Former Editors-in-Chief
Benjamin Cabe (former Founder and Editor-in-Chief): Ben is a writer and filmmaker. In 2013, he wanted to explore the possibility of creating a website that facilitated respectful Christian conversation across many traditions. With the help of Jacob Prahlow, this desire flourished into Conciliar Post. He loves to read works of philosophy and theology and is especially interested in how the early Church Fathers utilized and refashioned the philosophical language of the time in order to incarnate divine truth.
Christian Background: Benjamin was born as a fourth generation Evangelical / Protestant Christian. The desire to live an active life in Christ led him, through much reading, study, and prayer, to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
*AcknowledgmentsJohn Ehrett (former Editor-in-Chief): A longtime resident of Dallas, Texas, John currently works as an attorney and writer in the Washington, D.C. metro area. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.A.R. from the Institute of Lutheran Theology, and an undergraduate degree in government (international politics and policy track) from Patrick Henry College. He particularly enjoys studying the history of Christian appropriations of Neoplatonism, the virtue ethics tradition, postliberal political theologies, and how faith communities preserve their identities in the face of changing social conditions. In his spare time, John enjoys going for morning runs, reviewing movies, reading literature, and rejoicing in the renaissance of longform journalism.
Christian Background: John was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. During college he explored Reformed theology, nondenominational evangelicalism, and Roman Catholicism, before returning to his roots by way of St. Thomas Aquinas, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Soren Kierkegaard. His favorite Christian writers include David Bentley Hart, E.L. Mascall, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and the Cambridge Platonists.
Articles by John | Personal Website
Ben Winter (former Editor-in-Chief): Dr. Winter is assistant professor of theology at Divine Word College. His research interests include scholasticism, Christian mysticism, science and religion, and philosophical theology. Before matriculating from Saint Louis University with a doctorate in Historical Theology, Ben completed a Master of Arts in Theology at Villanova University. His undergraduate degree comes from Truman State University, where he studied English and Philosophy. His interests outside the academy include creating electronic music, travel, swimming, mountain biking, science fiction, and podcasts of all sorts.
Christian Background: Ben was raised in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). His family attended church and Bible class regularly, which cultivated a love for liturgy and Scripture. After an exploratory period, Ben was exposed to the broader history of the Christian tradition through a medieval philosophy seminar. Beginning with Augustine’s De libero arbitrio and concluding with Bonaventure’s Itinerarium, the course started a journey that eventually led to membership in the Roman Catholic Church. You can read more about these events here.
Articles by Ben | Personal Website
Previous Authors and Contributors
George Aldhizer: Raised in North Carolina, George works as an accountant and lives in New York with his wife and son. His writing is animated by Abraham Kuyper’s exclamation, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
Christian Background: George was believer’s baptized at the age of six, raised in the “contemporary” service of a United Methodist Church, and has two uncles and a cousin who are pastors in the Church of the Nazarene denomination. He converted to the Reformed tradition in college through the missionary dating efforts of his girlfriend (now wife) and the ministry of Reformed University Fellowship. Having attended a Presbyterian Church (PCA) during college, he and his family now attend an Anglican church in Manhattan.
Rebecca Barrett: Becca and her daughter, Paizley, live in Roswell, New Mexico, where Becca works in a breeding and foaling barn on a racehorse ranch. A Certified Veterinary Technician specializing in Equine Reproduction, Becca enjoys the opportunity to breed, raise and gallop race horses, and aspires to compete on the professional rodeo circuit. Some of her other hobbies include breaking colts and reading. While Becca has a deep appreciation for the “cowboy” lifestyle and values, her true passion (inspired by her time at Summit Semester in 2009) is the practical application of her studies of worldviews and theology, combined with discipleship.
Christian Background: Throughout Becca’s childhood, her family was active in Presbyterian, Reformed, and Southern Baptist churches. However, in her early twenties, Becca wandered from her Christian upbringing. Her ungodly lifestyle and selfish decisions soon caught up to her, leaving her a broken, single mother. Christ led her to a Baptist church north east of Colorado Springs where she experienced the grace and healing of Jesus Christ. Currently, she and Paizley are very involved, and hold membership, at First Baptist Roswell, where she is a sixth and seventh grade girls youth leader.
Larry Brown: Larry J. Brown, Jr. was born & raised in the city of Jacksonville, Florida. He is currently a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at Howard University. Larry is a graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity (2015) and holds a BA in English Literature & Psychology from Florida International University (2012). He is an avid gamer, anime fan, and enjoys exploring life, God, and everything in between. Larry is an ordained Baptist minister.
Christian Background: Larry was born and cradled in the Baptist Church. He now aligns with a strong liberation and prophetic traditions of the Black Baptist Church. Taking science, history, and philosophy seriously in conversation with the biblical text, Larry primarily engages in existential and liberation approaches with streaks of process thought.
Cameron Brooks: Cameron is currently a graduate student at Princeton Theological Seminary working toward an M.A. in Theological Studies. He previously obtained a B.A. from the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota, majoring in theology/philosophy and English. He is especially interested in Christian theological ethics. Cameron lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife Jenny.
