Contributors

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  Matthew Mullins

  Professor
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Team Members

Matthew Mullins
Professor
Matthew Mullins is Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University. He joined the Department of Language and Literature at OBU in 2024, having taught at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary from 2012 to 2024. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He teaches courses in American literature, English Composition, and the Western Civilization sequence. His research focuses on contemporary literature, and his academic articles have appeared in journals such as African American Review, Arizona Quarterly, and Christianity and Literature. Mullins’s book, Enjoying the Bible: Literary Approaches to Loving the Scriptures, was published in 2021 by Baker Academic and won an Award of Merit in Christianity Today’s 2022 Book Awards.
 
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  Aimee Riegert

  CSLI Fellow
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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.
 
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  Gary Thomas

  Pastor
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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.
 
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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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  Adam Terry

  Teacher
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Team Members



Adam Terry

Teacher

Adam Terry is a former skeptic who hosts conversations with atheists and seekers. After his own journey of faith deconstruction, he now manages the Curious Christianity YouTube channel.


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  Jana Harmon

  Senior Fellow For Christian Apologetics, CSLI
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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.
 
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  Samuel James

  Author
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Team Members

Samuel James
Author
Samuel James serves as associate acquisitions editor at Crossway. He is the author of Digital Liturgies, a regular newsletter on Christianity, technology, and culture. Samuel’s writing has also been featured on The Christian Post, World Magazine, The Gospel Coalition, Canon and Culture, Mere Orthodoxy, Real Clear Religion, Commonwealth Policy Center and other places.
 
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  Christin Ditchfield Lazo

  Speaker
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Team Members



Christin Ditchfield Lazo

Speaker

Christin Ditchfield Lazo is the author of the best-selling A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, and more than 80 other books, including several literature curriculum guides introducing thousands of elementary school children to the world of Narnia. For seventeen years, she hosted her own syndicated radio program, Take It To Heart!® broadcast daily in the U.S. and around the world. For thirty years, Christin has been speaking at conferences and retreats all over the country, calling believers to a deeper life of faith, a life of passion and purpose. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Christian Leadership, a master’s degree in Bible and Theology, and a doctorate in Spiritual Formation.
 

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  Andrew Lazo

  Reverend
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Team Members

Andrew Lazo
ReverendAndrew Lazo is an internationally-known C. S. Lewis scholar, speaker, writer, and co-host of the Pints with Jack podcast. He earned his M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary and is pursuing his doctorate in Romantic Theology at Northwind Seminary where he serves as a distinguished lecturer. He has authored several articles on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and the book Mere Christians: Inspiring Encounters with C.S. Lewis.
 
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  James Tour

  Professor
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Team Members

James Tour
Professor
James Tour is an organic chemist and serves as the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Computer Science, and Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University. He holds a Ph.D. in synthetic organic and organometallic chemistry from Purdue University and has published over 800 research publications and been awarded over 130 patents. He's a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors. He has been named as one of the 50 most influential scientists in the world today, one of the top ten chemists in the world, and his work has been cited over 140,000 times in the scientific literature.