MEET THE
SPEAKERS
Dr. Jürgen Bühler
President, ICEJ
Dr. Jürgen Bühler serves as President of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, and travels the globe speaking on the Church being rightly related to Israel along with other biblical and prophetic themes. He is a trained physicist with a doctorate in chemistry from Israel’s esteemed Weizmann Institute, as well as an ordained minister with the German Pentecostal Federation (BFP).
David R. Parsons
Senior Vice President, ICEJ
Rev. David Parsons is an author, attorney, journalist, minister and Middle East specialist who serves as Senior Vice President for the ICEJ. On staff in Jerusalem for the past 28 years, Parsons has been interviewed by hundreds of media outlets and travels the world to speak about Israel and our prophetic times.
Dr. Gerald McDermott
USA
Gerald McDermott teaches at Jerusalem Seminary and the Reformed Episcopal Seminary (ACNA) in Philadelphia. He retired from the Anglican Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham AL in 2020. Before that he was the Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion at Roanoke College, where he taught courses for 26 years in the history of Christianity and Christian theology of world religions. He has written, co-written or edited 25 books and hundreds of articles.
His academic research focus has been three-fold: Jonathan Edwards, Christian understandings of other religions, and the meaning of Israel. One of the leading authorities on “America’s theologian,” McDermott has produced eight books on Edwards. His Theology of Jonathan Edwards (with Michael McClymond; Oxford University Press, 2012) won Christianity Today’s 2013 award for Top Book in Theology/Ethics.
His most recent book is A New History of Redemption: The Work of the Jewish Messiah Through the Millennia He has written or co-written seven books in the theology of religions.
McDermott is a priest in the Reformed Episcopal Church, which is a diocese in the ACNA. He lectures and podcasts frequently. He and Jean have three grown sons and fourteen grandchildren
Dr. Susan Michael
USA, ICEJ
For more than 40 years, Susan has pioneered the development of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem in the United States and around the world. She currently serves as the ministry’s USA President and is a member of the ICEJ’s international Board of Directors.
Susan’s involvement with the ICEJ began as a graduate student at Jerusalem University College in 1980, the same year that the Christian Embassy was first established. Upon completing her master’s degree in Judeo-Christian Studies, she returned from Israel with a heart to further the Embassy’s mission among fellow Americans. After a season assisting the ministry’s international leadership to host a series of high-profile pro-Israel conferences across the USA, she was asked to head up the ICEJ’s USA Branch.
In addition to a master’s degree in Judeo-Christian Studies, she holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from Oral Roberts University and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Piedmont International University in 2018. Susan is an author, gifted teacher, and international speaker. She is often called upon to address complex and sensitive issues such as antisemitism, Islam, Jewish-Christian relations, and current events in the Middle East to a diverse range of audiences. Her experience working with Arabs, Jews, and Christians from many national and denominational backgrounds has equipped her to handle delicate topics central to an understanding of Israel with extraordinary clarity and grace.
Dr. André Villeneuve
USA
Dr. André Villeneuve is a Catholic theologian and biblical scholar, currently Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He earned his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2013 and also holds advanced ecclesiastical degrees in Sacred Theology and Sacred Scripture from Rome. A Canadian convert who returned to the Catholic Church after evangelical and Messianic Jewish involvement in Israel, he has worked extensively in Jerusalem in biblical studies, catechesis, and Christian–Jewish relations. He is the founder of Catholics for Israel, author
of major works on nuptial symbolism in Scripture, and serves on the board of the Association of Hebrew Catholics as well as a Senior Fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.
Rev. Dr. Samuel J. Tedder
Finland
Rev. Dr. Samuel Tedder is a biblical scholar and an experienced pastor and missionary. He grew up in Finland, and has served churches there, but also in the U.S.A and Canada. Samuel has been married to his wife Helena for 27 years and they have four children. Together with his family, he served as a missionary in Ethiopia (2020–2025) developing a Bible school and teaching at several theological institutions. Currently, Samuel is a lead pastor in the Pentecostal Church of Turku in Finland.
