The Renovaré Institute faculty is made up of leading authors, teachers and pastors deeply committed to Jesus and with a heart to guide others into the Jesus Way.
Carolyn oversees the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation as well as several other Renovaré initiatives, including the Book Club. She is also a recording artist, speaker, author, and college instructor. She lives near Vancouver, BC, with her husband Mark and their two children.
Charles Ayars is a graduate of the Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation and now serves that program as a Senior Teaching Fellow. He teaches in the areas of spiritual direction and spiritual formation as an adjunct professor at Sioux Falls Seminary in South Dakota and Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Charles is married to Rose and has two grown sons. He leads retreats and offers spiritual direction through his organization Tall Oak Ministry.
Kenneth Boa is engaged in a ministry of relational evangelism and discipleship, teaching, writing, and speaking. He holds a B.S. from Case Institute of Technology, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. from New York University, and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in England.
He is the author of, among others, Everything Matters: Biblical Wisdom for a Meaningful Life (Atlanta: Trinity House Publishers, 2015) and Rewriting Your Broken Story: The Power of an Eternal Perspective (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016).
Lacy Finn Borgo, DMin, teaches and provides spiritual direction for various organizations in spiritual formation and spiritual direction, including, Renovaré, The Companioning Center, and Mercy Center, Burlingame. Lacy has a spiritual direction and supervision of spiritual directors ministry for adults and provides spiritual direction for children at Haven House, a transitional facility for families without homes in Olathe, Colorado. Her book Spiritual Conversations with Children: Listening to God Together was released in March 2020. Her children’s book All Will Be Well will be released in October 2022. Lacy lives on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains and worships with a local Quaker Meeting. You can find her at GoodDirtMinistries.org
During a career in commercial publishing, James worked with many of the authors most closely associated with Renovaré and he now chairs SPCK, the largest Christian publisher in the UK. After fourteen years leading the British Bible Society James also works with American Bible Society to support Christians in leadership around the world. He lives with his wife Sue in London.
Retiring after 13 years from church staff ministry in 2016 created time for Zane to pursue a raft of other interests from quilting to RVing to offering spiritual direction for Renovaré Institute. A 2013 RI graduate, she was certified by Richmont in spiritual direction in 2015. She’s been married to Jack for 35 years and enjoys three grown sons, a new daughter-in-love and a grandson on the way. Travel fills in any gaps open between ministry projects.
Joe was born in Gillingham in the UK in March 1965. He did national and local youth work and trained at Spurgeon’s College as a Baptist Minister. He was ordained in 1994.
In September 2014 he started Soul Place.
He is married to Rachel, and they have 2 grown-up kids, Mike and Sophie.
Miriam (Mimi) Dixon began her ministry in 1979 serving as an associate pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Seattle, Washington. From April of 1985 to May of 2019 she served as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Golden, Colorado. She earned both her MDiv and DMin degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary. Mimi is on the Renovaré Board of Directors and teaches for the Renovaré Institute. She actively promotes Christian Spiritual Formation, crediting Richard Foster and Dallas Willard for their influence in her life and ministry.
Helen Edwards, (D.Min. Fuller Seminary), serves as a faculty member for Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation in the roles of Student Care Coordinator and the Praxis Instructor. She accompanies students through each of the four courses and serves as a spiritual director at each residency.
Nathan is Director of Community Life at Renovaré. He heads up Fellowship of the Burning Heart and hosts the Renovaré Podcast. Formerly, he was an Associate Professor of social work and served as the Andrews Chair in Spiritual Formation at Spring Arbor University. He was also a licensed clinical social worker and certified addictions counselor. Nathan has published two books, including The Making of an Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines.
Chris Hall served as president of Renovaré from 2015 – 2022. Previously Chris was Director of Academic Spiritual Formation and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Eastern University. Chris is the author of a number of books, including The Mystery of God (with Steven D. Boyer; Baker Academic), Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, Worshiping with the Church Fathers (InterVarsity Press), and The Trinity (with Roger Olson; Eerdmans). His most recent book is Living Wisely with the Church Fathers (Intervarsity Press). Chris and his wife Debbie reside in Philadelphia. They have three grown children and two grandchildren.
Trevor Hudson has been part of the Methodist movement for over 40 years. Serving primarily around Johannesburg, he is deeply committed to the work of spiritual formation within local congregational contexts. A significant part of his weekly work presently consists of leading people through the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius and offering spiritual direction. Besides his local commitments, Trevor travels widely, preaching and teaching. He lectures at Fuller Seminary, the Renovaré Institute, the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation, and the Jesuit Institute in South Africa. He is the author of 22 books including Discovering Your Spiritual Identity (IVP) and Beyond Loneliness (Upper Room). His new book , Seeking God-Finding Another Kind of Life with St Ignatius and Dallas Willard, will be published by NavPress in the summer of 2022.
