Contributors

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  Barry C. Black

  Chaplain
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Team Members

Barry C. Black
Chaplain
Barry C. Black, Chaplain, is the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate. He was elected to this position on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African American to hold this office. Prior to coming to Capitol Hill, Chaplain Black served in the U.S. Navy for over twenty-seven years, ending his distinguished career as the Chief of Navy Chaplains. The Senate elected its first chaplain in 1789. Chaplain Black is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and an alumnus of Oakwood College, Andrews University, North Carolina Central University, Eastern Baptist Seminary, Salve Regina University, and United States International University.
 
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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.
 
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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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  Stephen Eyre

  CSLI City Director, Cincinnati
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Team Members



Stephen Eyre

CSLI City Director, Cincinnati

Stephen Eyre is the Cincinnati City Director for the C.S. Lewis Institute. He is also the Minister of Congregational Development at Madeira-Silverwood Presbyterian Church as well as the Executive for Ministry Support for the 40 Day Prayer Covenant. Stephen is the author of many books and Bible study guides such as Christian Beliefs (InterVarsity Press), Ordinary People Extraordinary God: 17 Personal Stories of Lives Transformed by the Love of God (High Ridge Books), Patience: The Benefits of Waiting (Zondervan), and Spiritual Disciplines (Zondervan). He graduated from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis Missouri.
 

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  Cameron McAllister

  Author and Speaker
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Team Members

Cameron McAllister
Author and Speaker
Cameron McAllister is a content director for Reflections Ministries. He cofounded Thinking Out Loud, where he’s a speaker, writer and one half of the Thinking Out Loud podcast, a weekly podcast about current events and Christian hope. He and his father co-authored Faith That Lasts: A Father and Son on Cultivating Lifelong Belief. A staff writer with Christ & Pop Culture, Cameron’s writing has appeared in Christianity Today, Relevant Magazine, Think Christian, and Fathom Magazine. He holds a master’s degree in apologetics from Houston Baptist University. Cameron and his wife Heather live in the Atlanta area with their two children.
 
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  Mark R. Talbot

  Professor
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Team Members

Mark R. Talbot
Professor
Mark R. Talbot is associate professor of philosophy at Wheaton College.  He received his B.A. at Seattle Pacific College, did graduate studies at Saint Louis University, and received His Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania. His areas of academic expertise include philosophical theology, philosophical psychology, the epistemologies of the early modern philosophers, and the works of David Hume, St. Augustine, and Jonathan Edwards. His books include Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Personal Identity in Theological Perspective, and The Indispensability of the Trinity, Modern Reformation.
 
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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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  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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  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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  Edmund Spenser

  Poet
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Team Members

Edmund Spenser
Poet
Edmund Spenser (1552/1553 – 1599) was a poet and creator of the masterpiece, “The Faerie Queene.” He is considered by some to be one of the greatest poets in the English language and was a favorite of C. S. Lewis.