Synod 2026: Rooted
Meet our Special Guests
Preachers & Speakers
Clergy Pre-Synod Gathering
The Rt. Rev. Drew Williams
Power for the Church: The Gospel Changes the World
Power for the Church: Grace Changes Me
Power for the Church: The Spirit Empowers Mission
The Right Reverend Andrew "Drew" Williams is an Anglican bishop, theologian, and former corporate litigator serving as the second Bishop of the Anglican Diocese in New England (ADNE) within the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Consecrated in March 2019, he has been led by God’s love to minister across three continents—spanning early missional work in the UK and Europe, church growth across New England, ministry at the United Nations, and clean water partnerships in East Africa. At the heart of his life work is a desire to dismantle transactional, performance-driven religion and anchor souls in a personal relationship held securely in the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Friday Afternoon Workshops
Shame is a difficult topic to talk about. The enemy of our souls wants to use shame to isolate us and to keep us hiding from ourselves, from each other, and especially from God. Thankfully, God invites us to a life of freedom.
In this session, Toni Kim, author of Shame Redeemed: Learning to Live in Christ’s Freedom, will guide us through the complexity of shame in the Bible, including its relationship to sin and guilt, the danger of shamelessness, and spiritual practices to help God’s liberating truth take root.
Leiton Chinn has been mobilizing the global Church for International Student Ministry (ISM) for 49 years that includes serving as president of the North American network of ISMs and as the first Catalyst for ISM of the Lausanne Movement. He and wife Lisa founded the Truro International Programs & Services (TIPS) of Truro Church in 1985 to reach the foreign students in the greater Washington DC area, and also started an ISM of St. Matthews Anglican Parish outside of Columbia, SC. Currently Leiton is a co-leader of the Anglican ISM Network, and is the author of numerous chapters on ISM in several Diaspora Missiology textbooks and journals.
Dr. Tom Tarrants
Toni Kim has been the director of spiritual care for the National Association of Evangelicals since 2021. She is the author of Shame Redeemed: Learning to Live in Christ's Freedom. For 17 years, she served as a minister at Park Street Church in Boston. She received her B.S. from Yale University, and a Master in Christian Studies from Regent College in Vancouver. She is licensed with the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
Amy Sherman
In But Not Of the World
Discipleship in the Church
Historically and in our own day, confusions have abounded regarding the New Testament call to be “in but not of the world.” These have taken both public and personal expression and have often led to ineffective (and even harmful) Christian witness. A closer look at John’s writings in I John 2 and John 17 can bring clarity. With fresh, unexpected, and winsome actions informed by these texts, individual Christ-followers—and local churches—have the opportunity to make the Gospel more plausible and credible to our neighbors.
Michael Niebauer is Director of Heritage Mission, an initiative that trains leaders to start worship services in care facilities. His latest book is From Word to Worship: How the Lectionary Welcomes You into Sacred Time Through Story, Symbol, and Sacrament. He is also the author of Four Mountains and Virtuous Persuasion, and his writings are featured on the Substack Mission – Ethics – Interpretation.
Dr. Amy L. Sherman is a Senior Fellow at the Sagamore Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research think tank. She provides consulting and training to congregations and faith-based nonprofits to strengthen their effectiveness in advancing justice and mercy in their communities. She is the author of seven books and over 100 articles in a variety of religious and secular periodicals. Her 2011 book, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good won Christianity Today’s “Book of the Year” award in the Christian living category. Her most recent book is Agents of Flourishing: Pursuing Shalom in Every Corner of Society (IVP, 2022). She received her bachelor’s degree from Messiah College and her master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. She’s lived in Charlottesville since 1989 and is an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Thomas A. Tarrants is President Emeritus of the C.S. Lewis Institute. He holds a Master’s of Divinity Degree, as well as a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Christian Spirituality. Tom is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Church Alliance and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He spends his time writing, mentoring, consulting and traveling. His life story is told in Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. Following Jesus Christ: A Guide in Growing in Authentic Discipleship published by C. S. Lewis institute press.
Leiton Chinn
The Nations Are Here: Engaging the World God Is Bringing to Our Doorstep
Toni Kim
Good News about Shame
Rev. Michael Niebauer, PhD
The Lectionary and Ancient Interpretation: Discovering the Connections Between Scripture, Liturgy, and the Seasons of the Church
“Almighty God, you gave these your servants special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth revealed in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”