Professor Sarah C. Williams

Sarah is a Research Professor in the History of Christianity at Regent College Vancouver, a Research Associate at St Benet’s Hall Oxford, and one of the world’s leading experts on the history of Christianity. She holds a D.Phil. in history from the University of Oxford, where she also taught as part of the modern history faculty for 7 years. Her research focuses on British religious and cultural history. She is the author of “Religious Belief and Popular Culture” (Oxford University Press) and “Perfectly Human” (winner of a Christianity Today 2019 Book Award), and co-author of “Redefining Christian Britain”. Her forthcoming book traces the relationship between Christianity and perceptions of gender and sexuality through time. Sarah is a passionate and gifted teacher, writer, and communicator, known for bringing history to life in a way that speaks to our contemporary context. Sarah teaches all over the world helping the Church recover its memory, and we are delighted that she will be sharing her time and expertise with us in January.

At ADM’s 2020 School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement (STCPE), Sarah taught a two-part masterclass: ‘Prayer as Political Resistance: The Radical Theology of First Wave Feminism’. She was also a panellist at the STCPE Opening reception event on ‘Faith in Action: Past, Present and Future’ and she delivered the Closing reception keynote address, entitled: ‘Prayer, Agency and Cultural Transformation’

Listen to Professor Williams’ lecture at the 2020 STCPE

Professor Karen E. Mason

Karen is a Professor of Counselling and Psychology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where she is also the Director of the Hamilton Counselling Program. For the last 13 years, Karen has prepared Gordon-Conwell theological students to become licenced mental health counsellors. Her research and practice focus on the topics of suicide prevention in faith communities. She is the author of the widely read “Preventing Suicide: A Handbook for Pastors, Chaplains and Pastoral Counsellors” (IVP). Her forthcoming book “Preaching and Suicide: Teaching and Giving Care with Pulpit Ministry” examines preachers’ central roles in suicide prevention. Prior to her appointment at Gordon-Conwell she managed the Office of Suicide Prevention for the state of Colorado. Karen is an expert in the theory and practice of integrating Christian faith and suicide prevention. She has a huge heart for the work of the church, and we are humbled and thrilled that she will be sharing her wisdom with us on an important topic.

Karen taught two masterclasses at ADM’s 2020 School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement: one on suicide prevention in faith communities and another on the same topic aimed specifically at clergy and ministry workers with special attention to topics such as suicide and preaching.

Dr Michaela O’Donnell Long

 Michaela is Senior Director of the De Pree Centre for Leadership at Fuller Seminary, where she is also Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology and Leadership. Michaela is an entrepreneur who has started several businesses, most notably, she is co-founder and CEO of Long Winter Media, a branding and video production company. In her role at the De Pree Center, Michaela is the principal leader of the grant funded, Entrepreneurship, Faith, and Flourishing Initiative. This grant has enabled the De Pree Center to take the research of Michaela’s PhD dissertation, “Adopting an Entrepreneurial Posture: Vocational Formation in a Changing World of Work,” and turn it into practical resources for entrepreneurs and churches that serve them. Michaela regularly speaks and writes on topics of vocation, entrepreneurship, and women in leadership. Recent publications through the De Pree Center include, “A Seat at the Table,” “Myths of Vocation,” and “She Is.” Her writing is featured widely including at the following outlets Relevant, Fuller Studio, Grit and Virtue, Faith Driven Entrepreneur, Made to Flourish, and Liberty Magazine.

Michaela visited ADM in September 2019. She was the keynote speaker at the 2019 ADM Annual Funding Event and Evening Showcase event. She also taught an Engage Masterclass for women on innovation, empathy and imagination, as well as meeting with the 2019 ADM Fellows and women in our 2019 Incubator program.

Read ADM’s Q&A with Michaela

Katelyn Beaty 

Katelyn is a writer, speaker, and Acquisitions Editor for Brazos Press. Katelyn loves words and believes they can change the world. She first learned this as an undergrad at Calvin College, where she worked on the student newspaper. After studying theology at Oxford University, she landed her first job copy editing Christianity Today magazine in the suburbs of Chicago. She went on to launch a women's website (Her.meneutics) and become the magazine's youngest and first female managing editor. She has written a book about work, vocation, and identity (‘A Woman’s Place: A Christian Vision for Your Calling in the Office, the Home, and the World.’), which came out in 2016 from Simon & Schuster / Howard Books. She speaks regularly on faith and work, women's vocation, writing, and evangelicalism. She has written for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times and have commented on faith and culture for CNN, ABC, NPR, the Associated Press, Religion News Service, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and McClatchy Newspapers. For more on Katelyn, see here.

