John Van Drunen is licensed as both a CPA and an attorney and serves as the executive pastor of Fellowship Bible Church (FBC) in Winchester, Virginia. Van Drunen previously served as executive vice president and general counsel for the Evangelical Counsel for Financial Accountability (ECFA)

Van Drunen has co-authored a number of tax, financial, and legal resources for nonprofits, churches, and clergy. He has received many awards, including recognition from the Virginia Bar Association for his pro bono work.

Van Drunen earned an accounting degree, magna cum laude, from Anderson University, and a juris doctor from Regent University School of Law.

Jonathan Smith is director of technology for Faith Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana, a role he has held since 2001. Smith oversees technology for Faith’s multiple campuses. His responsibilities include financial planning and budgeting, network administration, IT support, and management of the technology team, as well as oversight of the church’s audio/visual team.

Smith is also president of MBS, Inc., a provider of technology services that exclusively serves churches and ministries. He is a published author and a frequent speaker at conferences.

Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in information technology management from the University of Phoenix. Smith lives in Lafayette with his wife and their two children. He enjoys traveling and eating.

Veronica Abney is the president of Abney and Associates, a consulting firm helping ministry leaders develop and enhance their leadership and project management skills. She is also a professional church consultant for Christian organizations in the United States.

Abney possesses more than three decades of experience managing Fortune 500 client relationships and helping the development of corporate and nonprofit organizations in project management, executive leadership, and strategic planning. She also has experience consulting in community engagement, ministry programming, best business practices, and church administration.

Abney earned her Ed.D. in ethical leadership from Olivet Nazarene University, where she now serves as an adjunct faculty member. Abney is also a Project Management Professional (PMP), and the director of programs for the Chicagoland Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI). She also holds a third-term Certification in Church Administration (CCA) designated by The Church Network (TCN) and serves on the leadership team for the TCN Chicagoland Chapter.

Abney lives in Chicago, where she is a member and church consultant for the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago.

Nathan Adams is a partner at Holland & Knight’s Tallahassee, Florida, office, practicing in complex commercial and appellate litigation with a special emphasis in healthcare and education issues as well as nonprofit and religious organizations. Adams has argued in federal courts nationwide and in state courts in Florida, Colorado, and the District of Columbia. In addition, he serves as outside legal consultant and general counsel for several organizations.

His representation of nonprofit and religious institutions has included work involving the First Amendment, the ministerial exception, church autonomy, tax-exempt structuring, governance and board issues, and intellectual property rights. Before joining Holland & Knight, Adams worked for the Florida Executive Office of the Governor and the Florida Department of Education, including the Division of Florida Colleges and Board of Governors.

Adams earned his Ph.D. in international political economy from the University of Florida, his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College. His organizational memberships include serving as a board director with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend; serving on the steering committee for the Federalist Society in Tallahassee; and serving on the board of Advocates International, a global organization providing legal aid in the areas of family and community, religious freedom, justice for the poor, the sanctity of life, and more.

Ted R. Batson Jr. is a CPA and tax attorney. He serves as a partner and Professional Practice Leader–Tax for CapinCrouse LLP, a national CPA and consulting firm, helping the Christian nonprofit community from the firm’s Indianapolis office. He has more than 25 years of experience working with nonprofits, donors, and others in the exempt organization community.

Batson is a frequent speaker at national nonprofit sector events, including the Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference and Missio Nexus Mission Leaders Conference. He is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Trust, Estate, and Gift Technical Resource Panel and a frequent speaker at the AICPA’s annual National Estate Planning Conference, where he lectures on charitable giving tools and techniques. In addition, Batson is the chairman of the board of Charitable Allies, an Indianapolis-based legal aid firm providing legal and consulting services to exempt organizations.

Batson earned his law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. He received an MBA degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He earned his undergraduate degree from Asbury University.

Thomas Berg is the James L. Oberstar Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. He teaches and writes on religious liberty, constitutional law, and intellectual property, and supervises students in the school’s religious liberty appellate clinic, which files briefs in cases before the US Supreme Court and appellate courts.

