Speakers
Round Table Session: "The Pentecostal Doctrine & Practice in a Post-Modern World"
Featuring: Wayne Benson, M. Paul Brooks, Joseph L. Castleberry, Deborah Gill, Christopher Gornold-Smith, H. Maurice Lednicky, Anthony Palma
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Dr. Gordon Anderson currently serves as the president of North Central University (NCU) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His professional experience includes 14 years of pastoral leadership and more than 16 years as a college professor and administrator. Since Anderson took office in 1995, the growing enthusiasm and support for North Central University is reflected by a 22 percent increase in enrollment. Anderson’s passion for Christ, commitment to the vision of the institution—to prepare Pentecostal leaders to serve God in the church and in the world, and frequent interaction with students are key elements of his leadership. In addition to his duties at NCU, Anderson is a member of the national Commission on Doctrinal Purity. In 1997, Anderson chaired the Spiritual Life Committee for the General Council of the Assemblies of God. Anderson served as director of the Eurasia Office for the Assemblies of God World Missions Department from 1993 to 1998. Anderson received his first degree in 1970, a bachelor’s in religion from Southern California College (now Vanguard University) in Costa Mesa, California. He was ordained by the Assemblies of God in 1973, while serving as senior pastor at Chapel of the Plains AG in Stoneham, Colorado. From 1974 to 1982, Anderson pastored the Life Center AG in Portland, Oregon. During this time he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in history from the University of Portland. He moved with his family to Minneapolis in 1982 to serve as a professor at NCU. Anderson earned a Ph.D. in ancient studies from the University of Minnesota in 1986. He served as director of the G. Raymond Carlson Institute for Church Leadership at NCU from 1989 to 1993. An authority on Pentecostal doctrine, Anderson has written and published several books and articles, including Orphans and Kings and Pentecostal Hermeneutics and is well-known for his video and audio tape series, the Unshakable Truth and A Theology of Revival. From 1991 to 1995, he hosted a 30-minute radio program, "Christianity in Culture," that was broadcast on WIBI in Illinois. |
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James Bridges |
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James K. Bridges was elected as general treasurer of the Assemblies of God at the 45th General Council of the church in August 1993. He began serving his office November 19, 1993. He is a member of the denomination’s board of administration and Executive Presbytery. As general treasurer, Bridges oversees the Division of Treasury, which includes departments of Finance, Internal Audit, Information Services, Accounting and Benevolences. This division is responsible for handling all finances sent to headquarters for the world ministries of the church. He has served the church in a variety of capacities since 1952 when he began his ministry in the South Texas district. He is a graduate of Southwestern Assemblies of God University. Bridges has served pastorates in Houston, Dallas, Greenville, and Waxahachie, Texas, as well as Wichita, Kansas. He served in leadership offices in the North Texas district, including sectional presbyter, executive presbyter, general presbyter, assistant district superintendent (1977-81) and superintendent of the district from 1981 until his election to the office of general treasurer. From 1968-71 Bridges was vice president of academic affairs at Southwestern College and has also served as chairman of the college’s board of regents from 1985-1993. SAGC conferred the honorary doctor’s degree upon him in 1991. He has been a member of the church’s General Presbytery for 20 years and served on the national Board of Christian Higher Education for 18 years. In his present position he is chairman of the boards of directors for the Hillcrest Children’s Home, the Highlands Child Placement Services, Maranatha Village and the AGFSG Investment Committee. Bridges and his wife Joyce have three grown sons, two of whom are ordained ministers with the Assemblies of God. |
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Frank Cargill was elected superintendent of the Oklahoma District Council of the Assemblies of God in November of 2000, following a pastorate of 13 years at Capitol Hill Assemblies of God in Oklahoma City. In his present position, Cargill serves as overseer for 480 churches and approximately 1,300 ministers throughout the state of Oklahoma. In his earlier ministry, he pastored churches in Okemah and Elk City. He also served as Oklahoma District youth director for seven years and Oklahoma assistant superintendent for 18 years. A native of Drumright, Oklahoma, Cargill is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a bachelor of music education degree. He has a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma where he served as a graduate assistant for two years. He also received a master of education degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. Under his leadership, Capitol Hill AG participated in several missionary endeavors to the Ukraine, Uruguay and Mexico, where the church was involved in construction as well as evangelistic crusades. Cargill has also ministered throughout the continent of Africa as well as Europe. Cargill currently serves as the corporate secretary of the Board of Regents for Southwestern Assembly of God University in Waxahachie, Texas, as well as serving on the Board of Regents for American Indian College in Phoenix, Arizona. He has also served as a general presbyter to the General Council of the Assemblies of God since 1983. He and his wife Linda have two grown sons. They make their home in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. |
