Initiating Endorsers
Rev. Rob Bell, founding pastor, Mars Hill Bible Church, author of Velvet Elvis
Rob Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, MI, one of the fastest growing churches in American history. He is featured in the first series of spiritual short films called NOOMA. Last year, Rob published his first book titled Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith.
Bishop Charles Blake, Pastor, West Angeles Church of God in Christ, Founder, Save Africa's Children
Bishop Charles E. Blake serves as First Assistant Presiding Bishop and is a member of the General Board of the Church of God in Christ, the presiding board of the 5.5 million member Church of God in Christ denomination. He is the pastor of West Angeles Church of God in Christ, with a membership of over 24,000. In response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, Bishop Blake founded and is president of the Pan African Children's Fund (PACF). Save Africa's Children, a program of PACF currently provides support to over 160 orphanages throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr. Tony Campolo, Baptist evangelist and international speaker
Dr. Tony Campolo is a much sought-after speaker, the author of 30 books, and a media commentator on religious, social, and political matters on television programs such as Nightline, Crossfire, The Charlie Rose Show, and CNN News. He co-hosted his own television series, Hashing It Out, on the Odyssey Network, and presently hosts From Across the Pond, a weekly program on the Premier Radio Network in England. He is currently recognized as an associate pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.
Rev. Rich Cizik, Vice-president for Government Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals
Richard Cizik is Vice President for Governmental Affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. His primary responsibilities include editing publications such as NAE Washington Insight, directing NAE's Washington Insight Briefing and Christian Student Leadership Conferences, setting its policy direction on issues before Congress, the White House, and Supreme Court, as well as serving as a national spokesman on issues of concern to evangelicals.
Rev. Luis Cortés, Jr., President, Esperanza USA
The Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr. is the CEO of Esperanza USA, A network of Hispanic Christians, churches, and ministries. Rev. Cortés also serves as the founder and president of Nueva Esperanza, Inc., the largest Hispanic faith-based community development corporation in the country. Esperanza USA organizes and hosts the annual National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference, where close to 700 national Hispanic clergy and community leaders gather for prayer, fellowship and advocacy. In January 2005, The Reverend Luis Cortés was featured as one of Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals.”
Rev. Wes Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary, Reformed Church in America
The Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson was installed as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America at the 1994 General Synod. He graduated from Hope College in 1967, and served for eight years on the staff of U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon. Prior to becoming general secretary of the RCA, Granberg-Michaelson served for six years on the staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland (1988-1994).
Rev. Dr. Roberta Hestenes, Pastor, Community Presbyterian Church, Former President, Eastern University
Dr. Hestenes currently is a Teaching Pastor at Community Presbyterian Church in Danville, CA and is a national and international speaker, as well as author and co-author of numerous books and articles. She has also served as Senior Pastor of Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, President and Professor of Christian Spirituality at Eastern College, and Associate Professor at Fuller Seminary.
Dr. Joel Hunter, President, Christian Coalition of America
Dr. Joel Hunter is senior pastor of Northland Church, a mega-church with 6,000 members in the Orlando area. Dr. Hunter has a bachelor's degree from Ohio University, and M.Div. and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Christian Theological Seminary. Joel Hunter is on the board of directors of the National Association of Evangelicals and is a guest lecturer in practical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando.
Rev. Bill Hybels, Pastor, Willow Creek Church, leader of Willow Creek Association
Bill Hybels is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek. He is the author of 17 books, including Rediscovering Church and Fit to Be Tied (both co-authored with his wife Lynne), Too Busy Not to Pray, Becoming a Contagious Christian (with Mark Mittelberg), and The God You're Looking For. He is chairman of the Willow Creek Association's board of directors.
Bishop Harry Jackson, President, High Impact Leadership Coalition
Bishop Harry Jackson is the founder and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition (HILC). Through his written works, including The Black Contract with America on Moral Values, Jackson has trumpeted the call for the return of biblical righteousness and justice. Bishop Jackson is Senior Pastor of Hope Christian Church in the Washington, DC area and serves as a regional Bishop in the Fellowship of International Churches (FOIC). He has authored several books including High Impact African-American Churches .
Dr. Richard Land, President, Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Dr. Richard Land has served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission since 1988. During his tenure as spokesman on Capitol Hill for the largest non-Catholic denomination in the country, Dr. Land has represented Southern Baptists’ interests in Congress, before U.S. Presidents, and in the major media. In 2005, Land was featured in Time magazine as one of “The Twenty-five Most Influential Evangelicals in America.” Dr. Land is also Executive Editor of Faith & Family Values, a national magazine dedicated to coverage of traditional religious values, Christian ethics, and cultural trends.