He is the author of five books—including a leading casebook, Religion and the Constitution (with Michael McConnell and Christopher Lund), and The State and Religion in a Nutshell—as well as more than 150 scholarly and popular articles and book chapters, and more than 70 briefs in the Supreme Court and other appellate courts.

Berg has won awards for his religious liberty scholarship and advocacy from the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, the DePaul University College of Law, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, and the Christian Legal Society.

Berg has degrees from the University of Chicago, in both law and religious studies; from Oxford University, in philosophy and politics (as a Rhodes Scholar); and from Northwestern University, in journalism.

Gerald Cipolla is the owner and principal attorney of the Cipolla Law Group, a full service immigration law firm in Chicago. Cipolla has been practicing law since 2000 and has successfully assisted thousands of businesses, professionals, investors, and families as they navigate the maze of immigration law.

Cipolla earned his law degree from DePaul University, a master of law (LL.M.) in Chinese and international law from City University of Hong Kong in China, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Chicago, and a MBA degree from DePaul University. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

He has written for numerous publications on immigration topics, and co-authored sections covering immigration law in Richard Hammar’s Pastor, Church & Law, Fifth Edition.

As an experienced pastor, David Fletcher knows church life. As a professor, he delivers insightful material. As a seasoned coach, Fletcher helps people grow.

Fletcher is often called The Dean of Executive Pastors. He was a pastor for 35 years in churches ranging in size from 1,000 to 8,000 members. He oversaw single and multisite churches, as well as churches with mergers, camps, schools, apartments, and cafés.

He founded XPastor in 2003 and its free articles from hundreds of authors have become a principal resource for leaders in a complex church world. The organization’s annual XP-Seminar is one of Church Law & Tax’s perennially recommended church management conferences.

With degrees from Dallas Seminary and executive education at the Kellogg School of Management and the Harvard Business School, Fletcher brings an objective perspective, vast experience, biblical principles, and best practices. He teaches Doctor of Ministry students at Dallas Seminary and ETS India, and has written books and scores of articles for national publications.

With his wife, Tami, he loves to walk the hills near their home in Austin, Texas. Fletcher also loves scuba diving in rivers, lakes, missile silos, and the world’s oceans.

Lina Yen Hughes is the founder of Yen Hughes Law, an immigration law firm in Sacramento, California, representing churches, denominations, mission agencies, and religious workers. Hughes helps clients obtain temporary visas, permanent residency, and citizenship. She also consults employers on immigration strategy and I-9 compliance.

Hughes earned her law degree from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law and her undergraduate degree from the University of California-Berkeley. She speaks Mandarin Chinese.

Hughes is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is a board member of the Christian Legal Society’s Sacramento chapter; she also serves on the national board of directors of Christian Legal Society.

Hughes co-authored sections covering immigration law in Richard Hammar’s Pastor, Church & Law, Fifth Edition.

Scott Landon is the executive pastor of administration for Wheaton Bible Church in Illinois, where he has served since 2004 overseeing the church’s day-to-day operations. Landon previously served as a partner with national CPA and consulting firm CapinCrouse LLP; as director of accounting and as a missionary for the Evangelical Free Church of America; as director of internal audit for a large retail company; and as a manager with Deloitte Haskins & Sells.

Landon earned his undergraduate degree from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs. He has also served on the boards of two international mission organizations.

Tim Samuel is a CPA and the chief financial officer of Bridgeway Community Church in Columbia, Maryland. Bridgeway is a non-denominational, multicultural church led by Dr. David Anderson, a noted author on race relations. By celebrating the diversity of colors, classes, and cultures, Bridgeway has become an international model for multicultural ministry, attracting more than 4,000 people weekly from more than 50 nations.

Samuel serves as a board-member for the Maryland Association of CPA’s board of directors.

He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from Messiah College in Pennsylvania.

Samuel excels in the art of inclusion and being a bridge builder, and he loves what he does as a CPA. He lives in Columbia with his wife and their three children.

Robert Showers co-founded Simms Showers, a Baltimore, Maryland-based law firm, in 2002 as a principal partner and now heads up the firm’s new Northern Virginia/Metropolitan D.C. office. His practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation and church, nonprofit, and business law. Showers regularly handles numerous lawsuits for and against churches, nonprofits, and small businesses. He also provides guidance on a variety of matters, including risk management, tax exemption, land use, and employment issues to defend against current or future legal liability.

