John Townsend has assembled a deep bench strength of his many friends, whose lectures and trainings will add great value, content and skills to Institute students. All are experts in their field, and many are bestselling authors. Here is a current listing:
Jon Acuff is the New York Times Bestselling author of six books and was named an INC top 100 leadership speaker. His work is taught by the NFL Player's Association and each year he talks to some of the biggest brands in the world including Microsoft, Nissan, Comedy Central, and FedEx. (www.Acuff.me)
Psychiatrist, brain disorder specialist, founder of the Amen Clinics, bestselling author, Change Your Brain, Change Your Mind (amenclinics.com)
Founder and chairman, New Life Ministries and New Life syndicated radio program, founder of Women of Faith, bestselling author, including Every Man’s Battle (newlife.com)
Co-founder of Celebrate Recovery with Rick Warren, on pastoral staff at Saddleback Church, popular author, including Life’s Healing Choices (celebraterecovery.com)
Founder of the Barna Research Group, leadership expert and bestselling author of many books, including “Master Leaders." (barna.org)
Karen Bergstrom, Ph.D. optimizes her over thirty years of experience as an executive in nonprofit agencies and enjoys her role as a leadership coach and co-leading Safe Families for Children.
Management expert, founder and spiritual director of the Blanchard Companies, Founder of Lead Like Jesus, speaker, bestselling author, including One Minute Manager (kenblanchard.com)
Chairman of CCMP, a private equity firm; past President of Continental Airlines, past CEO of Burger King; past CEO of Quizno’s; past CEO of Price Waterhouse Cooper Consulting (ccmpcapital.com)
Board Chair, Athletes in Action, former CEO LensCrafters and Family Christian Bookstores
Jim Burns is President of HomeWord and speaks to thousands of people around the world; he has over 1.5 million resources in print in over 25 languages including Faith Conversations for Families (homeword.com)
Psychologist, marriage and family expert, founder of the Gary Chapman Chair at Moody Bible Institute, author of many books, including the NYT bestseller The Five Love Languages (5lovelanguages.com)
Leadership expert, business consultant, psychologist and bestselling author, including Boundaries for Leaders (drcloud.com)
President and CEO of Focus on the Family, and popular author, including the book Finding Home (focusonthefamily.com)
A Dallas-based couple that spends their after-work hours as speakers, stage actors, and advocates for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Executive Coach, Therapist, Townsend Leadership Program Director
Sports Entrepreneur. In a long-term career, Roy has owned minor league baseball, hockey, and football teams. He has sold his fight promotions company 4 times. (https://socafights.com/)
President and Founder of Trochia Ministries providing Christian discipleship online, a Teaching Pastor at Mariners Church, host of Uncharted Podcast (www.inesfranklin.com), and CFO of J.D. Franklin Holdings.
is Senior Pastor of Mariners Church in Irvine, California. He has served as senior vice-president for LifeWay Christian and authored the bestselling church leadership book, Simple Church.
Relationship researchers, clinicians and bestselling authors, including The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work (gottman.com)
Ministry Investment Officer at Hobby Lobby, founder and past CEO of Mardel Christian and Education bookstores, and co-host of illumiNations, a collective impact alliance working to eradicate Bible poverty (illuminations.bible).
Steve Green is President of Hobby Lobby, Chairman of the Board for Museum of the Bible. He started working at Hobby Lobby when he graduated from high school when there were only 8 stores. Today Hobby Lobby has over 900 stores in 47 states.
George and Tondra Gregory, have worked with many current and retired couples throughout the National Football League and started a marriage ministry called Journey for Life (www.journeyforlifenow.org). George is also the chaplain for the Los Angeles Chargers.
