Special Guests

Debie Thomas is the author of Into the Mess and Other Jesus Stories (Cascade Books, 2022), and a columnist and contributing editor for The Christian Century. She serves as the Minister of Lifelong Formation at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, California, and leads retreats and workshops on scripture, Christian formation, and writing as spiritual practice. Debie lives in Scotts Valley, CA, with her husband, Alex, and they are the parents of two "all grown up" children.  You can learn more about Debie at www.debiethomas.com.

Mark Ramsey has been Executive Director of The Ministry Collaborative since 2018. This follows serving as senior pastor in Presbyterian congregations in Austin TX, Asheville NC, Oak Park IL, Denver CO and East Lansing, MI, as well as starting ordained ministry as an associate pastor in Bethesda, MD. While in Asheville, he participated in a three-year clergy cohort sponsored by Macedonian Ministry. He has been a preacher for Montreat Conference Center’s summer worship series and for Day1. After several years as an Associate Editor and frequent contributor to Journal for Preachers, he became publisher of JP in 2022 at the invitation of founders Erskine Clarke and Walter Brueggemann. He has also written selections on lectionary texts for Connections and for Feasting on the Gospels. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and is working with a group of scholars and pastors, funded by the Louisville Institute and the Luce Foundation,  on the challenges of race, church, and theological practice. 

Mark finds this time in church life exhilarating and challenging all at the same time. He speaks and leads retreats often for clergy groups, church boards, and congregations, as well as clergy coaching and congregational consulting. He often writes and hosts podcasts through The Ministry Collaborative website (www.mministry.org) and, with Elizabeth Lynn, writes a weekly column, Digging a Deeper Well, which provides resources and insights for church boards.

A native of Central Illinois, he is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia, and also received an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Elizabeth Lynn has founded and led several programs designed to expand moral imagination for civic engagement, including the Center for Civic Reflection and Valparaiso University's Institute for Leadership and Service. Through her writings and creative leadership she has contributed to contemporary understandings of philanthropy and the humanities in American life. Elizabeth directs Shifting Ground, an initiative of Lake Institute on Faith & Giving focused on deepening conversation about the changing landscape of faith, philanthropy, and community. She also leads facilitation trainings in the practice of civic reflection and co-authors a weekly blog, Digging a Deeper Well, with Mark Ramsey for the Ministry Collaborative. Elizabeth holds a PhD in Religion and Literature from the University of Chicago.