Meet Your Instructors

Brian McLaren

is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the author of six books about religion and politics in the United States, including The Vanishing Church, The Nones, and The Great Dechurching (co-author). 

is Editor at Large and columnist at Christianity Today and the author of Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America. He hosts the weekly podcast The Russell Moore Show and is co-host of Christianity Today’s weekly news and analysis podcast, The Bulletin.

D.J. Soto

 is founder and lead pastor of VR Church, the first church in the “metaverse.”

David Lane

is founder of the American Renewal Project.

Daniel Dunlap

is rector of Old Trinity Episcopal Church in Church Creek, Maryland.

Jeanette and Gabriel Salguero

are co-pastors of The Gathering in Orlando, Florida, and co-founders of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NALEC).

Russell Moore

Gregory A. Smith

 is a Senior Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center, where he studies religion’s role in American public life, including religious change in the U.S., the intersection of religion and politics, American Catholicism, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and other topics.

Randy Hollerith

is dean of the Washington National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church U.S.A.

Alan Cooperman

is Director of Religion Research at Pew Research Center, where his work focuses on religious change in America and around the world. He broadly oversees the Center’s efforts to measure religious and spiritual beliefs and practices; explore the intersection of religion, politics and national identity; and conduct specialized surveys of small religious groups. 

Judy Fentress-Williams

 is a Senior Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center, where he studies religion’s role in American public life, including religious change in the U.S., the intersection of religion and politics, American Catholicism, religiously unaffiliated Americans, and other topics.

Jarryd Cole

 is founding pastor of Ambassador Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Erica Ramirez

is a sociologist of religion and Senior Director of Programming, Research, and Strategic Initiatives at the Louisville Institute.

Brian D. McLaren

is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow, a faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation, and a leader in the Convergence Network. Among his many books are A New Kind of Christianity, Do I Stay Christian?, and Faith After Doubt.

Mike Huckabee 

 is U.S. Ambassador to Israel and former governor of Arkansas.

Ted A. Smith

is Professor of Divinity at the Candler School of Theology and the author of The End of Theological Education.

Eung Yul Ryoo 

is senior pastor of the Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, Virginia.

Drew Lindsay

 is an independent writer and former editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Jo Nygard Owens 

 is the former Digital Pastor of Washington National Cathedral.

Mark Elsdon

 is the editor of Gone for Good? Negotiating the Coming Wave of Church Property Transition and author of We Aren't Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry. He co-founded RootedGood, an organization that supports faith-based leaders in property development, money and mission alignment, and social enterprise.

Owen Lee

is lead pastor of Christ Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, Virginia.

Robert Jeffress

 is senior pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and the host of Pathway to Victory, a daily radio and television broadcast ministry. He is the author of America is a Christian Nation, What Every Christian Should Know, and A Place Called Heaven, among other books.

Adam Hamilton 

is founder and senior pastor of Resurrection, a multi-campus United Methodist Church in Kansas City. Among his many books are The Message of Jesus, When Christians Get it Wrong, Making Sense of the Bible, and Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times.

Shay Auerbach, S.J.

is senior pastor of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia.

Grace Ji-Sun Kim

is a professor at the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana. She is the author of When God Became White, among other books.   

Frank Newport 

is a Gallup Senior Scientist and former Gallup Poll Editor in Chief. He is the author of The Evangelical Voter.

Alina Delp

 is co-pastor of VR Church, the first church in the metasphere.

Jacqueline Lewis 

is Senior Pastor of Middle Church in New York City, a womanist theologian, and a justice activist. Her books include The Power of Stories; Ten Essential Strategies (with John Janka); Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World.

Will Ed Green

is lead pastor of Silver Spring United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, MD.

Howard-John Wesley 

is senior pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, and host of the “Faith Forward” radio broadcast. A renowned preacher, his sermons have generated over 100 million views on YouTube.

Tom Langhofer

is founding pastor of Resurrection UMC’s recovery ministries.

Jonathan Calvillo

 is Associate Professor of Latinx Communities at the Candler School of Theology and the author of The Saints of Santa Ana: Faith and Ethnicity in a Mexican Majority City.

Otis Moss, III

is senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and an author and filmmaker. He is founder of The Unashamed Media Group, a justice-centered, faith-based agency committed to producing and curating inspirational stories. Among his books are Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times and Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair.

Jason Shepperd

 is founder of Church Project, a Church of House Churches in Texas, and the author of A Church of House Churches: An Articulated and Applied Ecclesiology.

Melissa Deckman

is CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute and the author of the books The Politics of Gen Z, Tea Party Women, and School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics. As a political scientist, she studies the impact of gender, religion, and age on public opinion and political behavior.

Keith Landrum 

 is the author of The American Renewal Project: A Proposal for a Better Future.

Mark Kopka

is former pastor of Nordland Lutheran Church in Paynesville, Minnesota.

Tanya Gonzalez

is former director of the Sacred Heart Center in Richmond, Virginia.

Timothy P. Carney

 is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he works on civil society, family, religion in America, and other topics, and a senior columnist at the Washington Examiner. His most recent books are Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be, and Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse.

Asa Lee 

is President of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Curtis Teel 

 is founding pastor of Anthology Church in Charles Town, West Virginia.