Bart Elshout was born on February 20, 1949, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and immigrated with my family to the United States of America in 1967. After having moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1969, Bart graduated from Western Michigan University (1971) with a teaching certificate. In 1973, he married Joan Sweetman. The Lord graciously blessed their family with two children: David (1974), and Sarah (1986)—and since 2004 with a wonderful daughter-in-law Michelle and a precious granddaughter Julia (2006). After having served as the founding principal of the Netherlands Reformed Christian School in New Jersey from 1975-1984, and as an evangelist in Denver, Colorado from 1984-1989, Bart translated The Christian’s Reasonable Service during the period of 1989-1995. From 1995 until 1998, he was enrolled at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was ordained as the pastor of the Heritage Reformed Congregation of Jordan, Ontario in 1998. Since 2005, Bart has served the Heritage Reformed Congregation of Chilliwack, British Columbia. In addition to the pastoral ministry, he teaches several modular courses at PRTS as a visiting professor, and is engaged in several translation projects.
Joel Beeke is president and professor of systematic theology and homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, a pastor of the Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, editor of Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited sixty books (most recently, Living for the Glory of God: An Introduction to Calvinism, Meet the Puritans, Contagious Christian Living, Calvin for Today, Developing a Healthy Prayer Life, and Taking Hold of God), and contributed fifteen hundred articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. is in Reformation and Post-Reformation theology from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is frequently called upon to lecture at seminaries and to speak at Reformed conferences around the world. He and his wife Mary have with three children.
Gerald Bilkes is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology. He completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He was recipient of the United States Information Agency Fellowship at the Albright Institute (ASOR) in Jerusalem during the 1997-1998 year. He has written several articles on biblical-theological themes and given addresses at several conferences. His areas of special interest include hermeneutics, the history of interpretation, and conversion in the Bible. He and his wife, Michelle, have four children.
Ryan M. McGraw is the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Conway, South Carolina. Ryan is a graduate of the Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (GPTS) and has achieved Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees. He is the recent-past president of the GPTS Alumni Association. Ryan is the author of The Day of Worship: Reassessing the Christian Life in Light of the Sabbath; By Good and Necessary Consequence; and An Abridgment and Study Guide for James Bannerman’s Church of Christ. He has contributed numerous articles and book reviews to publications such as the Puritan Reformed Journal, The Confessional Presbyterian, Westminster Theological Journal, Banner of Truth, Calvin Theological Journal, Katekomen (GPTS’s online journal), and the Website, meetthepuritans.com. He is currently pursuing Ph.D. studies at the University of the Free State (Bloemfontein, South Africa) with respect to John Owen’s views of the Trinity in relation to public worship.
David P. Murray is Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology. He studied for the ministry at Glasgow University and the Free Church of Scotland College (Edinburgh). He was a pastor for 12 years, first at Lochcarron Free Church of Scotland and then at Stornoway Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). From 2002 to 2007, he was Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at the Free Church Seminary in Inverness. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Reformation International Theological Seminary for his work relating Old Testament Introduction studies to the pastoral ministry. Dr. Murray joined the faculty of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in 2007. He is the author of Christians Get Depressed Too and the producer of God’s Technology: Training Our Children To Use Technology To God’s Glory. He also blogs at Head Heart Hand. David and his wife, Shona, have four children.
Burk Parsons serves as associate pastor at Saint Andrew’s, and he is editor of Tabletalk magazine. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in biblical studies from Trinity College and the Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary, where he is also completing his Doctor of Ministry degree. He speaks regularly at various conferences and schools in the United States and abroad and has contributed to various books and journals. He is author of the forthcoming booklet Why Do We Have Creeds? (P&R, 2011). He is editor of the books Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace (P&R, 2006) and John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology (Reformation Trust, 2008). He and his wife, Amber, live in central Florida with their children.
Derek Thomas joined the staff of First Presbyterian Church of Columbia, South Carolina in 2011, coming from Jackson, MS, where he was Chairman of the Theology Department at Reformed Theological Seminary and Minister of Teaching at First Presbyterian Church. Derek is from Wales. He is a graduate of the University of Wales (Bc.S), Reformed Theological Seminary (M.Div), and University of Wales/Lampeter (Ph.D.). He was ordained in the Evangelical Church of Ireland, where he served Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Belfast for 17 years before going to Mississippi. He remains theDistinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at RTS and is Editorial Director, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. He is also a well-published author. Derek is married to Rosemary. They have two grown children, one granddaughter, and one grandson.
William VanDoodewaard serves as Associate Professor of Church History. Previously he served as Assistant Professor of European History at Patrick Henry College, near Washington, D.C., and as Visiting Professor of History at Huntington University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen. He is a contributing editor for the recent reprint of the 17th century Puritan work, Edward Fisher’s The Marrow of Modern Divinity, and has written for several historical and theological journals. His research interests include the church history of Scotland and the Low Countries, and the history of Christian doctrine. An ordained minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Churches, he has served as a guest speaker and preacher for churches in the United States, Canada, and Scotland.
