BIOGRAPHIES

TULLIAN TCHIVIDJIAN

William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) is a Florida native, the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham. A graduate of Columbia International University (philosophy) and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Tullian is the author of Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in Life’s Most Important Relationship (Multnomah), Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different (Multnomah) and Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels (Crossway). Tullian is also a contributing editor to Leadership Journal. He speaks at conferences throughout the U.S. and his sermons are broadcast daily on the radio program Godward Living.

When he is not reading, studying, preaching, or writing, he enjoys being with people and relaxing with his wife Kim and their three kids Gabe, Nate, and Genna. Tullian loves the beach, loves to exercise, and when he has time, he loves to surf.

Some of Tullian’s favorite authors include C.S. Lewis, J.I. Packer, Francis Schaeffer, Jonathan Edwards.

ED WELCH

Dr. Ed Welch is a faculty member at CCEF and holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology with a Neuro-psychology specialty from the University of Utah as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed has been counseling for over 27 years and has written many books and articles on biblical counseling including, When People are Big and God is Small, Addictions: a Banquet in the Grave, Blame it on the Brain?, Depression, and his newest book Running Scared. He and his wife, Sheri, have two married daughters and two grandchildren. In his spare time Ed enjoys hanging out with his wife and playing his guitar. Areas of interest/experience: depression and addictions.

SHANE & SHANE

Shane & Shane has cemented its status as one of contemporary Christian music’s most consistent, compelling, and successful artists for nearly a decade. A staple on the fickle college circuit, the acoustic guitar-wielding duo has averaged 250-300 shows per year for most of its career. Between independent recordings, six studio releases, and a combo CD/DVD live project, its tally hovers around a half-million records sold. It would easy to let these statistics overshadow the essential reason Shane & Shane has come so far in the first place. “The ministry of Shane & Shane is to just tell people about Jesus,” explains Shane Barnard with his characteristic Texan candor.

Among the most devotionally focused singer/songwriters of this generation, for Shane Barnard and Shane Everett, it all comes back to the creative source. “We always have a tendency to bring the scriptures into our songs,” Barnard explains. “It happens naturally for us. It’s not like we have a game plan, but we’ve always spent a lot of time in the Word of God. The Word of God is just so good - if you don’t mess with it - it’s hard to mess it up.

RONALD F. FERNER (SEMINAR LEADER)

Mr. Ferner is currently the dean of the School of Business and Leadership at Philadelphia Biblical University and chair of the undergraduate business administration program.  He joined the university after retiring from Campbell Soup Company. 

His career at Campbell Soup included that of plant manager at several Campbell facilities in Chicago, Minnesota, Nebraska and California.  He held management assignments at the Campbell World Headquarters in Camden, NJ where he was promoted to Vice President – Operations, Logistics and Strategy.  He also held a Vice President position in California, before closing out his career at the World Headquarters as Vice President for Low Cost Business Systems.

Ron received a BS degree in Food Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago. 

Ron and Doris have a married daughter and son, and two grandchildren.  They make their home in Moorestown, New Jersey.  They attend Tenth Presbyterian Church where Ron is an Elder and Trustee. 

He has served on the board of various not-for-profits such as United Way, YMCA,  Sacramento Mayor’s Council, University of California-Davis Graduate School of Management Business Partnership Program, California Manufacturer’s Association, Paul Tripp Ministries, and International Business and Education Consultants (IBEC).