Christian Background: Cameron was raised in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and grew up reading the Bible and believing in the Christian God. However, it wasn’t until high school that he came to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Since then, Cameron has been involved in several evangelical churches, including a Sovereign Grace church plant (Emmaus Road Church, Sioux Falls, SD) and Acts 29. He loves writing and reading theology, among other genres. A few of his favorite thinkers are St. Augustine of Hippo, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Oliver O’Donovan, and Timothy Keller.
Micah Carlson: Micah is a writer and a student. He holds a BA in Rhetoric and Writing Studies and a BA Philosophy from Western Michigan University. Micah serves as a Senior Editor at Conciliar Post in addition to contributing as an author. He enjoys Linux, reading, practising martial arts, firearms training, playing chess, and of course, spending time with his wife.
Christian Background: Micah was raised in a reformed protestant church, where he met and married his wife, Sarah. Over the course of their spiritual pursuit of Christ, God led them to the study of the historical development of Christianity, and to the reading of the Church Fathers. This study eventually brought them into contact with Orthodox Christianity, and they were brought into the Orthodox Christian Church in 2015, on Great and Holy Pascha.
Chris Casberg: Chris is a reader, writer, student, and husband all rolled into one fleshy package. He earned his B.A. in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and now pursues a Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics at Biola University. He spent five years on active duty in the US Marine Corps, where he served as a translator of Middle Eastern languages. Chris currently lives with his beautiful wife and their incorrigible dog in the high desert of rural Central Oregon, where the craft beer flows like the Nile in flood season and the wild deer stare through your window at night.
Christian Background: Until the age of eighteen, Chris slept in every Sunday morning and left church to those silly, pretentious individuals who called themselves Christian. Chris was smart, smart people were atheists, and that’s all there was to it- until depression and a struggle for meaning led him to the door of a Christian friend who helped him turn to God for answers. He’s been picking God’s brain ever since. Always on the move, Chris has attended (and appreciated!) churches in a variety of locations and denominations over the years. Currently he and his wife attend the Free Methodist Church in Madras, Oregon.
Articles by Chris | Personal Website
Creighton Coleman: Creighton is a Wichita native currently pursuing an M.A. in Theological Studies at Saint Louis University (SLU). Prior to SLU, Creighton completed a B.A. in Political Science at Wichita State University (2012) as well as an M.A. in Christian Apologetics from Biola University (2013), in the Los Angeles area. He enjoys sports, trying new food, and re-watching The West Wing.
Christian Background: Creighton spent time in an Evangelical church as a child, but eventually became disengaged from his faith through middle school and high school. After high school, Creighton was lead to the Assemblies of God, where much of his faith formation has taken place. He is very much ‘in progress,’ but is theologically best described as a Reformed Pentecostal.
Articles by Creighton | Academic Website
Pepper Darlington: Pepper Darlington is a graduate of Patrick Henry College with a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Liberal Arts. She is a mental health advocate, with a concern for building up the confidence of the voiceless, and she currently works for The Great Courses, whose college-level materials occupy much of her spare time as well. Her studies focus on history, religion, and psychology, while her interests include superhero movies, travel, writing, and kayaking. A Christian Protestant from a low-church background, she nevertheless has a great interest in the other major world religions, especially Buddhism, and she hopes someday to visit Japan.
Christian Background: Pepper’s parents dabbled in New Age philosophy, but converted to Christianity and became Southern Baptists when Pepper was five years old. The house was unexpectedly purged of a great many things that she saw as valuable and important, but which her parents began calling evil. These changes, on top of a cross-country relocation, led her to view the world as inherently unpredictable and unsafe. Through a series of personal encounters with Christ, most of which centered in teen camp ministry, her parents’ faith became real to her too. Although the journey was neither simple nor easy, she still identifies as a Protestant Christian, as it is the only religion that offers an adequate explanation for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, whose existence is a historical fact.
Articles by Pepper | Personal Website
Mark Green: Mark is currently Pastor of Church Planting at Trinity Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in St. Louis Missouri. He graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary in May 2016 with a Master of Divinity, having previously completed a Bachelor of Arts in Religion at Missouri Baptist University. With an inquisitive mind and an intellectual bent, Mark seeks to establish a citywide network of house churches spanning all of St. Louis.
Christian Background: Mark began his journey outside of the Church. After his conversion at age fifteen, he has attended churches of all sorts of traditions—from Baptist to Presbyterian all the way to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox—and finally landed in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). During this journey, there was a time where he struggled greatly with his faith and calling. However, through works like Athanasius’ On the Incarnation of the Word and T.F. Torrance’s Divine and Contingent Order, his calling and fire rejuvenated, and he has since been ordained as a Commissioned Pastor in the CRC. Because of this journey, one of his greatest passions for the Church is to see the Church working together to bring glory to God and hope to the lost.
Joseph Green: Joseph is committed to reading, writing, and meditating on, as well as experiencing the infinite love and wisdom of God as He has revealed Himself within the Christian Church. Having obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies at Regent University, he went on to complete a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Columbia International University in 2013. He currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina and works as a videographer for his business, Framed And Shot Productions LLC, as well as various other odd jobs.
Christian Background: Joseph grew up in a Christian home, attending church regularly and reading Scripture and praying as a family. For most of his upbringing his family attended a nondenominational Evangelical Protestant “contemporary service” church, as well as a Baptist and Pentecostal congregation at different periods. In his last semester of seminary he began investigating Orthodox Christianity and the ancient Church, and after much research, prayer, and attendance at the closest Orthodox parish an hour and a half away, was received into the Orthodox Church in America in the Spring of 2015.