Samuel did his Master’s degree in Ministerial Studies in Finland (2006), but continued to do a second Master’s degree in Biblical Studies at Regent College, Canada (2010). He received his Doctoral degree in New Testament Studies from Durham
University, UK (2018), where he worked under the supervision of Prof. John Barclay and did his research on Paul’s theology and the letter to the Galatians with its connections to the Scriptures of Israel. His PhD thesis has been published with the title: Children of Laughter and the Re-Creation of Humanity: The Theological Vision and Logic of Paul's Letter to the Galatians (Cascade, 2020). Samuel's other academic publications include: “Does the Persuasive Power of Some Parables of Jesus Depend on Their Connections with Israel's Scriptures? — Developing a Methodology with Matthew 13” in Parables as Persuasive Devices: Towards a New Era in Parable Research (WUNT II. MohrSiebeck, 2025); and “Children of Promise: Ishmael, Isaac and Isaiah in an Intertextual Reading of Gal 4:21–5:1” in Nordic Interpretations of the New Testament: Challenging Texts and Perspectives (SANt Vol. 5, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2020).
Christopher Kuehl
USA
Cristopher Kuehl is an author, speaker, and teacher known for bringing theological clarity to some of the Church's most contested questions. During his first stay in Israel more than twenty years ago, Kuehl sensed a calling to help build a bridge between Israel and the Church, a conviction that has since shaped his writing, teaching, and vocational path. As the founder of Present Witness, a project that translates theological work into everyday language and co-host of the One New Man podcast, he is a trusted voice in translating complex theology into accessible insight for global audiences. He is also the author of Is God A Zionist, Finding God’s Story in a World Obsessed with Israel.
Andrew J. Nolte
USA
Andrew J. “A. J.” Nolte, Ph.D., is an associate professor of politics at Regent University’s Robertson School of Government and chair of the Ph.D. in Government, Master of Arts in Government, and Master of Arts in International Development programs. In May 2024, Dr. Nolte launched Regent University’s Israel Institute, which educates the Regent community and the public about the history and politics of the modern state of Israel. He is the co-chair of the Christian cohort at the Academic Engagement Network, which seeks to combat campus antisemitism in the United States, and a member of the Virginia Israel Advisory Board.
Rev. Canon Dr. Jules Gomes
USA
The Rev. Canon Dr. Jules Gomes (BA, BD, MTh, PhD) has a doctorate in the Hebrew Bible from the University of Cambridge. He has taught the Tanakh for over 30 years in Protestant and Catholic seminaries, secular universities, and in churches. He is a canon in the Diocese of All Nations in the Anglican Church of North America. Currently a journalist based in Rome, he has been covering the Vatican and reporting widely on antisemitism in Europe for the last six years. Gomes is the author of five books and several academic articles. He was a volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces during Operation Cast Lead and was stationed at the Kerem Shalom army base near the Gaza border.
Dr. Tricia Miller Ph. D.
Director of CAMERA's Partnership of Christians and Jews.
Rev. Dr. Tricia Miller is an Evangelical Christian who works as the Director of the Partnership of Christians and Jews for CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis. The Partnership provides a powerful response to anti-Christian and anti-Jewish voices in the global media, combats anti-Zionism in the church, tells the truth about Israel, and opposes all forms of antisemitism.
In addition to her job at CAMERA, Tricia is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God and is president of Christians and Jews United for Israel (CJUI). CJUI was founded to unite Christians and Jews in support of Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign Jewish State, its
right to a united Jerusalem as its eternal capital, and the right of Jews to live in Judea and Samaria, the biblical heartland of Israel.
Tricia also worked part-time from Dec 2021 - 2024 as the Education Coordinator for the ICEJ USA.
Tricia has a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont CA, and wrote her dissertation on Christian antisemitism in relation to the book of Esther. Her second book, Jews and Anti-Judaism in Esther and the Church, reveals the relevance
of the story of Esther to controversy over the existence of Israel, and to the role anti-Judaism plays in that debate. This book was written in order to expose the theological and historical errors at the root of the anti-Jewish/anti-Israel narrative for the purpose of countering Jew-hatred and strengthening Evangelical support of Israel’s right to exist and defend itself against those who seek its annihilation.
Petra Heldt Ph. D.
Israel
Dr Heldt, of German origin, resides in Israel since 1979, together with her Welsh scholar husband Malcolm F. Lowe. She is a director of the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel (ETRFI). Founded in 1966, the Fraternity studies and teaches Judaism and Christianity in Israel; developing mutual understanding between Jews and Christians, locally and internationally.
Recent projects include The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus. Since 2004, ETRFI facilitates understanding of Christianity amongst Members of Knesset and The Liaison Committee (LC). In 2010, ETRFI and B’nai B’rith Wold Center jointly reinstated the LC of 1986 to foster dialogue, understanding and relations between the Jewish and Christian communities in Israel. Amongst several awards she has received the Sir Sigmund Sternberg Award for Interfaith Understanding from the Hebrew University Jerusalem, a gold medal of the German Protestant Order of St. John and last year received The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Award to Honor Christian Allies.
