Afternoon seminars take place on three afternoons during the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute. The event faculty on this list will be teaching these “mini-courses” on a variety of topics, which will be announced in June 2022. More will be added as they are confirmed.
(In alpha order)
Gayne Anacker
Dr. Anacker is the Founding President of Community Christian College, Redlands, California. He has served California Baptist University in various capacities, including Associate Provost, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Christ and Culture Distinguished Lectureship, Director of the Seminar on Faith and the Academic Profession for new CBU professors, and Director of the Honors Program. Dr. Anacker continues over two decades of volunteer service with the C.S. Lewis Foundation in such roles as Trustee of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. He has also served in various other capacities such as Vice President and Assistant Director of the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute, “Oxbridge,” held in the cities and universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England.
Throughout his career, Dr. Anacker’s cantus firmus (foundational theme) has been the call for a renewal of vision and intellectual and spiritual integrity for Christians within the academy. He writes and speaks on C.S Lewis, virtue ethics, intellectual history, epistemology, and philosophy of religion. He is co-editor along with Dr. Timothy Mostellar of Contemporary Perspectives on C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man: History, Philosophy, Education, and Science (2017). Gayne contributed the essay, “Narnia and the Moral Imagination” to The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, the Witch and the Worldview (Basham and Walls, ed., 2005).
He also serves as Senior Fellow of the C.S. Lewis Study Center in Northfield, Massachusetts, an affiliate of the C.S. Lewis Foundation.
Davis Bunn
Davis Bunn is an internationally bestselling author with more than seven million books in print in twenty languages. Born and raised in North Carolina, he studied economics and psychology, going on to become, at the age of twenty-nine, the director of an international business advisory group based in Dusseldorf, Germany. To say that Davis was dissatisfied with his business career does not even begin to describe him. He was, in a word, profoundly miserable.
When he was twenty-nine, Davis began writing fiction. It was the first time in his life he had ever written anything longer than a business report. He had always been a voracious reader, and within two weeks of this trial run, Davis knew he had found the work that he wanted to continue for the rest of his life.
Davis wrote for nine years and completed seven books before his first was accepted for publication. A number of people aided him in achieving this dream of becoming a published author, including Arthur C. Clarke, his first mentor.
Davis has now been a professional novelist for twenty-four years. He has appeared on numerous national bestseller lists, and his titles have been Main or Featured Selections with every major U.S. bookclub. Davis has been honored with four Christy Awards for excellence in fiction, among other accolades. He serves as Writer in Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University.
Matthew Clark
Matthew Clark is a singer/songwriter and storyteller from Mississippi.
He has recorded several full length albums, including a Bible walk-through called “Bright Came the Word from His Mouth” and “Beautiful Secret Life”, a collection of songs highlighting, in George Herbert’s phrase, “heaven in ordinary”.
Matthew hosts a weekly podcast, “One Thousand Words – Stories on the Way”, featuring essays reflecting on faith-keeping. A touring musician and speaker, Matthew travels sharing songs and stories, and is currently recording a 33-song trilogy of concept albums to begin releasing in 2022.
Whether it’s a song, a podcast, a meal, or an essay, Matthew loves to “make things that make room for people to meet Jesus.”
Michael Christensen
Michael J. Christensen is Professor of Theology and Academic Dean at Northwind Seminary, and also affiliated with Drew University, Nazarene Theological Seminary, Point Loma Nazarene University, and the Episcopal School for Ministry in San Diego.
Formerly Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and Associate Professor in Spirituality at Drew University, Dr. Christensen teaches practical theology, Christian history, pastoral leadership, community development and spiritual formation. A noted C. S. Lewis scholar, Dr. Christensen is the author of C.S. Lewis on Scripture, contributor to the C.S. Lewis Bible, and has taught courses on Lewis and the Inklings over many years. In 2017, the C. S. Lewis Foundation appointed him Senior Fellow in the Scholars-in-Residence Program at the C.S. Lewis Study Centre at The Kilns in Oxford. He was a faculty member for Oxbridge C.S. Lewis Summer Institute program in 2017, and resident scholar at The Kilns in the summer of 2018 and Fall of 2019.
An expert in the life and works of Henri J. M. Nouwen, Dr. Christensen is co-editor of The Heart of Henri Nouwen and co-author of the Nouwen Trilogy–Spiritual Direction, Spiritual Formation and Discernment which form the core curriculum of Northwind Institute’s Certificate Program in Spiritual Formation, which he directs. He has published eleven books and many articles on various topics of practical theology, spirituality and social justice, and leadership development, including: Equipping the Saints: Mobilizing Laity for Ministry; Children of Chernobyl: Raising Hope form the Ashes; The World After Chernobyl; City Streets, City People; C. S. Lewis on Scripture; Partakers of the Divine Nature: Deification in the Christian Traditions.
