Red Letter Revival – Dallas

Schedule

Friday, November 16th
Workshops – 9:00am-4:00pm
6:00pm – Doors Open
7:00pm – Evening Revival begins
10:00pm – Evening Revival ends
Saturday, November 17th
Workshops – 9:00am-4:00pm
6:00pm – Doors Open
7:00pm – Evening Revival begins
10:00pm – Evening Revival ends

Download Schedule

Speakers & Musicians

Shane Claiborne is a best-selling author, renowned activist, sought-after speaker, and self proclaimed “recovering sinner.” Shane writes and speaks around the world about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus, and is the author of numerous books including The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus for President, Executing Grace, and his newest book, Beating Guns (2018, forthcoming). He is the visionary founder of The Simple Way in Philadelphia, and co-founder of Red Letter Christians. His work has been featured in Fox News, Esquire, SPIN, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and CNN.

 

Rev. Dr Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. is Pastor Emeritus of St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, where he served for 28 years, taking the congregation from less than 100 to 6,000 members. Known as much for his community activism as his preaching and teaching, Dr. Holmes is often thought of as the father of the justice movement in Dallas, particularly among Dallas’ faith community. His innovative and sometimes provocative ministry laid the groundwork and created a blueprint for many of the city’s pastors and ministries today. Beginning his ministry during the Civil Right Movement, Dr. Holmes has been one of few leaders in Dallas that could command the attention of a multiracial audience, while working within the city’s unique and fragile race relations. In addition to pastoring, Dr. Holmes was also an Adjunct Professor of Preaching at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University for 24 years, served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1968-1972, while he also served as a United Methodist District Superintendent. Although retired, Dr. Holmes continues to be a sought-after preacher, lecturer and speaker, speaking truth to power, advocating for the vulnerable while never compromising the power of the gospel. He is the author of Reaching for Renewal (1991), Encountering Jesus (1992), and When Trouble Comes (1996) and enjoys his “semi-retirement” with wife Carrie and granddaughter Savannah.

 

Alicia T. Crosby, M.A., is a Chicago-based justice educator, minister, and activist whose work addresses the spiritual, systemic, and interpersonal harm people experience. Through her teaching, writing, speaking, and space curation, Alicia helps individuals, communities, and institutions alike explore and unpack topics related to identity, intersectional equity, and inclusivity. This native New Yorker commits to justice seeking and community building through work with her nonprofit Center for Inclusivity (CFI), as well as in her public speaking and writing. You can find out more about CFI via www.centerforinclusivity.org and follow Alicia’s other work at www.aliciatcrosby.com or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram via @aliciatcrosby.

 

Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra is the co-author, with Dr. Peter Heltzel, of Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World (Intervarsity Press) and the founder of the Faith-Rooted Organizing UnNetwork. She is a Lutheran Pastor with over 40 years of experience in congregational (English and Spanish) and community ministry, including church-based service and community development programs, congregational/community organizing, and legislative advocacy. She serves as Affiliate Faculty for the Centro Latino and School of Intercultural Studies for Fuller Theological Seminary and ongoing Adjunct Faculty for the Masters in Urban Studies at Eastern University and Masters in Urban Transformational Leadership program at Azusa Pacific University, and has served as adjunct faculty for a number of other colleges and seminaries in the U.S. and overseas. In addition to coordinating the Welcoming Congregations Network/Guardian Angels Project and assisting at Hope Lutheran Church, she serves as a consultant (training, facilitating, organizing and leading strategic planning) for a variety of national/international organizations, including World Vision, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, and the Christian Community Development Association. She has been a national leader in the areas of working poverty and immigration for over 20 years, including co-founding the national Evangelical Immigration Table, the 2007 New Sanctuary Movement, the Guardian Angels project, and the Matthew 25 Movement. From 2011-2014, she served as the Director of Justice for the Southwest California Synod of the ELCA under Bishop Nelson. From 2000 to 2011, she was the Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice — beginning as the director of CLUE in Los Angeles and then as the first CLUE-CA director. CLUE-CA is a statewide alliance of organizations of religious leaders who come together to respond to the crisis of working poverty by joining low-wage workers in their struggle for a living wage, health insurance, fair working conditions and a voice in the decisions that affect them. Under Alexia’s leadership, CLUE-CA became known for its young leaders’ project, the New Sanctuary Movement, and the “Our Children” project in Orange County which engages immigrant and non-immigrant evangelical congregations in joint ministry to immigrant youth facing deportation.
Before CLUE-CA, Rev. Dr. Salvatierra founded multiple programs and organizations, in the U.S. and overseas. These included a gang prevention program for at-risk immigrant youth, a community computer center and an intergenerational community garden where the elderly taught at-risk youth to grow produce for sale, as well as a collaborative of UC students, homeless leaders, and congregation members providing emergency services in the streets of Santa Cruz, and the migrant farmworker camps in Watsonville. She was founding director of the Berkeley Ecumenical Chaplaincy to the Homeless, a program that integrated social services, community organizing, pastoral care, and economic development for the homeless that was replicated in six U.S. cities. In the Philippines, she trained urban poor women in Manila to serve as chaplains to their neighbors. She has been awarded the Changemaker award from the Liberty Hill Foundation, the Stanton Fellowship from the Durfee Foundation, the Amos Award from Sojourners, the Giants of Justice award from CLUE-LA, and the Prime Mover fellowship from the Hunt Alternatives Fund. Read More

Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III is a prophetic pastor, passionate leader, social activist, eloquent orator, and educator engaged in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and fighting against racial injustice. Rev. Dr. Haynes is also committed to economic justice and empowerment in underserved communities and touching and transforming the lives of the disenfranchised. For the past 35 years, Rev. Dr. Haynes has served as a visionary leader and innovative senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Under his servant leadership, the ministry and membership of the church has grown from less than 100 members in 1983 to over 12,000.

Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church and President of The Middle Project. She is an activist, preacher, and fierce advocate for racial equality, economic justice, and LGBTQ equality. Middle Church’s activism for these issues has been featured in media like The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Essence magazine. She is a frequent contributor to MSNBC and blogs at Huffington Post. Lewis co-founded The Middle Project, which trains leaders for the movement for justice. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), Jacqui is the first African American and woman to serve as senior minister in the Collegiate Churches. She is the co-author of The Pentecost Paradigm: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Multiracial Congregation (2018) and author of The Power of Stories (2008). Lewis is an Auburn Senior Fellow and is working on a memoir about finding a grown-up God. Lewis earned her M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion at Drew University, and has served as adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary. Read More

Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo is professor emeritus of sociology at Eastern University and a former faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. For 40 years, he led the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, an organization which he founded to create and support programs serving needy communities. More recently, Rev. Dr. Campolo has provided leadership for the progressive Christian movement as co-founder of Red Letter Christians, as well as founder of the Campolo Center for Ministry, a program which provides support to those the church has called to full-time ministry. He has written more than 35 books and can be found blogging regularly at tonycampolo.org and redletterchristians.org. Tony and his wife Peggy live near Philadelphia and have two children and four grandchildren.

Rev. Charles Foster Johnson is a pastor and public education advocate. He is founder and co-pastor of Bread, a faith community in Fort Worth, Texas, and founder and executive director of Pastors for Texas Children and Pastors for Children.
Throughout his 40-year pastoral ministry, he has served churches in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Texas, including Second Baptist Church of Lubbock where he led a complete church relocation, and Trinity Baptist Church of San Antonio where he led in building a multicultural and multiracial community of faith among the 6,000 member congregation. Both churches were leaders in their respective communities in fostering inclusiveness and diversity, particularly in the areas of gender and racial equality.
He has also served interim pastorates with Immanuel Baptist Church of Nashville and Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth, as well as a two-year term on the faculty of McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, as Visiting Professor of Preaching.
In 2013, he founded Pastors for Texas Children, a statewide ecumenical organization mobilizing the faith community for public education support and advocacy. PTC now has over 2,000 faith leaders throughout Texas and has spawned her first state affiliates in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. In 2018, these state organizations formed a nationwide network called Pastors for Children.
His child advocacy has also included service on the Board of Trustees of New Horizons Treatment Center for Children and the Child Friendly Faith Project, both focusing on child abuse prevention and treatment.
He is a frequent preacher and speaker in university, church, business, education, and nonprofit circles. He has written for numerous publications and has made guest appearances on cable network news shows. He is involved in civic and denominational life, including the Mentor Pastor faculty at Perkins School of Theology, SMU and the Board of Trustees of Brite Divinity School, TCU. He was named “Baptist of the Year” by the Baptist Center for Ethics in 2004 for his stance on racial equality and diversity in San Antonio. Morehouse College honored Rev. Foster-Johnson for his lifelong work in social justice by inducting him into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers in 2008.
He is married to Jana and has three children and three grandchildren. He enjoys reading, hunting, and spending time at his ranch in Desdemona, Texas. You may find him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove is a celebrated spiritual writer and speaker. Together with his wife Leah, he co-founded the Rutba House in Durham, NC, where he also directs the School for Conversion (www.schoolforconversion.org). Jonathan works closely with the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II to spearhead The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Jonathan’s newest book is Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion (InterVarsity Press).