Prof. Dr. Jacob Thiessen
Switzerland
(b. 1964, Loma Plata, Paraguay) is a Swiss-based New Testament scholar, professor, and church leader dedicated to deepening understanding of Scripture as the living and healing Word of God. He studied Protestant theology in Switzerland beginning in
1989 and earned his doctorate in New Testament studies with an exegetical dissertation on Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:2–53. Biblical exegesis remains both his academic focus and personal passion.
Since 2004, Thiessen has served as Rector and Lecturer at the State Theological Seminary (STH) Basel, and since 2007 as Professor of New Testament. Alongside his academic work, he serves as the leading elder of the Mennonite congregation in
Basel, embodying a fruitful integration of research, teaching, and church practice.
A central concern of his ministry and scholarship is to present the Bible as God’s healing Word—proclaimed with careful exegesis and centered on Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit. He emphasizes Scripture’s transformative power in restoring relationships with God, self, and others, and in equipping believers to live faithfully and responsibly in the world.
In addition to his work in New Testament studies, Thiessen’s current research includes engagement with the Hebrew text of the Jewish Mishnah. He regularly leads biblical study tours to Israel, Greece, and Asia Minor, enriching both his scholarship and teaching through engagement with the lands of the Bible.
Dr. Brad Young Ph. D.
USA
Brad H. Young (PhD Hebrew University) is emeritus Professor of Biblical Literature in Judaic Christian Studies in the Graduate School of Theology at Oral Roberts University. He has taught advanced language and translation courses as well as the Jewish foundations of early Christianity to graduate students for over thirty years. In addition to his well-known research on the life of Jesus, he as devoted much energy to interfaith dialogue to build better relationships between the Jewish and Christian communities.
Brad is the author of numerous books, including, Jesus the Jewish Theologian, The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation, Meet the Rabbis, and Paul the Jewish Theologian. After twenty-five years of translation work The Hebrew Heritage Bible Newer Testament become available in November, 2020 (www.hebrewheritagebible.com). The HHBNT probes the first-century environment in order to establish Greek and Hebrew linguistic foundations to help the 21st century reader to hear the message like the first-century Jewish audience. This new translation explores the faith of Jesus as the essential foundation for understanding properly the faith in Jesus.
Brad has maintained close ties with Israel and presently serves as the President of the Ecumenical Theological Research
Fraternity in Israel celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2026. He serves on the board and is a professor at Jerusalem Seminary. He also serves on the International Board of Bridges for Peace.
Renewal in Christian faith begins with the root that nourishes the branch. Brad loves to study and to teach. His message challenges listeners to return Jesus to his own family, culture, time, and place in history. The authentic Jewish Jesus comes from the distant and foreign world of Second Temple Period Judaism proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus' kingdom teachings of love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing have deep roots in Hebrew soil. Jewish wisdom from that time brings fresh meaning and practical application for all time.
Brad lives with his incredible wife and one adult son on a horse and cattle ranch in Oklahoma. Their ranch home houses
10,000 biblical studies books for research and translation work. Brad enjoys horseback riding, fishing, and outdoor activities with his family.
Gavriel Gordon
USA
Gavriel Gordon is an Indigenizing and Decolonizing Zionist Post Missionary Jewish Anglican. He is a member of Yachad
BeYeshua, a global fellowship of Jewish Christians and Messianic Jews, and attends a conservative synagogue. He has a bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Baptist University where he studied anthropology and missiology, a master's in
biblical studies from Portland Seminary, and a master’s from Marquette University where he studied historical theology with a focus on early Greek and Syriac speaking Christianity. Gordon is an author of three books, his latest, the Fundamentals of a Recovering Fundamentalist was published by Wipf and Stock in 2024, and he is currently working on two co-edited volumes to be published withWipf and Stock and Cascade and a third stand alone book: Essential Kenosis, Scripture and its Theological Reflection and Reception; Israelology: Messianic Jewish and Jewish Christian Perspectives; and “Ethical” Supersessionism? Progressive Ethics as Structurally Supersessionist where he tackles anti-Zionism and progressive sexual ethics as forms of supersessionism in light of contemporary anti-Jewish racism and its relationship to these topics in a post-October 7th world. He also occasionally
writes on his Substack The Maccabean. Lastly, he lives with his wife, child, and their dog Karl Barth in Milwaukee.
