January Series conversations

Each year the January Series Office sets up small group meetings in which honors students are able to meet with the special guest speaker for that day.

Here are some pictures of speakers and small group meetings from January 2009.

John Ortberg Senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California. He is the best-selling author of many books including The Life You've Always Wanted, God is Closer Than You Think, Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them, When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box and his newly released Faith and Doubt. Ortberg served as a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church from 1994 to 2003 and holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Victor Makari Serves on the General Assembly Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as Coordinator of the Middle East and Asia Minor and as Coordinator/Executive Director of the Jinishian Memorial Program. Makari is a native to Egypt and has been a minister in the PCUSA since 1966. He has been involved in a variety of ministries locally, nationally and internationally. He has broad experiences in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue and cooperation, both domestically and internationally.
Richard Norton Smith Awarding-winning presidential historian and biographer, he is the former director of five presidential libraries, including the Gerald R. Ford Museum, and the author of many books. He is a regular face to viewers of C-SPAN , as well as The News Hour with Jim Lehrer , where he appears regularly as part of the show's round table of historians. In 2007 the ABC television network named him their presidential historian. He is currently a scholar in residence at George Mason University while he works on a biography of former New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller. Taking into account the start of a new presidency, Smith will meld Lincoln themes with what it takes to be a successful president.
David Kinnaman President and Strategic Leader of The Barna Group . As spokesperson for the firm's research, he is frequently quoted in major media outlets such as USA Today, Fox News, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal . He often speaks about ministry trends, today's teenagers, the profile of young leaders, and generational changes. He is the author of the best-selling book, unChristian in which he has compiled startling yet useful research for church leaders concerning how the unchurched view Christianity. Since joining Barna in 1995, David has designed and analyzed nearly 500 projects for a variety of clients, including Campus Crusade for Christ, Columbia House, Compassion International, Easter Seals, Focus on the Family, Prison Fellowship, Sony, World Vision, Zondervan and many others.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Named one of Time Magazine's “100 Most Influential People”, Ali is an award-winning humanitarian and courageous freedom fighter, standing as one of the most influential and outspoken political figures of our time having served as an elected member of Dutch Parliament for three years. She has been demonized by conservative Muslims worldwide, including her own clan and family, for speaking out against injustices done in the name of Islam. Determined to voice her views, Ali speaks about the importance of freedom of speech and the defense of the principles of the Enlightenment, the need to reform Islam, and the rights of Muslim women. She is author of the bestselling memoir, Infidel, and is currently a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She is working on a book to be published in 2009 which is a dialogue between western countries and Islam.