THE STATE OF PASTORS 2017

Featuring the words of pastors about how they lead and love well in a world of increasing complexity

David Kinnaman is the author of the bestselling books Good Faith, You Lost Me and unChristian. He is president of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with nearly one million individuals and overseen hundreds of U.S. and global research studies. He and his wife live in California with their three children.

Roxanne Stone is Editor in Chief at Barna Group and the general editor of the FRAMES series. She has more than a decade of experience in publishing, serving as an editor at Christianity Today, Group Publishing, Q Ideas and This Is Our City, and as the editorial director for RELEVANT magazine and its sister publications Reject Apathy and Neue. She has edited books, magazines, web sites and curriculum; and is the author of dozens of articles, including an award-winning cover story on the relief efforts in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. In addition, Roxanne curated and cohosted the first annual Q Women event.

She speaks, trains and consults in the areas of faith and culture, vocation, Millennials, social justice and church leadership.

Roxanne is available for training, speaking or consulting on any of these topics.

Barna Group’s vice president of research, Brooke Hempell, has been a market research advisor for nearly 15 years, designing both qualitative and quantitative research to guide clients in new product development and positioning, brand portfolio strategy, communications planning, and sales and marketing effectiveness.

Prior to joining Barna in 2015, Brooke worked with Boston-based MaPS (Marketing and Planning Systems), HawkPartners, and London-based i-to-i research, a subsidiary of Publicis Groupe. She has served Fortune 100 clients in a range of industries, primarily pharmaceuticals, financial services, nonprofit, and retail, in the U.S. and globally.

Brooke earned her B.S. in Business Administration, Marketing, from Cornell University. She is active in church-planting and racial reconciliation ministries and lives in Atlanta, GA.

Mark Matlock has been working with youth pastors and students for two decades. He speaks to thousands of students around the world each year at PlanetWisdom Conferences, and presents biblical truths in ways that motivate people to change.

In addition to being an advisor to Youth Specialties National Youth Workers Convention, Mark’s the founder of WisdomWorks Ministries, an organization exploring the accelerated acquisition of wisdom in teens. He’s the author of several books, including What Does God Want From Me?, Living a Life That Matters, Don’t Buy the Lie, and Freshman.

Mark lives in Texas with his wife, Jade, and their children.

A retired four-star general, General McChrystal is the former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He is best known for developing and implementing a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, and for creating a cohesive counter-terrorism organization that revolutionized the interagency operating culture.

Throughout his military career, General McChrystal commanded a number of elite organizations, including the 75th Ranger Regiment and from 9/11 until his retirement in 2010, he spent more than 6 years deployed to combat in a variety of leadership positions.

After retiring retiring from the military, Stan co-founded McChrystal Group, where he is part of a unique team of professionals focused on helping firms develop and implement innovative leadership solution in order to help them transform and succeed in challenging, dynamic environments.

General McChrystal is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a popular course on Leadership. He also sits on the boards of the Yellow Ribbon Fund, the Service Year Alliance, Navistar International Corporation, JetBlue Airways, and is Chairman of the Board for Siemens Government Technology. He is the author of two New York Times bestselling books: My Share of the Task – a Memoir, and Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World.

Francis Chan is the best-selling author of Crazy Love, Forgotten God, Erasing Hell and the host of the BASIC.series (Who Is God & We Are Church). Currently, Francis is planting churches in the San Francisco area. Together, Francis and his wife Lisa raise their seven children in Northern California and are co-authors of the new book You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity. For more information, check out youandmeforever.org and @youandmeforever.

Kara Powell, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) and a faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. Named by Christianity Today as one of “50 Women to Watch,” Kara serves as a Youth and Family Strategist for Orange, and also speaks regularly at parenting and leadership conferences.  Kara is the author or co-author of a number of books including Growing Young, The Sticky Faith Guide for Your Family, Sticky Faith Curriculum, Can I Ask That?, Deep Justice Journeys, Essential Leadership, Deep Justice in a Broken World, Deep Ministry in a Shallow World, and the Good Sex Youth Ministry Curriculum.

Adam Edgerly is an interculturalist and the CEO of Culture Consultants, helping senior executives achieve peak performance through executive coaching and leadership training. He has led retreats and workshops on five continents for thousands of participants. He earned his MA in Inter-Cultural Studies from Biola University and his MBA from Emory University.

