Matt Skinner

Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary

Matt Skinner, one of the co-hosts of the popular Sermon Brainwave podcast, has served on the Luther Seminary faculty since 2002. His research and teaching focus on the Bible’s ongoing capacity to shape Christian identity among its readers. His newest book is Matthew: The Gospel of Promised Blessings (Abiding Press, 2024), and his commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (Interpretation Bible Commentary) is scheduled to be published in November. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Skinner has contributed to numerous print and digital resources to assist preachers with biblical interpretation. He also serves in a Presbyterian congregation in downtown Minneapolis. He teaches frequently at workshops and conferences for church leaders.

Otis Moss III

Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago

Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill., Dr. Otis Moss III is a preacher, activist, and author. Over the last two decades, Dr. Moss has practiced and preached a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problems of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic inequality. A third-generation warrior for civil and human rights, Dr. Moss is committed to preaching a prophetic message of love and justice, which he believes are inseparable companions that form the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These very touchstones are taken up in his latest book project, Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times, released in November 2022. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Moss is an honors graduate of Morehouse College, and earned a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary.

Joy J. Moore

Professor of Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary

Joy J. Moore, is serving as Visiting Professor of Religion at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. An “Ecclesial Storyteller” Dr. Joy seeks to encourage theologically framed, biblically attentive, and socially compelling interpretations of Christian Scripture to understand contemporary community formation (all that means is she tells community-forming stories from the Bible as a follower of Christ!). An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, she served as president of the Wesleyan Theological Society from 2020 to 2022. Currently she is working with the Dialogue on Race and Faith Project, developing resources for preaching in an age of contempt. And yes, she is still fascinated by the Marvel Universe!

Karoline Lewis

Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching, Luther Seminary

Karoline M. Lewis is the Marbury E. Anderson Chair in Biblical Preaching at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, where she has taught since 2007. Lewis is the author of A Lay Preacher’s Guide: How to Craft a Faithful Sermon (Fortress Press 2020); Embody: Five Steps to Leading With Integrity (Abingdon Press, 2020); SHE: Five Keys to Unlock the Power of Women in Ministry including an accompanying facilitator guide, participant guide, and DVD (Abingdon Press, 2016); and John: Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries (Fortress Press, 2014), as well as numerous articles and book chapters. Lewis was one of the 100 religious scholars in the United States to be a part of the Values and Voices Campaign in 2016 and again in 2021. Her current projects include John and Method, Belonging: Lessons At The Well, and Grace Upon Grace: A Lectionary for the Gospel of John. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Lewis holds degrees from Northwestern University (B.A.), Luther Seminary (M.Div.), and Emory University (Ph.D., New Testament Studies and Homiletics). She is a contributing writer for Working Preacher and co-host of the site’s weekly podcast, Sermon Brainwave. Lewis leads conferences, workshops, and retreats internationally on the Gospel of John, the New Testament, interpreting the Bible, preaching, leadership, and women in ministry. To learn more about Karoline and her work, go to karolinelewis.com.

Anna Carter Florence

Professor of Preaching, Columbia Theological Seminary

Anna Carter Florence is the Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) with degrees from Yale University (BA) and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv and PhD). Her books include Preaching as Testimony (Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), Rehearsing Scripture (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2018), based on her 2012 Beecher Lectures at Yale, and A is for Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture (Westminster John Knox Press, 2023). Anna is a frequent preacher and teacher in the U.S. and abroad. She and her husband, the Rev. David Carter Florence, have two grown sons, Caleb and Jonah. They also have two dogs, two cats, and way too much knitting yarn.

Ray Aldred

Director of Indigenous Studies Program, Vancouver School of Theology

Reverend Doctor Ray Aldred is a husband, father, and grandfather. He was first ordained with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada and is now ordained with the Anglican Church of Canada. He is Cree from, Treaty 8. Born in Northern Alberta, he now resides with his wife in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Ray is the director of the Indigenous Studies Program at the Vancouver School of Theology whose mission is to partner with the Indigenous Church around theological education. To learn more about Ray and his work, go to their website, https://indigenousstudies.ca

Thema Bryant

Professor of Psychology, Pepperdine University

Dr. Thema Bryant is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is a tenured professor of psychology at Pepperdine University and leads the mental health ministry at First AME Church in Los Angeles. She was the 2023 president of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Thema is the author of Homecoming (TarcherPerigee, 2022) and hosts the Homecoming podcast. If you would like to learn more about Thema and their work, go to https://drthema.com/