Alyssa Hall: Alyssa was born and raised in the beautiful state of North Carolina, where she still resides with her family, including eight younger siblings ranging in age from sixteen years to six months old. Alyssa was homeschooled from kindergarten through twelfth grade and, now graduated, is pursuing a BA in Communications from Thomas Edison State College, where she is in her junior year. She delights in spending time with the Lord in prayer and study of His Word as well as loving on her little siblings, singing, playing the harp and piano, expanding her Spanish skills, reading, writing, cooking, studying nutrition, and caring for her goats and her garden.
Christian Background: Alyssa was raised in a Christian home and though she said the sinner’s prayer as a four year old, she considers herself truly converted since the age of twelve, when the Lord began to convict her of her sin and her need for a Savior. He mercifully brought her to repentance and grace in Christ Jesus at that time, and He continues to renew her passion and love for Him day by day, as He reveals new treasures to her and sustains her through her weaknesses and the battle that rages in her soul between the Spirit and the flesh. (Romans 7) Her purpose in life is to know Christ and to make Him known. She most closely aligns herself with Reformed Baptist beliefs, with a dash of Calvinism thrown in, although she would rather be labeled as a Christ-follower than anything else.
Articles by Alyssa | Personal Website
Jeff Hart: Jeff is currently a student at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia studying for a Master of Arts in Religion (Concentration: Theological Studies). He graduated from Olin College in 2013 with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and went on to work as an engineer at IBM for one year before beginning seminary. Jeff has also attended and worked for Summit Ministries in both their summer programs and Summit Semester (student in summer of 2012, mentor in fall of 2014).
Christian Background: Jeff was raised in a Roman Catholic family before moving to a non-denominational church as a teenager. In college, he attended a Chinese Bible Church and while working for IBM in New York, he attended a Baptist church. He now attends a Presbyterian (PCA) church in Philadelphia.
Articles by Jeff | Personal Website
Charles Heyworth: A lifelong obsession with truth led Charles in search of answers across the country and around the world until he finally discovered what he was seeking in Jesus’ claim to BE the truth (Jn 14:6). Since then, he has dedicated his life to seeking out, living out, and simplifying this truth within the complex philosophical underpinnings of contemporary Christian practice. You can read his story and more at www.charlesheyworth.com
Christian Background: Author, philosopher, entrepreneur, and musician, Charles Heyworth likes to blur the lines between Christian traditions and focus on the pursuit of one thing. His journey from a religious lifestyle to the joy of a relationship with God has been published as a book: “Road to Royalty: A Journey to Relationship.”
Articles by Charles | Personal Website
TJ Humphrey: TJ is a student at Nashotah House Theological Seminary and aspiring to be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. He is an avid reader, especially in works that deal with relational ontology, liturgical theology, and the ecclesial life of the Church. For fun, TJ loves to spend time with his family, travel, go backpacking in the mountains, watch a good hockey game, sip on a good bourbon, and geek out with a good theology book.
Christian Background: TJ spent most of his youth oscillating between agnosticism and atheism. He came to know the Lord whenever he was 16 and was a Baptist for several years after his conversion. Even though he always had a love for the Baptist churches that he was a part of, he also felt as though something was missing. So, he began to explore other denominations and traditions. He settled for a while in the Christian Reformed Church and served as a Commissioned Pastor for several years. He continued to explore the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox traditions on the side, however, and he and his family sensed that God was nudging them towards Anglicanism. Simultaneously, TJ also experienced a call to the priesthood. Now he and his family are happy to call the Anglican tradition their “home.”
Amanda Hill: Amanda began writing at the age of eleven—journals, short stories and novelettes. After reading a poem, The Hound of Heaven, by Francis Thompson, she hatched a hair-brained scheme to use the poem as a basic plot structure for a story. Nearly ten years later, her first novel, The Pursuit of Elizabeth Millhouse, was in print. A few years ago, her brother got her involved in a hair-brained scheme of his own. “Write me a film script,” he said. They had no money to make a film. Still, Amanda wrote a film script. Two years later, The Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club premiered to a crowd of four hundred. The film is scheduled for world-wide distribution in June of 2014. Now, quite grown up, Amanda doubts she will ever recover from hair-brained schemes. In fact, she rather enjoys them. As a singer, pianist and violinist, Amanda teaches about thirty music students. Music often influences her writing style along with poetry, Scripture, nature and conversation with friends. Writing is often her way of thinking, piecing ideas together and making sense out of a crazy world.
Christian Background: Amanda’s parents were converted in the early years of their marriage and had walked with the Lord for many years before Amanda was born. Amanda’s earliest memories were made in church, and she recalls the many family devotions where her dad taught the family from the Word of God. She professed her faith in Christ and was baptized at a young age in a Bible church. In her late teens and early twenties she went through a long period of doubt which caused her to dig into the Scriptures and read a variety of books by authors like C.S. Lewis, Josh MacDowell and others. That experience and the conviction it produced colors Amanda’s worldview, outlook on life and her writing. Amanda’s family experienced many different denominations and Christian traditions. Though she spent most of her life in Baptist and Bible churches, Amanda also attended several non-denominational Anabaptist-type churches as a teenager and young adult, and she often visited Reformed congregations with friends. Her life has been greatly enriched by all of these experiences. She is now a member of Hills Corners Bible Baptist Church and enjoys being involved with its ministries.
