Karen Andrews graduated from Andover Newton Theological School in May 2007 with an M.A. Theological Research in Christian-Muslim Understanding.  Her thesis entitled, Christians and Muslims: Their Tumultuous Historical Relations, Their Theological Differences and Their Inherent Beliefs—What Does This Mean for Our Future? includes her field work in India where she lived for two months in the Summer of 2006 researching Christian-Muslim relations in Banaras.  Currently, Karen teaches at local churches and schools, as well with various organizations about Islam, Christian-Muslim relations, Al Qaeda, and Discrimination Against Muslims Post 9/11.  

Tom Bandy is President of Easum, Bandy & Associates. His personal mission is to help individuals and congregations experience the transforming power of God and become motivated and equipped to walk daily with Jesus into mission. Tom has been a pastor for over 25 years, in three denominations. He has served urban, suburban, rural, and remote contexts, both in church planting and church transformation roles, in the United States and Canada. Tom also holds a research, academic doctoral degree in philosophical theology, and has lectured in the theology of culture, ethics, adult faith formation, and future mission. He consults with congregations for church growth and transformation using a systems approach to leveraging change. Tom is the author of numerous articles, books and videos on church growth and transformation.

Rev. Bruce R. Bardon is the pastor of The United Protestant Parish of Carver, Massachusetts.  Over the past 30 years, he has served churches in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Jersey.  Bruce has been active with The American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts, for which he coordinates The John Myles Institute, which focuses on the training of laity and clergy to support strong, healthy and growing congregations.  He and his wife Barbara have two grown children and a granddaughter.

Rev. Dr. Arthur Paul Boers is author of Never Call Them Jerks: Healthy Responses to Difficult Behavior (Alban, 1999). He is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart Indiana. An ordained Mennonite minister and Benedictine oblate, he served for over sixteen years as a pastor in rural, urban, and church-planting settings in the USA and Canada. He is also a Benedictine Oblate.

Rev. Mark Lau Branson, Ed.D., is the Homer L. Goddard Associate Professor of the Ministry of the Laity at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He was ordained at San Francisco Christian Center, an African American pentecostal church, and has served on the pastoral teams in United Methodist and Presbyterian (PCUSA) churches. Mark has worked with several Christian agencies active in education, community development, and community organizing and continues to consult with churches, judicatories, and community organizations. In addition to Memories, Hopes, and Conversations: Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change, he has contributed chapters to The Missional Church in Context and to Leadership in Congregations. Mark, Nina, and sons Noah and Nathan are members of First Presbyterian Church, Altadena, California.

Rev. Mayra Castaneda is Interim Pastor at Princeton Baptist Church of Penns Neck, NJ.  She is also Consultant to the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, Education and Leadership Ministries Commisssion, where she previously ministered as  Assistant Director.  Mayra regularly conducts workshops and seminars on spiritual faith formation and Christian education.  She is a frequent keynote speaker and Bible teacher. With over 25 years experience as a pastoral educator, teacher and preacher, Mayra has a particular passion for children and their families. Rev. Castaneda holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois.  

Israel Galindo, Ed.D., is an educator with experience in both local church and formal academic settings. A frequent seminar and conference speaker, he has provided staff training and leadership development for several organizations in the areas of communication and teaching. He is the author of numerous magazine and journal articles and has written several books, among them: The Hidden Lives of Congregations, which was named one of the  “Ten Best Books of 2005” by the Academy of Parish Clergy and The Craft of Christian Teaching; Let Us Pray. He currently serves as Dean and Professor of Christian Education at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond.

Judy Haley, a member of the adjunct faculty since 1990, has taught a range of New Testament courses. She has also taught Elementary and Intermediate Greek in the Summer Language Program at Harvard Divinity School for nineteen years. Her research interests center on the sacred landscape of the early Christians’ symbolic world. Professor Haley has served as Director of the E-Learning Program at Andover Newton. An American Baptist, she has preached and taught extensively in church settings, including the Institute for Ministry at China Lake, Maine, and the Faith Youth Institute.