Amy Butler

Pastor, Community Church of Honolulu

Most Sundays you’ll find Pastor Amy in the pulpit at Community Church of Honolulu (UCC), where she has served as interim pastor in 2023 and is serving as Designated Pastor for 2024 and 2025. She is also leads Invested Faith, a fund that receives the legacy assets of faith institutions and offers small, unrestricted grants to faith-rooted social entrepreneurs building businesses that are changing systems. Her book, Beautiful and Terrible Things, was released in 2023. To learn more about Amy and her work, go to her website, www.pastoramy.com

Nicole M. Garcia

Faith Work Director, National LGBTQ Task Force

Rev. Nicole M. Garcia, M.A. LPC (she/her) is a queer transgender Latina who currently serves as the Faith Work Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force. Rev. Nicole works to lift the voices of multiple faith and spiritual perspectives with an emphasis on amplifying the voices of Black and Brown people while partnering with faith-based nonprofit organizations to carry out faith-based organizing to achieve impact. Rev. Nicole is dedicated to preaching queer liberation theology and is passionate about doing the work of moving social justice from a concept to reality. If you would like to learn more about Nicole and their work, go to https://www.thetaskforce.org/

Neichelle R. Guidry

Dean of Chapel and Director of the WISDOM Center, Spelman College

Rev. Dr. Neichelle R. Guidry (she/her/hers) currently serves as the Dean of the Chapel and the Director of the WISDOM Center at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. A womanist homiletician and practitioner, she is the author of Curating a World: Sermonic Words from a Young Woman Who Preaches (MMGI books, 2016). She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University (BA) and Yale Divinity School (M.Div.), where she was the 2010 recipient of the Walcott Prize for Clear and Effective Public and Pulpit Speaking, and the 2019 recipient of the William Sloane Coffin Alumni Award for Peace and Justice. She is also a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where she completed her Doctor of Philosophy (Liturgical Studies, Homiletics concentration). Her dissertation was entitled, “Towards a Womanist Homiletical Theology for Subverting Rape Culture.” She is a member of the Society for the Study of Black Religion, the MLK Jr. International Chapel Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. Dr. Guidry is passionate about loving and serving Black women, and creating innovative vehicles for our stories. As a certified coach and the founder of Flourish From Within, LLC, she loves to walk with Black women of faith as they cultivate deeper spiritual wellness and vocational clarity. For her service and dedication, she has been recognized by media outlets such as Time, Ebony, The New York Times, Vice, and more. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her spouse, Daryl Steward. If you’d like to learn more about Neichelle and their work, go to www.revneichelle.com

Angela Dienhart Hancock

Howard C. Scharfe Associate Professor of Homiletics, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

The Rev. Dr. Angela Dienhart Hancock serves as the vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty and Howard C. Scharfe Associate Professor of Homiletics. She is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Hancock is the author of Karl Barth’s Emergency Homiletic, 1932-33: A Summons to Prophetic Witness at the Dawn of the Third Reich (Eerdmans, 2013), a contextual interpretation of Swiss theologian Karl Barth’s lectures on preaching in the early 1930s. Her current research explores the practice of deliberation in Christian communities as a vital dimension of prophetic proclamation in polarized contexts.

Willie James Jennings

Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale Divinity School

Willie Jennings’ book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale 2010) won the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective category the year after it appeared and, in 2015, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the largest prize for a theological work in North America. Englewood Review of Books called the work a “theological masterpiece.” His commentary on the Book of Acts, titled Acts: A Commentary, The Revolution of the Intimate (for the Belief Series, Westminster/John Knox) received the Reference Book of the Year Award from The Academy of Parish Clergy in 2018. Dr. Jennings has also recently published a book that examines the problems of theological education within western education, entitled After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging (Eerdmans, 2020). Jennings is now working on a major monograph provisionally entitled Unfolding the World: Recasting a Christian Doctrine of Creation as well as a finishing a book of poetry entitled The Time of Possession. Writing in the areas of liberation theologies, cultural identities, and anthropology, Jennings has authored more than 40 scholarly essays and nearly two-dozen reviews, as well as essays on academic administration and blog posts for Religion Dispatches. Jennings is an ordained Baptist minister and has served as interim pastor for several North Carolina churches. He is in high demand as a speaker and is widely recognized as a major figure in theological education across North America. A Calvin College graduate, Jennings received his M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in religion and ethics from Duke.

