Contributors

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  Joel Woodruff

  President, C.S. Lewis Institute
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Team Members

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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  Thomas A. Tarrants

  Author, President Emeritus, CSLI
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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 Masters 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.

 

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  Bill Smith

  CSLI City Director, Atlanta
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Bill Smith
CSLI City Director, Atlanta
Bill Smith is the Director of C.S. Lewis Institute Atlanta. His desire is for others to grasp God’s perspective and experience God’s presence throughout all of life. Bill teaches and facilitates discussions in a variety of contexts including schools, churches, businesses, conference/retreat centers, coffeehouses, bookstores, and homes. His interest in the life and writings of C.S. Lewis has resulted in a book titled Conversations on the Question of God with C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud. Bill holds a B.S. in Biblical Studies from Toccoa Falls College and a M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
 
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  Andy Bannister

  Author
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Team Members

Andy Bannister
Author
Andy Bannister is an author, speaker, and broadcaster. He is currently the Director of the Solas Center for Public Christianity, an evangelism and training ministry, as well as the Adjunct Research Fellow at Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies and has taught extensively at universities across the world on both Islam and Philosophy. Andy speaks regularly on Christianity to audiences of all faiths across Europe, Canada, the US, and further afield. He is an author of several books including: The Atheist Who Didn't Exist, Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? and most recently, How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like an Idiot.
 
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  Tom Schwanda

  Professor, Senior Fellow for Christian Spirituality, CSLI
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Tom Schwanda
Professor, Senior Fellow for Christian Spirituality, CSLITom Schwanda is associate professor of Christian Formation and Ministry emeritus at Wheaton College and adjunct associate professor of Christian Spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tom earned a Ph.D. from Durham University, a D.Min. from Fuller, and a M. Div. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. He also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and three books, including The Emergence of Evangelical Spirituality: The Age of Edwards, Newton, and Whitefield and is currently preparing a book on George Whitefield, a biography that will highlight the importance of Puritans in his ministry.  
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  Randy Newman

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLI
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Randy Newman
Senior Fellow for Apologetics and Evangelism, CSLIRandy 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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  Ruth Lovejoy

  Speaker
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Ruth Lovejoy
Speaker
Ruth Lovejoy, C.S. Lewis Fellow, recently finished Year 2 of the C.S. Lewis Fellows Program in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Yale University in 2013 with a degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, where she led Bible studies with Campus Crusade for Christ. Since then, she has been living and working in the D.C. area and is currently a member of National Presbyterian Church.
 
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  John Donne

  Poet
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John Donne
Poet
John Donne, c.1572 – 1631) is one of the greatest of the ‘metaphysical’ poets of the seventeenth century, whose poetry is marked by striking images, wit and intellectual complexity. Donne became an Anglican priest and was later appointed Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. There he preached a series of great sermons, many of them before King Charles I. His statue, for which he posed in his shroud, can be seen in St Paul’s today.
 
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  Dwight L. Moody

  Evangelist
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Dwight L. Moody
Evangelist
Dwight L. Moody, (1837-1899) With only a fifth-grade education, he preached the gospel throughout the United States and Great Britain, leading hundreds of thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Moody grew interested in providing a Sunday School class for Chicago's children and the local Young Men's Christian Association. He became involved at the YMCA and served as the city missionary. Today, more than 100 years after his death, Moody's lasting legacy includes the Moody Bible Institute, which trains men and women for evangelism and Christian work; the Moody Broadcasting Network, serving an audience of over 30 million; Moody Aviation, which trains missionary pilots and mechanics; and Moody Church in Chicago.