Sam O'Neal is managing editor of the Discipleship Team at Christianity Today International, where he has worked since June of 2005. Working primarily with SmallGroups.com, Sam oversees the planning and coordination of all content featured on the site.
Sam has a passion for seeing discipleship and full-bodied Christian education done right in the local church—especially in the context of small-group communities. He has been married to a wonderful woman named Jessica for over five years, and thoroughly enjoys their young son, Daniel. Sam is also a rabid fan of the Chicago Bears. The O'Neals live near Saint Charles, Illinois, where they attend Riverside Church.
Hollie Baker-Lutz serves as the marketing coordinator for Christianity Today's Discipleship Team. Hollie attended Elmhurst College, where she graduated with honors in both Philosophy and Sociology. She also earned a certificate in Discipleship from Youth with a Mission (YWAM) in Perth, Western Australia.
Hollie has traveled to more than 15 countries with Christian missions or poverty relief organizations. Her areas of interest include international social justice, gender issues, and the egalitarian church. Her favorite activities are reading, trying new foods, dance, puppies, Beatles trivia, the warm outdoors, and spending time with her family. Currently Hollie lives in Suburbia, Illinois, with her fantastic husband Nate.
Our Editorial Advisory Panel:
Jeff Arnold received his Masters of Divinity degree (Magna Cum Laude) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. He also completed a Doctor of Ministry degree at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Jeff has served churches in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, and the Pocono Mountains, serving as a youth pastor, founding pastor of a new church, associate pastor, and senior pastor. He is currently the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Beaver, PA, just north of Pittsburgh.
Jeff was married in 1986 to Karen, and they have three children: Brett (19), Heather (18), and Hannah (15). The Arnold's have also served as a foster family to four children. Karen has her Masters in Religious Education degree from Gordon-Conwell Seminary
Jeff has authored eight books, including the recently re-released The Big Book on Small Groups and Small Group Outreach (InterVarsity Press); Seven Traits of a Successful Leader and What We Believe (Pilgrimage/NavPress); and Starting Small Groups in Your Church (Abingdon Press). Jeff is also an adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary, near Philadelphia, and Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, PA.
John Atkinson serves on the Management Staff at Bay Area Fellowship in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he oversees all of the church's Discipleship/Care ministries. John came on staff in 2002 as the Hometeams Pastor; he was in charge of a ministry with seven small groups. As of 2008, there were more than 200 small groups meeting weekly or bi-weekly all over Corpus Christi and its surrounding areas. John also oversees the management of Bay Area Fellowship's first video venue in Kingsville, Texas, which has a weekly attendance of just over 300 people.
John is co-author of Go Big with Small Groups. He is married to the love of his life, April, and is the proud father to his three boys: Cody, Cory, and Caleb.
Tom Bandy is the president of Easum, Bandy and Associates and executive director of Net Results magazine. Tom has been a transformational pastor in three denominations in the USA and Canada, as well as a national denominational leader. Today he consults with churches across the cultural and theological spectrum of North America, and coaches Christian leaders worldwide.
Tom is the author of numerous books on spiritual growth, congregational mission, and evangelism, including Mission Mover, Fragile Hope, and Road Runner: The Body in Motion. His personal mission is to mentor pilgrims in the way of Christ.
http://easumbandy.com
www.netresults.org
Mark Bonham is the executive director of Open Hearts Ministry (OHM). Previously he served for 25 years with the Navigators as campus minister, overseas missionary, and mission director for Hungary and Romania (13 years). He also served in the Navigator community ministry on the Detroit Metro Mission's leadership team. In these roles, Mark gained broad experience in establishing small groups for all kinds of purposes: pre-evangelism, Bible study, fellowship, workplace ministry, and biblical support and recovery.
Mark has a B.S. in Business, an M.A. in Education, and is an ordained minister. His ministry experience has also given him a passion for experiencing life-giving community in safe groups. As OHM executive director, Mark is tasked with the operational and organizational development of ministry and training events.
