BWI Speakers

Session Presenters
for the
"Bible and Worldview Institute"

Possible speakers for the BWI are listed below. Typically, a one-day BWI event will use 3-5 different speakers. Particular session topics and speakers will depend on host church requests, scheduling options, and staff availability. These presenters are all experienced teachers, effective communicators, and experts in their field. They are scholars who have a passion for God's kingdom and the ministry of the church.

Dr. Keith Ray,
President, Lincoln Christian
College & Seminary

Dr. Keith Ray

Keith became the sixth President of Lincoln Christian College and Seminary in 1998. Prior to coming to Lincoln, Dr. Ray was President of Dallas Christian College, Dallas, Texas. He has degrees from Lincoln Christian College (B.A.), Lincoln Christian Seminary (M.Div.), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D.Min.) Prior to his appointment with Dallas Christian College, Dr. Ray served in Christian churches in Raymond, Lake Fork, and Toluca, Illinois. In addition to his academic and administrative background, Dr. Ray is an experienced preacher, seminar leader, and author.

Don Green

Don has degrees from Lincoln Christian College, Lincoln Christian Seminary, and is near completion of his doctorate (D.Min.) at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Following 15 years of ministry in churches in Illinois and Indiana, he joined the staff of Lincoln Christian College and Seminary in 1982. Prior to assuming his current role in 2001, he served the institution as Administrative Assistant to the President, Director of Institutional Advancement, and Executive Vice President.

He has been an adjunct faculty member at Lincoln Christian Seminary for the past 15 years, teaching primarily in the area of leadership. He has the passion for developing leaders for the church who will help the church be all that God intends for her to be. To that end he serves as a church consultant, provides leadership training seminars, and coaches numerous students and alumni in their ministries. He has helped develop a website for church leaders at http://www.churchleader.net.

Mr. Green will lead BWI session on “Becoming a Kingdom Leader by Living a Biblical Worldview."

Don Green,
VP of Church Development
Lincoln Christian College
& Seminary

Dr. Rich Knopp
Prof. of Philosophy &
Christian Apologetics
Lincoln Christian College
& Seminary

Dr. Rich Knopp

In addition to being a professor at Lincoln, Rich is the grant writer and Director of WorldViewEyes, a program developed from nearly $1 million in grant funds from the Lilly Endowment of Indiana. He teaches courses in worldviews, apologetics (defending Christian faith), philosophy, and Christianity and science. His degrees are from St. Louis Christian College (B.A.), Lincoln Christian Seminary (M.Div.), Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). Much of his graduate work focussed on the relationship between science and religion.

Prior to teaching, Rich served as a preaching minister (5 years) and a youth minister (4 years). He is currently the board president for the Christian Campus Fellowship, a campus ministry at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

He has written and produced about 50 different multimedia presentations for WorldViewEyes that have been attended by about 60,000 youth and adults around the country. He has edited and contributed to Taking Every Thought Captive and is working on a book in Christian apologetics.

He will lead BWI sessions on “The Need for a Biblical Worldview," “Current Worldview Alternatives to the Biblical Worldview,” “Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design," and “Biblical Ethics and Absolutes."

Dr. Bob Lowery

Bob is professor of New Testament at Lincoln Christian Seminary. He has degrees from Lincoln Christian College, Lincoln Christian Seminary, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and the University of Aberdeen (Ph.D.). He also regularly teaches students from various Eastern European countries as a part of the ministry of TCM International located in Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Lowery is a popular speaker and has written for The Christian Standard, The Standard Lesson Commentary, The Lookout, and The Stone-Campbell Journal, and contributed to study notes on the Book of Revelation for Zondervan's Quest Study Bible.

His specialty is the book of Revelation. His latest work, Revelation's Rhapsody: Listening to the Lyrics of the Lamb (How to Read the Book of Revelation) was released in 2006. And he has a web site, http://www.rlowery.com, to discuss the book and share information about upcoming work.

For the BWI, Dr. Lowery will lead a session on "The Worldview of Revelation."

Dr. Bob Lowery
Prof. of New Testament,
Lincoln Christian Seminary

Dr. Robert Douglas
Prof. of Intercultural Ministry,
Lincoln Christian Seminary

Dr. Robert Douglas

Robert is professor of Intercultural Studies at Lincoln Christian Seminary. He is an expert in Muslim culture and missions. For ten years he served as a missionary to Muslims in Libya, Egypt, and Lebanon. While in Beirut, he founded and directed the Middle East Bible Training College. He also served eight years as the Executive Director of the Zwemer Insitute of Muslim Studies in Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to preparing church planters for work among Muslims. For six years, Dr. Douglas led the Central Asia Study Center in Istanbul, Turkey, in an effort to provide final phase training for Christian workers going to Central Asia. He has degrees from Abilene Christian University (B.A., M.A.), Fuller Theological Seminary (M.A. in Missiology), and the University of Southern California (Ph.D. in Religion).

For the BWI, Dr. Douglas will speak on "The Worldview of Islam."

Dr. Bob Kurka

Bob is professor of theology at Lincoln Christian Seminary with degrees from Minnesota Bible College (B.A), Lincoln Christian Seminary (M.Div.), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D.Min.). He is an animated teacher who also has a big heart for missions. Dr. Kurka has taught at St. Louis Christian College and Lincoln Christian College, and he has been a visiting lecturer for 2 international graduate programs, Ghana Christian University in Accra, Ghana (2004, 2005), and the Eastern Asia Graduate School in Yangon, Myanmar (2005). He also serves as a regular lecturer for the popular "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" course throughout the Midwest.

He has had years of preaching ministry experience in a variety of settings including rural congregations, new church work, inter-denominational ministry, university campus ministry, interim ministries, and inner city congregational leadership. He is currently an active member and elder at Lincoln Christian Church.

For the BWI, Dr. Kurka will lead sessions on "Responding to Popular Media Pictures of Jesus"; "The Worldview of the Bible"; and “Current Worldview Alternatives to the Biblical Worldview."

Dr. Bob Kurka
Prof. of Christianity & Culture,
Lincoln Christian Seminary

Brian Mills Vice President of Student Development Lincoln Christian College	Brian Mills Brian is a gifted communicator who can challenge both mind and heart. He will lead a seminar session on the "GPS" concept--finding your Gifts, Passions, and Sense of Calling. It's a valuable idea that will help you wrestle with who you are and where God may be leading you. Brian will lead a BWI youth session on “Jesus and the Life I Live."

Brian Johnson

Brian has degrees from Cincinnati Bible College and Cincinnati Christian Seminary. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen, doing research on the gospel of John.

His classes at Lincoln include Introduction to the Bible, Introduction to Paul's Epistles, Interpreting Scripture, Gospel of John, and the Book of Revelation among others. Brian frequently reads papers at scholarly conferences and has done so as far away as Cambridge, England and Groningen, The Netherlands. He has written journal articles and contributed chapters to four different books. He has also served in a local church preaching ministry for six years.

For the BWI, Mr. Johnson will present session on "The Worldview of the Bible."