Order of the FLAME 2023

BIO:

BIO:

Paulo Lopes is originally from Brazil and he believed his calling was to become a diplomat. He and God just disagreed on what kind of diplomat he would become.

He and his wife Juliana came to the US shortly after marrying in 2007. They now have three Brazilian-American daughters, Carolina, Sofia, and Olivia.

Outside of WME, Paulo has been on staff in the local church and denominational levels, most recently as Director of Next Generation Ministries for the Virginia Conference (UMC). Additionally, he currently serves as a leadership coach through Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI). Paulo is passionate about helping people and ministries become clearer and better at what they do, and he loves getting to preach or teach.

BIO:

An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, Joy Jittaun Moore, Professor of Biblical Preaching, serves as Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Prior to coming to Luther Seminary, she was Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. Dr. Joy established the William E. Pannell Center for African American Church Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, and served as Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning at Duke Divinity School at Duke University. Previously the director of Student Life at Asbury Theological Seminary and chaplain and director of Church Relations at Adrian College, she has held pastorates in the Michigan Area of the United Methodist Church. She has written for Sojourners magazine, Christian Century, Good News magazine, and Working Preacher. She is can be heard weekly on the Sermon Brainwave podcast

Moore has focused on cross-racial ministry in urban, rural, and suburban congregations. Her last parish, an African American congregation, served as a Help Center in Flint, Michigan during the Water Crisis. As a pastor, she has called local congregations to recognize their vocation of glorifying God as a peaceable community—practicing hope, hospitality, and honesty.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Moore’s desire to teach led her to earn a BA in Education and Mathematics from National College of Education (National-Louis University) in 1982 and an MDiv from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1989. A John Wesley Fellowship (2001-2005) from A Foundation for Theological Education enabled her to work on a Ph.D. in Practical Theology, which she earned from Brunel University/London School of Theology in 2007. She joined the faculty of Luther Seminary in July 2019 to teach Biblical Preaching.

Joy grew up in the American Midwest on Chicago’s southside attending Commonwealth Community Church, where she was spiritually formed and experienced a call to Christian Ministry. Professor Moore is currently President of the Wesleyan Theological Society and an avid fan of books by David Baldacci and John Hart. When not teaching, she enjoys traveling, watching episodes of NCIS, and reading.

BIO:

Rev. Dr. Marcellus Alexander Norris was born in Newark, NJ. He is married to Anethia Theress Norris and together they have two sons, London Nicholas and Marcellus Alexander II.

Dr. Norris, a third generation AME preacher, graduated in 2007 from Lutheran Seminary with a Master’s of Divinity Degree. In 2021, he earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Payne Theological Seminary.

Pastor Norris has pastored many churches and currently serves St. Luke AME Church in New York, NY.

In 2012, Rev. Norris was appointed the First Episcopal District Chairman of Christian Education, a position he still holds today. Pastor Norris is currently the President of the New York Police Department 30th Precinct Clergy Council.

He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and a Master Mason, member of Xenia Lodge #50.

In 2021, Rev. Marcellus A. Norris was elected the Executive Director of Church Growth and Development of the AME Church.

BIO:

Dr. Luther Oconner recently joined the faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary as Associate Professor of Global Wesleyan Theology at its Florida Dunnam Campus in Orlando, Florida. He teaches on the area of United Methodist history, doctrine and polity, church history, and Christian theology. He completed his Ph.D. in Wesleyan/Methodist Studies from Drew University in 2009. He is currently the First Vice President of the Wesleyan Theological Society, and editor of the Wesleyan Journal for Religious Studies, an academic journal of the Wesleyan University-Philippines. He is an ordained elder from the Pampango Philippines Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

He has written several book chapters and journal articles on the history of global Methodism, the intersection between revival and missions, and Wesleyan theology. In 2017, he published his book, Spirit-Filled Protestantism: Holiness-Pentecostal Revivals and the Making of Filipino Methodist Identity. Dr. Oconer has also served churches in the Pampanga, New Jersey, and Alaska. He is married to the former Marion Padang, and they have two children, Ilana and Wesley.

BIO:

Luigi Peñaranda is a bilingual professor specialized in Biblical Studies and Leadership Studies. He was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. From an early age he was actively involved in the ministry life of a local congregation, led primarily by missionaries. The commitment and dedication displayed by many of these foreign leaders, who abandoned the confines of the familiar to venture into the unknowns of cross-cultural ministry, left a profound imprint on his life.

While pursuing a career in Sound Engineering, Luigi sensed the call to vocational ministry. He then embarked on his personal cross-cultural quest by coming to the United States to advance his education. Along with his academic endeavors, Luigi has actively engaged in pastoral ministry. He was a part of the core leadership of a church plant in Radford, VA. He also served as assisting minister in one of the largest Hispanic congregations in the nation located in Van Nuys, CA. Subsequently, he was an assisting minister in a congregation in Eagle Rock, CA, a church that is spearheading a vision known as the Los Angeles Church Planting Movement.

Luigi has a BA in Theology, a MA in Religion and a PhD in Organizational Leadership. He joined the Faculty at Wesley Seminary in 2014.

Luigi has been married to Courtney since 2005. They have a son and two daughters. They love going on road trips, fine dining (hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza), and playing and listening to music. Luigi also enjoys watching both fútbol and football.

BIO:

Kim Reisman is an author, pastor, teacher, and theologian, focusing her work in the areas of evangelism, spiritual formation, leadership development, and the intersection between faith and culture. Ordained in the United Methodist Church, she was appointed Executive Director of WME in 2014. She is a frequent speaker and has written numerous books, most recently, ”Embrace: Showing and Sharing the love of Jesus.” Also, ”Public Witness,” in E. Stanley Jones & Sharing the Good News in a Pluralistic Society (Wesley’s Foundry Books, 2018), “Before all Else” in Holy Contradictions: What’s Next for the People Called United Methodists (Abingdon Press, 2018), and “The Church’s Global DNA,” in A Firm Foundation: Hope and Vision for a New Methodist Future (Seedbed, 2017).

Born in Gulfport, Mississippi, Kim lived in California, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, and Connecticut before moving to Indiana in 1993. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Emory University, a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in theology from Durham University in the United Kingdom. Kim is a senior Harry Denman Fellow, a senior John Wesley Fellow, an Adjunct Professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington, and Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and a Visiting Fellow at St. John’s College, Durham University in the UK.

In all her work, Kim seeks to serve God by awakening, strengthening, and enlivening the faith commitment of individuals as well as empowering communities of faith to become visible witnesses to the love of Christ for the world. Kim lives with her husband, John in West Lafayette, Indiana where she enjoys music, sports, reading, and jewelry making. They have three adult children, Nathan, Maggie, and Hannah.

BIO:

My name is Dave Smith. I’ve been a pastor and professor of Bible for the last 3+ decades. My ministry preparation began at Circleville Bible College (now Ohio Christian University). Next, my family moved to Wilmore, KY to attend both Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary. Then finally, my PhD in New Testament is from Durham University (England not North Carolina).

After pastoring in Cleveland Ohio, our family moved to Marion Indiana where I have been professor and dean at Indiana Wesleyan University, starting in 2000. For 5 intervening years (2010-15) I was the Academic Dean at Kingswood University in Sussex, New Brunswick. I have recently stepped out of academic administration and now serve as Professor of New Testament at Indiana Wesleyan.

My wife Angie and I have been married for 40 years. We love to travel, teach, and play with our 5 grandchildren. As a special note, she was the first person ever to share with me about Jesus. She is the best evangelist in our home.