Mark and his wife, Mary, have two grown children. Mary is actively involved as a director of Soul Care in their local church.
http://openhearts.gospelcom.net
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun has been caught up in God's dream for this world for the past 35 years. In the early 70's she helped pioneer student work in Southeast Asia and the Mid-East working with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). From 1986 to 1996, Adele worked at Park Street Church in Boston, initially as the Women's Associate to Young Adults and then as Director of Women's Ministries and Spiritual Formation. During that time, she received training as a spiritual director.
With her husband, Adele currently pastors Redeemer Community Church in Wellesley, MA. She has served as an adjunct professor at Wheaton College and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently on the board of the Pierce Foundation at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. She is the author of Opening Our Hearts and Home and The Handbook of Spiritual Disciplines (InterVarsity Press).
Adele's hobbies include painting, gardening, reading, hiking, and traveling. She and her husband, Doug, have a daughter who works in Boulder, Colorado, and a son who works in New York City.
Lyman Coleman has been a pioneer in the small-group movement from the 50's to the present. He is founder of Serendipity House Publishers—a role in which he edited the Serendipity Bible and various small-group Bible studies.
A series of tragedies—beginning with the death of his son in a ski accident and the death of his wife in a medical accident—started Lyman on a new mission to help people like himself who needed something more out of a small group than low-level entry techniques. He is currently working as a trainer and consultant for several church leaders and denominations.
Joel Comiskey (Ph.D. Fuller Seminary) is founder and president of Joel Comiskey Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping churches fulfill the great commission. He has served as a missionary with the Christian & Missionary Alliance in Quito, Ecuador, and is now planting a cell-based church in southern California.
Joel has written best-selling books on the worldwide cell group movement, including The Spirit-Filled Small Group, Coach: Empower Others to Effectively Lead a Small Group, and Planting Churches that Reproduce. He also teaches as an adjunct professor at several theological seminaries.
Joel and his wife, Celyce, have three daughters and live in Moreno Valley, California. Joel enjoys basketball, computers, and the outdoors.
www.comiskey.org
www.joelcomiskeygroup.com
Dr. Larry Crabb is a well-known psychologist, conference and seminar speaker, Bible teacher, popular author, and founder/director of NewWay Ministries. In addition to various other speaking and teaching opportunities, Dr. Crabb offers a weekend conference throughout the country entitled Life on the Narrow Road and a week-long School of Spiritual Direction held in Colorado Springs, CO.
Dr. Crabb currently is Scholar in Residence at Colorado Christian University and serves as Spiritual Director for the American Association of Christian Counselors. He has authored many books, including Understanding People, Connecting, Soul Talk, and The PAPA Prayer.
Dr. Crabb and his wife, Rachael, live in the Denver, Colorado, area.
http://www.newwayministries.org/index.php
Bill Easum has a 30 year track record of growing congregations in two denominations. For the past 15 years, Bill has served as a consultant to congregations and denominations. In 1986 he founded 21st Century Strategies, which in 2000 partnered with Thriving Church Consultants and became Easum, Bandy & Associates (EBA) with his new partner Tom Bandy. EBA serves the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Bill has personally worked in over 500 congregations, some of which are the largest in the world, and has taught hundreds of thousands of leaders.
Bill is the author of numerous best-selling books, including Sacred Cows Make Gourmet Burgers, Leadership on the Other Side, Unfreezing Moves, and Go Big with Small Groups. Bill is a graduate of Baylor University, B.A., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.D., and Perkins School of Theology, S.T.M.
Bill's vice is fishing for Sail and Marlin, and he releases all of his fish. He is married to Jan, and they have one daughter, Caran.
Steve Gladen has been on staff at Saddleback Church since 1998. He has focused on small groups in several churches for almost 20 years. Steve oversees 2,500 adult small groups at Saddleback and loves seeing a big church become small through true community developed in group life. Steve oversees the strategic launch and development of small groups at Saddleback, as well as the staff of the Small Group Network.
Steve has co-authored several books, including 250 Big Ideas for Small Groups, Building Healthy Small Groups in Your Church, and Don't Lead Alone. Steve does consulting and seminars championing small groups and what it means to be Purpose Driven in a small-group ministry.
Steve and his wife, Lisa, have been married since 1989. They reside in Southern California and have two children: Erika and Ethan.