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Maury Davis was arrested for first-degree murder at age 18. Following his trial and conviction, he served eight and one-half years in the Texas Department of Corrections. During his incarceration, Davis found his Savior in Jesus Christ and led a revival among his fellow prisoners. Following his unexpected release from prison, Davis served on the pastoral staff of Calvary Temple in Irving, Texas, under the leadership of Dr. J. Don George where he served as youth pastor. There he met and married his wife Gail. After five years at Calvary Temple, Davis answered the call to full-time evangelism and traveled across the United States preaching at churches, youth camps, and Bible schools and speaking to teens in public schools. In 1991, after preaching one Sunday at the 250-member Cornerstone Church in Madison, Tennessee, Davis was offered the position of senior pastor. He accepted that appointment and has led Cornerstone to its current average attendance of more than 2,000 people. He also serves as an Executive Presbyter of the Tennessee District Council of the Assemblies of God. Davis simply preaches that Jesus is the answer . . . whatever the situation, whatever the problem. He has a heartfelt desire for people to understand that if God would save him, He stands ready to meet anyone, whatever their circumstances. |
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Danny de León and his wife Ruth, both come from pastor’s homes. Their parents’ vast experience in the ministry prepared both of them for their own ministry among Hispanic people. De León has complete command of both the English and Spanish languages and frequently ministers to both of these segments of the U.S. population. De León earned a B.A. degree from Southern California College in Costa Mesa, California, (now Vanguard University). He earned a M.E. from Chapman College, Orange, California, and a M.Div. at Melodyland School of Theology, Anaheim, California. He was bestowed an honorary doctor of divinity degree in 1983. For the past 25 years, he has pastored Templo Calvario in Santa Ana, California. Under his guidance, the church has grown to be the largest bilingual Hispanic congregation in the United States. Its ministries now reach beyond the local area of the church as Templo Calvario has established 73 satellite churches in the United States and in Latin America. De León’s sermons are heard daily on radio stations in Latin America, Europe and in the United States. Presently, de León serves as a general presbyter of the Assemblies of God and is active in many other organizations that are reaching the Hispanic world. He is president/founder of the Hispanic Association for Bilingual/Bicultural Ministries. He is a board member and one of the keynote speakers for Promise Keepers conventions held throughout the United States and Latin America. He is also host of Club 700 (Spanish version of 700 Club), which is presently seen throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and Spain and in some parts of the United States. Aside from pastoring, de León recently became president/founder of Daniel de León Ministries, including "Festival de la Familia" crusades that are held in U.S. cities with large Hispanic populations. He speaks about personal experiences and is a dynamic expositor of the Word. He is in great demand as a conference speaker and evangelist. He has authored several manuals and five books, one of which has made the Top Ten Sellers List in Spanish Christian Literature—Siete Pecados Capitales del Padres. |
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Rick DuBose has been the pastor of Sachse Assembly of God, Sachse, Texas, since March 1987. While under his pastorate, the church has grown from 17 people to in excess of 700. It has become one of the leading mission’s churches in the North Texas District, but continues to keep its focus on its own neighborhood. It also just recently mothered a new church in a nearby community and it is now enjoying attendance of around 100 people on Sunday mornings. Before coming to Sachse, DuBose pastored for three years in Hallsville, Texas. He started his ministry as a youth pastor at First AG in Mesquite, Texas. In 2000, DuBose was honored by the city Chamber of Commerce as Man of the Year. He has served as presbyter of the North Dallas section for the North Texas District since 2001. |
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Danny DuVall has had the privilege of enjoying God’s hand early, strong and widespread. At 15, DuVall was captured by Christ and immediately impacted his public school campus where he was the quarterback and campus evangelist. DuVall led Bible studies where sections of the football stadium would be filled with students who came to study the Word of God. Upon graduation from high school, DuVall received a full football scholarship to play at Evangel University under head coach Denny Duron. While at Evangel, DuVall majored in biblical studies, and minored in Greek. As a student, he was a regular speaker on the campus. After receiving his degree, DuVall ministered to thousands of teenagers in conventions, conferences and camps across the nation. For 16 years, DuVall’s ministry was marked by his gift of bringing the Word of God into the issues of daily living. DuVall and his wife Gayla traveled as a team for 11 years. In 1995, they moved to Birmingham, Alabama, to plant Christian Life Church after discovering a strong need for a Spirit-filled church in the city. From its beginning, CLC has been built by a long line of miracles. Today, it is one of the great Spirit-filled churches in the city with ministries that are alive with people-building power. DuVall feels his enthusiasm for the Lord is the appropriate response to a resurrected Christ. |