Dr. Jeffrey Jones is actively involved in leadership both in the local congregation and the seminary, serving as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts and Director of Distance Learning at Andover Newton. He is also a member of the school’s adjunct faculty. He has been a pastor in New York and New Jersey and a member of the national staff of the American Baptist Churches, USA. He is the author of several books, including Parenting with Love and Laughter: Finding God in Family Life. His newest book, Traveling Together: A Guide for Disciple-Forming Congregations will be published by the Alban Institute in January 2006. He received his D. Min. from Andover Newton in 2004.

The Reverend Karen McArthur combines her love of the church with her detailed technical knowledge of financial and administrative systems.  Since 1996, she has specialized in financial management issues for churches and other faith communities, integrating her skills and study in finance and theology.  She graduated from Wellesley College with a double major in mathematics and economics, and then received her M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School.  She was ordained as a United Church of Christ pastor in 1987 and has provided pastoral leadership for five New England congregations, recently completing an interim turnaround pastorate at Pilgrim UCC in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  In addition, over the past twenty-nine years, she has served as Treasurer of eight non-profit organizations.  

Carol Howard Merritt is a pastor in her mid-thirties, who has been a pastor in Louisiana and Rhode Island. Currently, she serves Western Presbyterian Church, an innovative congregation in D.C., and the home of Miriam’s Kitchen, a feeding program that provides a hot, nutritious breakfast to over 250 homeless men and women. Carol is the award-winning author of Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation.

The Rev. Dr. Wilda K. W. (Wendy) Morris, taught Christian Education and other subjects for eleven years at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Illinois. She is Managing Editor and writer for The Pebble, the quarterly children’s ministry newsletter of National Ministries, American Baptist Churches, USA. Wilda also serves as coordinator of Shalom Education, an ecumenical, not-for-profit organization in the Chicago area that provides workshops, speakers, and printed resources on peace and justice issues. She is the author of Stop the Violence! Educating Ourselves to Protect Our Youth. Her many publications include poetry and devotionals as well as articles related to Christian education, Biblical studies and church history. In 2003, she received the Luther Wesley Smith Award for Distinguished Service in Christian Higher Education, presented by the Board of Educational Ministries, American Baptist Churches/USA.

Dr. Charles M. (Chuck) Olsen A native Nebraskan, Chuck Olsen is a retired minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).  He has twenty-two years of pastoral experience and served on national staff with the PCUS. As program director with the Heartland Presbyterian Center in Kansas City, Chuck directed the Lilly Endowment funded “Set Apart Lay Leader Project,” a four year effort focusing on the integration of spirituality and administration in church boards and councils. His book, Transforming Church Boards Into Communities of Spiritual Leaders, tells that story. It was selected as one of the top ten religious books in 1997 by the Academy of Parish Clergy and is one of Alban’s all time best sellers. Chuck was Founder of Worshipful-Work: Center for Transforming Religious Leadership, an inclusive ecumenical ministry focusing on the integration of spirituality and administration in church leadership which offered consultation, conferences, and organizational spiritual direction to clergy and lay leaders.

N. Graham Standish (www.blessedchurch.org) is currently pastor of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, where he is part of an effort to form a church that is more intentionally open to God’s guidance and grace through prayer and spirituality. He is the author of Humble Leadership (2007), Becoming the Blessed Church (2005) and numerous others books and articles in spirituality and spiritual direction. He is an adjunct professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, has served on the editorial board of Presence, the journal of Spiritual Directors International. He has a Ph.D. in formative spirituality from Duquesne University, a Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is husband of Diane, and the father of twin girls, Erin and Shea.

Dr. Tina Wray is a scripture scholar and assistant professor of Religious Studies at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, where she recently received the Presidential Faculty and Professor of the Year Awards. She is the author of The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil’s Biblical Roots with Gregory Mobley; Surviving the Death of a Sibling: Living Through Grief When an Adult Brother or Sister Dies; and Grief Dreams: How They Help Heal Us After the Death of a Loved One. She is a member of The Society of Biblical Literature, the Tyndale Society, and the Biblical Archaeology Society. She received her D. Min. from Andover Newton in 2004.