Articles by Amanda | Personal Website
Daniel Hyland: Daniel is a Catholic writer and voice artist living in the Shenandoah Valley with his wife and daughter. He believes in the power of beauty in life, nature and art as a tool of evangelism, and seeks to follow Christ through study, work and prayer. His favorite book of the Bible is the Song of Songs because of the stunning intimacy it presents both with regard to the sacrament of marriage and the marital union with God to which every soul is called in Christ. He is the proud owner of a small collection of facial hair, charitably termed a mustache.
Christian Background: Daniel was raised a Presbyterian Christian by a devout father who served as an elder and frequently read to him and his five siblings at bedtime from The Dangerous Journey, a baroquely illustrated version of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress; and an equally devout mother who homeschooled all six children, taking them into the woods almost every day for long afternoon walks through the forests and winding creeks near their house. He attended L’Abri in Massachusetts during the summer of 2011 and studied theology and philosophy from 2011-2013 at an Evangelical Christian college in Minnesota. In the culmination of five years of study and prayer, he was joyfully received into the Roman Catholic Church at the 2016 Easter Vigil and made his first Holy Communion. He attends Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester, VA.
Deion Kathawa: Deion was born and bred in the great state of Michigan and is currently seeking a dual major in philosophy (B.A.) and political science (B.A.) as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of the great men and women of history who defended Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in whatever vocations they held—be they Catholics or not. He is a contributor at The College Fix, as well as the Editor-in-Chief at The Michigan Review.
Christian Background: Deion was baptized and confirmed at birth in the Chaldean Catholic Church, a particular church of the Catholic Church and in full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Church. In His infinite Mercy, God allowed him a brief sojourn in the Land of Skepticism, and then He gave him a good old fashioned thumping (with help a little help from a friend and the one and only Marc Barnes of Bad Catholic). He is now a practicing, out and proud revert to the Catholic Church.
Articles by Deion | Personal Website
Chad Kim: More than anything the quote, “fight to the death for the truth and the Lord God will fight for you,” characterizes Chad’s ongoing journey in life. Currently, he is working on a Ph.D. in Historical Theology, with a focus on Early Christianity. Study has always been an important part of his life, as he holds a degree in Philosophy from Oklahoma Baptist University and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Seminary. After several years as a student, Chad also taught high school for five years, primarily as Classics, Greek and Latin, and Ancient History teacher. When not studying languages and theology, Chad loves to cycle, hike with his Shiba Inu, and drink beer.
Christian Background: Throughout his life, Chad has explored many different Christian traditions, as he was raised Baptist, attended a Reformed high school, studied philosophy at Oklahoma Baptist University, and received his M.Div. from Princeton Seminary. While in seminary, Chad was confirmed in the Episcopal Church, and continues worshiping in that tradition, where he appreciates the liturgy, music, and the Feast of St. Francis, when Penny (his Shiba Inu) can bark along with him to “All Creatures of Our God and King.”
Articles by Chad | Personal Website
Michael Landsman: Michael serves as the Interim Pastor of Zion’s Stone UCC in Northampton, PA. After high school he moved to Johannesburg, South Africa and earned a Higher Diploma in Ministerial Studies at Rhema Bible College in Randburg while also working for its parent mega-church. After moving back to the US he floundered around in various jobs before moving to PA to pursue education and ministry. He holds a Master of Divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary. He loves books, theology, cigars, scotch, movies, video games, working out, and talking endlessly about all of the above. He and his long suffering and loving wife Chontey live in Wind Gap and are expecting their first child.
Christian Background: Michael was born and raised in the Word-Faith stream of the Charismatic Tradition. A Bible nerd since childhood, he learned to love Scripture by listening to his mother teach him Bible stories every day. He learned to love the Church and education through the tireless work of his father, who was an itinerant teacher setting up local Bible schools for churches to better educate their congregants. After working for a charismatic mega-church overseas he became disillusioned with Word-Faith and Charismatic theology and put faith aside until he came across the teaching of Tim Keller and the Reformed Tradition. This started a period of discernment and prayer which led to him moving to PA to work at a non-denominational church and to attend seminary. While at seminary he slowly realized he was not Reformed, after being exposed to the Orthodox Tradition. This ignited in him a love of the Church Fathers, especially St. John Chrysostom, and he tries to integrate the best of their theology into his current context. He half-jokingly refers to himself as post-charismatic, non-denominational, and Ortho-curious.
Christian McGuire: Christian is a student at Patrick Henry College, pursuing a B.A. in Government. He self-identifies as a San Jose native, although he has also lived in Oklahoma, Berkeley, and Minnesota. He enjoys coffee, reading anything that was not written during the Victorian era (Dickens has never been his friend), and most importantly, re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also operates a personal blog, which you can find here.
Christian Background: Christian was raised in an evangelical, Calvinist family with a deep love for Christ. However, his conversations with members of other Christian traditions gradually led him to question some of his preconceptions. After six years of research into Scripture, Church History, miracles, and philosophy, he was confirmed into the Catholic Church. His favorite Christian thinkers include G.K. Chesterton, John Henry Newman, and Saint Augustine, his confirmation saint.