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Debbie Gill loves people and loves her Lord Jesus Christ! As an avid student of the Word of God, she likes to mine its treasures from the original languages of Greek and Hebrew. She has traveled around the globe in ministry in churches, and at retreats, camps and conferences. Gill is ordained with the Minnesota District of the Assemblies of God. She holds a Bachelors degree in music education from the University of Minnesota, an M.Div., an M.A. in biblical languages from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in biblical studies, Old and New Testaments from Fuller Theological Seminary. Gill has been a professor on both the undergraduate and graduate levels in New Testament, Greek, homiletics, and music at Central Bible College and North Central University and as a missionary in the Asia Pacific. She was senior pastor of Living Hope (a cell-based church) in North Oaks, Minnesota, from 1997-2001, and currently serves as the national director of the Division of Christian Education and the commissioner on Discipleship for the Assemblies of God. She is married to Jan Gill, an architect specializing in church design. Gill lives a very active life. But most of all her passion is to minister the good news of Jesus Christ, whether in a church pulpit, behind a college lectern or across the table in a restaurant sharing her faith with a new friend. |
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Michael Goldsmith has been the senior pastor of the historic Broken Arrow Assembly of God in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, since 1998. Next year, the congregation celebrates its 90th year as a church, which until 2002 met on the site of its founding. The church was founded in 1914, and joined the AG Fellowship in 1917. Broken Arrow has experienced unprecedented growth during Goldsmith’s administration. Over 75 ministries are in operation, and the church is a strong supporter of both U.S. and world missions. Since 1998, attendance at Broken Arrow AG has grown 80 percent, with an average attendance of 1,100 people. In January of 1999, Goldsmith led the church in a one-year, $400,000 debt retirement program for a piece of property that had been purchased for Broken Arrow A/G’s relocation. The entire amount was paid in full by mid-December that same year, with a surplus of more than $15,000 to begin a building fund. The church is currently building a new facility on the 40 acres purchased. Goldsmith is an ordained minister with the AG and has a degree in biblical studies from Southwestern Assemblies of God University and a M.A. in practical theology from Oral Roberts University, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Goldsmith has pastored congregations in North Little Rock, Conway, Pine Bluff and Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. He has served as a youth evangelist, youth pastor, senior pastor and district youth director of the Arkansas district. Goldsmith has ministered internationally in the Philippines and Russia. He has published several works, including Trusting God, and has been a contributing writer to the book, "Living Like Jesus," by Ken Horton and James Davis. Goldsmith is also a guest columnist for several area newspapers. Goldsmith and his wife Debbie have two daughters. |
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J. Lowell Harrup has served as pastor of Northland Cathedral Assembly of God in Kansas City, Missouri since 1989. Prior to coming to Northland, Harrup pastored churches in Alexandria, Virginia and Brussels, Belgium. He has conducted evangelistic crusades, seminars and Bible conferences and spoken at colleges, military bases and camps. He taught homiletics and hermeneutics courses at Continental Theological Seminary, Brussels, Belgium. Harrup has written, God’s Design, Your Choice for the International Correspondence Institute (now Global University). He holds a B.A. degree from Southeastern College, Lakeland, Florida. |
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Bobby L. Johnson has been pastor of First Assembly of God, Van Buren, Arkansas, since June 1980. During his pastorate, the church has grown tremendously, from 270 to over 2,000 students in Sunday School attendance and has been one of the fastest growing Sunday Schools in the Assemblies of God. The heart of the church revolves around souls. The church has reached hundreds of boys and girls through Sidewalk Sunday School and a large bus ministry. Along with local services, Johnson can be seen statewide on the hour telecast, Reach Out, which the church produces and presents. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Johnson has been active in Christian service for many years. He attended Evangel College in Springfield, Missouri. Johnson graduated from University of Central Arkansas with a B.S. degree in education. He was listed in the 1973 edition of Outstanding Young Men in America. He is also listed in the Who’s Who in Religion in America. Johnson taught in public high school for four years. He ministered as an evangelist, youth camp and camp meeting speaker and has pastored three other churches in Arkansas. Prior to coming to First A/G, Johnson served as the Arkansas district youth director. He is presently serving as a general presbyter of the Assemblies of God. In 2001, Johnson had the honor of being nominated and selected as one of 11,500 people to carry the torch for the Winter Olympics. |
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Robert C. Jones currently serves as senior pastor of First Assembly of God Niagara Falls, New York. The church has prospered under his leadership. Conversions have averaged nearly 150 a year for the last four years. After graduating from Eastern Michigan University, Jones began his ministry in the Michigan district. He served two years in assistant pastor positions while competing Berean Bible courses. He was ordained and began to minister as senior pastor in 1973. Jones has pastored four churches over the last 32 years. Coming from an old-line denomination, he both knows and appreciates the moving and anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is that type of ministry that he brings to the pulpit. |