Jan Johnson is a writer, speaker and spiritual director who holds degrees in Christian education and spirituality. She’s written numerous books, including Meeting God in Scripture: A Hands-on Guide to Lectio Divina. Recently Jan created an online course based on Dallas Willard’s book, Life Without Lack.
Gary W. Moon, M.Div. Ph.D. served as the founding Executive Director of the Martin Institute for Christianity and Culture and the Dallas Willard Center for Christian Spiritual Formation at Westmont College and continues to direct their resource development initiatives through serving as the director of Conversatio Divina: A Center for Spiritual Formation.
Regina Moon currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Her career has primarily been spent at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia as Director of Counseling, Director of Service Learning and Vice President for Student Life. She also served as adjunct faculty in Old Testament and Spiritual Formation and spent a large portion of her time journeying with students, faculty and staff as they walked with God.
The Reverend Christopher Murphy is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Newberg, Oregon. Chris is passionate about spiritual formation and mission and loves listening to the spiritual journeys of people of all ages. He received a B.A. in History from Whitworth University in 1994, his Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2002, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction on from Fuller. Chris received a certificate in Spiritual Direction on in 2005 from Christian Formation and Direction Ministries (CFDM) and teaches as guest faculty member for CFDM Seattle and the Renovaré Institute. Chris has extensive experience in church, college, seminary, and urban ministry. Prior to coming to First Presbyterian in February of 2018, he served as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Young Adults at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland and as the Director of Presbyterian Ministries at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. He is blessed to be married to Karen, who teaches church history and theology at Fuller Seminary and George Fox University. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Cate and Chiara. Chris’s interests include spending time with his family, reading, movies, running, golf, cheering for the Seahawks, singing, guitar, and wine tasting.
Kai is Senior Pastor of Incarnation Lutheran in Shoreview, Minnesota. Previously he served as lead pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Columbus, Ohio, after having joined the staff in 1993. Beyond his pastoral work, Kai is on the Renovaré Ministry Team and teaches in the Renovaré Institute for Spiritual Formation. In 2009, Kai completed his Doctor of Ministry degree through Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Kai’s book Renew Your Life: Discovering the Wellspring of God’s Energy was published in the fall of 2015. Kai and his wife Patty are parents of four children — Anders, Annika, Leif and Siri.
Juanita is a speaker, writer, spiritual director, and contemplative. She copastors the St. John’s United Methodist Church in downtown Houston with her husband, Rudy. Started with nine members in 1992, thousands have joined the St. John’s family, making it one of the most culturally diverse congregations in the country. Pastor Juanita has served as a member of the board of directors of Renovaré and its ministry team founded by Richard Foster. Additionally, Juanita serves on the board of her alma mater, Houston Graduate School of Theology, and on advisory boards for Rice University’s Religion and Public Life Program and re:MIND Houston. Learn more at her website juanitarasmus.com.
Maggie Robbins is a spiritual director, earning her certification through Kairos: School of Spiritual Formation in 2005. She continued to serve at Kairos in the role of spiritual director as well as a member of the faculty until 2015. Nationally and internationally, she has provided spiritual direction and facilitated retreats for groups like Youth Specialties, Simply Youth Ministry , Christian Camp and Conference Association, the Presbyterian Church of Ireland and Baptist Youth Ministry of New South Wales, Australia. She also maintains a private practice from her home in Valley Forge, PA.
Maggie is the co-author, with her husband Duffy Robbins, of Enjoy the Silence.
Siang-Yang is Professor of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary and Senior Pastor at First Evangelical Church, Glendale, CA. He has published over 70 articles and authored several books including Full Service, Rest: Experiencing God’s Peace in a Restless World, and Disciplines of the Holy Spirit (with Douglas H. Gregg). Siang-Yang and his wife Angela live in Arcadia, California.
Chris Webb is a Benedictine Anglican priest, author, speaker and teacher dedicated to helping people experience a richer walk with God by growing in prayer and the spiritual life. He has degrees in Planetary and Space Physics from the University of Wales, and in Theology from Trinity College, Bristol. He is also the author of two books: The Fire of the Word (2011) and God-Soaked Life (2017). Chris and his wife Sally live in the heart of rural Leicestershire.