Join us September 9-11 for the annual Open Door Fall Conference. We have great speakers coming including:
Pastors Rudy and Juanita Rasmus
Rudy Rasmus, known as Pastor Rudy to his congregation, is an emergentmessenger and co-pastor with his wife Juanita at the St. John’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. He is the author of the newly released book, Touch, Pressing Against the Wounds of a Broken World. He began the church in 1992 with only nine members and St. John’s has grown tomore than 9,000 members. 3,000 of the members are currently or were formerly homeless. The church is one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the United States and is known for their infectious hope that God will change lives. Pastor Rudy co-founded the Bread of Life a non-profit organization providing a wide range of services for disadvantaged individuals and Touch1.org which was created to address global hunger and food insecurity issues. For information, visit www.pastorrudy.net
Jay Bakker
Jay Bakker lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he is co-pastor of Revolution Church NYC, a church that meets in a bar and has a strong online following. Jay speaks to congregations and other groups all over the country about faith, grace, and his experiences with the underside of life and Christianity. Jay has authored the books Fall to Grace and Son of A Preacher Man.
Letha Scanzoni
Letha Dawson Scanzoni is an independent scholar and writer specializing in the intersection between religion and social issues. She has written on such topics as feminism, relationships of love and friendship, self-esteem and personal growth, human diversity, marriage and family living, divorce, aging and caregiving, sexuality and gender, sex ethics, social justice-oriented folk music, and physical and psychological family violence.
She is the co-author of the books, Is the Homosexual my Neighbor? and the other is What God has joined together….a Christian response in favor of gay marriage.
For nearly twenty years Kenny traveled with his dad and his brother in one of Christian music’s most popular Southern Gospel trios. The Bishops garnered several industry and fan awards including the coveted Dove Award as well as numerous number one and top ten songs. The group made a name for themselves appearing on television and stages all across America. Their songs were constants on most every radio station and program that featured Southern Gospel music. After thousands of miles, more than two dozen recordings and hundreds of songs, the Bishops, as a group, retired in 2001.
Now, after several years away from music, Kenny returns with his debut recording that features songs that reflect his renewed spirit, his refocused mission, and his determined devotion to God’s love. The success of his return record has made headlines with a surprise GRAMMY nominations and multiple Dove Award nominations.
Recent feature articles in major, main-stream music publications have brought added notoriety to Kenny’s story of success and struggle in the Gospel music industry. This attention, coupled with a new understanding of his mission and purpose, has allowed Kenny to take his message of love-beyond-limits to many who considered themselves unwanted or neglected by God. His writings and podcasts are popular stops on the Internet.
Also an expert teacher on grief who lectures all over the nation will be speaking on that Sunday which is the 10th anniversary of 9/11.