Published on
March 13, 2013

A list of presenters from Symposium 2013

Kenneth E. Bailey, research professor of New Testament at the Ecumenical Institute (TanTur) in Jerusalem (emeritus), with more than 40 years of living and teaching in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem, and Cypress. Many of his books have been translated into more than a dozen languages; his latest book is Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes.

Brad Berglund, director of Illuminated Journeys, a ministry offering pilgrimage and spiritual renewal for churches and individuals, and director of Reinventing Sunday, an ecumenical ministry that offers worship consulting, worship renewal seminars, and workshops on Taizé-style worship.

Joyce Borger, editor of Reformed Worship; music and liturgy editor for Faith Alive Christian Resources; and editor of the forthcoming hymnal Lift Up Your Hearts, projected for release in 2013.

Sandra Bowden, a visual artist who has been interpreting Scripture and her own spiritual walk-through mixed media for more than forty years. She is the past president of CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts).

Aminah Al-Attas Bradford, associate chaplain for Residence Life, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Randall Bradley, professor of church music and director of the Church Music Program for Baylor University and author of From Memory to Imagination: Re/Forming the Church's Music (Eerdmans, 2012).

Christopher R. Brewer, founder and director of Gospel Through Shared Experience, a conversation intended to change the way the Church thinks about and practices evangelism, as well as the editor and publisher of Art that Tells the Story; he is currently pursuing a PhD in the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts, St Mary's College, University of St Andrews (Scotland).

Emily R. Brink, senior research fellow with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Rita Nakashima Brock, research professor at Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, and co-author with Gabriella Lettini of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War (Beacon, 2012).

Rensselaer Owen (“Ren”) Broekhuizen, a Christian Reformed pastor in three states, missionary in Liberia, and was part of a group that in 1993 founded Ridge Point Community Church, Holland, Michigan; he retired from active congregational ministry in 2003.

Randall Buursma, pastor of First Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI, with a strong background and interest in drama.

Cláudio Carvalhaes, an ordained pastor in the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil, is professor of liturgy and worship at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA.

Mark Charles, resource development specialist with Calvin Institute of Christian Worship in the area of worship and culture; he lives with his family on the Navajo Reservation, exploring areas of teaching and discipleship ministries among a wide range of people and cultures.

Kai Ton Chau, the Jack Van Laar Endowed Chair of Music and Worship at Kuyper College, Grand Rapids, MI, and chair of the arts and sciences department.

Todd Cioffi, assistant professor in the Congregational and Ministries Studies department at Calvin College and research fellow for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Chap Clark, associate provost of Regional Campuses and Strategic Projects and professor of Youth, Family, and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA; president of Foothill Community Ministries, Inc., the parent organization for the ParenTeen and HURT Seminars; and senior editor of Youthworker Journal. He will give the closing lecture at The January Series.

Arlene Cooper, a Grand Rapids artist, musician, and teacher engaged in a lifelong exploration of identity, spirituality and sanctuary through a variety of art forms. Her current work centers on collage and painting in altered books around these themes.

Dale Cooper, resource specialist for liturgical spirituality at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, as well as chaplain emeritus and adjunct faculty in the department of Congregational and Ministry Studies at Calvin College.

David Crump, professor of religion at Calvin College.

Josh Davis, multi-ethnic worship leader, clinician, ordained minister, and music missionary; he served as a missionary to the Dominican Republic before founding Proskuneo Ministries, headquartered in Clarkston, GA, where over 60 languages are spoken in a 1.5 mile radius.

Marva Dawn, theologian, educator, teaching fellow in spiritual theology at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada, and author of many books on worship and spirituality.

Norma de Waal Malefyt, resource development specialist for congregational song, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Randall Engle, pastor of the North Hills Christian Reformed Church of Troy, MI, and frequent organist as well. He is president of the Choristers’ Guild and chaplain for the SE Michigan Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

John A. Ferguson, the Elliot & Klara Stockdal Johnson professor of organ & church music (emeritus) at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.

Julia Start Fletcher, coordinator of worship arts at Millbrook Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI; adjunct professor of dance at both Calvin College and Kuyper College; and dance instructor at Turning Pointe School of Dance in Holland, MI.

Brian Fuller, an Emmy award-winning film maker, teaching media production at Calvin College.

Nate Glasper, Jr. minister of music at Grace for the Nations church, Grand Rapids MI.

Carolyn Gordon, chair of the department of preaching and communication, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA.

Mark Gornik, director of the City Seminary in New York City, and author of Word Made Global: Stories of
African Christianity in New York City, which received a 2012 Christianity Today Book Award.

Betty Grit, program manager of the Worship Renewal Grants Program of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Steven Guthrie, professor at the Belmont University School of Religion, Nashville, TN; he also taught at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland; two books were released in 2011: Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human and Resonant Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology, co-edited with Jeremy Begbie.