Adam also serves as Lead Pastor of Newsong Los Angeles Covenant Church, a multicultural community committed to reconciliation in Christ. Prior to his ministry at Newsong LA, Adam served the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination in several capacities. He was Associate Director of Global Evangelism and Regional Director of Church Planting and Community Transformation.

Adam lives in southern California, where enjoys spending time at the beach with his wife and daughter.

Gabe Lyons is the co-author of Good Faith (2016), unChristian (2007) and authored The Next Christians (2010), as a manifesto for how Christians can faithfully lead in a changing culture. He is the founder of Q, a learning community of Christian leaders where they are equipped to engage our cultural moment.  Their Q Conference annually convenes thousands of leaders from all industries while Q Commons, their global event simultaneously unites 140 cities and over 10,000 people on an October evening . Called “sophisticated and orthodox” by The New York Times, Q equips Christians apply their faith to daily life by addressing some of the most difficult and controversial issues of our time. Gabe speaks to over 100,000 people each year on topics of equipping the next generation, cultural issues and research related to the intersection of faith and public life.

He lives in Nashville with his wife, Rebekah, and their three children.

In his 2016 book Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing, Andy Crouch continues the compelling exploration of faith and culture found in his previous books Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power and Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling.

Andy is executive editor of Christianity Today. He serves on the governing boards of Fuller Theological Seminary and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. His work and writing have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and several editions of Best Christian Writing and Best Spiritual Writing—and, most importantly, received a shout-out in Lecrae’s 2014 single “Non-Fiction.”

Andy was executive producer for the documentary film series Where Faith and Culture Meet and Round Trip, as well as the three-year project This Is Our City. From 1998 to 2003, he was the editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly, a magazine for an emerging generation of culturally creative Christians. For ten years he was a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Harvard University. He studied classics at Cornell University and received an M.Div. summa cum laude from Boston University School of Theology. A classically trained musician who draws on pop, folk, rock, jazz, and gospel, he has led musical worship for congregations of 5 to 20,000. He lives with his family in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

Latasha is a bridge-builder, reconciler, fellow abolitionist, and a compelling voice in the fight for racial justice. Possessing a passion for social justice issues across the globe, Tasha uses her platform to encourage racial reconciliation among all ethnicities, to promote racial unity in America, and to develop others to do the same.

A native of North Carolina, Tasha attended East Carolina University, earned a Masters in Business from Liberty University, and has served as Children’s and Next Gen Director.  Embarking on her new role as the Director of Operations at Gateway Church Central in Austin, Texas, Tasha is simultaneously cultivating “Be the Bridge,” a ministry to equip those desirous of taking next steps toward racial unity.

When not captivating audiences with her dynamic presentations and conscious raising workshops, Tasha can be found exploring her new home town of Austin, Texas, drinking tea and laughing with friends, and viewing Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel.

Barnabas Piper is an author, podcaster, and speaker who lives in the Nashville area. He has written The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity and Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt Is Not The Enemy of Faith and his third book, The Curious Christian: How Discovering Wonder Enriches Every part of Life will release in early 2017. Barnabas also writes regularly for The Blazing Center, He Reads Truth, and Athletes in Action. He co-hosts two podcasts, The Happy Rant and 5 Leadership Questions and speaks regularly around the country. He works in leadership development at LifeWay Christian Resources which gives him the opportunity to do something he cares deeply about, invest in local churches and in church leaders.

Compassion International’s President and Chief Executive Officer Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado has a deep love and passion for the beauty and potential of local churches fulfilling their Jesus-given mandate to redeem and restore this world for His name’s sake. Born in El Salvador and raised in seven different countries, Jimmy has experienced firsthand the powerful impact thriving local churches can have on their communities, especially in under-resourced environments. Compassion’s church-based approach to delivering a holistic child development program resonates with Jimmy at a deep level.

Prior to joining Compassion in June of 2013, Jimmy was president of the Willow Creek Association (WCA) – a global ministry completely dedicated to helping local churches thrive. During his 20-year tenure leading the WCA, worldwide ministry income grew from $2 million to more than $20 million and membership grew from 860 churches to over 7,000 churches.

In 1995, Jimmy teamed up with Bill Hybels to launch and host The Global Leadership Summit. The Summit is an annual not-for-profit event created to address the dire need for excellent leadership training in local churches and other people-centered organizations around the world. One of its highest values has been an insatiable desire to learn from many of the world’s top leaders and most gifted communicators. The Summit shares leadership insights from a variety of voices and disciplines –  from corporate CEOs, heads of state, leaders in academia, leaders within the church, and leaders from the not-for-profit sector. By the time Jimmy completed his last Summit in 2013, the event spanned 100 countries and reached an audience of 170,000 attendees with this valuable training.