Rev. Ray Jordan is the Senior Pastor of Central Congregational UCC in Dallas, TX. Ray has worked as a public school teacher, university professor, nonprofit administrator, corporate trainer, clergyperson, and consultant. Ray is a sought-after preacher, speaker, workshop leader, and facilitator in the areas of difference (race, class, gender, sexuality, etc.) and cultural competency. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Education, a Master of Arts in Teaching, a Master of Theological Studies from Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology, and is completing his PhD (ABD) from Union Institute and University, with an emphasis in public policy and social change. Currently, Ray can also be found teaching in the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Graduate Liberal Studies program at Southern Methodist University when not spending time with his three children: Trey, Alley, and Joshua Caleb.

Sandy Ovalle is a native of Mexico City. Currently, she serves as the Immigration Campaigns Coordinator for Sojourners in Washington, D.C. She has worked in immigration advocacy and church mobilization with Matthew 25/Mateo 25 and World Relief in Southern California and has been involved in campus ministry among Latinx college students in Texas and California. She holds a MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Long Beach, CA, holds a special place in her heart where she learned to ride a bike and enjoyed taking walks on the beach, watching the sunsets, and connecting with her neighbors. Sandy loves interacting with food and writing poetry.

Austen Hartke is the author of Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, a new book on theology and personal narratives, published by Westminster John Knox Press in 2018. He is also the creator of the YouTube series Transgender and Christian, and the Faith Coordinator for the San Francisco-based nonprofit Gender Spectrum. Austen is a graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies and is the winner of the 2014 John Milton Prize in Old Testament Writing from the same institution. As a transgender person of faith, Austen’s greatest passion is helping other trans and gender-nonconforming people see themselves in scripture.

Peggy Larney, a full blood American Indian and a Citizen of the Choctaw Nation, is the founder of the American Indian Heritage Day in Texas and founder of I C.A.R.E. (Indian Citizens Against Racial Exploitation). She is a lay member of the Tyler Street United Methodist Church.

Ethan Avanzino is the Chair of the Transgender Council at Cathedral of Hope. He transitioned from female to male in 2015 with full support from his family, friends, and workplace. Education and visibility are Ethan’s main passion points. He believes that when people know someone who is transgender and they have the knowledge to speak to the topic, then bullying and bigotry will stop and love and affirmation will shine.

