Contributors

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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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  Al Gascon

  Pastor
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Team Members



Al Gascon

Pastor

Al Gascon is a former atheist and materialist who experienced a supernatural transformation. He now serves as the Senior Pastor of Christ's  Church of the Valley in Bakersfield, California.


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  James M. Houston

  CSLI Co-Founder
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Team Members

James M. Houston
CSLI Co-FounderJames M. Houston (1922 – 2026) is a co-founder of the C.S. Lewis Institute. Jim served as a Senior Fellow of the Institute, lecturing at CSLI events over the past five decades. He received his Bachelor of Science and M.A. degrees from the University of Edinburgh and a D. Phil. from Oxford University. He was a University Lecturer at Oxford from 1947 – 1971 where he taught cultural and historical geography. While teaching at Oxford, he met C.S. Lewis and participated in a regular Bible study with him for six years. He is known as one of the “founding fathers” of Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia where he has served as the first Principal, Chancellor and Professor of Spiritual Theology.  
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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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  Aaron Welty

  Motivational Speaker
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Team Members

Aaron Welty
Motivational Speaker
Aaron Welty was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as a new born, he overcame those early years of low expectations to serve as the Senior Legislative Assistant for Michigan’s 11^th Congressional District, wherein he focused on a variety of policy issues. He graduated from Cedarville University in 2006 with a degree in Public Administration. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Aaron worked in Marketing and Media at The Heritage Foundation. Passionate about the ideas of individual purpose and destiny, his unique story of faith, family, perseverance and chasing dreams has been shared on NBC Nightly News, various radio programs, Roll Call – a nationally syndicated newspaper – and Facing Life Head On, a life-issues focused television program.
 
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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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  Chris Armstrong

  Professor
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Team Members

Chris Armstrong
Professor
Chris Armstrong is an educator, author, editor, academic entrepreneur, and church historian (Duke PhD, Gordon-Conwell MA). He taught from 2004 to 2013 at Bethel Seminary where he founded and directed an initiative on faith, work, and economics called Work with Purpose. From 2014 to 2018 he served as faculty member and founding director of Opus: The Art of Work at Wheaton College. From 2019 to 2023, he served the Kern Family Foundation as Program Fellow. Since 2012, Chris has also served as Senior Editor of Christian History magazine. His most recent book, Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians: Finding Authentic Faith in a Forgotten Age with C.S. Lewis, retrieves medieval themes of faith and life as a resource for today’s Christians.
 
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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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  Amy Orr-Ewing

  Speaker
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Team Members



Amy Orr-Ewing

Speaker

Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing is an international author, speaker and theologian who addresses the deep questions of our day with meaningful answers found in the Christian Faith. Travelling internationally Amy is a regular speaker across university campuses, businesses, parliaments, churches and conferences as well as on TV and radio. She holds a DPhil in Theology from the University of Oxford and is the author of multiple publications and books including ‘Where is God in All the Suffering?’ and bestselling, ‘Why Trust the Bible?’

 

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  Stephen McWhirter

  Podcast Guest
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Team Members

Stephen McWhirter
Podcast Guest
Stephen McWhirter is a songwriter, recording artist, speaker, and author. A former drug addict and now a touring worship leader, he shares his story of redemption.