Articles by Christian | Personal Website
Micah McMeans: Micah graduated from Scarborough College with a B.A. in Humanities, and is currently getting his Masters in Philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. His main areas of interest are Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Christian personalism, especially as these subjects overlap with Moral Theology.
Christian Background: Although he grew up Baptist, Micah is currently attending an Orthodox Church at his new home in Steubenville, Ohio, where he hopes to learn more about the early church’s tradition, theology, and overall approach to following Christ.
Drew McIntyre: The Rev. Drew McIntyre is an Elder in the Western North Carolina Conference and serves West Bend UMC in Asheboro, NC. Born and raised in the Tar Heel state, he was educated at High Point University (B.A. History, B.A. Religion) and Duke Divinity School (M.Div., Certificate in Gender, Theology, & Ministry). Drew enjoys spending time with his wife, Brittany, playing with their pets, reading, and watching movies. He is avid fan of mixed martial arts and Duke basketball, and also blogs at DrewBMcIntyre.com. Follow him on twitter @drewbmcintyre.
Christian Background: Drew was baptized as an infant at a small United Methodist Church in Eastern North Carolina. Most of his elementary, middle, and secondary education was undertaken at a Southern Baptist institution, while his family only attended church occasionally. He and his family became active in a United Methodist congregation once more in high school, and while in college became a certified candidate for ordination, before going on to seminary and being ordained through the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Drew has a love for liturgy, doctrine, and church history, especially Wesleyan and Patristic sources.
Articles by Drew | Personal Website
Justin Megna: Justin grew up in southwest Michigan. He was saved at a young age but fully committed his life to following Jesus at age fifteen. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Valley Forge. His long-term vocational goal is to pursue the study and practice of organic discipleship. Justin also specializes on the subject of Christian romance and matrimony as a blogger and speaker. He’s the creator of That Crazy Christian Romance, a blog focused on issues of Christian romance and matrimony. He now resides outside Philadelphia as he seeks to know God and serve His purpose more with each day.
Christian Background: Justin was raised in the church. Throughout his childhood and teen years he experienced various denominational perspectives including Pentecostal, Evangelical Free, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, and Non-Denominational. Later experiences brought exposure to Presbyterian, Catholic, and Greek Orthodox traditions. Justin most closely aligns theologically with the Pentecostal perspective, though he isn’t tightly tied to any particular church or denomination and takes joy in the communion of faith that unites all who call on the name of Jesus Christ.
Articles by Justin | Personal Website | Romance Blog
Laura Norris: Laura is a wife, distance runner, running coach, blogger, and outdoor enthusiast in Bothell, WA. She has MA in Theological Studies at the University of Dayton and BA in English and Theology with minors in Latin and Humanities from Valparaiso University. Laura works now as a running coach because she believes that running helps people discover their God-given dignity and use their bodies in a way that glorifies Him. She’s run a marathon and multiple half marathons. In addition to Conciliar Post, she runs her own running website and her works appear in Women’s Running Magazine, RunHaven, and Verily Magazine.
Christian Background: Laura was baptized Methodist. When she was 11, her mother, sister, and she joined the LCMS Lutheran Church. Her father is Roman Catholic, so she attended a Catholic all-girls high school in St. Louis. Laura officially entered full communion in the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil at the University of Dayton Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in 2013. She and her husband attend a parish in Kirkland, WA and spend their weekends admiring the glory of God’s creation by hiking in the mountains.
Articles by Laura| Personal Website
Sterling Oakley: Sterling enjoys her life as a woman blessed by a God-fearing husband and their beautiful little girl. When Sterling isn’t chasing her toddler, she enjoys reading, knitting, walking to the library and exploring new skills in a kitchen not quite big enough for her culinary endeavors. Out of all these things, Sterling most enjoys her continued journey exploring what it means to be fully human, made in the image of God, shadowing her creator in her day-to-day life.
Christian Background: Sterling was raised in a Baptist church and home-schooled at the age of 11 with parents that highly valued the Word of God. She also had the privilege of continuing her study of scripture at Summit Semester in 2009 where she grew to appreciate various aspects of the Christian faith, and developed a deeper respect for the history of the Church along with its liturgy. She currently attends and serves at Providence Bible Church with her family.
Kenneth A. O’Shaughnessy: Ken is a middle-aged father of four. He’s a Northerner by upbringing, but has lived in the South since his (first) college days. Twenty years after a brief attempt to earn a degree at Bob Jones University, he went back to college and obtained an Associates degree in Human Services. During that time he began to do more than just dabble with writing, and has self-published a children’s picture book, a middle-reader’s book, and several collections of poetry. He has continued writing poetry primarily, averaging a poem of some sort per day for the past two and a half years.
Christian Background: Ken was baptized in the Roman Catholic church, raised in the fundamentalist Baptist church, spent his early child-rearing years in the Reformed Baptist church, and after dabbling in the Anglican and Catholic churches, settled down in the Eastern Orthodox church, where he has been since 2006. His primary influence toward traditional Christianity, unwittingly at the time since it was only his fiction he was reading, was G. K. Chesterton. In addition, he found an appreciation for monastic devotional writings through reading Thomas a Kempis. His poetic influences come largely from the hymns he grew up singing and playing on the trumpet. It just so happened that his favorite hymn tunes to play were written by the Russian Orthodox musician Dmitry Bortniansky, something he wouldn’t realize until after his conversion to Orthodoxy. He attends St John of the Ladder OCA in Greenville, SC, where he serves as bellringer.
