Stepping Up Featured Experts
Learn from America’s top men’s ministry leaders and teachers
DENNIS RAINEY
DR. DAN B. ALLENDER
Dr. Dan B. Allender received his Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and his PhD in counseling psychology from Michigan State University. Currently, he serves as professor of counseling at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He travels and speaks extensively to present his unique perspective on sexual abuse recovery, love and forgiveness, worship, and other related topics. Dan is the author of The Wounded Heart and The Healing Path and has coauthored several books with Dr. Tremper Longman.
VODDIE BAUCHAM
Voddie Baucham Jr., DMin, is a husband, father, pastor, author, professor, conference speaker, and church planter. He currently serves as pastor of preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas. He and his wife, Bridget, have seven children.
BILL BENNETT
William J. Bennett, PhD, is one of America’s most influential voices on cultural, political, and education issues. He is the host of a nationally broadcast radio show, Bill Bennett’s Morning in America. Bill has written and edited 16 books, two of which, The Book of Virtuesand The Children’s Book of Virtues, rank among the most successful of the past decade. He and his wife, Elayne, have two sons and live in Maryland.
MATT CHANDLER
Matt serves as lead pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, Texas. He is also involved in church planting, both locally and internationally, through The Village and other partnerships. He is married to Lauren and they have three children.
TONY DUNGY
Tony Dungy was born and raised in Jackson, Michigan. He and his wife, Lauren, have five children. Tony is a former professional football player and retired coach for the Indianapolis Colts. In 2007 he became the first African-American coach to win the Super Bowl. In January 2009, Tony announced his retirement from the Colts, ending a 31-year NFL career.
CHUCK FARNETH
Chuck is the director of Outdoor Legacy, a Christian ministry that equips men with a biblical understanding of manhood, spurring them to invest themselves in the lives of their sons and daughters. Chuck is the 2001 ESPN Great Outdoor Games gold medalist in fly fishing. He and his wife, Sherry, live in Heber Springs, Arkansas.
GREG GUNN
Greg has owned his own financial services business for 22 years and has always worked with families helping them focus on their personal finances. Now, through Family Vision Ministry, which he founded with Mark Naylor, he can impact families with a message to pass on for generations to come. Their mission statement is, “To see each successive generation, of every family, live more fully for God.”
MATT HAMMITT
Matt is a Christian singer-songwriter and a founding member of the band Sanctus Real. Over the past decade, the Grammy-nominated, Dove Award-winning group has released five albums and has topped the Christian radio charts with 14 No. 1 and Top 5 radio hits. Matt and his wife, Sarah, have three children.
GREGG HARRIS
Gregg serves as a teaching elder at Gresham Household of Faith in Oregon. He is internationally known as a pioneer advocate in the Christian home-schooling movement and has authored a best-selling book, The Christian Home School. Gregg and his late wife, Sono, have seven children.
ROBERT LEWIS
Robert Lewis, DMin, is the founder of Men’s Fraternity. He is passionate about helping men discover the biblical principles of authentic manhood. He has authored a number of books including Raising a Modern-Day Knightand Rocking the Roles: Building a Win-Win Marriage. Robert and his wife, Sherard, have four grown children.
CRAWFORD LORITTS
Dr. Crawford Loritts is the senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia; the daily host of the radio program Living a Legacy; an internationally known Bible teacher; and the author of several books including A Passionate Commitment, Leadership as an Identity, and Never Walk Away. Crawford and his bride, Karen, have been married since 1971. They have four grown children and numerous grandchildren.
ERIC METAXAS
Eric has written for Veggie Tales, Chuck Colson, and The New York Times in his eclectic career. He is a best-selling author whose biographies, children’s books, and works of popular apologetics have been translated into numerous languages. Eric’s book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy was on the New York Times Best Seller List. His biography Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery was the official companion book for the feature film Amazing Grace. Eric lives in Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
DAVID NAUGLE
David K. Naugle, PhD, ThD, is chair of the philosophy department at Dallas Baptist University where he has worked for 20 years. He also serves as a Fellow for the Wilberforce Forum, the Christian worldview think tank sponsored by Prison Fellowship near Washington, D.C. Dr. Naugle’s latest book is Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness. He and his wife, Deemie, live in Duncanville, Texas.
CHRIS PLEKENPOL
Chris is the senior pastor of Wells Branch Community Church in Austin, Texas. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Chris spent seven years in the United States Army, qualifying for airborne, jumpmaster, air assault, and ranger. He served in South Korea and Iraq. While in Iraq, Chris wrote Faith in the Fog of War, volumes I and II. After resigning from the army, he graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary. Chris’s heart is to win every man, woman, and child in Wells Branch to faith in Christ. Chris is married to Adrienne.
ROB RIENOW
Rob married Amy in 1994 and they have been blessed with six children. He served as youth and family pastor at Wheaton Bible Church for 18 years, and is now part of a church planting team in the Chicago area. God led Rob and Amy to launch Visionary Family Ministries, a ministry to inspire parents and grandparents to disciple their children, help couples create mission-driven marriages, and equip churches to build Bible-driven ministries. Their mission is to build the church through a global reformation of family discipleship.
DEWAYNE WASHINGTON
Dewayne is the senior pastor of the Love Church in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. He had a vision to reach young men in his community who were struggling to find success in life. Dewayne developed a curriculum with his peers which led to the start up of Gentlemen’s Society where young men are trained through mentorship. He has seen gang members transformed into college-bound young men. Dewayne is also a musician, author, speaker, counselor, and life coach. He is married and has four children.
STU WEBER
Stu served as a Green Beret in Vietnam. It was there that he committed himself to a lifetime of vocational ministry. He and his wife, Linda, later joined a small group of friends in founding Good Shepherd Community Church near Portland, Oregon. Stu is much in demand as an international speaker, and he is the author of several books, including Tender Warrior, Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart, All the King’s Men, and Along the Road to Manhood.
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Video Series Leader Kit
Gain insight from America’s top men’s ministry leaders and teachers with the Stepping Up small group video series. This leader kit has ten video-based sessions combined with small-group discussion and personal applications to help men understand biblical manhood. Over 98% of hosts would recommend Stepping Up!