CEO of the Halderman Companies, one of the largest family-owned professional farm management and real estate organizations in the United States (halderman.com)
CEO of Teays River Investments, a food and agribusiness company with over 1,200 employees (teaysinvestments.com)
CEO and Co-Founder of Truth at Work, an association which helps Christian business leaders build strong organizations, popular author, including The Janitor (christianroundtablegroups.com)
Psychologist, psychoanalyst, co-director of Society for Exploration of Psychoanalytic Therapies and Theology, and Brookhaven Institute (septt.org)
Psychologist, psychoanalyst, founding director SEPTT and Brookhaven Institute, author Toward Mutual Recognition, When the Roll Is Called (septt.org)
Owner of Hulen Hills Animal Hospital; Townsend Leadership Program Director (hulenhills.com)
President of Athletes in Action, leading over 1,000 staff members in 65 countries who serve athletes and coaches, athletesinaction.org
Christian Therapist, Townsend Leadership Program Director
author, podcaster (This is Your Life), blogger, speaker, and the former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson. He wrote Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, a New York Times Best Seller. (michaelhyatt.com).
Psychiatrist, speaker, author of The God-Shaped Brain, President and Founder of Come and Reason Ministries (comeandreason.com)
Developer of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, researcher, professor of clinical psychology, author of Hold Me Tight, The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (drsuejohnson.com)
Josh Kwan is the President of The Gathering, a learning community of philanthropists motivated by their Christian faith. Previously, he was the Co-Founder and Partner at Praxis, a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship.
Master clinician, teacher and author of Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling, Board Member for Bruce Narramore Foundation
Executive Coach, retired Founder and CEO of State National Companies, Inc., a leading provider of niche property and casualty insurance services.
Psychologist, best-selling author, including The Birth Order Book (drleman.com)
Founder and CEO, Defender Direct, a $500m security and home automation company and founder of Companies With a Mission (homedefenders.com)
Award winning psychiatrist, columnist, teacher and mental health advocate, (LylesandCrawford.com)
Co-author of Good Faith (2016), unChristian (2007), and The Next Christians (2010) as a manifesto for how Christians can faithfully lead in a changing culture. Founder of Q, a learning community of Christian leaders where they are equipped to engage our cultural moment.
Psychiatrist, founder of the Meier Clinics, bestselling author, including Blue Genes (paulmeier.com)
an author, public speaker, and business owner. He is the CEO of StoryBrand, a company that helps businesses clarify their messages. He wrote Blue Like Jazz, a New York Times Best Seller.
CEO of the Kairos Company, who provide branding, strategy and public relations counsel to leaders and organizations (thekcompany.co)
Elisa Morgan, President Emerita MOPS International, Co-Host Discover the Word, Speaker, Author, (elisamorgan.com)
Vice President and Publisher, Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Executive Coach, Townsend Leadership Program Director (elainemorris.com)
Psychologist, Executive Director of The Center for Healthy Relationships, bestselling author, including Mad About Us: Moving from Anger to Intimacy with Your Spouse (liferelationships.com)
Senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, leadership expert, former pastor at Willow Creek Church, and author of several books, including If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat (johnortberg.com)
Business consultant, founding partner of TeamWorx2, speaker, popular author, including Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands (tbc.city)
Psychologists, bestselling authors, including Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts (lesandleslie.com)
Co-Founder and Chairman, Sacred Harvest Foundation, a ministry targeting Kingdom development worldwide (sacredharvest.org)
Todd Peterson played 13 years in the NFL. He has been chairman of different non-profits, interim CEO and a member of four private company boards.
Pastor, founder of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and bestselling author, The Emotionally Healthy Leader, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, The Emotionally Healthy Church (emotionallyhealthy.org)
Founder and CEO, The Gathering, a community of Christian givers (thegathering.com)
Psychologist, founder of The Center for Family Therapy, popular author, including Forgiving the Unforgivable (drstoop.com)
Authors, speakers, marriage & family strategists at LifeWay, co-founders of Famous at Home--helping leaders build emotional intelligence and 22:6 Parenting (drjoshandchristi.com; famousathome.com)
Psychiatrist, author, Anatomy of the Soul, founder of Being Known, LLC
CEO of Mainstreet Investments and popular leadership speaker (mainstreetinvestment.com)
CEO, Telect, a company specializing in connectivity, and a futurist thought leader (telect.com)
Executive coach, consultant, author, founder of third largest Direct Marketing Agency, as a Private Equity partner, he has helped grow and sell five companies (johnwrightunlimited.com)
Writer, Author of the New York Times bestselling book “The Shack” (wmpaulyoung.com)