Articles by Kenneth | Personal Website
Elizabeth Roosje: Elizabeth’s world includes many icons, books, paints, skeins of yarn, fabric for quilts, and boxes and shelves of journals. She is married to her best friend, a computer scientist, writer and Orthodox subdeacon. Elizabeth has an Honours BA in English Lit and a Masters of Library and Information Science. She worked as a librarian in various private libraries in Ottawa, Ontario Canada before moving to a New Jersey bedroom community of NYC. Elizabeth’s life revolves around these things: home (culinary, knitting, quilting pursuits), reading and writing, her godkids, 16 nieces and nephews and serving with her husband at their Church (Sunday School, Bookstore and Library). Orthodox for over 12 years, Elizabeth has blogged for over 10 years at https://eroosje.blogspot.com/ and is happy to be writing amidst others who love Christian dialogue.
Christian Background: Elizabeth was born into a Christian family with a long history of faithfulness to God and His Word through the lens of the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) Tradition and Dutch Protestant Christian culture, having a unified world of CRC family, Church and School. To this day, she thanks God for such a wonderful Christian upbringing. In her late teens, at Calvin College, she was introduced to the Episcopal Church, the American Anglican Prayer Book and the Eucharist (as taught in a Christology course using a Catholic Seminarian Textbook). After some years of going between CRC, Evangelical and Episcopal/Anglican Churches in Canada, she attended only Conservative Anglican Churches, until one day when a friend took her to an Orthodox Church in Lent of 2003. By Summer’s end, she went again to this Orthodox Church; before the end of the next year’s Summer, she was welcomed into the Orthodox Church by chrismation on August 8, 2004. Being Orthodox now for just over 12 years, she rejoices in both the Orthodox Church and also Christian upbringing and spiritual journey that brought her to this place.
Articles by Elizabeth | Personal Website
Peter Schellhase: Peter Schellhase is 30 years old and calls himself a Millennial (and occasionally, a hipster) as a form of penance. He is a writer and editor for Home School Legal Defense Association in Northern Virginia, where he lives with his wife and baby daughter, and is active in a local Episcopal church. He has a bachelor’s degree in political theory from Patrick Henry College. He enjoys reading aloud with his wife, playing with their daughter, cycling, and of course writing.
Christian background: Peter grew up attending Covenant Life Church in Maryland, where he encountered God’s grace as a teenager. In college he became convinced of the historic liturgical and sacramental understanding of the church, and was eventually led to join the Episcopal Church. The most influential book on this journey was Dr. Gene Veith’s The Spirituality of the Cross. Recently he has appreciated the work of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and the ancient Church Fathers. His statements and opinions carry nobody’s imprimatur.
Ryan Shinkel: Ryan is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and a former fellow at the John Jay Institute near Philadelphia. He is interested in cultural and literary criticism, the patristics and medievals, cult films, the Coen brothers, the concord of science and religion, Roger Scruton, Thomas Aquinas, and puns. To paraphrase T.S. Eliot, “I am a Roman Catholic in religion, a classicist in literature, and a Burkean conservative in politics.”
Christian Background: Ryan grew up in a Christian family and was raised in the faith. After a couple years as a the high school skeptic and then reading G.K. Chesterton, Blaise Pascal’s Pensees, and David Bentley Hart among others, he is a classical theist, an amateur apologist, and an Evangelical Christian of the Roman Catholic confession.
Chris Smith: Chris is pursuing a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds degree from both Wake Forest University (Master of Arts in Religion) and UNC-Chapel Hill (B.A. in Global Studies/Religious Studies). He is a veteran of the US Air Force and a former aircraft mechanic. Originally from South Carolina, he now lives in North Carolina. His passions include creation care, Muslim-Christian relations, NC BBQ, football, college basketball, traveling, and heavy metal music.
Christian Background: Chris grew up attending Southern Baptist churches in and around the Spartanburg, SC area. During his teenage years, he developed an atheistic/agnostic worldview. A serious contemplation of science and nature led him to believe in a higher power/creator during his late 20s. Through an intense study of religion in college, combined with much personal reflection, he returned to the Christian fold in his early 30s. Chris is still searching for the right church and has spent significant time exploring the Orthodox Church.
Nicholai Stuckwisch: Nicholai is currently a college student pursuing an undergraduate degree in Accounting. The son of a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod pastor, Nicholai has been actively involved in his home congregation his entire life, and while he frequently bemoans his greatly limited knowledge of theology and the history of the church, his faith is instrumental in guiding everything he does. As someone aspiring to enter the business world, a field rife with questionable ethical and moral dilemmas, Nicholai hopes to continually increase his understanding of Christ, his love, and his church on earth and it is his opinion that one of the best ways to accomplish that is to communicate with others via sources like the Concilliar Post. You can read some of Nicholai’s own personal ramblings on his blog “The Opinion Section“.
