Guest Speaker & Performer Bios

Matt Boswell
Matt Boswell is lead pastor of The Trails Church in North Texas and the President of Doxology & Theology. He is an author and hymn writer, known for songs including “His Mercy is More” and “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery”. Boswell earned his MA in Christian Ministry, ThM in Biblical Spirituality, and PhD in Christian Worship from Southern Seminary. He lives in Texas with his wife and four kids.

The Choir Room
The Choir Room is a dynamic, multi-generational, and multi-cultural non-profit choir organization dedicated to amplifying diverse voices and backgrounds. Believing in music's power to unite and inspire change, we advocate for our community while embracing the principles of compassion, empathy, and social justice.

TCR serves as a sanctuary for individuals of all ages and walks of life to express themselves through Gospel music. Each choir member brings a unique experience and perspective, fostering an environment of inclusivity, mutual respect, and collaboration.

We believe everyone has a voice and strive to highlight marginalized communities through our rich gospel music. Our repertoire includes anthems of unity, poignant ballads, and songs of worship, reflecting our commitment to positive change.

Beyond music, The Choir Room is dedicated to community service through outreach programs and partnerships, organizing monthly gatherings, and raising funds for local charities. Our non-denominational approach welcomes individuals from all Christian backgrounds, united by a shared commitment to compassion, empathy, and service through Gospel music.

Keith & Kristyn Getty
Keith and Kristyn Getty are GRAMMY^®-nominated recording artists from Northern Ireland who have revolutionized the hymn genre with songs such as “In Christ Alone” and “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.” According to Christianity Today, they have “changed the way evangelicals worship.” Their songs are sung by over 100 million people around the globe each year, and they have written or co-published 38 out of the top 500 CCLI songs in the US/UK. They have performed for presidents and prime ministers and on stages such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and Sydney Opera House. Keith was awarded the OBE from Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and hymn writing. Today they lead a hymn movement involving a diverse group of writers through the Getty Music Organization and Global Foundation. Keith & Kristyn live between Nashville and Northern Ireland with their four daughters.

Luke Irwin, PhD
Luke Irwin has been an assistant professor of biblical studies at Covenant College since 2022. His research gravitates most toward theologies of divine transcendence in Graeco-Roman, Early Jewish, and Early Christian thought. In his doctoral work at Durham University, he argued that unless Jesus presents the visibility of God to humanity and brings God into physical proximity to humanity, belief cannot exist. He also pursued how the incarnation is a material revelation of God. In current studies, he has continued exploring the nature of divine transcendence in the first century. His goal in every class that he teaches is to seek the beauty and glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Scott Jones, PhD
Scott C. Jones is professor of biblical and theological studies at Covenant College, where he has been on faculty since 2006. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of Mississippi, an M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary, with a concentration in Old Testament and Hebrew. Dr. Jones specializes in the books of Job and Psalms, Israelite and ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature, and biblical Hebrew. He is currently writing a commentary on the book of Job for the Old Testament Library series, published by Westminster John Knox Press.

Kelly Kapic, PhD
Kelly M. Kapic is professor of theological studies at Covenant College, where he has been on faculty since 2001. He has written and edited over fifteen books, including You're Only Human, which won Christianity Today’s Book of the Year Award in Theology (Popular), and Embodied Hope (IVP Academic, 2017), which won the Book of the Year Award from Christianity Today in the category of Theology and Ethics and World Magazine’s short list award for Accessible Theology Book of the year. He received the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year Finalist Award (Inspirational). A speaker at various conferences, Dr. Kapic has thoroughly enjoyed discussing the Christian conception of worship as overflow, Trinitarian, and holistic.

Wendell Kimbrough
Wendell Kimbrough is a songwriter and performer reimagining the Psalms for emotionally honest modern worship. His music makes space for the whole range of human experience, from lament, grief, and anger to playful, joyful celebration. With singable melodies, steeped in the sounds of folk, gospel, and country music, Wendell's songs are sung at churches around the world. His music has been featured in Christianity Today, Worship Leader Magazine and World Magazine. He lives with his wife Hahna and 2 daughters in Dallas, Texas where he serves as Director of Music and Songwriter at Church of the Incarnation.

Brandon Kreuze, DM
Brandon R. Kreuze is professor of music and department chair at Covenant College, where he has been on faculty since 2004. He received his BA in music from Calvin College, his MM in composition from Western Michigan University, and a doctor of music in composition from Northwestern University. He was a recipient of the Vulcan Materials Excellence in Teaching Award in 2021 and has been recognized for many compositions and performances, including performing for the Southeastern Composers League. Dr. Kreuze teaches his students to be keenly aware that faithfully responding to the calling of musicians requires the default posture of building others up for the greater goal of glorifying God together.