Deborah Haarsma, professor and chair of the physics department, Calvin College; her recent books include Delight In Creation: Scientists Share Their Work with the Church, co-edited with Scott Hoezee, and Origins: A Reformed Look at Creation, Design, and Evolution, co-authored with Loren D. Haarsma.

Christopher A. Hall, chancellor of Eastern University and dean of Palmer Theological Seminary, St. David’s, PA; he has served as a pastor in several international settings and has published extensively on the early church.

Betsy Steele Halstead, an artist in oils and woodcuts, coordinator of visual arts work of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, and continuing education events manager for Calvin Theological Seminary.

Robin Harris, president of the International Council of Ethnodoxologists and author/editor of Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook (2012). She spent more than a decade as a missionary in northern Russia and is now coordinator of the MA in World Arts at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in Dallas.

Dean Heetderks, director of Christian Reformed Church Proservices, art director for Reformed Worship, and author of Come and See (Faith Alive, 2012).

Syd Hielema, campus chaplain at Redeemer University College, Ancaster, ON.

Shane Hipps, former teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church, Grandville, MI, and author of Flickering Pixels: How technology Shapes Your Faith (Zondervan, 2009); many of his talks on the topics of technology and faith are available at his website.

Carol Hochhalter, professor of worship studies, Kupyer College, Grand Rapids, MI.

Rebecca Hoeksema, recent MA in Worship graduate, Calvin Theological Seminary, and currently in the Master of Divinity program. She also provides hymnal resource support for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Scott Hoezee, director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Tala Jarjour, assistant professor, Department of Music, University of Notre Dame, IN.

Robin M. Jensen, the Luce Chancellor’s Professor of the History of Christian Art and Worship at Vanderbilt University. Her most recent books are Living Water: Images, Symbols, and Settings of Early Christian Baptism (Brill, 2011), and Baptismal Imagery in Early Christianity (Baker Academic, 2012).

Laura Keeley, co-director of children’s ministries at Fourteenth Street Christian Reformed Church, Holland, Michigan, and co-author with Robert Keeley of Celebrating the Milestones of Faith: A Guide for Churches (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2009).

Robert Keeley, professor of education at Calvin College; his latest publication is as editor of Shaped by God: Twelve Essentials for Nurturing Faith in Children, Youth, and Adults (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2010).

Herman Keizer, Jr., retired U.S. Army chaplain Colonel, including service at the Pentagon and State Department; and dedicated in retirement to issues of conscience in war, especially Moral Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Duane Kelderman, an adjunct faculty member at Calvin College, and interim pastor of preaching at LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI. He previously was the pastor of three congregations and also served as vice president for administration at Calvin Theological Seminary.

Jean Ngoya Kidula, associate professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Georgia - Athens; co-author of Music in the Life of the African Church, and author of the forth-coming Music in Kenyan Christianity: Logooli Religious Song. She has served as a church music director in both her native Kenya and in the United States.

Jaewoo Kim, a worship-arts missionary of Artists in Christian Testimonies International, based in Dallas, TX, where he lead the Korean Glocal Worship Network, to mobilize, equip and empower Korean worship pastors and leaders for worship renewal and global missions.

CJ Kingdom-Grier, associate director of admissions, Western Theological Seminary, and pastor of worship arts at Maple Avenue Ministries, Holland, MI.

Mark Labberton, professor and director of the Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, and author of The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice (2007), as well as The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor (2010).

Kit Ying Law, from Hong Kong, is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical studies and ethnomusicology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Swee Hong Lim, from Singapore, is the Deer Park assistant professor of Sacred Music and director of the Master in Sacred Music Program at Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. He is the co-moderator of the worship planning committee for the forthcoming 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches.

I-to Loh, world-renowned Asian composer and hymnologist; his Sound the Bamboo, along with its 2011 Hymnal Companion is the most comprehensive collection and commentary on 20th century Asian Christian song. He is the former President of Tainan Theological College and Seminary, Taiwan, and currently serves as adjunct professor of Church Music and Liturgy at the Southeast Asia Graduate School of Theology.

Gerardo Marti, professor of sociology at Davidson College, in Davidson, NC; his most recent book is Worship across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation (Oxford, 2012).

Andy McCoy, interim associate director of the Center for Ministry Studies at Hope College, Holland, MI, and a visiting theologian with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Joel Navarro, professor of music at Calvin where he conducts the Capella and the Campus Choir and teaches conducting. He is also the music director of the Calvin Oratorio Society.

Robert Nordling, conductor of the Calvin College Orchestra, the Calvin Community Symphony, and principal conductor of the Baroque on Beaver Island Music Festival, and he is a resource specialist for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Brad O'Donnell, Capitol Christian Music Group's Vice-President of A&R. He joined the company in 2001 and oversees the rosters of the company's three imprints (Sparrow, Forefront, and Credential) and two joint ventures (sixstepsrecords and Hillsong).

