Dr. Mark Alan Williams is a missionary, speaker, author, podcaster and blogger at markalanwilliams.net. In 2016 he founded Discipleship Journeys with Jesus which has a vision to disciple 100 million believers in actionable, biblical wisdom. He has traveled to 60 countries on 6 continents, sharing the Gospel and training leaders. Mark is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Biola University, Talbot Seminary and Fuller Seminary where he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree. He was named Alumnus of the Year by Moody Bible Institute in 2010. Mark & Carolyn were married in 1979 and have three sons.

In our interview, Dr. Williams references a prayer that he prays most days to combat pride.  This is the Humility Prayer from Andrew Murray book Humility:

“Out of your great goodness Lord please make known to me and take away from my heart, every kind and form and degree of pride, whether it be from evil spirits, or my own corrupt nature; and please awaken in me the deepest depth and truth of that humility which can make me capable of Your light and Holy Spirit.”

Visit djjministry.org & markalanwilliams.net to learn more.

Dr. Manning is passionate about helping leaders in the church interpret and teach the Scriptures more faithfully and more powerfully. Gary studied at Talbot and Fuller, and focuses his studies on the Gospel of John, the Synoptic Gospels, and the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. He is the author of Echoes of a Prophet: The Use of Ezekiel in the Gospel of John and in Literature of the Second Temple Period (T&T Clark, 2004). Gary has been involved in various kinds of Christian ministry for over thirty years, including youth ministry, church planting, and teaching ministry, and still maintains active ministry in the church. At home, Gary spends his time with his wife Barbara and their ten children.

Pete Wilson is former senior pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee and is now a teaching pastor at Northridge Church. Born and raised in Nashville, Pete earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Western Kentucky University and attended seminary at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. After planting his first church in Kentucky, Pete returned to his hometown of Nashville to start Cross Point in 2002.

Under Pete’s leadership, Cross Point grew to reach more than 7,500 people each weekend through its seven campuses located around the Nashville area, and online. As one of the fastest growing churches in America, Pete’s ministry has been focused on the idea that everyone is welcome, because nobody’s perfect but anything’s possible. He loves to share what he is learning about leadership, life, branding, and faith by speaking at both national and international conferences.

Scott Rae's primary interests are medical ethics and business ethics, dealing with the application of Christian ethics to medicine and the marketplace. He has authored 10 books in ethics including The Ethics of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood; Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics; Brave New Families: Biblical Ethics and Reproductive Technologies; Beyond Integrity: A Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics; and Body and Soul: Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics. His work has appeared in The Linacre Quarterly, Religion and Liberty, Journal of Markets and Morality, Southern California Journal of Law and Women's Studies, National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, and Ethics and Medicine. He is a consultant for ethics for four Southern California hospitals. He is a fellow of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and a fellow of the Wilberforce Forum.

Professor of Spirituality and Marriage and Family, Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership, director of Talbot’s spiritual formation program, spiritual director, associate director of the Center for Spiritual Renewal, founder of Hilltop Renewal Center, B.A., California State University, Fullerton, M.A., Talbot School of Theology, M.A. in Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Ph.D. in Marital and Family Therapy, Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Psychology.

Judy TenElshof’s goal as the director of Talbot’s spiritual formation program is to have all Talbot students understand the nature, process and practices of spiritual growth and to have them experience deeper intimacy with God and others. Her expertise as a teacher and conference speaker is in helping individuals and families grow relationally, morally and spiritually.

Judy has established and directed counseling centers in churches and Christian schools and is founder of Hilltop Renewal Center for Christian leaders. She has co-edited Women and Men in Ministry, authored several journal articles, along with chapters in Foundations of Ministry: An Introduction to Christian Education for a New Generation; Short-Term Missions Boom: The Guide to International and Domestic Involvement; and the Christian Education Dictionary.

Kyle Strobel (Ph.D. University of Aberdeen) is a systematic theologian who teaches spiritual theology for Talbot’s Institute for Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Formation Focus programs. His areas of interest include systematic theology, Jonathan Edwards, spiritual formation and prayer. He writes both popular and academic books and articles, and is on the preaching team at Redeemer Church, La Mirada.

Dr. Tremper Longman III graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, earned a Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary, and completed a doctorate in ancient Near Eastern studies at Yale University. He served as the Robert H. Gundry professor of biblical studies at Westmont from 1998 until he retired in 2017. He continues to serve the college as a distinguished scholar of biblical studies. He has written or co-authored numerous scholarly articles and more than 20 books, including interdisciplinary works, books with psychologist Dan Allender, works on history and historiography, and textbooks for both seminary students a lay people. He is one of the main translators of the New Living Translation and has served as a consultant on other popular translations of the Bible including the Message, the New Century Version, and the Holman Standard Bible.

Jean E. Jones is co-author of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament, Discovering Joy in Philippians, and Discovering Hope in the Psalms. She blogs at jeanejones.net. Jean is a member of Women in Apologetics. She’s been a contributing writer for Crosswalk.com and has published in Today’s Christian Woman and Home Life. She’s happily married to her high school sweetheart, Clay, an associate professor of Christian apologetics at Talbot Seminary. They live in Laguna Niguel, California, and once were foster parents to three preteen/teen girls. Jean enjoyed rooster claws and century eggs in Asia.

Clay Jones holds a doctor of ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is an associate professor in the Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics Program at Talbot Seminary. Formerly, Clay hosted Contend for Truth, a nationally syndicated call-in, talk-radio program where he debated professors, radio talk show hosts, cultists, religious leaders, and representatives from animal rights, abortion rights, gay rights, and atheist organizations. Clay was the CEO of Simon Greenleaf University (now Trinity Law and Graduate Schools) and was on the pastoral staff of two large churches. Clay is the Chairman of the Board of the university apologetics ministry Ratio Christi, is a contributing writer for the Christian Research Journal and specializes in issues related to why God allows evil. You can read his blog at clayjones.net, find him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter at ClayBJones. Clay has authored Why Does God Allow Evil?: Compelling Answers for Life’s Toughest Questions and the forthcoming Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What to Do About It.

Having grown up in a Christian home in Lewiston, Idaho, Paul Buttrey studied at Stanford University (English) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.). After ministering to university students with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for five years in the Los Angeles area, he and his wife went to Taiwan, where they served with OMF International as missionaries for 34 years. During that time in Taiwan he provided organizational leadership for up to 100 OMF International missionaries for several years and trained pastors in a Taiwan seminary. While involved in seminary teaching, he also became associated with International Training Partners, facilitating the “Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills” workshop for the benefit of cross-cultural missionaries and national Christian leaders in Taiwan and other East Asian countries. He and his wife Mary Jeanne now live in retirement in Torrance, California. When he is not busy with other things, he enjoys baking bread.