SENIOR EDITOR
Gary David Stratton combines a deep passion for transforming culture through higher education and the arts with a lifelong commitment to spiritual awakening. Gary’s obsession with integrating the life of the Spirit with the life of the mind and the life of the arts has propelled him to a unique career of developing cultural leaders from Hollywood to the Ivy League.
In the world of higher education, Gary holds a PhD on the impact of Jonathan Edwards’ theology of spiritual awakening in American Higher Education and has served as a VP, Dean, Director, and Professor at six universities in the U.S. and China. Gary is currently the Program Director and Chair for the Christian Ministries Department and Lead Teacher for Worldview Formation and Film at Bethel University. In 2007 he was named to the faculty of the Institute for Campus Revival and Awakening at Yale University and a Senior Fellow for the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).
On planet Hollywood, Gary currently directs the Bezalel Hollywood training initiative, and has served as the Executive Director for Act One: a nonprofit organization training Christians for careers in mainstream media. Act One graduates include the Emmy Award-winning producer of Intervention (A&E), writers for shows such as The Unit (CBS), Justified (FX), Leverage (TNT), and Hawaii Five-O (CBS), as well as creative staff and producers for films such as The Blind Side, and 2012 Academy Award winner The Artist.
In the world of ministry, Gary is working with David and Anita Ruis, Don Williams and a swarm of Millennial leaders to plant a next-generation-focused church in the heart of Hollywood. Basileia Hollywood is a community of faith where young artists, professionals, and non-profit leaders can find the spiritual and relational support they need to survive and even thrive in the entertainment industry while helping meet the needs of the poor and oppressed in the city.
Gary is married to the most wonderful (and longsuffering) woman in the world (see below), and has four remarkable children.
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Sue Stratton has developed a unique and diverse skill set from her broad background in the worlds of business, ministry, education, and entertainment.
In the business world, Sue has served as moderator for the pdfzone.com website, and a staff writer for Publish magazine—where she interviewed Fortune 500 executives and Ivy League business professors to discern cutting edge technological breakthroughs and marketing strategies.
In the world of ministry, Sue has served as a campus ministry director at two secular colleges, a director of spiritual formation at a Christian college, and as Vice President of a national youth ministry. In the academic realm, she has been both a Biblical Studies professor, and an Associate Dean of Students. In Hollywood, Sue serves as a spiritual director, writer, and manager.
Sue holds a Masters degree in Old Testament studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and has done enough graduate work to be a doctor of something. Her passionate teaching in classrooms, retreat centers, and coffee shops, has richly blessed her students, her Hollywood mentees, her children, and her adoring husband.
WEBMASTER
Chris Friesen is a Web Developer at General Electric. He claims that being somewhat at a social disadvantage has led to his developing his other skills. Chris is a musician, an elite gamer, and a programmer. Beyond his work at GE, Chris’ freelance company Focus 44, a full-service media and photography studio focused on bringing many facets of media together. He lives in Twin Cities with his awesome wife, ‘The Marie’.
MANAGING EDITOR
Tim Basselin (bio coming)