Dan Lentz is Director of the Small-Group Network—a network of small-group leaders, churches, small-group resource providers, and other Christian organizations originally brought together at SmallGroups.com to provide an online place for training and support of group leaders and directors.
Over the years, Dan been has been a church planter, small-groups pastor, and has served in a variety of roles within small-groups ministries. He is also author of Let's Get Started: How to Begin Your Small-Groups Ministry.
Dan's family small-group consists of his wife, Kim, and their three children: Sam, Katie, and Grace.
Michael C. Mack is Life Groups Minister at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He founded SmallGroups.com in 1995, has served as a small-groups author, editor, speaker, and consultant. He is the author of several books, including I'm a Leader…Now What?
Michael received his B.B.A from the University of Cincinnati in 1983, and his M.A. from Cincinnati Bible Seminary in 1993. He and his wife, Heidi, live in Pewee Valley, Kentucky, with their four school-aged children. His interests include coaching youth sports and mountain biking.
Scottie May is an experienced church educator and developer of materials for children's ministries. She is coauthor of Children Matter, published by Eerdmans, and she contributed to Perspectives on Children's Spiritual Formation: Four Views and Children's Spirituality: Children's Perspectives, Research, and Applications. Currently she is Assistant Professor in the Department of Christian formation and Ministry at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. She has a Ph.D. in education from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
The Christian formation of children is an area of passion for Scottie. She has researched ways children come to faith and how the local church shapes that process. Other areas of interest are the power of the learning environments that the church creates, particularly "authentic" experiential learning, the implications of the church being "the family of God," and intergenerational worship and learning experiences.
For several years she worked as a Christian education consultant for major curriculum publisher providing resources and workshops for about 100 churches a year. She serves in elementary-age children's ministries at her own church. Scottie is the mother of three children and has eight grandchildren.
http://www.wheaton.edu/ce/faculty/may.html
Randall Neighbour is president of TOUCH Outreach Ministries in Houston, Texas. He has authored numerous books on small-group life, leadership, coaching, and team-based evangelism, including Community Life 101 and The Pocket Guide to Coaching Small Groups.
He and his wife coach a number of small groups at the Vineyard Church of Houston. His hobbies include coral propagation and renovating his 105 year old home.
Larry Osborne has pastored North Coast Church in Vista, California, since 1980. Under his leadership, the church has grown from 128 to over 6,500 in weekend attendance, and has been acclaimed as one of the ten most influential churches in America.
Known for its innovative approach to ministry and a deep commitment to making disciples in a healthy environment, North Coast pioneered a Sermon-Based small group model with a participation level of over 80 percent of the weekend attendance every year since 1985. North Coast also pioneered the use of Video Worship Venues and is a leader in the Multi-Site movement with over worship options on five different campuses—each targeted at a different geographical and missional demographic.
Larry has a great love for the local church and the pastors and shepherds who lead it. His warm wisdom and no-nonsense practicality make him a popular speaker on leadership and spiritual development. His books include The Unity Factor, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God, and Sticky Church: Using Sermon-Based Small Groups to Slam the Back Door Shut.
http://www.northcoastchurch.com/pastors
Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott are founders of RealRelationships.com and the Center for Relationship Development at Seattle Pacific University. Their bestselling books include Love Talk, Your Time-Starved Marriage, and the award-winning Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.
Their work has been featured in the New York Times and USA Today, and they have appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, and Oprah. Les and Leslie live in Seattle, Washington, with their two sons.
Pat J. Sikora is a popular author and conference speaker, with several books and hundreds of articles to her credit. Her most recent book, Why Didn't You Warn Me?, equips leaders to effectively minister to challenging people.
Pat is founder and President of Mighty Oak Ministries, a ministry that provides tools, resources, and strategies to equip the Body of Christ to encourage and nurture the wounded and broken in their churches and ministries, and to help them to grow deeply, heal progressively, and mature splendidly.
Pat believes that the transformational ministry of the Word of God, applied and engrafted to real life community, will result in a display more splendid than the grandest oak. Pat is available for leadership training and conferences, large or small.
http://www.mightyoakministries.com
http://www.whydidntyouwarnme.com
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