Panel Discussion with President Michael D. Hammond

Panelists

Gregory Deddo, Assistant Professor of Arts, Gordon College
Dr. Scott M. Gibson, Lecturer in Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Bryn Gillette '01, Artist and Teacher, Charlotte Christian School
Bruce Herman, Professor Emeritus of Arts, Gordon College
Sarah White, COO, Lausanne Movement

Overview

What does it mean for Christians to be ambassadors of the Kingdom of God in a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world? This panel explores the contemporary global moment facing the Church and considers how all believers, through their particular gifts, vocations, and callings, are invited to participate in the work of bearing witness to Christ. Christians are called to make and cultivate in ways that serve others and point toward the renewing work of God. 

Drawing on the idea of Christians as makers and builders, the conversation will consider ambassadorship not simply as a specialized role for missionaries or church leaders, but as a vocation shared by the whole people of God. What does faithful representation of Christ look like in different cultural and professional contexts? What does the global Church need from Christians in this particular moment, and how might we understand our own work as a form of gospel service? Within this broader calling, the panel will give particular attention to artists and cultural makers: What distinctive opportunities and responsibilities do those working through the arts have to engage culture, foster human flourishing, and bear witness to the gospel? 

Bringing together perspectives from church leadership, global missions, theology, pastoral ministry, and the arts, the panel seeks to broaden our understanding of vocation as a means through which every believer can participate in God’s work in the world, while exploring how the particular vocation of the artist can illuminate this shared calling. 

Panelists

Gregory Deddo

Gregory Deddo is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in painting, photography, and video. He graduated with a BA in studio art from Judson University and holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. His work explores the nature of images and media as they relate to history, memory, and identity. Deddo has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions across the county. He has also received several grants and scholarships in support of his work and is a Harvey Fellow. He lives in South Hamilton with his wife, two sons and daughter.

Dr. Scott M. Gibson 

Scott M. Gibson (D.Phil. Oxford) currently serves as the Haddon W. Robinson Chair of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Lecturer in Preaching at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, where he served as the founding director of the Ph.D. in Preaching Program and the David E. Garland Chair of Preaching. Scott served as a pastor and interim pastor in Western Pennsylvania, including New Bethlehem, Clarion, and New Castle. He is co-founder of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, editor of The Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, and author and editor of several books on preaching. Scott and his wife Rhonda split their time between New Castle and New England. 

Bryn Gillette  

Bryn Gillette is an artistic ambassador of Jesus who stewards his gifts to make the Kingdom of God visible. Married with four children, he is a full-time teacher of art and art history at Charlotte Christian School in North Carolina and maintains a studio art practice of painting, writing, and speaking. Bryn completed his undergraduate degree at Gordon College and he holds an MFA in painting from Western Connecticut State University. He is regularly invited to paint and speak during live events to capture the real time expressions of the Holy Spirit as a “visual scribe,” and his studio commissions are in private and corporate collections around the world. He is a co-founder of the non-profit TeamOne:27, a ministry supporting orphans in Haiti, and since 2014, Bryn has also served as artist-in-residence for the Lausanne Movement. 

Bruce Herman

Bruce Herman lives with his wife, Meg, and extended family in Gloucester, Massachusetts—where he has his art studio. Herman’s paintings, prints and drawings have been shown in more than 150 exhibitions—in Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles—and internationally in Italy, England, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, and Israel. His work is featured in many public and private art collections including the Vatican Museum of Modern Religious Art in Rome; The Cincinnati Museum of Fine Arts print collection; The Grunewald Print Collection of the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; deCordova Museum in Boston; the Cape Ann Museum; and in many colleges and university collections throughout the United States and Canada. Bruce Herman’s art has been published widely in books and journals. His new book, Makers by Nature (IVP Academic Press, 2025) is available through all major book distributors. 

Professor Herman taught and curated exhibitions at Gordon College from 1984 to 2023 and was the founding chair of the Art Department (begun in 1988). He held the Lothlórien Distinguished Chair in Fine Arts–Gordon College’s first endowed faculty appointment.  

Herman completed both BFA and MFA degrees at Boston University College of Fine Arts under American artists Philip Guston, James Weeks, David Aronson, Reed Kay and Arthur Polonsky. 

Sarah White 

Sarah White has served with the Lausanne Movement since 2014 and currently serves as Chief Operations Officer, overseeing human resources, data, operations, and logistics for global gatherings and consultations. Before joining Lausanne, she spent six years working in higher education administration at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where she also earned her Master of Divinity. 

Sarah lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Steven, and their two daughters. Steven serves as lead pastor of First Baptist Church of Salem, where he and Sarah serve together in local mission. They are grateful for the gift of serving as a family—both in their local community and through Lausanne’s global mission.