RICHARD B. HAYS is the George Washington
Ivey Professor of New Testament
at Duke Divinity School and is internationally
recognized for his work on
New Testament ethics. His scholarly
work has bridged the disciplines of
biblical criticism and literary studies,
exploring the innovative ways in which
early Christian writers interpreted Israel’s
Scripture. His book The Moral Vision of the New Testament was selected by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most important
religious books of the twentieth century.
GAIL R. O'DAY is Associate Dean of
Faculty and Academic Affairs and A.H.
Shatford Professor of Preaching and
New Testament at Candler Seminary,
Emory University. Her current research
focuses on the Gospel of John and
preaching. She took her Ph.D. at Emory
in 1983 and is editor for the Journal of
Biblical Literature and author of John in
the New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, and The Word Disclosed:
John’s Story and Narrative Preaching. Known as an excellent
teacher whose academic work is preacher-friendly, her stimulating
insights “engage the homiletic mind.”
GREG STEVENSON is Professor of Religion
at Rochester College. He holds a Ph.D.
in New Testament from Emory University.
His primary research and writing
interests lie in the areas of New Testament
interpretation and the intersection
of religion and popular culture. Among
his publications are Power and Place:
Temple and Identity in the Book of Revelation (2001), Televised Morality (2003), and a forthcoming
commentary on Matthew.
THOMAS H. OLBRICHT has been intrigued
by the writings of John in the New Testament
for more 30 years. His most recent
publications on the subject are Lifted Up and Life Together. Tom taught at Penn
State, Abilene Christian, and Pepperdine
Universities. He has written or edited
20 books, including Rhetoric, Ethic and
Moral Persuasion in Biblical Discourse.
More than two thousand of his former students have served as
ministers, and approximately two hundred as college professors.
TOM BOOMERSHINE is an internationally
known speaker and author, interpreting
biblical narratives as oral story. He
served as the G. Ernest Thomas Distinguished
Professor of Christianity and
Communication at United Theological
Seminary in Dayton, Ohio until 2006
and Professor of New Testament from
1979-2000. He now writes and produces
multimedia resources for the interpretation of the Bible
in the digital culture. Tom founded the Network of Biblical
Storytellers in 1977 and in the last decade has lectured and
led biblical storytelling workshops for over a dozen different
denominational conferences. He authored Story Journey: An
Invitation to the Gospel as Storytellingin 1988.
DAVID FLEER earned the D.Min from
Fuller and the Ph.D. in Rhetoric from
the University of Washington. With a
research background in homiletics, he
delivers conference papers, teaches,
and preaches at a variety of venues
across the country. David is Professor
of Religion and Communication and
VP for Church Relations at Rochester
College. He directs the Sermon Seminar and with Dave Bland
co-edits the eight-volume series on preaching published by
ACU Press (2000-2004) and Chalice (2005-2007).
JERRY TAYLOR is Assistant Professor of
Bible and Ministry at Abilene Christian
University. Taking his D.Min. from
SMU, Jerry has had a fruitful career in
ministry and was recently presented
the Outstanding Leadership Award at
the NAACP National Convention. A
frequent speaker at college and church
conferences, Jerry is known for his engaging
and challenging oratory. He is a remarkable preacher
in the spirit of John and currently preaches for the Highland
Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas.
D’Esta Love is the University Chaplain
at Pepperdine University where she
also teaches New Testament and Christian
Ministry. With an M.A. in English
Literature, she received the M.Div
from Pepperdine. She co-edits Leaven,
a quarterly journal for ministry, and is
author of John: Light in the Darkness and Good News For Marriage. D’Esta
has been a popular speaker and author for many years with a
particular interest in John’s Gospel.