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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  Stefani Ruper

  Philosopher of Religion
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Team Members



Stefani Ruper

Philosopher of Religion

Stefani Ruper is a writer and philosopher of religion. She holds a Ph.D. from Oxford and an M.Th. from Boston University.


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  William L. Kynes

  Pastor, Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology, CSLI
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Team Members

William L. Kynes
Pastor, Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology, CSLI
William L. "Bill" Kynes is the Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology at the C.S. Lewis Institute, and retired Senior Pastor of Cornerstone, an Evangelical Free Church, in Annandale, VA, where he served from 1986 - 2022. He majored in Philosophy at the University of Florida, where he also played quarterback and was later inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving an MA in theology. He received an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, before returning to England for a PhD in New Testament from Cambridge University.
   
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  Will Kynes

  Professor
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Will Kynes
Professor
Will Kynes, is the Associate Professor at Howard College of Arts and Sciences’ Biblical and Religious Studies program, Samford University. He received his Masters in literature at the University of St. Andrews, his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge, and taught at the University of Oxford. He has an M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has authored books including My Psalm Has Turned into Weeping: Job’s Dialogue with the Psalms and An Obituary for “Wisdom Literature”: The Birth, Death, and Intertextual Reintegration of a Biblical Corpus. He has also edited several collections of essays, including The Oxford Handbook of Wisdom and Wisdom Literature, and published a number of scholarly articles and essays.
 
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  Louis A. Markos

  Professor
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Team Members

Louis A. Markos
ProfessorLouis A. Markos, is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University. He holds a BA in English and History from Colgate University and an MA and PhD in English from the University of Michigan. Markos is the author of many books including, C. S. Lewis: An Apologist for Education, From Achilles to Christ: Why Christians Should Read the Pagan Classics, and Lewis Agonistes: How C. S. Lewis can Train us to Wrestle with the Modern and Postmodern World, and his latest work C.S. Lewis For Beginners. He is the author of two lecture series with the Teaching Company/Great Courses: The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis and Plato to Postmodernism.  
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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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  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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  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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  Matt Bagwell

  Pastor
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Team Members



Matt Bagwell

Pastor

Matt Bagwell is a former atheist who became a pastor. He holds a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministries from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary


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  Arthur W. Lindsley

  Senior Fellow for Apologetics, CSLI
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Team Members

Arthur W. Lindsley
Senior Fellow for Apologetics, CSLIArthur W. Lindsley is the Vice President of Theological Initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Works, & Economics. He has served at the C.S. Lewis Institute since 1987 both as President until 1998 and currently as Senior Fellows for Apologetics. Formerly, he was director of Educational Ministries at the Ligonier Valley Study Center, and Staff Specialist with the Coalition for Christian Outreach. He is the author of C.S. Lewis's Case for Christ, True Truth, Love: The Ultimate Apologetic, and co-author with R.C. Sproul and John Gerstner of Classical Apologetics, and has written numerous articles on theology, apologetics, C.S. Lewis, and the lives and works of many other authors and teachers. Art earned his M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Pittsburgh.  
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  Mike McKinley

  Pastor
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Team Members



Mike McKinley

Pastor

Mike McKinley, Pastor, was raised in suburban Philadelphia. He received a B.A. in Religion and Classics from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and an M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. In 2004, Mike was brought onto the pastoral staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church as a church planter. He now serves as the senior pastor of Sterling Park Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia. He is the author of Church Planting Is for Wimps, Am I Really a Christian?, Did the Devil Make Me Do It?, Passion, The Resurrection in Your Life and his most recent publication, Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Mike also co-authored with Mark Dever, 90 Days in Ruth, Jeremiah and 1 Corinthians.
 

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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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  C.S. Lewis Institute

  Author
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Team Members

C.S. Lewis Institute
Author
C.S. Lewis Institute, in the legacy of C.S. Lewis, works to develop wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ who will articulate, defend, share, and live their faith in personal and public life. Founded in 1976 by Dr. James Houston and James R. Hiskey, the Institute provides leading teachers who address important issues of the day from the perspective of Biblical orthodoxy, while also providing discipleship for individuals in small groups.