Jimmy’s educational background includes graduating cum laude with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

He is also an accomplished athlete. In college, Jimmy was a member of the 1983 NCAA Division I Indoor & Outdoor National Championship team at SMU where he competed in the decathlon and held the school record. After college, Jimmy went on to place 4th at the 1987 Pan American Games and 26th in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, competing for the country of his birth, El Salvador. He has continued to stay engaged with the sport he loves by serving as a volunteer track and field coach.

Jimmy married his wife Leanne in 1986 and they have three children grown children – two girls and a boy.

Andrew K. Benton has served as the seventh president of Pepperdine University since 2000 and continues to lead Pepperdine to prominence among the nation’s top universities. A lawyer by training, President Benton cares deeply about higher education and all students.

President Benton currently serves on the boards of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the President’s Cabinet of the West Coast Conference. He is also past chair of both the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities and the American Council on Education (ACE), the latter of which is the major coordinating body for all of the nation’s higher education institutions.

President Benton is a 1974 graduate and distinguished alumnus of Oklahoma Christian University with a degree in American studies. He earned his juris doctor degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1979 and was honored with its 2015 Distinguished Law Alumnus Award.

President Benton has been involved in higher education administration since 1974.  Prior to his presidency, he served in several key leadership roles at Pepperdine, including executive vice president and vice president for university affairs and administration.

He resides in Malibu with his wife Debby.

A thought-leading author, pastor, and recognized leader in the Multi-ethnic Church Movement, Mark planted the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in 2001 where he continues to serve as Directional Leader. In 2004, he co-founded the Mosaix Global Network with Dr. George Yancey and today serves as its president, and convener of the triennial National Multi-ethnic Church Conference. In 2008, he launched Vine and Village and remains active on the board of this 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on the spiritual, social, and financial transformation of Little Rock’s University District and the 72204 ZIP Code.

Mark has written six books including his latest, Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community (Thomas Nelson, March 2017); and Multiethnic Conversations: an Eight Week Guide to Unity in Your Church (Wesleyan Publishing House, October 2016), the first daily devotional, small group curriculum on the subject for people in the pews. His book, Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (Jossey-Bass, 2007), was a finalist for a Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (2008) and for a Resource of the Year Award (2008) sponsored by Outreach magazine. His other books include, re:MIX: Transitioning Your Church to Living Color (Abingdon, June 2016); Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (formerly Ethnic Blends; Zondervan, 2010, 2013), and the e-Book, Should Pastors Accept or Reject the Homogeneous Unit Principle? (Mosaix Global Network, 2011). In addition to books, he is a contributing editor for Outreach magazine where his column, “Mosaic” appears in each issue.

He and his wife, Linda, have been married for thirty years and reside in Little Rock, AR. Linda is the author of the certified best-seller, Mommy, Please Don’t Cry: There Are No Tears in Heaven (Multnomah, 1996), an anointed resource providing hope and comfort for those who grieve the loss of a child. Mark and Linda have four adult children and two grandchildren.

Mark is an Adjunct Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and teaches Doctor of Ministry courses at seminaries across the country including TEDS, Western, and Phoenix, where he earned his own D.Min. in 2006.

Preston Sprinkle (Ph.D.) is a speaker, teacher, and a New York Times bestselling author. He’s written several books including People to Be Loved, Erasing Hell, and the recently released book on discipleship titled Go. Preston has been a professor at three different colleges or universities and currently serves as a the director of Responding Well, a ministry which equips Christians leaders to think theologically and pastorally about questions related to faith, sexuality, and gender.

prestonsprinkle.com

Christopher Kopka is President of Thrivent Church Solutions Group.  In this role, Kopka leaders Thrivent’s church-related businesses and functions, which presently reach over 30,000 churches through products and services provided by Thrivent and partner organizations. He is also the Senior Vice President for Mergers , Acquisitions & Strategic Partnerships.

Kopka joined Thrivent in 2006. He began his career providing training and development for law enforcement, which led him to attend law school at the University of Minnesota. He has served in senior strategy, legal, compliance and business development functions throughout his career.  Chris is also a lifelong poet by passion.

He serves on the board of directors of Cooperative Development Services and of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation of the Americas, as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, as an advisor to FiveTwo (a ministry dedicated to starting new churches and missional communities), and as a mentor to church planters. He is a part of the Midtown Church community.  Kopka is also an author and frequent presenter on topics related to cooperatives and to the church.