Katelyn taught two masterclasses at ADM’s 2019 School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement covering topics relevant for magazine publishing, editing and writing. She also considered the issue of choosing conversations worth having for writers and as it pertains to editorial judgment and discernment, especially for faith-based publications. During STCPE 2019, Katelyn was also part of an Evening panel event with Professor John Milbank and chaired by Dr Kate Harrison Brennan, on the topic “Why get involved in politics”.

While she was with ADM in Sydney, Katelyn spoke to Dr Meredith Lake (2017 ADM Senior Research Fellow) on her show Soul Search

Rev. Canon Dr Alison Milbank

Alison  is Associate Professor of Literature and Theology at the University of Nottingham, where she has taught since 2004, and also Canon Theologian at Southwell Minster. Her research expertise is in theology and culture, including: literature, art, architecture, film and music; religious aesthetics and ideas of the beautiful, ugly, horrific; Gothic and horror fiction and its relation to religion; Dante; Anglican theology, especially ecclesiology and the nature of the church; GK Chesterton and JRR Tolkien. Her books include: 'Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians’ and ‘God and the Gothic’ (Oxford University Press, 2018). Her media experience includes appearances on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Nottingham, ABC (Australia), Mars Hill (USA) and the Guardian.

Alison taught two masterclasses at ADM’s School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement 2019 covering topics including apologetics and the imagination, God and the gothic, fantasy literature, and the theological significance of the literary mode of the novel.

Listen to A/Professor Milbank’s opening keynote lecture at STCPE 2019

Professor Lynn Cohick

Lynn is Provost and Dean of Denver Seminary and Professor of New Testament. Prior to that, Dr. Cohick taught at Wheaton College since 2000, where she was Professor of New Testament, and before that she taught at Messiah College (Grantham, PA), and the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (Nairobi, Kenya). Lynn earned a BA in Bible and Religion from Messiah College, and her PhD in New Testament and Christian Origins from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the ways Jews and Christians lived out their faith in the ancient settings of Hellenism and the Roman Empire, and how Jews and Christians today can better appreciate and understand each other. She also explores women’s lives in the ancient world, most recently focusing on Christian women in the early church. She enjoys studying the Apostle Paul and his epistles within their larger Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts. Her publications include Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through the Fifth Centuries (co-authored with Amy Brown Hughes, Baker Academic, 2017); Philippians in the Story of God Commentary (Zondervan, 2013); Ephesians in New Covenant Commentary (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010); Women in the World of the Earliest Christians (Baker Academic, 2009).

Professor Cohick gave a series of masterclasses at ADM’s School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement 2018 on “Philippians Today”, exploring how Paul’s letter to the Philippians offers rich theology, engaging cultural commentary and practical advice for living. Lynn explored each chapter with attendees, as Paul develops his views on Christ as suffering Saviour, and the believers’ salvation and faithful witness, and asked how Paul’s message speaks to our society’s questions today.

Alissa Wilkinson

Alissa Wilkinson is a staff writer and critic at Vox, where she covers film, culture and, sometimes, religion. Alissa is also Associate Professor of English and Humanities at The King's College in New York City, where she teaches courses on criticism and cultural theory. Until September 2016, Alissa was the critic at large at Christianity Today and regularly contributed to a number of publications, includingRolling Stone, Vulture, RogerEbert.com, Pacific Standard, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books andBooks & Culture. Her book, How to Survive the Apocalypse: Zombies, Cylons, and Politics at the End of the World, co-written with Robert Joustra, was published by Eerdmans in May 2016.

Listen to Alissa deliver the 2017 ADM Annual Public Lecture, “Why pop culture is obsessed with religion”

Elizabeth Oldfield

Elizabeth is the Director of Theos, the UK's leading religion and society think tank. She appears regularly in the media, including BBC One, Sky News, the World Service, and writing in The Financial Times. She is a regular conference speaker and chair. Before joining Theos in August 2011, Elizabeth worked for BBC TV and radio. She has an MA in Theology from King’s College London.

During her ADM Visiting Fellowship in 2016 presented a media masterclass and delivered inaugural ADM Annual Public Lecture.

Listen to Elizabeth deliver the 2016 ADM Annual Public Lecture, “Is Europe still Christian?”