Grace Ji-Sun Kim

Professor of Theology, Earlham School of Religion

Grace Ji-Sun Kim (Ph.D. University of St. Michael’s College) is a professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author or editor of 24 books, most recently, Invisible, Spirit Life and Reimagining Spirit. Kim is the host of Madang podcast which is sponsored by the Christian Century. She blogs on her substack: Loving Life and has written for Huffington Post, The Nation, Sojourners, and TIME. Kim has appeared on MSNBC, PBS and C-Span. She has been a guest on BBC Radio, Soul Search Radio, WBEZ Radio, and Keep Hope Alive Radio. She is an ordained PC(USA) minister and enjoys being a guest preacher on most Sundays. Order her latest book, When God Became White (InterVarsity Press, 2024) this May. To follow Grace and her work, subscribe to her substack, Loving Life.

Jacqueline J. Lewis

Senior Minister and Public Theologian, Middle Church

The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis uses her gifts as author, activist, preacher, and public theologian toward creating an antiracist, just, gun violence free, fully welcoming, gender affirming society in which everyone has enough. Jacqui holds an M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary and a M.Phil and Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion from Drew University. Jacqui has preached in pulpits and on stages in the US, South Africa and France. She’s been serving as Senior Minister and Public Theologian at Middle Church for 20 years. The author of several books and articles, Jacqui’s most recent book, Fierce Love was published in 2021. Her Just Love Story Bible will be released in 2025. Jacqui produces an annual justice conference with Middle Church. Freedom Rising: You. Move. The World is scheduled for April 2024. To learn more about Jacqui and her work, go to her website, jacquilewis.com

Brian D. McLaren

Author. Dean of Faculty, Center for Action and Contemplation

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, and activist. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is Dean of Faculty for the Center for Action and Contemplation. and a podcaster with Learning How to See. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and is a co-host of Southern Lights. His recent books include Faith After Doubt (January 2021), and Do I Stay Christian? (May 2022). His new release, Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart, releases May 14, 2024. To learn more about Brian and his work, go to his website, brianmclaren.net

Pádraig Ó Tuama

Distinguished Irish Poet, Theologian, and Mediator

Irish poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama’s work centers around themes of language, power, conflict and religion. He is the author of several books of poetry and prose: Feed the Beast, Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community, In the Shelter, Sorry for your Troubles, and Readings from the Books of Exile. Ó Tuama is also the host of the popular podcast Poetry Unbound, which immerses the listener into one poem every week, and the author of the collection, Poetry Unbound, an expansion on the podcast that offers reflections on fifty powerful poems. He is splits his time between Ireland and NYC. You can learn more about Pádraig Ó Tuama and their work at their website, https://www.padraigotuama.com/.

Cody J. Sanders

Associate Professor of Congregational & Community Care Leadership, Luther Seminary

Cody J. Sanders is Associate Professor of Congregational & Community Care Leadership at Luther Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, prior to joining the Luther faculty, Cody was pastor of a congregation in Cambridge, MA, and served in higher education chaplaincy at Harvard and MIT. His books include, Corpse Care: Ethics for Tending the Dead (Fortress Press, 2023), Christianity, LGBTQ Suicide, and the Souls of Queer Folk (Lexington, 2020), Microaggressions in Ministry (Westminster John Knox, 2015), and A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth (Westminster John Knox, 2017), and he is co-editor of the new Lexington Books series, Queer and Trans Approaches to Religion and Theology. To learn more about Sanders and their work, go to https://www.luthersem.edu/faculty/cody-sanders/

Emilie M. Townes

E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor, Vanderbilt University

Reverend Dr. Emilie M. Townes is the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor, Dean emerita and University Distinguished Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Vanderbilt University, becoming the first African American to serve as Dean of the Divinity School in 2013. She is the former Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at Yale University Divinity School. She was the first African American and first woman to serve as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Yale Divinity School. She is the former Carolyn Williams Beaird Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Social Ethics at Saint Paul School of Theology. She is editor of two collection of essays,; she has authored four books including her groundbreaking book, Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil. She is co-editor of three books including Walking Through the Valley: Essays: Womanist Explorations in the Spirit of Katie Geneva Cannon (2022). Townes was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009. In 2008 she was the first African American woman to serve as president of the American Academy of Religion. She served a four-year term as president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion from 2012 to 2016. In 2024-2025 she will be the first Black woman to serve as president of the Society of Christian Ethics. To learn more about Emilie and her work, go to her website at https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/people/bio/?pid=emiliem-townes

Khalia J. Williams

Associate Dean of Worship and Spiritual Formation, Emory University, Candler School of Theology

Rev. Khalia J. Williams, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of Worship and Spiritual Formation, Associate Professor in the Practice of Worship, and co-director of the Baptist Studies Program at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Williams has lectured widely and is the co-author of A Worship Workbook: A Practical Guide for Extraordinary Liturgy, and co-editor of Theological Foundations of Worship: Biblical, Systematic, and Practical Perspectives, along with having authored several articles on worship, spirituality, and embodiment. She has led worship programs within theological education for several years, and is noted for her work with many different ecclesial bodies leading the worship planning and design for conferences across the country.

