Look Who’s Talking
Who are today’s hot speakers? Find out in part two of our series on speakers of note for faith-based meetings.
By Kate Burton
Special education teacher Jackie Pflug was flying to Cairo from Athens in 1985 when her flight was hijacked by terrorists calling themselves the “Egypt Revolution.” After landing in Malta, the terrorists shot one passenger every 15 minutes, including Pflug, who was shot in the head execution-style and left for dead.
For five hours, she drifted in and out of consciousness, playing dead until an airport crew retrieved her body on the way to the morgue. In the following years, with the help of her family, friends, and her faith, she learned to deal with the resulting brain injury, which includes impaired vision, loss of short-term memory, and epilepsy, along with a host of other problems from the traumatic experience.
She could have given up at any point along the way. Instead, she chose forgiveness and a path that’s allowed her to share her story of faith and hope with others. Today she travels nationally and internationally to speak to groups ranging from faith-based conventions to business executives, giving inspirational advice about overcoming adversity.
“If I have learned anything, it’s that we must look beyond those obstacles that get in our way and focus on what really matters,” she says. “Each of us makes choices daily to be happy or sad, positive or negative. Choose wisely.”
While Pflug’s story is unique to herself, she represents a common theme with speakers for faith-based meetings and conventions in that she ties together her own experiences with her faith—and then shows others how they can do the same.
In this second of a series on speakers of note for faith-based groups (the first appeared in the December issue), we take a look at speakers who tap into today’s most pressing issues, sharing their wisdom and insights into overcoming adversity, understanding the state of religion in the 21st century, and achieving success in everyday life situations with families, children, and maintaining overall life balance.
Overcoming Adversity
Jackie Pflug
Spreading a message of hope and encouragement to audiences around the world, Jackie Pflug’s keynote speech “The Courage to Succeed” is designed to boost morale and inspire audiences to do their best every single day. With examples from her own real-life challenges, she inspires audiences to have the courage to face challenges that confront them everyday, have more confidence in their ability to deal with change, and walk away with a renewed sense of hope, believing that anything is possible. She is also author of the book Miles to Go Before I Sleep.
Booking Information: www.jackiepflug.com or contact her directly at (952) 937-8130 or Jackie@JackiePflug.com. Pflug is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and travels from Minneapolis. Her fee is $5,000 plus expenses.
Jennifer Rothschild
At the age of 15, Jennifer Rothschild was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease that would eventually steal her eyesight along with her dreams of becoming a commercial artist and cartoonist. But that didn’t stop her from using her words and becoming a successful author, speaker, and musician. With both substance and style, Rothschild weaves together universal principles, colorful illustrations, and her signature wit in down-to-earth talks that prompt audiences to find their own unique gifts and a new vision for themselves, their work, their families, and their future. Punctuated with her own music, Rothschild’s message of encouragement has reached audiences across the country at national and regional religious conventions, as well as at Women of Faith conferences and her own Fresh Grounded Faith events.
She has six albums to her credit and is the author of six books, including her most recent, Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself. She has been featured on Dr. Phil, ABC’s Good Morning America, and the Billy Graham Television Special, as well as in such publications as Today’s Christian Woman, Virtue, and Becoming Family.
Booking Information: Go to www.jenniferrothschild.com or contact her directly at (800) 859-7992 or jr@jenniferrothschild.com. Rothschild is based in Springfield, Missouri. Her fee range is $4,000 to $10,000.
Paul Templer
One day Paul Templer had what he calls a “bad day at the office” as a safari river guide—when an enraged hippopotamus pulled him from his canoe and swallowed him headfirst up to his waist. He survived, but lost an arm in the process. And then he continued to lose, as he grew depressed, drove his girlfriend away, and faced financial ruin as a result of not being able to work. After months of despair, he made a conscious decision to change his life. Two years after the attack, he led the historic three-month 1998 Zambezi River Expedition with the help of a specially adapted kayak. He used the publicity to launch Make-A-Difference, a non-profit organization that has provided over one million dollars of support to disabled and terminally ill children worldwide. The subject of documentaries produced by the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and the BBC, Templer continues to lead extreme expeditions and has become an internationally known speaker, inspiring audiences to transform change and adversity into opportunities, take responsibility for their actions and act consistently with their values, act productively by choice rather than letting circumstances dictate their actions, and more.