Rev. Brian McLaren, author, leader in emerging church
Brian McLaren is the founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, a nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region. He is a popular speaker and guest lecturer and has written a number of books, most notably the A New Kind of Christian trilogy and the recent Generous Orthodoxy. He is currently on the international steering team and board of directors of Emergent, “a growing, generative friendship among mission Christian leaders,” and serves as the board chair of Sojourners.
David Neff, Editor & Vice President, Christianity Today
David Neff is editor of Christianity Todayand an editorial vice-president of Christianity Today International. After ministering and teaching religion at Walla Walla College, David joined the editorial team at InterVarsity Press where he edited HIS magazine for college students and helped to found the Journal of Christian Nursing. Since1985, David has worked on Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and Christian History & Biography.
Dr. Glenn R. Palmberg, President, Evangelical Covenant Church
Glenn R. Palmberg is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church and has served churches in Rockford, Illinois; Hudson, Ohio; and Olathe, Kansas. In June 1998 he was elected president of the denomination. He currently serves on the boards of directors of several national poverty-issue organizations, including Call to Renewal and the Alliance to End Hunger, and is quite active in others, including Bread for the World.
Dr. Bob Roberts, Jr., founding pastor, NorthWood Church
Dr. Bob Roberts, Jr., founding pastor of the 2,000+ member NorthWood Church. Through his leadership, NorthWood has planted in excess of 89 churches in the U.S. Bob is a national and international speaker and thinker in transforming people, churches, communities and the world. He has led NorthWood and other churches to work on international development projects and exchange student programs. Additionally, he works with community development programs in local neighborhoods in the Fort Worth area.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Pastor Sam is the Current President of The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. The NHCLC serves 15 million Hispanic Christians while serving as advocates for 40 Million Hispanics in respect to family, socio-economic and political empowerment. Pastor Sam is also the Founder of 3DBN, Third Day Believer's Network. 3DBN is a Global Network of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Teachers, Pastors, Bishops, Denominations, Fellowships and Networks.
Rev. Dr. William J. Shaw, President, National Baptist Convention, USA
Dr. William J. Shaw is President of the National Baptist Convention, USA. Inc. and Pastor of White Rock Baptist Church, a position he has held since 1956. In addition to his work as Pastor of the White Rock Baptist Church, Dr. Shaw is a recognized leader in Pennsylvania and across the nation. He serves as Chairman of the Trustee Board for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and is a member ex officio on the Board of Penn Medicine.
Dr. Ron Sider, Founder and President, Evangelicals for Social Action
Ronald J. Sider is professor of theology, holistic ministry, and public policy as well as director of the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also president of Evangelicals for Social Action. His Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger was recognized by Christianity Today as being among the one hundred most influential religious books of the twentieth century.
Rev. Geoff Tunnicliffe, International Director, World Evangelical Alliance
Geoff Tunnicliffe is the International Director for the World Evangelical Alliance, which represents a global network of 3 million churches and 420 million Christians.. As a frequent speaker at global conferences and churches, Geoff seeks to envision and motivate evangelical Christians to actively respond to major global issues such as Poverty and Hunger, HIV/AIDS, Refugees, Human Rights and the Environment. He regularly meets with government leaders and is sought out by the media to provide an evangelical perspective comment on these key issues.
Rev. Jim Wallis, President, Sojourners/Call to Renewal, author of God's Politics
Jim Wallis is a speaker, author, activist, and international commentator on ethics and public life. Wallis speaks at more than 200 events a year and his columns have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other major newspapers. His most recent book, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It, debuted at number four on the New York Times’ best-sellers list. He offers regular commentary and analysis for radio and television and teaches a course at Harvard University.
Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, MD, Co-Founder, My Sister's Keeper
Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, M.D. has been the Co-Pastor of Bethel AME Church in Boston, MA since 1997 and a pediatrician at the South End Community Health Center since 1981. She is the founder of and consultant to the church-based creative writing/mentoring ministry called “Do the Write Thing” for high-risk black adolescent females. In 2002 she founded My Sister’s Keeper, a human rights group organized to support women of southern Sudan in their efforts toward the reconciliation and reconstruction of their communities.
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, President, Skinner Leadership Institute
Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner is president of Skinner Leadership Institute (SLI). A nationally recognized spiritual leader, teacher, lecturer and writer, she earned her undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University, and the M.S.W. and law degrees from UCLA. For many years, Dr. Williams-Skinner was the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, DC, made up of the African American members of the U. S. Congress who collectively represent 39 million African Americans.
Lauren Winner, author, and Visiting Lecturer, Duke Divinity School
Lauren Winner, the former book editor for Beliefnet, is the author of three books, Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, and Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity. She has appeared on PBS's Religion & Ethics Newsweekly and has written for The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, and Christianity Today. Her essays have been included in The Best Christian Writing 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.