Christian Background: Nicholai has been attending the same Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregation in northern Indiana where his father has served as pastor for the last nineteen years. As the son of a pastor, Nicholai and his entire family have been very involved in their congregation for as far back as he can remember, but his experience outside of the more conservative and liturgical end of the LCMS denomination is rather limited. With the exception of family vacations, weddings, and conferences, Nicholai has almost exclusively attended the same congregation for his entire life. In recent years, his circle of contacts has greatly expanded along with his interest in understanding and learning more about differing denominations and where they are both similar to and distinct from the LCMS.
Articles by Nicholai | Personal Website
Stephen Sutherland: Stephen Sutherland is a native of Colorado. He received his B.A. from Hillsdale College and lives in New York with his family, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in History at Binghamton University.
Micah Tillman: Micah is the host of the Top 40 Philosophy podcast. He has a B.A. in computer science (Messiah College) and a Ph.D. in philosophy (The Catholic University of America). He taught philosophy at universities in the Washington, DC area for a decade before moving to the Midwest.
Christian Background: Micah was raised Charismatic for the first nine years of his life, Baptist for the next nine, and went to churches of multiple types during college (like you do). He had a crisis of faith during his junior and senior years (like you do), but found his way back to Christianity thanks in large part to the work of scholars like Robin Collins, William Lane Craig, and Duane Garrett. He is now a Mennonite, which he still finds surprising.
Articles by Micah | Personal Website | Podcast | Twitter
Logan Williams: Logan is from Nebraska, has lived in the Philippines, and now travels for an organization called Save the Storks with a home base in Colorado. He earned a B.A. in History from Doane College in 2014 and spent the following school year presenting as a Team Director with Axis, a ministry dedicated to building lifelong faith in students via culture translation. He has served on the summer staff at Summit Ministries since 2012 and is a graduate of Summit Semester (Fall ’12). His dream to own and work a cattle ranch while cultivating ecumenical, restorative discipleship would preferably be realized in either Montana or Argentina.
Christian Background: Logan’s family roots contain Methodist, Assemblies of God, independent Baptist, and, most recently, non-denominational influences. Theologically he leans in a Reformed direction, admiring Francis Schaeffer’s well-contemplated, compassionate fundamentalism while treasuring the manifest faith proven in martyrs like Jim Elliot and steadfast in leaders like William Wilberforce. His Christian school upbringing whetted his thirst for authentic Christianity and prideless holy living, but his comprehension of the Gospel has been profoundly challenged and renewed through post-high school experiences and mentoring relationships.
AJ Maynard: AJ is a Palliative Care Chaplain at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He is a graduate of Liberty University and holds both a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology. He is an Army combat veteran, an avid gamer, documentary geek, and (self-proclaimed) coffee connoisseur.
Christian Background: AJ wavered between Christianity and agnosticism for much of his life. God’s existence was often lost amid life’s more “important” aspects – that is, until God shook him to his core. AJ responded to this shake with a few awkward and skeptical prayers, each answered in seemingly inexplicable ways. He has been pursuing ministry ever since.
Jarrett Dickey: Jarrett works in the academic advising department at Sinclair Community College and has previously taught religion and humanities as an adjunct faculty member at several local colleges. In addition to his work in higher education, Jarrett is the assistant pastor of a house church, where he helps with preaching, teaching, worship leading, and discipleship. Jarrett married his high school sweetheart, Hannah, in 2005, and they now have four small children. Jarrett holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Ohio Northern University and a master of divinity degree from Emory University, Candler School of Theology. His hobbies include guitar, hiking, bird watching, crossword puzzles, sports, reading, and writing.
Christian Background: From the ages of 0-22, Jarrett faithfully attended several different United Methodist churches. While in theology school, he attended and interned at two Vineyard churches, the second of which became Anglican just after his internship ended. After completing his degree, Jarrett moved home to Ohio and began hosting a church in his home. The house church he pastors includes Christians who were raised in a wide variety of traditions. When he thinks theologically, Jarrett is inevitably rooted in his Wesleyan upbringing.
Morgan Crago: Morgan Crago is a PhD student at the Boston University School of Theology, studying the historical development of the pentecostal movement in Latin America and the United States. She is interested in how this stream of Christianity–with its unique understanding of miracles, eschatology, the Holy Spirit, and extraordinary gifts–has interacted with other Protestant groups over the 20th century. Given the predominance of pentecostal forms of Christianity around the world today, she thinks other Christian traditions will do well to consider their historical relationships with this movement. Morgan currently lives in Cambridge, MA.
Christian Background: Morgan grew up in a devout Christian family and has served in Presbyterian churches all her life. Attending a dispensational Baptist high school turned her into an avid listener of lectures on eschatology in the 1st century church, and she has loved studying all eras of Christian history ever since. Through telling the history of the church in a compassionate and accessible way, Morgan’s goal is to help Christians from various traditions come to a greater appreciation of how they all contribute different strengths to the body of Christ.
David Justice: David Justice is currently working on his Ph.D. in Christian Theology with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies at Saint Louis University. He primarily studies Martin Luther King Jr. and liberation theology. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy from Greenville College, after which he earned an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Missouri in St. Louis and an M.A. in Theological Ethics from Saint Louis University. He, his wife Mariah, and their two sons Abraham and Theseus live in St. Louis. They enjoy spending time together and seeking out the construction vehicles Abraham so enjoys. In David’s little free time he likes to watch E-sports and tweet about funny things his kids do. Follow him on social media: @DavidtheJust.