Debra Paxton-Buursma, professor of education at Calvin College.

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., professor of systematic theology and president emeritus, Calvin Theological Seminary, and Senior Research Fellow at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Christine Pohl, associate provost and professor of Church and Society/Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY; her latest book is Living Into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us (Eerdmans, 2011).

Bert Polman, professor and co-chair of the Music Department at Calvin College, and Senior Research Fellow with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Luke A. Powery, recently appointed Dean of the Chapel at Duke University, Durham, NC; formerly professor of homiletics at Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ.

He Qi, renowned and internationally respected Chinese Christian artist; and a council member of the Asian Christian Art Association for many years; he was the first among mainland Chinese to earn a doctorate in religious art after the Cultural Revolution.

David Reimer, violinist, professor of music at Calvin College, where he directs the Calvin Honors String program, and member of the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra.

Sue Rozeboom, professor of liturgical theology at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI.

Lester Ruth, research professor of Christian worship at Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC, and the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville, FL, and co-editor of The Church at Worship Series with Eerdmans. The second volume in the 10-volume series is Tasting Heaven on Earth: Worship in Sixth Century Constantinople (2012).

Paul Ryan, associate chaplain for worship, Calvin College, and resource development specialist for worship teams at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

Greg Scheer, minister of worship at Church of the Servant, Grand Rapids, MI; music associate at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; author of The Art of Worship: A Musician’s Guide to Leading Modern Worship (Baker Books), and composer of the Illinois Central College fight song.

Brian Schrag, coordinator of the ethnomusicology and arts group of SIL International; on the faculty of the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in Dallas, TX; formerly an arts consultant in Central Africa; and author of Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach their Kingdom Goals (forthcoming).

Tom Schwanda, professor of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL; his most recent book is Soul Recreation: The Contemplative-Mystical Piety of Puritanism.

Pearl Shangkuan, professor of choral music and conducting at Calvin College, and chorusmaster of the Grand Rapids Symphony.

Scot Sherman, president of the Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco and teaching pastor at City Church, San Francisco, CA.

Kathy Smith, associate director, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, and director of Continuing Education at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Calvin Theological Seminary, and author of Stilling the Storm: Worship and Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times.

Carrie Steenwyk, program manager for publications, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; co-author with Lester Ruth and John D. Witvliet of Walking Where Jesus Walked: Worship in Fourth-Century Jerusalem (Eerdmans, 2010), and co-author with John D. Witvliet of At Your Baptism (Eerdmans, 2011).

W. David O. Taylor, pastor, artist, and editor of For the Beauty of the Church (Baker, 2010), currently pursuing doctoral studies at Duke Divinity School in the fields of theology, liturgy and the arts.

Lyn Ten Brink, Young Life Capernaum coordinator for the Midwest Division and Young Life coordinator at Calvin College.

Paul Thé, lead pastor at The Bridge, a congregation of the Reformed Church in America in Chino, CA; he has served as an arts director, music pastor, church planter, and has recorded several worship albums.

Greg Thompson, senior pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, VA; fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia; and co- editor with Mark Gornik of Hearing the Call: Liturgy, Justice, Church, World (Eerdmans).

John J. Thompson, worship leader, song-writer, and community-minded discipler who just happens to have carved out a career in the Christian music industry for the last 25 years. He currently serves as director of Creative and Copyright Development for EMI CMG Publishing.

Howard Vanderwell, resource development specialist with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, adjunct professor of worship at Calvin Theological Seminary; his latest book (editor and author) is The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together (Alban, 2008).

Sandra Van Opstal, a second generation Latina preacher, urban minister, and worship leader based in Chicago; she was director of worship for Intervarsity’s Urbana 2012, and previously served as director of their Chicago Urban Program and a campus minister at Northwestern University for Intervarsity’s Multiethnic, Latino, and Black student fellowships.

Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk, chair and professor of art at Calvin College, where she directs the art education program; she also maintains a fiber studio in downtown Grand Rapids.

Sharon Veltema, teacher for spiritual growth at Unity Christian High School, Hudsonville, MI.

Michael Williams, professor of Old Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary; his latest book is How to Read the Bible Through the Jesus Lens (Zondervan, 2011).

Aaron Winkle, associate chaplain of upper class students and athletes in Campus Ministries at Calvin College.

John D. Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and professor of congregational and ministry studies, music, and worship at Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, respectively. His most recent book is Psalms for all Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship, co-edited with Joyce Borger and Martin Tel (Baker Publishing and Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2012).

Anne Zaki, resource development specialist for global and multi-cultural resources at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, based in Cairo, Egypt.