PAST GUEST SPEAKERS 

Rev. Dr. Deb Kaiser-Cross

Rev. Dr. Deb Kaiser-Cross served as a pastor in the United Church of Christ for forty years before retiring from full time ministry. For many years, she served at JupiterFIRST Church as the Minister for Congregational Care and Spiritual Formation. Since retirement, she has worked as a trained coach, taught classes, and supported clergy by coordinating Communities of Practice for the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ.

She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame, a Master in Divinity from Earlham School of Religion, a Master in Social Work from Barry University, and a Doctorate in Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Florida.

She loves leading retreats, seminars, and classes in the areas of emotionally healthy spirituality and personal growth. For pure fun, she enjoys cycling, traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband, David, her children, and amazing grandchildren.

Pastor Betty Kniss

Betty attended Iliff Theological Seminary in Denver, CO, and she was ordained in June of 2000. She was the Associate Pastor at Sebring First United Methodist Church (UMC) from June 2001- June 2005 and then at Oceanview UMC in Juno Beach until her retirement in January 2021. Teaching is one of her spiritual gifts and she looks forward to being involved at JupiterFIRST. Betty and her husband, Steve, are enjoying their retirement. Their daughter, Krista, and her husband, Aaron, live in Atlanta.

Rev. Molly Baskette

Molly, Pastor, First Congregational Church Berkeley (UCC), is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Yale Divinity School, and the recipient of two awards from Yale, for preaching and for excellence in congregational ministry. She writes devotional materials for the UCC Still Speaking Writers’ Group, which reaches 33,000 readers through its online daily devotional. She has authored five books on children’s grief, church renewal, testimony and parenting, including the newest Bless This Mess, and is a popular speaker and teacher in wider church circles, which to her delight takes her to places like Peoria. She shares a home with her two teens, Rafe and Carmen, her husband Peter, and a sweet and smelly rescue dog, Boston. A perfect sabbath for her would include a swim, a hike in the hills, reading in the hammock and making people happy with home-cooked food.   

Dr. Andrew (Andy) Root

Andrew Root, PhD (Princeton Theological Seminary) is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary. He is most recently the author of three volume Ministry in a Secular Age series (The Congregation in a Secular Age, The Pastor in a Secular Age, and Faith Formation in a Secular Age), and The End of Youth Ministry?.  He has also authored Christopraxis: A Practical Theology of the Cross and Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker.  Root puts together theology and storytelling to explore how ministry leads us into encounter with divine action. 

Neal Watkins

Neal Watkins is the Minister for Congregational Life of the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ. He and his wife, Pam, live in Vero Beach, Fla., with their children, Casey and Caleb. Additionally, for the Florida Conference, Neal serves as liaison to the Youth Ministry Task Force, the EcoJustice Ministry Team, the Anti-Racism Ministry Team, the WISE Ministry Team, and the Justice Advocacy & Action Network. He is also participating in the Sacred Conversations to End Racism Facilitator Training under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Velda Love.

Dr. Andrew Sung Park

Andrew Sung Park is a Korean American Methodist theologian. Park teaches at United Theological Seminary in Trotwood, Ohio. He specializes in systematic theology, global theology, cross-cultural theology, Asian American liberation theology, Christian mysticism, and the relationship between religion and science. The Wounded Heart of God is Dr. Andrew Sung Park’s first seminal work (1991) on challenging and expanding traditional Christian doctrines–specifically in this case, the Doctrine of Hamartiology (Sin)–with the concept of Han (or Haan). 

Beth Jarvis

Beth Jarvis serves as the director of the Ministry Resource Center at Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan University in Milligan, Tennessee. Jarvis is an ordained minister in the Christian church and brings 14 years of experience with non-profit Christian organizations. She most recently served as the care team coordinator for Christian Mission Fellowship International (CMFI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her role involved coordinating pastoral care and programming for over 220 missionaries in 25 different countries. Jarvis earned her bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Point University and her Master of Divinity from Emmanuel Christian Seminary. 

Tripp Fuller

Tripp Fuller is an American theologian, minister, professor, and broadcaster. He is the founder and host of Homebrewed Christianity, one of the most downloaded theology programs in podcasting. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Theology and Science at the University of Edinburgh.

Brad Jersak

Brad Jersak is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, BC. He serves as a reader and monastery preacher at All Saints of North America Orthodox Monastery. He also occasionally teaches at The Bridge in Abbotsford. Through his books and seminars, Brad shares the good news that God is Love, perfectly revealed in Jesus Christ. He teaches others how to encounter God through the practice of ”listening prayer,” through which God’s love heals wounded hearts and empowers us to heal this broken world. 

Chuck DeGroat

Chuck DeGroat is associate professor of pastoral care and counseling at Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan, and former teaching pastor of City Church San Francisco and executive director of City Church’s Counseling Center. 

Thomas Jay Oord

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning author, having written or edited more than twenty-five books. He directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. A twelve-time Faculty Award-winning professor, Oord teaches at institutions around the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation. 

DANIELLE SHROYER

Danielle Shroyer, is an author, speaker, spiritual director, and former pastor. A founding member in the emerging church movement, Danielle served as the pastor of one of the nation’s first independent emerging communities of faith for nearly a decade. Her primary goal as a pastor was to help people going through a season of spiritual deconstruction find healthy, sustainable, and meaningful ways to reconstruct their faith.

BOB GOFF

Bob Goff is the New York Times Best-Selling Author of Love Does, as well as an attorney who founded Love Does, a nonprofit human rights organization operating in Uganda, India, Nepal, Iraq, and Somalia. Bob is a sought-after speaker for leadership, church and university events, inspiring current and future influencers to get to the “do” part of life. Choosing to live audaciously, Bob connects to audiences in a powerfully inspirational, yet down to earth manner. Love Does has now been translated into ten languages.