These are the speakers for EMNR national conference, scheduled for April 28–29, 2023 in Tallahassee, Florida. Plenary speakers are listed in chronological order. Workshop leaders are listed alphabetically by last name. (Go to the Program Schedule.)
Plenary Speakers
James Bjornstad is retired from Cedarville University where he served as Professor of Philosophy. Previously, he taught at The King’s College and Northeastern Bible College. He began working with Walter Martin at Christian Research Institute (CRI) in 1966. When CRI moved to California, he began his own ministry, the Institute of Contemporary Christianity. He is one of the founders of EMNR and the author of six books, covering Jeane Dixon, Edgar Cayce, Astrology, Transcendental Meditation, the Unification Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Latter Day Saints.
James will deliver the first plenary session at 2:00 PM on Friday afternoon (plenary #1). He will speak on “EMNR: I Remember When . . .”
James Walker and Bill Kluck. Atheist activist Bill Kluck and Christian apologist James Walker will discuss the question, “Does God Exist?” Learn how to have a meaningful conversation with a skeptic without losing your mind or your religion. James Walker is president of Watchman Fellowship, a Christian apologetics ministry. Bill Kluck is a former Christian who is now an atheist. Five years ago, they cofounded The Atheist and Christian Book Club, a monthly gathering of believers and skeptics respectfully discussing important books from both perspectives.
James and Bill will ask, “Does God Exist?” with audience Q&A on Friday evening at 7:45 PM (plenary #2).
Rich Day is the lead pastor at Lakeview Baptist Church (YouTube) in Tallahassee, Florida. He is also the Director of Ratio Christi at Florida State University, the Baptist Collegiate Ministries at the local community college, and the Regional Director for The Great Exchange. Pastor Day has an MDiv and DMin in Apologetics and Executive Administration from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Pastor Day will speak on “Using Their Own Material.” This plenary session will show how to use material from Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses in effective witnessing. (Plenary #3, Saturday at 10:00 AM)
Elaine Bales is a second-generation Jehovah’s Witness who lost her friends and family 30 years ago after leaving the Watchtower Society. Through the power of God’s Word, she experienced a radical life transformation and has traveled the world telling her story. In October 2019, she started a YouTube channel called JW Escape, where 100,000 people per month tune in to see how she replaces the lies of Watchtower with the truth from Scripture. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Christian apologetics.
Elaine will speak on “The Watchtower’s Occult Connections.” (Plenary #4, Saturday at 2:15 PM)
Doug Groothuis, Ph.D., is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, where he has served since 1993. He is the author or co-author of sixteen books and a contributor to many academic journals. His most recent works include the second edition of a standard textbook, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (InterVarsity Press, 2022), and Fire in the Streets: How You Can Confidently Respond to Incendiary Cultural Topics (Salem, 2022), which is about Critical Race Theory or Wokeness. Web site: DouglasGroothuis.com. Twitter: @DougGroothuis.
Doug will deliver the last plenary session at 5:00 PM on Saturday (plenary #5).
He will speak on “Failed Discipleship in Politics: Critical Race Theory on Trial.”
Workshop Leaders
Lora Brown is the founder of Rooftop Ministries, a mission that focuses on Freemasonry and specializes in the 54+ affiliated Masonic Orders for women and children. She has expertise in the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, a junior order of Masonry, having spent nine years as a member. After accepting Christ, she questioned her membership and sought answers regarding the true nature of Masonry. She candidly shares the astonishing findings from a non-sensational, Christian point of view. Lora is a board member of Ex-Masons for Jesus.
George Carneal, author of From Queer To Christ, was raised by a Southern Baptist minister. For years he struggled with his Christian faith and a same-sex attraction. George shares his painful journey through a secular world at odds with homosexuality, in addition to a religious world that is hostile to homosexuals. George would eventually spend 25 years immersed in the homosexual lifestyle and shares how he was delivered from that bondage. George is a frequent speaker at churches, conferences, and has appeared on numerous television and radio broadcasts.
