Speakers

LAEL ARRINGTON
After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Lael encountered the work of Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer. Inspired to help her students understand and live from a Christian worldview, she completed a Masters in History of Ideas and Aesthetics at the University of Texas at Dallas.  Her subsequent experience with rheumatoid arthritis has deepened her life with Christ and enabled her to help others connect what we learn in our heads with the life of the heart, so that we may follow Jesus with renewed intimacy, mission and purpose.  Lael moved from teaching in secular and Christian schools and colleges to writing, speaking and radio hosting. She has authored three books on culture, has contributed writings and stories to numerous other books, and co-hosted a weekly talk-radio program offering fresh and respectful conversations about the things that matter most with skeptics and people from a wide range of faiths.  She also blogs about faith and culture at Bible.org.  She and her husband Jack, make their home in the azaleas and wooded hills of Columbia, SC.

 

BRYAN CHAPELL (Friday Evening & Saturday Only)
Dr. Bryan Chapell is chancellor and professor of practical theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.  Raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Chapell was a pastor in southern Illinois for ten years before joining the faculty of Covenant Seminary, the seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).  He became president in 1994, guiding the institution through a period of growth that has made it one of the leading evangelical theological schools in the nation. In 2012, Dr. Chapell assumed the role of chancellor.  He is active in a variety of leadership roles in the PCA and in cooperative ministries with numerous other national and international Christian ministries.  Dr. Chapell is a renowned preacher, teacher, and speaker, and is the author numerous books, including Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice.  Dr. Chapell is married to Kathy, and they have four children.

 

SINCLAIR FERGUSON (Thursday Evening Only)
Sinclair B. Ferguson is Senior Minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina, and Professor of Systematic Theology at Redeemer Theological Seminary. A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, he is the author of some two dozen books, has authored numerous articles and has contributed to various symposia. His writing interests have ranged from works of scholarship to books for children.  He has served as minister of two congregations in Scotland—one on Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in the United Kingdom, and the other at the centre of Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. For more than twenty years he has been a member of the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and Dallas, and has served as a visiting professor in various other seminaries. 

 

 

DAN FORREST
Dan Forrest is a pianist-turned-composer whose music has already established a lasting presence in the US and abroad. His choral works have received numerous awards and distinctions and have been performed in leading venues across the country and around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center.  Dan has a choral series in his name with Hinshaw Music, is an associate editor at Beckenhorst Press, and currently serves on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal The Artistic Theologian. Dan holds a doctoral degree in composition from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree in piano performance. He is a former professor of music at Bob Jones University, where he served as Department Head of Music Theory and Composition for several years.  More information about Dan and his music can be found at http://www.danforrest.com.

 

 

ROXANNE GOLDEN
Roxanne B. Golden is a Georgia State University Music Education major who became attuned to the beauty of handbells while in college.  She has been active in organizing and developing handbell programs throughout various churches in the metro Atlanta area for over 25 years. She is the director/founder of the Golden Bells of Atlanta, a performing group currently in their 18th year.  Roxanne is in demand as a clinician for the Handbell Development Seminars sponsored by Jeffers Handbell Supply, Inc., as well as a guest conductor at handbell festivals throughout the Southeast. An accomplished arranger and composer of handbell music, Roxanne has published individual arrangements for handbells  and has several solo, quartet, and full group arrangements awaiting publication.  Roxanne, a native of Atlanta, lives in Big Canoe with her husband, Dr. James N. Golden.  They have three sons and a new daughter-in-law.

 

 

SAMUEL METZGER
Samuel Metzger began his music studies at the age of 11 and was soon assisting his missionary father in Navajo mission services. He studied at Northern Arizona State University in Flagstaff, where he was accepted into the Preparatory School of Music as a student of Dr. Marilyn Brandon. In high school he studied with Dr. Royce Johnson at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Mr. Metzger began undergraduate studies as a student of Robert Clark’s at Arizona State University, where he studied on a Regents Scholarship and was named “Most Outstanding Undergraduate in Performance.” In 1995 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and began studies with Jon Laukvik at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany. He was awarded a second Fulbright Scholarship and in 1997 graduated with a degree of Künstleriches Aufbaustudium (KA). Mr. Metzger then went on to study with Marie-Claire Alain in St. Germain-en-Laye, France. Mr. Metzger spent 6 years as Senior Organist at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL, the late Dr. D. James Kennedy, Senior Pastor.  Currently, Samuel is Senior Organist & Music Associate at New Presbyterian Church, Pompano Beach, FL. He is regularly heard in concert around the country and can be seen on the Coral Ridge Hour, a TV program seen each week in the USA by 3 million people and is broadcast internationally to 202 countries.

 

LARRY SHACKLEY
Larry Shackley is a full-time composer and music editor from Columbia, SC.  From 1995-2007, he taught and directed the music program at Columbia International University in Columbia, SC. Prior to that, he worked for several years at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, creating original music and producing radio programs for the Moody Broadcasting Network. He served as staff keyboardist for ten years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL.  Shackley’s published music includes over 200 choral pieces, seven cantatas, and 400 keyboard arrangements, as well as vocal and instrumental collections and numerous orchestrations. Shackley currently works as a choral and keyboard editor for The Lorenz Corporation, and edits their magazine Keyboard Worship and Praise. He also serves on the music staff at Riverland Hills Baptist Church in Irmo, SC.

 

 

LAURA STORY (Friday Evening & Saturday Only)
Recent Grammy Award winner, singer-songwriter, Laura Story will join us for an inspirational evening of worship and celebration.  A South Carolina girl from Spartanburg, Laura originally received national notice when her song “Indescribable” was recorded by Chris Tomlin.  The release of “Mighty to Save” a few years later established her own voice in the musical community.  But it was her own family’s journey through the trials of her husband’s brain tumor that inspired, “Blessings,” the song which sent her to the top of the charts. Laura is married to Martin Elvington, and resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is the worship leader and women’s pastor for the arts and music community at Perimeter Church.

 

 

TERRY TAYLOR
Terry D. Taylor is Associate Pastor, Worship and Music Ministries at Shades Crest Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. He received his undergraduate degree in Church Music from Belmont University, and a Master’s Degree in Church Music with a conducting major from Southern Seminary. Terry is respected widely for his interest, creativity, and leadership in music ministry with children, and is often recognized though his children’s curriculum and compositions.  In 2008, Terry was awarded the prestigious “Excellence in the Arts” award from Dothan’s Cultural Arts Center.  After moving to Birmingham in 2009, Terry founded the Shades Crest School of the Arts and established a free outreach music camp called “GlobeBeat.”  He also serves as an adjunct music faculty member at Samford University. Terry the Managing Editor of Growing in Grace Children’s Choir Curriculum, published by Celebrating Grace, Inc.  Terry is married to Laurie, and they have two young adult children and one grandson.