Rebekah currently serves on staff at Cherry Hills Community Church as the Executive Pastor.

Her greatest passions are helping others discover life in Jesus Christ, teaching, and equipping others so that they can experience more and more of their full potential.

She is captured by a vision of the local church marked with a wholehearted love for and worship of God, a humble dependence upon Him and unwavering submission to Him and His Word, and a passionate, unyielding commitment to join Him in reaching the world He loves.

She previously served at The Chapel, a multi-site church in the suburbs of Chicago, overseeing evangelism and volunteerism.

Rebekah became a Christ-follower her junior year of high school and first sensed God’s call into ministry the following year. She attended Monmouth College, where she majored in Communications and French, and then completed her Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, IL) in 2005.

Married for 14 years, Rebekah and her husband, Josh, moved to Colorado in early 2014. Their daughter, Zuriel, will celebrate her first birthday in January.

In her free time, Rebekah enjoys running, reading, and mentoring leaders and young adults.

Jason Malec is Managing Director of Mission U.S. at American Bible Society. In that, he oversees ABS’s mission to partner with God and the Church in seeing 100 million people actively engaging his word over the next decade. He has worked with ExploreGod.com, New Denver Church, North Point Ministries, and a variety of PR and tech startups back when that was super cool (at least in his mind). Married for 20 years, he and Meredith have three kids in high, middle and elementary schools. They just moved to Philadelphia, and are still wondering why people put something called “Whiz” on a sandwich.

Terry is the Lead Pastors of Hillsong Phoenix, the 16^th-global location of Hillsong Church. Hillsong Phoenix has campuses in Scottsdale, Mesa, Phoenix, and Tucson Arizona (launching 2017). As a fifth generation pastor, he has a rich history of building churches and helping hurting people. Terry has traveled extensively into over sixty-five nations speaking in churches, conferences and on university campuses. He has a Th.M. and D.Min. and has completed two business certificate programs from Harvard Business School.

In 2011 Terry was appointed by Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, to Chair the ArizonaSERVES Task Force which was dedicated to engaging the community around serving the most vulnerable citizens of the State. In 2013 ArizonaSERVES was the catalyst for the launch of AZ127, a church-to-church partnership dedicated to recruiting, resourcing and retaining foster-care families. AZ127 has since inspired a national movement of churches partnering around adoption and foster-care. Terry presently serves as a member of Governor Doug Ducey’s “Council for Child safety and Family Empowerment.”

Terry and his wife Judith have been married for thirty-three years and have three adult sons, three daughter-in-laws, and their first grandson. The entire Crist family is engaged in serving and building the local church.

Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She is Associate Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University. She has published work in the areas of virtues (intellectual humility, gratitude, forgiveness), religion, spirituality, stress, coping, mental health, and prostitution. She co-authored the book: Faith from a Positive Psychology Perspective. She has provided psychotherapy at mental health centers for adults and children. She currently teaches courses in psychotherapy, family therapy, advanced research methodology, and psychology of religion.

Gary Kinnaman served as Senior Pastor of Word of Grace Church in Mesa, Arizona, for twenty-five years. Under his leadership, the church grew to an average weekend attendance of over 4500. He now serves as a pastor at large, mentoring and networking church, government and market place leaders to serve the Phoenix area. His leadership in this regard led to his appointment to Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Faith and Community. Gary is currently serving as the Phoenix mobilizer for the American Bible Society.

Gary is a graduate of Biola University, Arizona State University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary. He and his wife Marilyn and three children and nine grandchildren.

Mike and his wife, Diane, live in Midland, Texas, and have been married 38 years.  They have two children:  Matt, a physician, and Chris, a student in the Marriage and Family Institute at Abilene Christian University.  Matt and his wife, Jenna, live in Abilene and have two daughters, Reese and Ellie, and a son, Miles. Chris and his wife, Chloe, live in Abilene while finishing their graduate degrees.

He is the author of five books, including 2011’s Megan’s Secrets, and edited Wineskins magazine for 12 years.  The Copes moved to Abilene in 1991 where Mike preached at the Highland Church of Christ for 18 years and taught as an adjunct professor at ACU for 15 years and where Diane taught 2^nd and 3^rd grade in AISD for 15 years.

He is the Director of Ministry Outreach for Pepperdine University and is the senior minister for the Golf Course Road Church of Christ in Midland, TX.