Ed Stetzer has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and transitioned declining churches in Indiana and Georgia. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Ed served for three years as seminary professor at the Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and has taught at fifteen other seminaries. He is currently the Director of Lifeway Research and Lifeway's Missiologist in Residence.
He has written the following books: - Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age (2003), - Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church (w/ Elmer Towns, 2004), - Strategic Outreach (w/ Eric Ramsey, 2005), - Breaking the Missional Code (w/ David Putman, 2006), - Planting Missional Churches (2006), - Comeback Churches (w/ Mike Dodson, 2007), - 11 Innovations in the Local Church (w/ Elmer Towns and Warren Bird, 2007), - and contributed a chapter in The Mission of Today's Church (2007).
Dr. Davis was born in Boston, Massachusetts where he later earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1984. He then began his career as a Mechanical Engineer with Eaton-Nova Corporation in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was married to Christine Lee Rogers on Mar 14, 1988, and they have two sons and three daughters.
Dr. Davis started his seminary training while working as an engineer and earned his Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1990. In 1992, Dr. Davis resigned from his engineering position to pastor the New Meadows Baptist Church in Topsfield, Massachusetts. In 1994, the Davis family followed the call of the Lord to Tokushima, Japan, where they were involved in church planting through the International Mission Board. In 1998, Dr. Davis graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, with a Ph.D. in Church History.
In October of 1998, Dr. Davis accepted a call to be the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, Durham, NC.
Voddie Baucham serves as Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX. He has become one of the most highly sought-after preacher/teachers in the nation, and has been referred to as an “Evangelist to intellectuals.” Voddie’s ministry is marked by thought-provoking insights into God’s Word and commitment to sound biblical theology and expository preaching.
Dr. Nettles is widely regarded as one of the foremost Baptist historians in America. He came to Southern Seminary from the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he was Professor of Church History and Chair of the Department of Church History. He previously taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. Along with numerous journal articles and scholarly papers, Dr. Nettles is the author or editor of nine books. Among his books are By His Grace and For His Glory; Baptists and the Bible, the highly influential volume which he co-authored with L. Russ Bush; and Why I am a Baptist, co-edited with Russell D. Moore.
Don Whitney has been Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Senior Associate Dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, since 2005. Before that, he held a similar position (the first such position in the six Southern Baptist seminaries) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, for ten years. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality.
Prior to his ministry as a seminary professor, Don was pastor of Glenfield Baptist Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), for almost fifteen years. Altogether, he has served local churches in pastoral ministry for twenty-four years.
He is the author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (NavPress, 1991), which has a companion discussion guide. He has also written How Can I Be Sure I'm A Christian (NavPress, 1994), Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church (Moody Press, 1996), Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health (NavPress, 2001), Simplify Your Spiritual Life (NavPress, 2003), and Family Worship (Center for Biblical Spirituality, 2006). His hobby is restoring and using old fountain pens.
Ted Christman is the founding pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky where he has joyfully labored since 1973. Ted received his BA at Bob Jones University, his MDiv at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and has pursued postgraduate studies at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Forbid Them Not: Rethinking the Baptism and Church Membership of Young People, the Daily Bible Reading Schedule, and the chapter entitled "Loving Your Flock" in Dear Timothy. He is board member and pastoral-mentor at the Midwest Center for Theological Studies. He and his wife, Dianne, have two grown children, Rebekah and Jonathan, both of whom are involved in kingdom service.
Pastor Phil Newton began South Woods Baptist Church in 1987. He received his education at the University of Mobile, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Fuller Theological Seminary. In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Phil serves on the Executive Board of Founders Ministries, has taught as an adjunct professor at Crichton College in Memphis and Theologique de Nimes (France), and enjoys leading foreign mission trips annually. He has published articles in several journals and has authored Elders in Congregational Life and The Way of Faith.