David Clark is a Christian countercult apologist, a Thought Reform consultant, and a court-certified expert on cults. He was a former member of Church of the Living Word from 1972 to 1974. This movement, also known as “The Walk,” was a predecessor to the New Apostolic Reformation. In 1983, he was a script writer for Vain Glory, a documentary on this movement. David has been the North American Vice President of the Dialog Centre International since 2011. He is also FECRIS New York’s main representative to the United Nations. Recently, he has been an instructor on cults for the Pastor’s Bible College, Hyderabad, India.
Ivani Greppi was introduced to the Umbanda (Yoruba) Religion in Brazil at the age of fourteen. She was considered a medium from birth due to her psychic “gifts” of seeing the spirit world from early childhood. Then she found deliverance through Jesus Christ. Her testimony, From Spirit Guides to the Holy Spirit, is available in English and Portuguese from her website, ivanigreppi.com
Bill Honsberger is a missionary with Haven Ministries and has been sharing the Gospel with New Agers, Buddhists, Hindus, Witches, Mormons, JWs, Scientologists, atheists and anyone else he can talk to! He has reached ABD status at the University of Denver in Theology, Philosophy and Cultural Theory. He has taught for many years at Colorado Christian University, Denver Seminary, Colorado Early Colleges, Colorado Community College, Arapahoe Community College, Calvary Chapel Training Center in the Philippines and other Bible Colleges in the Denver metro area. His wonderful wife Terri and he have eight children and thirteen grandchildren.
James Lopez spent 35 years in a hyper-charismatic, Spanish-speaking Pentecostal church. In 1996, he began the study of Christian doctrine and apologetics with Midwest Christian Outreach, and in 1999 began attending Calvary Chapel, which has a more traditional approach to Christian spirituality and interpretation. He has been involved in bilingual worship music ministry for most of his life. James is the Executive Director of EMNR.
Rafael Martinez is a licensed minister with the Church of God (Cleveland) movement and has been involved in countercult work since 1983. He has a bachelor’s degree from Lee University and double majored in Pastoral Studies and Christian Education. His countercult and apologetics studies aided his ministry as a pastor, intercessor, evangelist, and Christian educator and podcaster. He directs Spiritwatch Ministries and was the main consultant for the HBOMax docuseries “The Way Down” (trailer) on Gwen Shamblin and the Remnant Fellowship cult. He currently assists the pastoral ministry at the Central Church of God in Portage, Indiana.
Steve Matthews is a cult researcher who has studied the established sects and is strategically focusing on more recent movements which must be dealt with by the next generation of Christian researchers. Having looked at several high demand/high control groups, he is convinced that to understand and respond to these movements, one must evaluate them from both a theological and a behavioral perspective. Steve is involved in several apologetics projects and holds an M.A. in Christian Apologetics from Trinity International University.
Bill McKeever is the founder/director of Mormonism Research Ministry (mrm.org) based in the Salt Lake City area. For over four decades he has worked among the LDS people, presenting the Gospel of Grace. Bill is the host of the daily radio show Viewpoint on Mormonism, and co-author of the books, Mormonism 101 (Baker) and Answering Mormons’ Questions (Kregel).
Al Stewart is pastor of Greater Grace Chapel of Daytona Beach. He has planted four churches and written about 13 books on apologetics, theology, and Christian living.
Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. is a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, where he focuses on artificial intelligence and machine learning. He has been involved in the rollout of the Azure OpenAI Service, and represents Microsoft in presenting key ideas about OpenAI. He is one of four leaders, worldwide, for Microsoft’s internal Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Connected Community (11K members), where he organizes events, community calls, and hackathons. Mark is also a volunteer Regional Director for Ratio Christi.
L.L. (Don) Veinot Jr is co-founder and President of Midwest Christian Outreach, a national apologetics ministry. He and his wife of 51 years, Joy, have been missionaries to cults and new religious movements since 1987. Don is co-author of Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret; A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard and the Christian Life; and a contributor to Preserving Evangelical Unity: Welcoming Diversity in Non-Essentials. He co-hosts “The Unknown Webcast” each week on YouTube for Midwest Christian Outreach. Don is a charter member of the International Society of Christian Apologetics and is also the current President of EMNR.