The Pastor's Guide to Growing a Christlike Church

Darius Salter is currently devoting his time to writing and itinerate preaching. He is completing a biography of Methodist Bishop Matthew Simpson, the clergyman closest to Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and who preached Lincoln's funeral. Salter is the author of seven books, including America's Bishop, the first comprehensive biography written on Francis Asbury. He also chairs the Board for New Fields Ministries, an inter-denominational missionary organization.

Dr. Salter is a graduate of Kentucky Mountain Bible College, Asbury College, and Asbury Theological Seminary. He completed the Ph.D. at Drew University and taught seminary for 24 years. He pastored for 12 years, and has preached on 6 continents. Dr. Salter served as Executive Director of the Christian Holiness Association, an inter-denominational fellowship consisting of many denominations, colleges and universities, and mission organizations. He is an ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene. Kentucky Mountain Bible College named him its Alumnus of the Year in 2011.

Darius is married to Brenda. They are the parents of four daughters, all who played four years of collegiate softball.

Ron Blake has been a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene for 20 years. He was the Director of Clergy Services at Nazarene Headquarters. He is presently the Senior Pastor at Detroit First Church of the Nazarene.

Jerry Brecheisen (pronounced BRECK-eye-zen) is an author, humorist, speaker, and musician who currently serves as Director of Media for The Wesleyan Church. He has authored fourteen books and writes the weekly online column Hope above the Headlines. Jerry and his wife, Carol, have two children and four grandchildren and live in Fishers, Indiana.

Mary Paul co-pastors the St. Paul's Church of the Nazarene in Duxbury, MA with her husband Bruce. They have two sons Wesley, age 13 and Jonathan (JJ), age 10. She graduated from Eastern Nazarene College with a degree in Social work, Boston University with a Masters of Divinity and has recently completed the course work necessary for a Doctorate of Ministry at Asbury Seminary. She was a participant in the Beeson Pastor Fellowship at Asbury Seminary. She has previously served as Senior Pastor at two Nazarene Churches; The First Church of the Nazarene in Lynn, MA and the Bethel Church of the Nazarene in Quincy, MA.

Rev. Adam Hamilton is Senior Pastor and the founding pastor of The Church of the Resurrection. He earned an undergraduate degree from Oral Roberts University, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and a Master of Divinity degree from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, in 1988. In previous assignments he has served as Youth Minister and Associate Pastor in charge of Evangelism. He now leads one of the 3 most dynamic and rapidly growing congregations in the United Methodist denomination, a congregation that has grown from less than 100 to more than 12,000 adult members and children in thirteen years time. Adam currently serves as a Trustee of Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City. He also serves as a member of the Large Church Initiative Steering Committee for the United Methodist Church. Adam received the Circuit Rider award in 1996, this award is presented annually by the United Methodist Publishing House for overall excellence in ministry and in 2000 was named one of the Ten People to Watch in shaping the country's spiritual landscape by Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. The Foundation For Evangelism recognized Adam as the Distinguished Evangelis

Tom Theriault, D. Min., currently serves as associate pastor for mission and outreach at the Solana Beach Presbyterian Church, Solana Beach, California (in north San Diego County). A congregation of over 1600 members, Solana Beach Presbyterian supports a wide range of mission activities, including the support of missionaries around the world and a food truck ministry that handles some 10 million pounds of food a year. Dr. Theriault has spearheaded his church's commitment to plant the gospel among a group of Muslims in the Ethiopian desert and is very involved in the expansion of the congregation's ministry to Hispanics. He also chairs the mission committee of the Presbytery of San Diego, leading these 35 congregations to make a commitment to frontier missions. Dr. Theriault earned his doctorate from the School of World Mission at Fuller Theological Seminary, doing research on the topic The Influence of Universalism in Presbyterian Mission Policy and Practice in the 20th Century. He and his wife have three children--Anna, Julie, and Steve--a wonderful son-in-law, and an adorable grandson.