Donna Giver-Johnston

Director of Doctor of Ministry Program and Faculty, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Donna Giver-Johnston is an ordained minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Over her twenty years in ministry, she has served churches in New Jersey and Ohio, and most recently as Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, she is a member of the faculty and the Director of the Doctor of Ministry degree program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She has earned degrees from Vanderbilt University (PhD and MA), Princeton Seminary (MDiv), and Westminster College (BA). Her published books include Claiming the Call to Preach: Four Female Pioneers of Preaching in Nineteenth-Century America (Oxford, 2021); Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart (Fortress, 2021); For Every Matter Under Heaven: Preaching for Special Occasions (Fortress Press, 2022). If you’d like to learn more about Donna and their work, go to https://revdrdonnagiverjohnston.squarespace.com/

Brandon Crowley

Senior Pastor, Myrtle Baptist Church

The Reverend Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley is an African-American pastor, preacher, author, and scholar in religion, theology, and queer theory. Since 2009, he has served as the Senior Pastor of the Historic Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts, one of America's oldest Black congregations founded by formerly enslaved persons at the end of Reconstruction. In addition to his pastoral role, Dr. Crowley is a Lecturer in Ministry Studies at Harvard University's Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has taught courses at Boston University, Emory University, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, the New York Theological Seminary, and the Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. Reverend Crowley earned a Ph.D. in Church and Society and a Master of Sacred Theology with a certificate in social justice from Boston University's School of Theology. He also earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard University's Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion with a certificate in moral cosmopolitan pastoral leadership from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend Crowley’s manuscript is titled Queering Black Churches: Dismantling Heteronormativity in African American Congregations with Oxford University Press. His scholarship reflects his commitment to challenging societal norms within African American faith communities while forging innovative pathways for the future. Beyond his pastoral and academic roles, Dr. Crowley also serves on various boards and is a leader in several communal organizations. He is the Executive Director and Chief Curator of the African American Lectionary Inc. and serves as an inaugural member of the Council of Religious Practitioners and Scholars for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Additionally, he is an active member of the Harvard Alumni Council and membership selection committee and the Newton-Wellesley Hospital Community Benefits and Needs Assessment committees. Ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., and licensed in the National Baptist Convention of America, Dr. Crowley brings a wealth of wisdom and dedication to his work.

Mark Andrew Jefferson

Principle Partner, Maleko Global Partners, LLC.

Dr. Jefferson is the Principle Partner at Maleko Global Partners, a consulting firm specializing in leadership cultivation and congregational development.

Jeffrey Myers

Senior Vice President, Cantors Assembly; Member, Jewish Educators Assembly

Rabbi Hazzan Dr. Jeffrey Myers has served as the Rabbi and Cantor for Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh since the summer of 2017. He moved to the City of Bridges after spending decades in ministry in New Jersey and Long Island. After the horrific morning of October 27, 2018, when a heavily armed gunman began a murderous rampage in the Tree of Life synagogue, Rabbi Myers—who survived the attack—became the face of the tragedy. Since then, he has set about sending the key message that love is stronger than hate. Rabbi Myers has frequently shared this view on national media outlets, while acknowledging that a lack of understanding of our neighbors leads to fear and sometimes loathing. Fear leads to the “H word” and the “H word” leads to act of violence. Rabbi Myers believes that if we are ever to remove the “H word” from our society, it must start with pledging not to use that word in speech, just as he has done in honor of the 11 precious lives lost at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

Precious Nwaobia

Community and Social Manager – Faith+Lead — Luther Seminary

In 2021, Precious Nwaobia became a part of Faith+Lead as a Community and Social Manager. Her primary responsibility involves managing an online learning community dedicated to supporting and empowering faith leaders and everyday disciples. When she’s not managing the learning lab, Precious enjoys reading, spending time with family, and indulging in some good sushi with friends.