Contributors

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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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  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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  Keith Plummer

  Professor of Theology
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Team Members



Keith Plummer

Professor of Theology

Keith Plummer teaches a variety of courses including Apologetics, Introduction to Christian Theology, and Technology & Christian Discipleship. His love of apologetics resulted from the role it played (particularly through the works of Francis Schaeffer) in helping him through a period of intense doubt in his early Christian life. Before teaching at Cairn, Dr. Plummer served as associate pastor at Our Saviour Evangelical Free Church in Wheeling, IL for 18 years where his primary responsibilities were adult education and pastoral counseling. For ten of those years, he served as a volunteer police chaplain.

 

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  Shelby Abbott

  Author and Campus Minister
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Team Members



Shelby Abbott

Author and Campus Minister

Shelby Abbott is a Philadelphia based author, public speaker, and campus minister. He speaks on college campuses across the United States about the Christian faith and issues affecting young adults. Shelby is the host of the podcast Real Life Loading. . .


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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, CSLI

Arthur 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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  Andy Bannister

  Author
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Team Members

Andy Bannister
Author
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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  Ben Virgo

  Speaker
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Team Members

Ben Virgo
Speaker
Ben Virgo, Speaker, is a Director of Christian Heritage London, a ministry which serves churches as a resourcing hub, putting on events and taking tours through London’s church history. He has worked in marketing, as a unit trust dealer and in and mergers and acquisitions. Ben holds a degree in Classics at University College London. He is planting a church on a council estate in East London.
 
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  Gavin Ortlund

  Pastor
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Team Members

Gavin Ortlund
Pastor
Gavin Ortlund is a pastor, author, speaker, and apologist for the Christian faith. He serves as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai in Ojai, California. Gavin has a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary in historical theology, and an M.Div from Covenant Theological Seminary. He is the author of seven books including Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn’t and Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation as well as numerous academic and popular articles. He also runs the YouTube channel Truth Unites, which seeks to provide an irenic voice on theology, apologetics, and the Christian life.