Booking Information: Send an information request through the website www.paultempler.com or call (248) 885-8512. Templer is based in Birmingham, Michigan. His fee range is $5,000 to $10,000.
Religion in the 21st Century
Leonard Sweet
Voted “one of the 50 most influential Christians” in 2006 and 2007, Leonard Sweet draws on a deep knowledge of history and a hip cultural sensitivity to illustrate the state of the church in a postmodern world—and how to best prepare for the future. Drawing on concepts from his most recent book, The Gospel According to Starbucks, for example, he makes the case that the church has a lot to learn from institutions like Starbucks, while talks based on his book Soul Salsa highlight practical ideas for integrating one’s faith into modern daily life. The author of more than 100 articles, 600 published sermons, and 30 books, Sweet also addresses a host of other topics related to the church’s role in contemporary life at faith-based conventions across the U.S. and internationally, ranging from Scotland to Taiwan to New Zealand. He has held numerous academic positions and is currently the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon.
Booking Information: www.leonardsweet.com or contact Melissa Wilson at SpiritVenture Ministries at (973) 723-8746 or lenisweet@aol.com or swopforrent@yahoo.com. Sweet is based in Madison, New Jersey and Portland, Oregon. His fee range is $3,000 to $5,000.
Success in Everyday Life
Dr. Tim Kimmel
With the belief that healthy families are the foundation of a successful society, the well-known advocate Dr. Tim Kimmel offers hope to today’s families by equipping them for every age and stage of life. As executive director of the non-profit ministry Family Matters, Kimmel speaks at his own Raising Truly Great Kids conference, and is also available as a speaker for national and regional conventions. A sampling of his past speaking engagements includes Promise Keepers, Focus on the Family, FamilyLife. He has been a featured guest on such programs as The 700 Club, Moody Broadcasting’s Prime Time, and Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, among others. He can customize a topic to a particular audience, but a popular focus is based on his Grace-Based Parenting book, as well as his other books, which include Raising Kids for True Greatness, Why Christian Kids Rebel, Raising Kids Who Turn Out Right, and more.
Booking Information: Contact Family Matters at (480) 948-2545 or family@familymatters.net. Kimmel is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. His fee is negotiable.
Paul Tripp
Called one of the most popular speakers at the Presbyterian Church of America General Assembly, Paul Tripp speaks on a variety of topics relevant to everyday life. As president of Paul Tripp Ministries, a non profit organization, Tripp’s basic mission is “connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.” With a focus on how faith can benefit marriages, parenting, careers, and overall life, some of his most requested presentations include “Your Walk With God Is a Community Project” about the importance of community; “War of Words,” which focuses on the power of words and communication struggles; and “Getting to the Heart of Conflict.” More niched presentations focus on practical insights into the challenges of marriage, the universal struggles of mid-life, and the opportunities of parenting, as well as special topics just for men and others for women. In addition to being an in-demand speaker, Tripp is on the pastoral staff of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia where he preaches on Sunday evenings and leads the Ministry to Center City, and author of several books, including A Quest for More, How People Change, Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, and more.
Booking Information: Contact Steve Sarkisian, vice president of Paul Tripp Ministries, at info@paultrippministries.org or (800) 551-6595. Tripp is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Barbara Hemphil
America’s “favorite organizer” has expanded beyond helping people organize their desks to tackle organization of every kind. Building on her trademarked Taming the Paper Tiger concept, Barbara Hemphill uses the same principles to help audiences organize any aspect of their lives, from the office to technology to the convention to the home. In addition to niched topics, on a broader scale, she presents techniques for “Organized Living in a Disorganized World,” tips for finding and maintaining balance between professional and personal needs in a complex world, and “Organized Living to Answer God’s Call,” an approach that emphasizes how maintaining a physical life of order can enhance one’s spiritual life.
As author of several Taming the Paper Tiger books, a business owner, and an international speaker, Hemphill has been featured on several television programs and in publications ranging from the cover of the faith-based Guidepost magazine to The New York Times and Business Week.
Booking Information: Fill out the information request form at www.papertigerinstitute.net or call (888) 380-6799. Hemphill lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her fee range is $5,000 to $10,000.
