George Hillman, the Chair and Associate Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership at Dallas Seminary, interviews Dr. Sue Edwards, Associate Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership at Dallas Seminary, and Dr. Barbara Neumann, Adjunct Professor in the Department Christian Education for Dallas Seminary, about the mentoring crisis in the church today and how authentic relationships can overcome the profound disconnect between generations.

About the Contributors

Barbara Neumann

Dr. Barbara Neumann (MACE, DMin Dallas Theological Seminary) currently serves as adjunct professor in the Educational Ministries and Leadership Department at DTS Houston. She is currently leading a project to train women in the Middle East to be leaders in their church. Her additional ministries include mentoring young leaders, church mentoring consultant, speaker, Bible study teacher, and gardener. She is coauthor of Organic Mentoring: A Mentor’s Guide to Relationships With Next Generation Women. Barbara is married to Ralph, mother of three, and grandmother of eleven perfect grandchildren.

George M. Hillman

Dr. George M. Hillman Jr. serves as the Vice President for Education and Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary. He oversees all seminary activities related to academic affairs and student life. Before stepping into this role, Dr. Hillman served as Vice President for Student Life and Chair of the Educational Ministries and Leadership department at DTS. As department chair, he oversaw the MA in Christian Education degree and the creation of the MA in Christian Leadership degree. He is also the former Director of Internships at DTS, where he developed the seminary’s ministry residency program.

Dr. Hillman came to DTS in 2002 with years of pastoral experience in churches and parachurch organizations in Texas and Georgia. He is the author or co-author of six books and several journal articles on theological field education, church educational ministry, and pastoral leadership.

Dr. Hillman has a BS in Sociology from Texas A&M University, an MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has a passion for education, spiritual formation, and leadership development.

He is a rabid college football fan and loves good barbeque. He and his wife have one grown daughter pursuing a career in the arts.

Sue G. Edwards

Dr. Edwards’s heartbeat is to reinforce ministry partnerships between men and women, which strengthen church and parachurch organizations locally and worldwide. She has over forty years of experience in Bible teaching, educational ministries, leading ministry to women, retreat and conference speaking, training teams and teachers, overseeing staff, and writing curriculum. As former minister to women at her local church she experienced healthy men and women partnerships on staff, and her passion is to pass on what she has learned. She is the author of “The Discover Together Series”, currently providing thirteen inductive Bible studies for women (www.discovertogetherseries.com), co-author of five leadership books for women, and co-editor of “Invitation to Educational Ministry, Foundations of Transformative Christian Education.” Dr. Edwards’s research and teaching interests include coaching and instructing women to teach the Bible and organic mentoring. Married to David for forty-six years, she especially enjoys romping with their five grandchildren and their two west highland terriers.