Dr. Christensen is also the Founder and CEO of WorldHope Corps which drills village wells, provides educational scholarships, organizes community health initiatives, and conducts leadership training in Malawi, Uganda, Palestine and elsewhere.
Kim Gilnett
Kim Gilnett serves as Marketing Associate for the School of Fine and Performing Arts, Seattle Pacific University.
His study of Lewis has afforded him the opportunity to meet a number of Lewis’s friends and scholars.
For nearly 25 years, Kim has traveled each year to The Kilns, Lewis’s former home, owned by the C.S. Lewis Foundation, where he has been actively involved in ensuring the historical accuracy of its restoration and in conducting the Summer Seminars-in-Residence. He currently serves as a Trustee of the C.S. Lewis Foundation (U.K.).
Andrew Lazo
Andrew Lazo is a speaker and writer specializing on C.S. Lewis and the Inklings. He is a frequent speaker around the U.S. and U.K. and has written several articles on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
In 2009, Andrew published Mere Christians: Inspiring Encounters with C.S. Lewis. In 2014 he also was honored to transcribe, edit, and publish a previously unknown book of C.S. Lewis,’ “Early Prose Joy,” which was Lewis’s very first spiritual autobiography.
He is Candidate for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Texas, and currently attends Virginia Theological Seminary preparing for priestly ministry in the Episcopal Church.
He also serves as a Distinguished Lecturer while concurrently pursuing his doctorate in the Romantic Theology program at Northwind Seminary. Andrew lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife, author Christin Ditchfield.
Andrew has served in many roles at the C.S. Lewis Foundation since 2006 and will serve as Chaplain at the 2022 Summer Institute.
Christin Ditchfield Lazo
Dr. Christin Ditchfield Lazo (DCMin) is the author of more than 80 books, including the best-selling A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, and a contributor to Women and C.S. Lewis: What His Life and Literature Reveal for Today’s Culture.
For thirty years, Christin has been speaking at conferences and retreats all over the country, calling believers to a deeper life of faith, a life of passion and purpose.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Christian Leadership, a master’s degree in Bible and Theology, and a doctorate in Spiritual Formation. Christin is a Certified Labyrinth Facilitator, trained to teach and lead others in the contemplative Christian practice of praying the labyrinth.
Learn more about her ministry at www.ChristinDitchfield.com.
Alan Noble
Alan Noble is assistant professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and cofounder and editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture.
He is the author of Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age. Alan has written articles for Christian publications such as Modern Reformation, InTouch Magazine, and Christianity Today and for secular publications like VOX, Buzzfeed, and The Atlantic.
He has been interviewed, quoted, or cited in a number of major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, MTV News, MSNBC, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Politico, Village Voice, Yahoo! News, ThinkProgress, The Blaze, WORLD Magazine, and Slate.
He has spoken at colleges, churches, and youth groups on a range of topics related to the church and culture.
Lancia E. Smith
Lancia E. Smith is President and Co-Founder of an environmental consulting and engineering firm based in Denver CO. She has been photographing professionally for 30 years and spent many years in publishing and graphic design. Having served in church leadership capacities for more than 25 years, she has an extensive background in lay counseling in addiction recovery, bereavement, and women survivors of abuse.
Lancia writes on topics related to C.S. Lewis and arts intersecting culture. She hosts the website Cultivating the Good, the True and the Beautiful at lanciaesmith.com and is the founder of The Cultivating Project, a project highlighting spiritual and creative excellence in the lives of believing creatives. Lancia is currently writing two books related to the influence of faith-infused art in culture and the character formation of writers.
Lancia is also a Regional Representative for the C.S. Lewis Foundation, serving in a variety of capacities including our Program Planning Committee (various events), our Event Management Team, organizational development consulting, and official photography for Foundation events.
Gail Standish Ward
Gail Standish Ward is a visual artist, and writer. She trained as both an art historian and visual artist. She taught art classes at private high schools for over 20 years.
She shares studio space with Franklin Creative Suites in Franklin, Tennessee, a spot where writers, photographers, designers, and other artists rent affordable studio space.
In addition, Gail teaches writing workshops and cooking classes.
More afternoon seminar leaders will be added soon!