Christian background: David was raised in a nondenominational evangelical church and attended a nondenominational Christian school from kindergarten through high school. Towards the end of high school he had a crisis of faith and entered into college as an atheist. During the course of his time at Greenville College, David came back to faith through the ministry of his friends, professors, and St. Paul’s Free Methodist Church. He entered into academic theology at least partially to address his own personal theological questions and to try and understand more about the good life. He currently attends Second Presbyterian (PC USA) in the Central West End of St. Louis.
Joshua Schendel: Joshua is professor of theology at Yellowstone Theological Institute in Bozeman, MT, where he lives with his wife, Bethanne, and their three kids.
Christian Background: Joshua was raised in a Christian home, the son of a non-denominational pastor in rural Montana. Even at an early age he had an interest in learning about God and the ways of God. In early twenties, under the direction of some godly mentors, he began to pursue that interest in formal education. He continues that pursuit, now from a teaching role, where he also seeks to guide others in their pursuits of knowing and loving God.
David Doherty: David works in Christian higher education in Ontario, Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Religious Education from Emmanuel Bible College (Kitchener, Ontario) and a Master of Theological Studies from McMaster Divinity College (Hamilton, Ontario). His research interests include the Gospel of John, metaphors in religious thought, and the development of Christian theology in the West. Together since their mid-teens, he and his wife adventure through life together and encourage each other in their faith and research.
Christian Background: David’s early spiritual formation took place within moderately conservative Baptist churches in Canada, his father serving as a pastor. While completing his bachelor’s degree, David set out to understand the various Christians traditions, from Eastern Orthodoxy to Pentecostalism to Lutheranism. During his master’s studies many strands of his spiritual life and theological interests came together in an exploration of Anglicanism that he undertook with his wife. Together they decided to become Anglicans.
Articles by David | Personal Website
J.D. Grubb: Passionate about art, outdoor adventure, and world travel, J.D. Grubb has lived chapters in the United States and Europe, and intends to explore every corner of the world. He currently works in northern California as a distance running coach, freelance writer and editor, and recently published his debut novel, There was Music.
Christian Background: J.D. was raised in a Protestant-influenced, non-denominational household, and has come to cherish the wisdom of Christian thinkers from every background, West to East.
Jacob Quick: Jacob is a displaced Texan who lives in Belgium, where he and his wife, Annie, are students. Jacob recently completed an MPhil in continental philosophy at KU Leuven. Jacob earned an MA in analytic philosophy from Northern Illinois University in 2015 and a BA in theology from Moody Bible Institute in 2012. Jacob enjoys travelling, reading, and discussing theology and philosophy with friends. His particular interests center around the intersection of philosophy, Christianity, and animal ethics.
Christian Background: Jacob grew up in a devout, loving, Christian home. He began his Christian journey in the Church of Christ and since has regularly attended a variety of churches, including Southern Baptist, non-denominational, Presbyterian, and Anglican. In May of 2016, Jacob and Annie were confirmed in the Anglican church, where they continue to explore and experience the richness of God’s love.
Jeff Reid: Jeff is fascinated by stories. In particular, he is enthralled with the authors’ ability to capture concepts and bring those concepts to life. Driving this delight is his interest in theology and philosophy. Ultimately, he is excited by opportunities to help others understand abstract ideas through skilled artistic work.
Christian Background: Jeff grew up primarily in non-denominational churches. During his teen years, between listening to recorded sermons and conversations with friends, he developed a Reformed/Calvinistic theological leaning. Currently, he would identify as a Reformed Baptist. However, this is combined with the understanding that other traditions could have beneficial insights that he has not yet encountered.
Articles by Jeff | Personal Website
Luke Davis Townsend: Luke is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Marian University in Fond du Lac, WI. He holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University, and an M.Div. from Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Luke grew up in the Southern Baptist Church, and often attended Methodist and Lutheran Churches with friends and family. After college, he worked as a youth minister in a Presbyterian Church. During graduate school, Luke took classes on St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. These thinkers led Luke to find a home in the Catholic Church, which he joined in 2015, and to write his doctoral dissertation on the sacramental theology of Thomas Aquinas. Luke currently lives in Fond du Lac with his wife Mary Frances and their dog Gus.
Christian background: Luke’s family on his mother’s side is Lutheran, and his family on his father’s side is Southern Baptist. Luke was baptized as an infant in the Lutheran Church, ELCA, but he grew up regularly attending a Southern Baptist Church. Reading C.S. Lewis led him to pursue theological studies and to feel increasingly disconnected from Baptist theology. While obtaining his M.Div. at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Luke’s closest friends and housemates were all Methodists, and Luke worked as a youth minister at a Presbyterian Church. In the course of his studies, though, Luke took classes on St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas from two Catholic professors. These classes and, especially, the thought of St. Thomas were deeply formative of Luke’s theological views, and he found himself increasingly persuaded by Catholic positions. Luke decided to pursue doctoral studies of Thomas Aquinas at St. Louis University. Shortly thereafter, his ecclesial participation caught up with his theology, and he joined the Catholic Church on Easter of 2015.