Rev. Dr. Neil G. Cazares-Thomas is the Senior Pastor of Cathedral of Hope of Dallas, called and elected by the 4,500-member congregation on April 12, 2015, following a yearlong search. He began his tenure on June 3, 2015.
Dr. Cazares-Thomas previously served for 13 years as the Senior Pastor of the Founders Metropolitan Community Church, Los Angeles, the founding church of Metropolitan Community Churches, an international movement of churches reaching in and beyond the gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, and intersex community.
A member of Metropolitan Community Churches since 1981, having joined the church on his 15th birthday, Rev. Dr. Neil has served in numerous denominational positions including Chair, Board of Ordained Ministries (European District); Member, Elder’s Task Force on Education; Member, European District Committee; Member, Board of Samaritan College in Europe; Supervising Pastor, and Ecumenical Officer. More recently he has served on the Moderator’s Advising Team and consultant to the Office of Formation and Leadership Development.
As a native of Bournemouth, England, Rev. Dr. Cazares-Thomas was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His family left the Mormon Church in his early years. He attended St John’s Theological College (Church of England), La Saint Union (Roman Catholic) and King Alfred’s College, and graduated with a BA (M. Div [USA equiv]). In 2002, he enrolled in the doctoral program at San Francisco Theological College (Presbyterian), where he graduated with his Doctor of Ministry in October 2009. He has been granted Privilege of Call in the United Church of Christ.
Dr. Cazares-Thomas is a contributing author of Daring to Speak Love’s Name (Penguin Books, 1993), From Queer to Eternity (Cassell, 1997), The Queer Bible Commentary (SCM Press, 2006), and is currently writing a chapter for a new book entitled, Jesus Acted Up: Then and Now. He has also been featured in a number of journals relating to queer theology and ministry to the LGBTQ community. Dr. Cazares-Thomas is married to Isaiah Thomas-Cazares, and they have a daughter.
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Rev. Erin Wyma was born and raised in Southern California, where she received her bachelor’s degree in literature from U.C. Santa Cruz and ministered with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in that context. She has worked in large evangelical churches and smaller Protestant churches ministering to youth and young adults for over 25 years. She has been a public school teacher. She worked at a nonprofit that focused on foster and adoptive care for children. She lived overseas for a year to study the Bible in her late 20s, which led to a love of the Bible as well as a love of adventure and travel which she still has to this day. In 2006, she received her M.Div. degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. Her passion is missions and outreach, and in college, she was introduced to cross-cultural and  inner-city outreach which culminated in spending her 2008 summer in Cambodia teaching ESL with World Relief.
She has been a guest podcaster on Homebrewed Christianity, worked in leadership for AIDS ministries, been a part of a creative downtown Los Angeles church plant, co-led various youth camps in the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ, and been a keynote speaker for the South Bay Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. In February 2009, she accepted her first call and became the full-time Associate minister at Manhattan Beach Community Church. She was ordained into the United Church of Christ in January 2011. She accepted the call as one of the Associate Ministers of Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas, TX, in June 2016. She loves her job. She adores her adopted cat, Coco. She is a coffee snob. Since moving to Dallas, she has learned to greatly enjoy walking the Katy Trail, eating queso, and drinking sangria margarita swirls.
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Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles is Professor of New Testament, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Director of the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She is the author of numerous books and essays, including Reading John for Dear Life: A Spiritual Walk with the Fourth Gospel and Engaging the Word: The New Testament and the Christian Believer. She is the New Testament editor of the CEB Women’s Bible. She writes and speaks most often on the Gospel of John: Disability and the Bible; and Evil, Suffering, and Death. She leads cross-cultural immersion trips to Palestine and Israel regularly. She writes for workingpreacher.org and appears in the documentary Hellbound? As an ordained American Baptist minister, she has served in both parish and hospice settings. She is a Navy brat and enjoys cycling, racquetball, and generally staying in motion. For more information, see jaimeclarksoles.com and https://www.smu.edu/Perkins/FacultyAcademics/FacultyListingA-Z/Clark-Soles.

Rev. Edwin Robinson is a Christian minister. He holds a Masters of Theological Studies and Graduate certificate in African and African American studies from Duke University. He has served the Dallas community as both an associate pastor at Concord Church, the Dallas Southern sector, and most recently as the former executive director of Faith in Texas, a nonprofit organization that focuses on organizing faith communities for racial and economic justice. Rev. Edwin Robinson currently works with faith and community leaders to organize, strategize, and ultimately mobilize to address and eradicate the pervasive social evils of racial, gender, and economic inequity and oppression. Edwin fundamentally believes in the power of the people. He believes through the power of people of faith and leadership of those who have been made to be “the least of these” we can dismantle the systems of oppression that continue to create the poor and powerless in our world.

Diana Butler Bass is best-known in mainline Protestant communities as a change agent, teacher, and spiritual leader. She is the author of 10 award-winning books on religious trends, spiritual practices, the history of Christianity, and faith and politics. Her latest book is Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks (Harper 2018), and her bylines include The New York Times, Washington Post, USAToday, Atlantic.com, and Huffington Post, with her work featured on CBS, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, CBC, NPR, and Sirius XM. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University, and has influenced a generation of younger writers and preachers to engage in public theology, especially through authenticity and courage on social media. Diana regularly speaks and preaches in churches, colleges, and conferences throughout North America and internationally. She believes that writing books and teaching are practices of both contemplation and activism – that our inner lives and outer ones are of a piece – and that inspiring stories can transform the way we live and how we care for our neighbors.
She can be followed on Twitter @dianabutlerbass; on Facebook; at www.dianabutlerbass.com; and by reading her e-newsletter The Cottage.

Doug Pagitt is the pastor of Solomon’s Porch Community in Minneapolis, MN. He serves as the executive director of Vote Common Good. Doug is a speaker, writer, activist, and self-described “goodness conspirator and possibility evangelist.”