Nikki Lerner
Nikki Lerner is a nationally recognized culture coach, speaker, artist, and author helping individuals and organizations move from monocultural to multicultural. With over 20+ years as a practitioner and leader in the area of multicultural work and life, her passion is to equip others with the inspiration and information needed to move one step closer towards healthy diversity through music and conversation. 
 
Nikki is the founder and CEO of The Culture Coaching Lab, host of the Culture Coach Podcast, has authored two books entitled Life Whispers and Worship Together: In Your Church As In Heaven.  You can connect with Nikki, hire her for coaching, or have your worship leaders work with her by visiting nikkilerner.com.

Phil Nitz
A 14-time Dove Award nominee, Phil was awarded a Dove Award for Musical/Choral Collection of the Year in 2017, Musical of the Year in 2020, and Musical/Choral Collection of the Year in 2022. He was also awarded the Alumnus of the Year department award from the Lee University School of Music in 2021. To date, his arrangement of Lauren Daigle’s “Noel” remains a best-seller among Brentwood Benson’s Christmas anthems. His arrangement of “What A Beautiful Name” for the Voices of Lee went viral on Facebook in 2017 with over 60 million views.

Beyond his musical accomplishments, Phil's heart is to deliver the message of hope, grace, peace, and love that is found through Jesus Christ in music and worship.

Matt Papa
A veteran songwriter and Christian musician, Matt Papa has carved an even more unique space for himself as one of the world’s top modern-day hymn writers. With songs like, “His Mercy Is More”, “Christ Our Hope In Life And Death” and “Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery”, Matt tours regularly across the U.S. as a songwriter with Getty Music and frequently guests on their tours. A three-time Dove Award nominated artist, Matt is on a mission to write songs that are singable, beautiful, and timeless. He currently serves as an artist-in-residence at Marco Presbyterian Church in Marco Island, FL, and most of all, is a husband, and a father to 5 beautiful children.

Josh Rodriguez
Known for his energetic rhythms, rich harmonic language, and striking colors, award-winning composer Josh Rodriguez (b. 1982) continues to gain recognition as an emerging composer and collaborator on a national and international scale. Born in Argentina and raised in Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, Rodriguez’s musical imagination has been formed by this bilingual, multi-cultural heritage. He collaborates regularly with theatre and 􏰀film directors and has received several notable concert commissions in a wide range of musical genres. Rodriguez serves as Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Elmhurst University. https:// www.joshrodriguezmusic.com/

Greg Scheer
From Yale to Uganda, Indianapolis to Indonesia, Greg Scheer has spoken on worship and music topics including songwriting, worship theology, and leading praise bands. Two decades of leading worship in the local church provides street cred, insight, and a treasure trove of humorous stories. His unique perspective as a musician and composer fuels his presentations, often weaving songs into his presentations.

Greg has given plenary/keynote addresses, workshops, masterclasses, and one-on-one lessons. He has also served as a consultant with churches, elders, and worship committees. He frequently speaks on topics found in his books Essential Worship and The Art of Worship.

Herb Ward, DTh
Herb D. Ward, Jr. is professor of biblical studies at Covenant College, where he has been on faculty since 2005. Before that he served as the associate pastor of missions at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO, and worked for Mission to the World, living in South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania. He earned his MDiv and ThM from Covenant Theological Seminary and his doctorate of theology from University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Dr. Ward specializes in Old Testament biblical theology (Pentateuch, prophetic literature, and Old Testament ethics) as well as missiology, specifically world religions and evangelism/apologetics.

James Ward
James Ward is a Christian musician whose basic pop style has often shown strong influences of classical, jazz, and R&B stylings. The son of a Reformed Presbyterian minister, Ward is in fact the descendent of several generations of clergy, and he would credit his religious upbringing with giving him the secure confidence of faith to be a Christian performer. With a career that spans fifty years, multiple studio albums, song credits, and the inclusion of "Rock of Ages," in the Trinity Hymnal, Ward worked out that calling in many different contexts. In 2002, he was called by his church to become the Director of Music at New City Fellowship, where he worked until retiring in 2018. Now, James and his wife are grandparents of 8, and their two children live nearby. He continues in music as a part-time teacher, instructing jazz piano, jazz ensemble, and songwriting at Covenant College.

Thurman Williams
Director of Homiletics, Covenant Theological Seminary
Church Planter and Pastor of New City Fellowship West End, St. Louis

Thurman serves as the Director of Homiletics at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis and is the founding pastor of New City Fellowship West End Church, also in St. Louis. Prior to planting New City West End in 2019, Thurman served for 5 years as Associate Pastor at Grace & Peace Fellowship in St. Louis. He and his family (wife, Evie and four children) moved to St. Louis from Baltimore, Maryland, where Thurman pastored New Song Community Church for 13 years. Thurman served as a youth pastor and on staff with Young Life in Baltimore prior to the time at New Song. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Chesapeake Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant. Thurman serves on the Boards of Covenant College, The Carver Project, and The Freedom School.