Contributors

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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 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.

 

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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, 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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  Chris Morris

  Speaker
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Team Members

Chris Morris
SpeakerChris Morris, Speaker, is Chairman of the Board of Directors at C.S. Lewis Institute and COO of Bonaventure, an alternative investment manager and real estate investment firm. Formerly he worked at MPact Partners, a strategy, operations and finance consulting firm. . He has a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.  
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  Jerry Root

  Professor, Christopher W. Mitchell Senior Fellow for C.S. Lewis Studies
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Team Members

Jerry Root
Professor, Christopher W. Mitchell Senior Fellow for C.S. Lewis Studies
Jerry 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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  Os Guinness

  Author
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Team Members

Os Guinness
AuthorOs Guinness, is the author and editor of more than thirty books, including Fool's Talk, Renaissance, The Global Public Square, A Free People's Suicide, Unspeakable, The Call, Time for Truth, The Case for Civility and his most recent book, Zero Hour America. A frequent speaker and prominent social critic, he has addressed audiences worldwide from the British House of Commons to the U.S. Congress to the St. Petersburg Parliament. Guinness has had a lifelong passion to make sense of our extraordinary modern world and to stand between the worlds of scholarship and ordinary life, helping each to understand the other - particularly when advanced modern life touches on the profound issues of faith. (Photo By Deryck Chan 2013)  
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  Andy Bannister

  Author and Speaker
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Team Members

Andy Bannister
Author and Speaker
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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  John Lennox

  Professor
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Team Members

John Lennox
Professor
Dr. John C. Lennox is Professor of Mathematics (emeritus) at Oxford University and an internationally renowned speaker on the interface of science, philosophy, and religion. He regularly teaches at many academic institutions, is Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum and has written a series of books exploring the relationship between science and Christianity. He holds a number of advanced degrees, including a PhD from Cambridge University. His acclaimed books include Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix?; 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity; and A Good Return: Biblical Principles for Work, Wealth, and Wisdom. John and his wife have three grown children and nine grandchildren.
 
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  Jo Vitale

  Speaker
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Team Members

Jo Vitale
Speaker
Jo Vitale is the co-executive director of Kardia, a ministry whose focus is to help people be reconciled to God, with others, and within themselves. Jo has three degrees from the University of Oxford: a bachelor’s degree in theology, a master’s degree in biblical interpretation, and a DPhil (PhD) in Old Testament studies. For her doctoral dissertation she centered her research on the Old Testament’s depiction of women (specifically, female beauty and blame culture). Jo has spoken internationally in a variety of contexts, including at churches, businesses, schools, radio shows, and on the campuses of multiple universities in the US and internationally. Jo and her husband Vince enjoy teaming up for their Ask Away podcast and giving talks together.
 
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  John Koessler

  Professor
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Team Members

John Koessler
Professor
John Koessler, is chair and professor of pastoral studies at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute where he has been a faculty member since 1994. Prior to joining Moody, John served as pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, IL for nine years. An award-winning author who has written thirteen books and numerous magazine articles, he is a frequent conference speaker and preacher.

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  Darrell Bock

  New Testament Scholar
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Team Members

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.