Contributors

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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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  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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  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, CSLIPastor 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 was an undergraduate at the University of Florida with a major in philosophy. There 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. From 1997-1999, he served as an adjunct professor in New Testament for the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Washington, DC, Extension Program.  
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  Tom Schwanda

  Professor, Senior Fellow for Christian Spirituality, CSLI
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Team Members

Tom Schwanda
Professor, Senior Fellow for Christian Spirituality, CSLITom Schwanda is associate professor of Christian Formation and Ministry emeritus at Wheaton College and adjunct associate professor of Christian Spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tom earned a Ph.D. from Durham University, a D.Min. from Fuller, and a M. Div. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. He also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and three books, including The Emergence of Evangelical Spirituality: The Age of Edwards, Newton, and Whitefield and is currently preparing a book on George Whitefield, a biography that will highlight the importance of Puritans in his ministry.  
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  Jim Phillips

  CSLI Teaching Fellow
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Team Members

Jim Phillips
CSLI Teaching Fellow
Jim Phillips founded the C.S. Lewis Institute in Annapolis, Maryland in 2009 and is currently a Teaching Fellow. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. After graduation he served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an AV-8A Harrier pilot and in the corporate world as an information technology executive. He received a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, a Post Graduate Diploma in Theology and Religion from the University of Oxford in Oxford, UK, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies/Middlesex University in Oxford, UK. Jim is the author of God’s Megathemes: A Grandfather’s Legacy.
 
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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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  George Herbert

  Poet
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Team Members

George Herbert
Poet
George Herbert, Poet, (1593 – 1633) was known for his humility and self-scrutiny. His poems and lyrics point to the amazing juxtaposition of contrition and gospel-boldness. Born in Wales, raised in England, and educated at Cambridge, he then served as a priest in the Church of England. Although never a healthy man, he tirelessly served the people in his small congregation, being remembered as one who traveled to parishioners’ homes to pray for them and also to bring food and clothing to anyone who needed them.
 
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  Richard Baxter

  Anglican Priest
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Team Members

Richard Baxter
Anglican Priest
Richard Baxter, (1615 – 1691) served as an Anglican priest in England, during days of deep unrest, a civil war, and great political instability. His writings and sermons call Christians to holy living, even if it is costly. He coined the term “Mere Christianity” which C.S. Lewis adopted for his classic work.