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John A. Loper, Jr., has served as senior pastor of Garywood Assembly of God (Garywood, AL) for 24 years. Missions, evangelism and mentoring young people for ministry are the great passions of his heart. It is out of these passions that the ministry of Garywood has expanded to include a Christian school, Christian college, three-year Master’s Commission program, daycare, Sav-A-Life Center, drama program and camp meetings. Loper has also led his church to be a leader in Mission Birmingham. |
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Loyd Middleton has served as senior pastor of First Assembly of God in Independence, Missouri since 1981. Ordained in 1966, Middleton traveled extensively as an evangelist for 21 years. He has also served a sectional presbyter and assistant youth director of the Southern Missouri district. He currently serves as Southern Missouri district executive presbyter. |
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Gene Roncone has served as Pastor of Aurora First Assembly since October of 2002. Prior to pastoring Aurora First, Gene served for six years as the Director of Church Development and Education for the 450 churches of the Northern California and Nevada District of the Assemblies of God. Gene graduated from Bethany Bible College in 1989, and then studied preaching at Western Seminary and organizational leadership at the University of San Francisco. Gene’s writing appears regularly in denominational periodicals as well as in a weekly column in one of Northern California’s newspapers, focusing on Christians in business. He was recently published in Gospel Publishing House’s leadership development book of the year entitled, Playing Your Position, Investing Yourself in Others. Roncone lives in Aurora, Colorado with his wife, Rhonda and their four children. |
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Randal Ross became the senior pastor of Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois, on April 2, 2000. Ross is a man with two driving passions: He desires to help men and women reach their full potential for Jesus Christ, and he desires to raise up godly leadership throughout the world. He believes God has called him to carry out this vision through the local church. A fourth generation preacher, Ross has served as associate director of Teen Challenge in Cleveland, Ohio, part of a national Christian drug rehabilitation program; assistant pastor at Hamburg (NJ) Assembly of God; assistant pastor at Olmsted (OH) Assembly of God; and senior pastor of Asheboro (NC) Assembly of God. In 1985, he became senior pastor of Trinity Church in Lubbock, Texas, where he served until 1998. Under his leadership, the church grew to become one of the largest churches in the area with an average attendance of 6,500. In October 1998 until his current pastorate in 2000, he pastored First Assembly of God in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Ross is a noted keynote speaker and conference leader for several universities, Fortune 500 companies and leadership conferences. He serves on the board of several churches and ministries throughout the country, including the National Coalition for Traditional Values and Dr. David Cho’s Church Growth International. He also serves as moderator for Rapha, a conference involving 25 of the largest pastorates in America. He has hosted a daily radio ministry heard in West Texas and New Mexico, and has authored several books, including Seven Habits of Winning Relationships, Tapping the Power of Your Emotions, Not Without My Children, and his most recent book, The Next Seven Great Events of the Future. (Top of Page) |
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Dr. Jack Stepp is senior pastor of South Hills Assembly in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, where he has served for the past 13 years. He has been in full-time ministry for 30 years, serving as senior pastor, hospital chaplain and youth/children’s pastor. Stepp is a guest host for Getting Together on Cornerstone Television and a radio ministry in Pittsburgh. He teaches Global University courses in the School of Ministry each semester. He has gone on several mission trips and has a heart "to love God and make His love known." Stepp earned a M.Div from Nazarene Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Midwest Baptist Seminary. After 10 years of ministry in the Church of the Nazarene, he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. He became affiliated with the Assemblies of God in 1983. (Top of Page) |
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Martha Tennison has traveled across America preaching retreats for women and holding evangelistic crusades with her husband, evangelist W. Don Tennison. They have served together for more than 29 years of ministry. The Tennisons pastored First Assembly of God in Radcliff, Kentucky, from 1978 to 1990 and saw the church grow from 80 to more than 700 people. On May 14, 1988, First Assembly experienced a fiery trial when their church bus was hit head-on by a drunk driver, resulting in the deaths of 24 children and three adults. Through that tragedy, the Tennisons experienced God’s sustaining power and saw His healing touch in the lives of their hurting parishioners. Because of this and other experiences of God’s miraculous healing in her own life, Tennison has a deep love and compassion for the hurting. With her sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit, God has given Tennison a wonderful ministry of reaching the heart with her unique way of revealing truths of God’s Word. Tennison will keep you laughing and crying as she shares her life’s experiences with a loving and faithful God. (Top of Page) |
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