Institute, he was on the leadership team of Oakwood Services International, a nonprofit educational and humanitarian organization. He is a graduate of Wheaton College, earned his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and has a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. As a Parish-Pulpit Fellow, he studied Biblical Backgrounds & Archaeology in Israel for a year.
 
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  David Mathis

  Pastor
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David Mathis
Pastor
David Mathis is senior teacher and executive editor of desiringGod.org, pastor at Cities Church, and adjunct professor for Bethlehem College & Seminary. He is author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines, Humbled: Welcoming the Uncomfortable Work of God, and Rich Wounds: The Countless Treasures of the Life, Death, and Triumph of Jesus. David has also co-authored Thinking. Loving. Doing with John Piper and How to Stay Christian in Seminary with Jonathan Parnell.
 
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  Matt Harmon

  Speaker
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Matt Harmon
Speaker
Matt Harmon, Professor, of New Testament studies at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. He holds a B.S. in Communication from Ohio University, M.Div from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Theology from Wheaton College. Matt has a passion for research and writing, specializing in the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, biblical theology, commentary writing and the Pauline epistles. He is the author of several books including, Philippians: A Mentor Commentary, The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People: Tracing a Biblical Theme Through the Canon, and co-authored Living in the Light of Inextinguishable Hope.
 
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  Darrell Bock

  New Testament Scholar
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Darrell Bock
New Testament ScholarDarrell Bock is Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Texas (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and the University of Aberdeen (Ph.D.). Professor Bock is the author of over 40 books, including well-regarded commentaries on Luke and Acts and studies of the historical Jesus. He was president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) for 2000–2001, is a consulting editor for Christianity Today, and serves on the boards of Wheaton College and Chosen People Ministries.  
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  Brett McCracken

  Author
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Brett McCracken
Author
Brett McCracken, Author, is a senior editor and director of communications for The Gospel Coalition. He is the author of The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World, Uncomfortable: The Awkward and Essential Challenge of Christian Community, Hipster Christianity: When Church & Cool Collide, and Gray Matters: Navigating the Space Between Legalism & Liberty. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, CNN.com, Christianity Today, and many other publications. He is a graduate of Wheaton College and UCLA (M.A. in Cinema & Media Studies).
 
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  Sandy Smith

  Author
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Sandy Smith
Author
Sandy Smith, is the author of C.S. Lewis and the Island of His Birth and a Director of Heritage Experience. His book is available through www.authenticulster.com. Three short film pieces on aspects of the life of C.S. Lewis can also be viewed on the website.  In addition he has produced several YouTube videos of Ireland.
 
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  Paul M. Gould

  Professor
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Paul M. Gould
Professor
Paul M. Gould, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion and the Director of the M.A. in Philosophy of Religion at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Gould has authored several books including The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God and The Outrageous Idea of the Missional Professor as well as been an editor or co-editor of several books, including Beyond the Control of God? Six Views on the Problem of God and Abstract Objects and Loving God with Your Mind: Essays in Honor of J. P. Moreland. He received his Masters in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Talbot School of Theology and a PhD in Philosophy from Purdue University.
 
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  Jerry Root

  Professor, Christopher W. Mitchell Senior Fellow for C.S. Lewis Studies
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Jerry Root
Professor, Christopher W. Mitchell Senior Fellow for C.S. Lewis StudiesJerry Root is the Christopher W. Mitchell Senior Fellow for C.S. Lewis Studies at the C.S. Lewis Institute; Emeritus Professor of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois and a visiting Professor at Biola University. He received his Ph.D. from the Open University through the Oxford Centre for Missions Studies. Jerry has nine published books, as well as numerous articles and publications about C. S. Lewis and evangelism in other books, journals, and periodicals, as well as read numerous academic papers at various academic venues. Recently, he published, Splendour in the Dark, a book about C. S. Lewis’s narrative poem Dymer (the book also includes Lewis’s 100-page poem). Jerry has lectured on Lewis topics at 79 Universities in 19 different countries.  
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  Mark Neal

  Author
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Mark Neal
Author
Mark Neal, is the co-author of The Surprising Imagination of C.S. Lewis: An Introduction. He has published numerous other articles, interviews on C.S. Lewis, and contributed chapters to books. He lectures both nationally and internationally. Currently the VP of digital marketing for a firm located outside of Chicago, he works with higher education, nonprofits, business and publishing. He has lectured and published on marketing, advertising and social media strategy. Mark is a graduate of Wheaton College and earned his Master’s degree in education from National Louis University. Connect with Mark at www.markneal.org.
 
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  Gregory Ganssle

  Professor
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Gregory Ganssle
Professor
Gregory Ganssle, is Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He is the author of several books, including A Reasonable God: Engaging the New Face of Atheism and Thinking About God, and he is the editor of God and Time. Greg graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978. He earned a Masters of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Rhode Island (1990) and a PhD. in Philosophy (1995) from Syracuse University where his dissertation on God's relation to time won a Syracuse University Dissertation Award.
 
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  Joseph Loconte

  Associate Professor
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Joseph Loconte
Associate Professor
Joseph Loconte, Associate Professor, Ph.D., is Senior Fellow in Christianity and Culture at The King’s College and the Director of the Simon Center for American Studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. From 2009 to 2020. Mr. Loconte has a master’s degree from Wheaton College and earned his PhD in history at King’s College London, University of London. He is the author of several books, including: the New York Times bestseller A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-1918. He is currently at work on a documentary film based on his book A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War.