Steven Smith is dean of the college and professor of communication at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He also holds the seminary’s James T. Draper Chair of Pastoral Ministry. Smith is the author of Dying to Preach: Embracing the Cross in the Pulpit (2009), in which he discusses “why the preacher must die to self, […]

Leadership Network in Dallas fosters church innovation by working with leaders in a variety of denominations. It  has support groups for pastors in different stages of their careers, and its website includes resources related to burnout.

Karen Baker-Fletcher is a professor of systematic theology at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology. She specializes in womanist theology and is the co-author of My Sister, My Brother: Womanist and Xodus God-Talk. Baker-Fletcher’s research interests also include ecology, and in 2007 the environmental magazine Grist named her as one of 15 top religious leaders on […]

H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. is a philosophy professor at Rice University in Houston and an expert on bioethics. His current research interests include rights and responsibilities in health care.

Evangelical speaker and minister Claudette Anderson Copeland founded New Creation Christian Fellowship and Destiny Ministries for women. She wrote Stories From Inner Space: Confessions of a Preacher Woman and Other Tales (Red Nail Press, 2003) and Coming Through the Darkness: Cancer and One Woman’s Journey to Wholeness (Destiny Press, 2000). Contact her through executive director Destiny Ministries.

Faith Communities and Urban Families Project published a 2003 research project conducted by the Morehouse College Leadership Center among residents of low-income housing projects and congregations in Indianapolis, Denver, Camden and Hartford.

Kerry Shook is pastor of Woodlands Church in Houston, where members are encouraged to tweet during sermons.

Hisholyspace.com is a general Christian social networking site. It was created by founder Jeff Broderick to provide Christians with a clean, accepting, and safe online community. Users can upload and browse videos, shop, find and connect with other users, and be connected to other online Christians and Christian communities.

Joseph Cartwright is the founder of Awakening Church, a ministry dedicated to planting and supporting house churches. He is author of Poor In Spirit: One Man’s Journey Into Kingdom Simplicity and Telling The Truth:  Gleanings From A Serial Church Planter (Joseph Cartwright, 2011).