Marva Collins
Relighting the Candles of Excellence in America
Thursday, January 5
Schoolteacher Marva Collins founded Chicago's Westside Preparatory School in 1975. The success of the school and her teaching methods brought her media attention and inspired a made-for-TV film.
Early Music Ensemble
Pastimes with Good Friends: English Music from St. Godric to Queen Elizabeth
Friday, January 6
The Early Music Ensemble is based in Grand Rapids and consists of six instrumentalists and vocalists dedicated to the performance of music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
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Wesley Pippert
Land of Promise, Land of Strife: Israel at 40
Monday, January 9
Wesley Pippert is the former United Press International Bureau Chief in Israel and a Fellow at the Institute of Politics and the Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University.
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Moorhead Kennedy
The Great Satan--Why Middle Eastern Extremists Hate the United States
Tuesday, January 10
Moorhead Kennedy was one of 52 hostages that were held for 14 months after the United States Embassy in Iran was siezed by anti-American militants.
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William Diehl
In Search of Faithfulness: Lessons from the Christian Community
Wednesday, January 11
William Diehl realized after his 32-year career that he only talking about religious matters twice with associates. As a churchgoing businessman, he ventured to survey the religious faith of more than 170 business leaders and wrote a book called "In Search of Faithfulness" with the results.
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Daniel Van Ness
Punishing Criminals Without Punishing Ourselves: A New Perspective on Criminal Justice
Thursday, January 12
Daniel Van Ness, president of Justice Fellowship, has directed efforts to reform overworked, underfunded, and ineffective criminal justice systems using restorative principles and programs.
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Tony Cox
The Death of Thought: Brainwashing and Occultism in the Contemporary Church
Friday, January 13
Tony Cox is the director of the documentary Vain Glory, which demonstrates how easy it is to be deceived by a pseudo-charismatic cult.
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The Brazeal Dennard Chorale
In Concert
Monday, January 16
Founded in 1972, the Brazeal Dennard Chorale is a group of highly trained singers dedicated to developing the choral art to its highest level.
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James Bratt
Cotton Mather, Joe McCarthy, Leo Peters and the Hunt for Witches
Tuesday, January 17
Calvin alum James Bratt is an associate professor of History at Calvin College. He received his PhD from Yale University and specializes is colonial American history and American intellectual and religious history.
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Ernest Callenbach
Ectopia: Back to the Future?
Wednesday, January 18
Ernest Callenbach is an author and editor. His best known book is Ecotopia, which discusses what an ecologically sustainable future society could look like.
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Nien Cheng
Life and Death in Shanghai
Thursday, January 19
Nien Cheng (pen name for Yao Nien-Yuan) is the author of Life and Death in Shanghai, which was written while she was in exile in the United States. It tells the story of Cheng's arrest during the first days of the Cultural Revolution, her more than six years' confinement, release, persecution, efforts to leave China, and early life in exile.
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Friends of the Groom
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Jericho
Friday, January 20
Thought-provoking, original Christian drama comes to The January Series with the appearance of Friends of the Groom, a nationally-known theatre group founded 16 years ago by Tom Long, the group's director, playwright, and chief storyteller. Committed to proclaiming the Christian message with a unique blend of humor, story, and challenging content, this award-winning, inter-denominational group of adult performers travels to congregations around the country using drama to build Christian community and to inspire individual faith. The group's name refers to the image of Christ as the bridegroom in the New Testament. For The January Series they will perform A Second Book of Acts, a blend of humor, confession, scripture, and three people's true stories of their encounters with God, written by Long, complete with a surprise ending.
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Douglas Groothuis
Trouble in Paradise: Unmasking and Confronting the New Age
Monday, January 23
Douglas Groothuis is a philosopher who serves as Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary and is the author of Unmasking the New Age.
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Alvin Plantinga
Faith and Evolution
Tuesday, January 24
Alvin Plantinga is the 2017 Templeton Prize Laureate, the inaugural holder of the Jellema Chair in Philosophy at Calvin College, the John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, and a member of the Board of Advisors for the Center on Culture and Civil Society at the Independent Institute. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale University.
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Russell G. Mawby
America's Hidden Resource: Volunteerism and Philanthropy
Wednesday, January 25
Russell Mawby started work at the W.K. Kellogg foundation in 1964, co-founded the Council of Michigan Foundations, and led the effort to launch the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University.
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