Contributors

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  Tony Reinke

  Author
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Team Members

Tony Reinke
Author
Tony Reinke is an author, non-profit journalist, Senior Teacher for Desiring God, and produces and hosts John Piper’s podcast, “Ask Pastor John” which is dedicated to questions of Christian theology and ethics. The bulk of his work centers on how we best flourish in the tech age saturated by innovation, media, and enough on-demand video to fill our eyes for 100 lifetimes. He is the author of numerous books including, 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You, and God, Technology, and the Christian Life.
 
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  Russ Ramsey

  Pastor
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Team Members

Russ Ramsey
Pastor
Russ Ramsey is an author and pastor with a passion for uniting art and faith. He has been in vocational ministry for more than twenty years and currently serves as the lead pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church’s Cool Springs location. He holds an MDiv and ThM from Covenant Theological Seminary, and is the author of six books, including Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith (Zondervan 2022), and Behold the King of Glory, recipient of the 2016 Christian Book Award for New Author. Russ is also a member of The Rabbit Room.
 
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  Darrell Bock

  New Testament Scholar
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Team Members

Darrell Bock
New Testament ScholarDarrell Bock is Executive Director of Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Texas (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and the University of Aberdeen (Ph.D.). Professor Bock is the author of over 40 books, including well-regarded commentaries on Luke and Acts and studies of the historical Jesus. He was president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) for 2000–2001, is a consulting editor for Christianity Today, and serves on the boards of Wheaton College and Chosen People Ministries.  
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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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  Thomas A. Tarrants

  Author, President Emeritus, CSLI
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Team Members



Thomas A. Tarrants

Author, President Emeritus, CSLI

Thomas A. Tarrants is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute. After serving twelve years as president and nine years as vice President, he retired from his position as Vice President for Ministry and Director, Washington Area Fellows Program, with CSLI in June 2019. He holds a Master's of Divinity Degree, as well as a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Spirituality. Tom is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He spends his time writing, mentoring, consulting and traveling. His life story is told in Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

 

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  Rebecca McLaughlin

  Author
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Team Members

Rebecca McLaughlin
Author
Rebecca McLaughlin, Author, grew up in the UK and holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Cambridge University and a theology degree from Oak Hill College in London. In 2008, she moved to America and spent 9 years with The Veritas Forum. In September 2017, she co-founded Vocable Communications. Rebecca is the author of Confronting Christianity; 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion and 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity. She continues her writing and speaking as one of the world’s leading Christian apologists while enjoying her family life with her husband and three children.
 
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  John Lennox

  Professor
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Team Members

John Lennox
Professor
Dr. John C. Lennox is an Irish mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist. Now retired, he is the Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford as well as the Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College, Oxford. He has also been a part of public debates with New Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, presenting intellectual defenses of Christianity. Lennox has written acclaimed books such as Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix?, 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity, and most recently A Good Return: Biblical Principles for Work<, Wealth and Wisdom. He received his Ph.D. of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, while also holding numerous honorary degrees from other British universities.
 
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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 StudiesJerry 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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  Rosaria Butterfield

  Speaker
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Team Members

Rosaria Butterfield
Speaker
Rosaria Butterfield is a speaker and author of several books including, Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey Into the Christian Faith, Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity, Union with Christ and The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World. Rosaria earned her PhD from Ohio State University and was a tenured professor of English at a large university before she came to believe the claims of Jesus Christ. Rosaria is zealous for hospitality, loves her family, cherishes dogs, and enjoys coffee.
 
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  Ken Smith

  Speaker
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Team Members

Ken Smith
Speaker
Ken Smith, Pastor, in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America and was ordained in what was the Central-Pittsburgh Reformed Presbyterian Church in 1952. He served in the Navy during World War II and is a graduate of Geneva College. He and his late wife, Floy, spent time in pastoral ministry in Pittsburgh, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and Syracuse, NY. He has served on the boards of Wilkinsburg Christian School, Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS), and Geneva College where he chaired the Board of Trustees for seven years. He has lectured at RPTS and been a faculty member of the Ottawa Theological Hall since its start. He is the author of several books including Learning to be a Family.
 
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  James M. Houston

  Professor, CSLI Co-Founder, Senior Fellow for Faith and Vocation, CSLI
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Team Members

James M. Houston
Professor, CSLI Co-Founder, Senior Fellow for Faith and Vocation, CSLIJames M. Houston is a co-founder of the C.S. Lewis Institute.  From its beginning, Jim has served as a Senior Fellow of the Institute, lecturing at CSLI events over the past four 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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  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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  Nancy Guthrie

  Speaker
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Team Members

Nancy Guthrie
Speaker
Nancy Guthrie, is a Bible teacher and author of several books including Holding On to Hope: A Pathway of Suffering to the Heart of God. She trains women and helps them identify and understand major themes that run from Genesis to Revelation. Nancy and her husband, David, are hosts of the Grief Share video series for small group ministry to grieving people.  They also host Respite Retreat, a retreat ministry for couples who have experienced the death of a child. She is pursuing graduate work in theological studies via Reformed Theological Seminary Global. She speaks regularly at conferences nationally and internationally, and is a regular contributor to The Gospel Coalition, including hosting the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast.