Thomas G. Long

Thomas G. Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his BA and MDiv from Erskine Seminary and his PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1980.  He began his career as a preacher at McElroy Presbyterian Church near Atlanta, Georgia and since that time has taught at a number of seminaries, including Princeton, Columbia, and Candler.

In 1996, Long was named one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English speaking world by Baylor University, along with the likes of Fred Craddock, Billy Graham, James Forbes, Barbara Brown Taylor and William Willimon.

Professor Long is the chair of the Day1 Advisory Board, comprised of leading preachers, scholars, and other leaders.  His research interests are homiletical theory and biblical hermeneutics and preaching. His Witness of Preaching, now in its second edition, remains the flagship introduction in preaching classes across the country and a respected resource for seasoned preachers.

Scot McKnight

Scot McKnight is an Anabaptist theologian and the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago). McKnight specializes in New Testament studies, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus.

He is the author of more than twenty books, including the award-winning The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (Paraclete, 2004), which won the Christianity Today book of the year for Christian Living. Recent volumes include Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us (Paraclete, 2005), The Story of the Christ (Baker, 2006), Praying with the Church (Paraclete, 2006), and The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible (Zondervan, 2008). He is co-editor, with J.D.G. Dunn, of The Historical Jesus in Current Study (Eisenbrauns, 2005). He regularly contributes chapter length studies to dictionaries, encyclopedias, books and articles for magazines and online webzines and his work has been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Russian.

McKnight’s award-winning blog, Jesus Creed, has been rated by Technorati.com as the #1 site for Emerging Church.

Scot and his wife, Kristen, live in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two children: Laura, a grade school teacher, and Lukas, a minor league baseball player, and one grandchild: Aksel Donovan Nelson McKnight.

Tremper Longman III

Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California and Visiting Professor at Mars Hill Graduate School Westminster Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary.

Longman degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University, Westminster Theological Seminary and Yale University (MPhil and PhD). He has written a number of articles and books including Introduction to the Old Testament, Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind, and Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation. He has written major commentaries on Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. In addition, he has teamed up with the psychologist Dan Allender to write four books: Bold Love, Cry of the Soul, Intimate Allies, and Bold Purpose.

At present, he is engaged in research on the history of Israel, the biblical genres in the light of ancient Near Eastern literature, as well as commentaries on Proverbs and Jeremiah. He has also been active in the area of Bible translation, in particular he serves on the central committee that produced and now monitors the New Living Translation. Longman and his wife Alice have three sons. In his spare time, he watches movies and plays squash.

Richard Ward

Richard F. Ward is currently Associate Professor of Preaching and Performance Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Prior to this position, he was the first occupant of the Clement-Muehl chair in Communication Arts at Yale Divinity School and has served on the faculty of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

Ward brings to the study of preaching a rich background in performance studies and practices. He is particularly interested in the arts of storytelling and oral interpretation of scripture as they inform and enrich the ministry of preaching.

Ward is the author of Speaking from the Heart: Preaching with Passion and a number of contributions and articles for the disciplines of homiletics, performance theory, and communication studies. Ward’s Speaking of the Holy: The Communicative Art of Preaching, and Craddock Stories co-edited with Mike Graves and Fred Craddock, were both published in 2002. He is a contributor to a 12-volume resource series for pastors, Feasting on the Word, edited by David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor and Performance in Preaching: Bringing the Sermon to Life edited by Jana Childers and Clayton J. Schmit.

Alyce McKenzie

Alyce McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics at Perkins School of Theology and a member of the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. She earned her PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary (1994).

She is the author of several volumes related to preaching wisdom literature, including: Preaching Proverbs: Wisdom for the Pulpit (1996), Preaching Biblical Wisdom in a Self-Help Society (2002) and Hear and Be Wise: Becoming a Teacher and Preacher of Wisdom (2004). Her Matthew volume of the Interpretation Commentary Study Series was published in 1998 and is now in its fourth printing. Her most recent book, The Parables for Today, was published in 2007 by W/JKP. She is currently working on a study of the Bible’s wisdom entitled Save Your Receipt: Exchanging Fear for Faith. Her sermons have appeared in a number of anthologies.

Active in the life of the church, her special interests include preaching on biblical wisdom, the sayings and parables of Jesus, and the spiritual life of the preacher. Dr. McKenzie is frequently a featured preacher, Bible study leader, and teacher at workshops, and conferences throughout the country. She and her husband, Murry, have three grown children and enjoy traveling, music, and spending time with friends and family. She is an avid fan of mystery novels and a student of yoga.

Glenn Pemberton

Glenn Pemberton is the chair of the Department of Bible, Mission, and Ministry at Abilene Christian University where he has served since 2005.  He teaches Old Testament classes, including Devotional and Wisdom Literature of the OT and Introduction to Exegesis.

Pemberton earned his BA and MA from ACU and completed the PhD in Religion and Theological Studies from Iliff School of Theology in 1999.  His dissertation focused on “The Rhetoric of the Father: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Father/Son Lectures in Proverbs 1-9.”

Pemberton came to ACU after teaching Old Testament and Hebrew at Oklahoma Christian University. At OCU, he was honored with the university’s Gaylord Chair for Distinguished Teaching and had served as chair of the graduate Bible program. Prior to that he served as the preaching minister for churches in Sterling City and Midland, Texas; and Buena Vista, Colorado. He has several publications in the area of Old Testament scholarship and is a frequent presenter at lectureships, seminars, and churches. Glenn and his wife, Pam, have two children, David and T’auna.

Dave Bland

Dave Bland is Associate Professor of Homiletics at Harding University Graduate School of Religion, where he also directs the Doctor of Ministry program.  Prior to that, he was an Associate Professor at Columbia Christian College, Portland, Oregon. For more than two decades, Bland has devoted his life to preaching tenures with the Eastside Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon and, currently, with the White Station congregation in Memphis.

Bland received his BA from Harding University, the MDiv. from Abilene Christian University, DMin from Western Baptist Seminary, and PhD from the University of Washington. His career interests and expertise have been the intersections of homiletics, rhetoric and wisdom literature.  Bland is a member of the Academy of Homiletics, he has been published in several periodicals, and co-edited a series of books on preaching. He and Nancy are the parents of three sons who have rewarded them with two grandchildren.

Josh Graves

Joshua Graves is the preaching and teaching minister for the Otter Creek Church in Nashville, TN.  He received his BA from Rochester College in Rochester, Michigan and did graduate studies at Abilene Christian University and Lipscomb University where he earned the MDiv.  Graves is currently a doctoral student at Columbia Seminary studying the relationship of postmodernism and Christianity.

Prior to moving to Nashville, Graves was the Teaching and Young Adult Minister for Rochester Church of Christ in Rochester, Michigan, and Adjunct Professor of Religion at Rochester College.  In addition to other articles and essays, Graves is the author of The Feast: How to Serve Jesus In a Famished World (Leafwood Press, 2009) and co-author of the Study Guide for Mere Discipleship with Lee Camp (Brazos Press, 2008). His work as filmmaker has captivated the Conference on Preaching for several years.

He is married to Kara and they have one son, Lucas.  You can read his blog at www.joshgraves.blogspot.com.