Co-hosts Jon Stovell and Candace Smith speak with Rick Ostrander about his research and writing, including his new book, Academically Speaking: Lessons from a Life in Christian Higher Education (Eerdmans, 2024).

Dr. Rick Ostrander is Executive Director of the Michigan Christian Study Center. He holds a doctorate in American History from the University of Notre Dame. He also holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Notre Dame, a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree in theology from Moody Bible Institute.

As a scholar of American religion and an academic administrator, Dr. Ostrander maintains an active interest in Christian higher education. His publications include The Life of Prayer in a World of Science (Oxford, 2001), Head, Heart, Hand: John Brown University and Evangelical Higher Education (University of Arkansas, 2003), and “Spirituality and the Discipline of History,” in Searching for Spirituality in Higher Education (Peter Lang, 2007). A Fulbright Scholar to Germany in 2004, Dr. Ostrander complements his interest in American higher education with an active interest in global affairs and international education.

Dr. Ostrander’s book, Why College Matters to God: Academic Faithfulness and Christian Higher Education, was published in 2009 by Abilene Christian University Press and revised in 2012. It is one of the leading texts used by Christian college and universities for first-year seminars and new faculty orientations.

Rick and his wife Lonnie have four children. He is an avid cyclist who logs thousands of miles a year on his road bike.

Co-hosts Candace Smith and Jon Stovell speak with Debra J. Mumford about her research and writing, which focuses on African American Prophetic Preaching, Prosperity Preaching, Eschatology and the Reign of God, and preaching and health.

Debra J. Mumford, is ordained minister in American Baptist Churches, USA and affiliate minister with the Alliance of Baptists. She joined the Louisville Seminary faculty in 2007. She majored in mechanical engineering at Howard University and worked in engineering before answering her call to ministry. Mumford served as a youth pastor, associate minister and church administrator in several congregations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her scholarly interests include African American prophetic preaching, prosperity preaching, eschatology and the reign of God, and preaching and health.

Mumford’s publications include Exploring Prosperity Preaching: Biblical Health, Wealth, & Wisdom, Judson Press; “Slave Prosperity Gospel” for Homiletic; “The Gospel of Prosperity: Jesus, Capitalism and Hope” in Homiletical Theology: Theologies of the Gospel in Context, forthcoming; The Journal for the Society of Pentecostal Studies; “Preaching on Homosexuality in the Black Church” for the African American Lectionary; “Preaching and Plagiarism” for The Presbyterian Leader; “Prosperity Preaching and African American Prophetic Preaching” for the Review and Expositor: A Consortium Baptist Theological Journal; “Trayvon Martin: A Tragic Catalyst for Change” and “Obamacare: the Good, the Bad, and the Hope for the Future” for The Thoughtful Christian.

Since 2008, Mumford has served as a mentor for the Louisville Youth Group, a grassroots organization that provides resources and a safe space for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people ages 14 to 20.

Co-hosts Claudia Herrera-Montero and Kevin Hill speak with Christopher M. Hays about his new book, Eight Million Exiles: Missional Action Research and the Crisis of Forced Migration (Eerdmans, 2024).

Christopher joined Scholar Leaders as President in 2022 after serving as a missionary and professor of New Testament at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia in Medellín. A Biblical scholar committed to the transformation of theological knowledge into missional practice, he has worked in projects ranging from authoring scholarly volumes to establishing church-based ministries to victims of forced migration. He holds degrees from Wheaton and Oxford. His most recent book in English is Eight Million Exiles. He and his wife Michelle have three children and live in North Carolina.