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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  Gerald McDermott

  Professor
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Team Members

Gerald McDermott
ProfessorGerald McDermott, Professor, is a retired Anglican Chair of Divinity at Samford’s Beeson Divinity School. Prior to that, he served as Jordan–Trexler Professor of Religion at Roanoke College where he taught for 26 years. His career focuses on Jonathan Edwards, a Christian’s understanding other religions, and the meaning of Israel. Gerald has authored many books, including his award-winning coauthoring of Theology of Jonathan Edwards. He grew up in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. He graduated from the University of Chicago (B.A., New Testament and Early Christian Literature). Gerald started and ran a private school, pastored for five years in Iowa, and earned a Ph.D. in religion at the University of Iowa.
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  Michael Suderman

  Speaker
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Team Members

Michael Suderman
Speaker
Michael Suderman, Speaker, is a graduate of Tabor College in Kansas with a double major in Philosophy and Biblical & Religious Studies, and a minor in Psychology. He completed a Masters of Theology at the University of Oxford alongside two years of study at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Michael has interests in topics related to faith and science, world religions, and the intersection of Christianity and culture. Prior to studying in Oxford, Michael was involved with youth and university ministries and participated in educational and volunteer work throughout India.
 
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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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  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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  LeAnne Martin

  Author
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Team Members

LeAnne Martin
Author
LeAnne Martin, Author, has a Master of Arts in English, and has written hundreds of articles and devotionals for a variety of Christian magazines. She completed the C.S. Lewis Institute - Atlanta Fellows Program, mentored the following year, and also served on the ministry team.
 
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  Annie Nardone

  Author
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Team Members

Annie Nardone
Author
Annie Nardone, Author, is a C.S. Lewis Institute Fellow and facilitated the Conversational Apologetics Workshop for the 2019-2020 Year 1 Fellows class. She is passionate about the reintegration of the arts and humanities with theology and the Christian imagination. She holds a master’s degree in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Baptist University and writes for Literary Life and the quarterly magazine, An Unexpected Journal.
 
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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.