Showers has served hundreds of churches, denominations, and nonprofits nationwide throughout his career, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Assemblies of God, the Presbyterian Church of America, Americans United for Life, and Youth With a Mission. Prior to entering private practice in 1989, Showers served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and served as Executive Director of the National Obscenity Enforcement Unit (NOEU), later called the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), within the US Department of Justice.

Showers sits on numerous boards. He serves as past president on the national board of directors of Christian Legal Society, and as chairman of Gateway Community Church. He previously served as a member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee.

Showers earned his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1980. He earned his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University in 1977.

Theresa Lynn Sidebotham founded Telios Law in 2012, where she advises organizations in the United States and internationally, with a focus on religious and nonprofit law, employment law, child safety, and investigations, including large historical investigations.

Telios Law advises on legal and policy issues, with an emphasis on First Amendment protections, international law, child protection policies and practices, and employment practices. It also coordinates legal audits and assists with internal investigations, including sexual harassment, child abuse, and other alleged misconduct investigations.

She also directs Telios Teaches, an affiliated company that provides training in sexual harassment, child protection, and other human resources issues.

Sidebotham graduated first in her class from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She was mentored by judges at the Colorado Court of Appeals and worked at a large law firm serving religious institutions and doing general litigation before opening her firm. Sidebotham grew up as a missionary kid, and also served as a missionary with her husband before returning to the US and attending law school.

Rev. Nicholas A. Smith is the executive pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, New Jersey, where he assists pastor/teacher Bishop David G. Evans.

Smith accepted Christ at the age of nine and knew he was called to ministry. He frequently went to prisons and churches to minister, teach, and preach during his adolescence. He became licensed to preach at the age of nineteen, and was ordained as a minister three years later. In December of 2003, Smith became executive pastor at Bethany Baptist, a role that involves assisting Bishop Evans, overseeing staff, operations, and church ministries.

Smith’s life scripture is Jer. 1:5–10. His desire is to preach a life-giving word for souls to be saved and to teach a life-altering word to build up the Christian community to fulfill their God-given purpose.

Erik Stanley is an attorney with Provident Law in Scottsdale, Arizona. Stanley has more than 20 years of experience handling religious liberty cases and advising religious institutions on various matters, including employment, tax, zoning and land use, and bylaws and policies.

Stanley previously served as senior counsel and the director of the Center for Christian Ministries at Alliance Defending Freedom. He has litigated cases involving churches and ministries across the United States and has argued numerous cases in both trial and appeals courts. He also helped represent clients before the United States Supreme Court in two cases (Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017) and McCreary County v. ACLU (2005)).

Stanley has been interviewed by numerous outlets and written many articles on the topics of religious liberty and church autonomy, appearing in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and World magazine, among others.

Stanley earned his master of divinity from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in 2013. He earned his law degree in 1999 from Temple University School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree from Asbury College in 1995.

Myron Steeves is founder and senior attorney at the Church Law Center of California, and former dean of Trinity Law School. Steeves serves charities, religious organizations, trade associations, political organizations, and higher education institutions through his practice by offering sound legal guidance from a faith-based perspective.

Steeves is an active member of the nonprofit committees of both the California Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He frequently speaks on a wide array of issues involving Christianity and the law, including the integration of faith and law, legal careers as tools for Christian ministry, law and public policy, and law and theology

He earned his law degree from Georgetown University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Biola University.

Kaylyn Varnum is a partner and the assistant national director for tax services at Batts Morrison Wales & Lee (BMWL), an Orlando-based national CPA firm serving churches and nonprofits. Varnum’s primary responsibilities include performing research and analysis related to technical tax issues at the federal, state, and local tax levels; providing tax advisory services for exempt organizations; obtaining and maintaining federal, state, and local tax exemptions; and evaluating exempt organizations’ tax compliance.

Varnum has been a conference speaker on nonprofit taxation issues at both the local and national levels. She is a contributing editor of BMWL’s Nonprofit Feature Articles and Special Alerts.

Varnum earned her undergraduate degree in accounting from Stetson University, where she graduated with highest honors.