2016 Speakers

The 2016 “Truth Be Told” Conference featured many phenomenal speakers.

Opening Night Speaker:

Wednesday Night

Thuli Madonsela

Lecture Title: TBD

Thuli Madonsela is the Public Protector of South Africa, a human rights lawyer and equality expert, and Chairperson of the Centre for Reconciliation and Equality Studies. One of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2014, she was part of the team that helped draft South Africa’s final constitution, put into effect by President Nelson Mandela in 1996.

Advocator Madonsela earned a BA law degree from the University of Swaziland, an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Doctorate of Laws from the University of Stellenbosch.

Ray McCauley

Lecture Title: Change in the Church

Ray McCauley is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Rhema Bible Church North, as well as the President of Rhema Family Churches and the I.F.C.C. He is also Co-Chairman of the National Religious Leaders Council (NRLC) of South Africa. He lead his first church service at the home of his parents, Jimmy and Doreen, attended by 13 people; today the church has a 45,000 strong congregation.

Friday Night

Pelham Lessing

Lecture Title: TBD

Pelham Lessing serves as lead pastor of Crossover Community Church in Turffontein. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Bible and Theology, at Global University as well as postgraduate degrees in ethics and theology. He holds vocational qualifications as a teacher and counsellor and is registered with the relevant professional and accredited bodies.

He currently serves as a full time lecturer at the South African Theological Seminary in Rivonia, and as adjunct faculty in the Development Studies Department at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University where he lectures at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Plenary Speakers:

Mimi Haddad

Lecture Title: Ideas have Consequences: Justice Begins with a Consistent Reading of Scripture

Mimi Haddad is president of Christians for Biblical Equality. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary (Summa Cum Laude). She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of Durham, England. Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University awarded Mimi an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity in 2013.

Haddad is part of the leadership of Evangelicals for Justice. She is a founding member of the Evangelicals and Gender Study Group at the Evangelical Theological Society, and she served as the convener of the Issue Group 24 for the 2004 Lausanne III Committee for World Evangelization.

Miranda Pillay

Lecture Title: For the Bible Tells Me So: A Reflection on Gender Power Relations

Miranda Pillay is senior lecturer in New Testament Studies and Ethics at the University of the Western Cape.

She is also the co-ordinator of the UWC Chapter of Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians.The Circle (as it is known) encourages women of faith to write about their lived-experiences and to seek alternative ways of interpreting their faiths, Scriptures and cultures – that are liberative to women and men.

Wayne Chafunya

Lecture Title: Gift Based Ministry

Wayne Chafunya is the head of the Young Adults Ministry at Rhema Bible Church North, Randburg, its Sunday Evening Services, known as Sunday Night Live, as well as four campuses ministries (Wits University, University of Johannesburg, Midrand Campus and Monash University).

He holds a BA degree (Business Administration) (Wits University) and a Higher Diploma on Informatics (Damelin). He graduated from Rhema Bible College in 2009 after completed three years of study.

Xana McCauley

Lecture Title: Brave New World

Xana McCauley is a full time pastor at the Rhema Bible Church North, since 1983. Xana is the main conference coordinator with CBE International for the 2016 Conference. She is also the founder of GEMA, CBE SA, and founder of Hands of Compassion with her husband Pastor Alan McCauley.

She holds a Bachelors Degree in Sociology (University of Natal) and Theology (SATS). She is presently working towards her Masters in Theology.

She is a Committee Member of WWSOSA and continues to advocate for justice.

Rethie van Niekerk

Lecture Title: Surprised by the Word of God

Rethie (Margeretha) van Niekerk is a pastor at the Dutch Reformed Church in Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, where she has served in full time ministry since 2000. She holds a Master’s Degree (Cum Laude) in “Gender, Health and Theology” from the University of Stellenbosch.

Rethie has been a member of the Moderature of the Eastern Cape Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church since 2007 and was elected as a member of the DRC General Synod Moderamen in 2015.

Workshop Speakers:

Stanley Arumugam

Lecture Title: Gender Equality and Human Rights

Stanley Arumugam is the International HR director of ActionAid (one of the top 10 development NGOs in the world). He is a South African national who joined ActionAid in 2008. Stanley has a PhD in Community Psychology and a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology, and had held senior positions in the field of human resources and organizational development in various organizations. His key interests are in the areas of international HR, leadership development and organizational design and effectiveness.

Lyn van Rooyen

Lecture Title: Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Twin Epidemics of HIV and GBV

Lyn van Rooyen is the director of CABSA, the Christian AIDS Bureau for Southern Africa, an organization that guides and support faith communities towards HIV competence, through training, mobilizing, advocacy, networking, and providing information.

Lyn has been involved in the NGO Sector full time since 2004. Her prior experience was in the field of health and business. She holds a B.Cur (Nursing) degree from RAU (now University of Johannesburg) and a MBA degree from the University of Wales. She has more than 10 years experience on a variety of non-profit boards and often acts as advisor to emerging non-profit organizations.

Domnic Misolo

Lecture Title: Constructive Engagement with Church Leaders on Biblical Equality

Domnic Misolo is the founder and executive director of Ekklesia Foundation for Gender Education (EFOGE International), a non-profit organization in Kenya championing biblical equality, gender justice and empowerment for women. Misolo is an ordained priest in the Anglican church of Kenya in the diocese of Bondo.

Marianne Louw

Lecture Title: How We Communicate Gender Inequality

Marianne Louw is a pastor at conneXions church and a graduate of the Rhema Bible Training Centre. She heads up the section of Communication and Media Studies at Monash South Africa (a campus of Monash University) and is one of South Africa’s foremost experts on interpersonal communication.

Esme Bowers

Lecture Title: The African Way to Healing the Gender Divide

Esme Bowers is the international secretary for the Lausanne movement and serves as the chair of African Women in Missions Network, training women in Africa in community development.

Emily Onyango

Lecture Title: The Challenge of Gender Based Violence in Kenya and the Response of the Church

Emily Onyango is a priest in the Anglican Church of Kenya. A Senior Lecturer at St. Paul’s University, Limuru Kenya in Ecclesiastical Studies and Christian history. Holds a PhD in History from the University of Wales. Em main areas of research are focused on history of the Church in Kenya and Gender studies. Emily’s main interest is training and empowering women and her work mainly consist of training clergy for ministry.

Bronwyn Stanford

Lecture Title: Confident Kids Created in His Image

Bronwyn Stanford has a Higher Diploma in Education and is a Rhema Bible College (South Africa) graduate. She taught in a public school for 7 years and served as a volunteer at Rhema Children’s Ministry for 13 years. She became a full-time staff member writing curriculum for children. She was ordained in 2009 and is currently the Pastor and Head of Department of the Rhema Children’s Ministry. Bronwyn has a passion to facilitate growth and development in children and see them reach their full potential.

Antoinette Erasmus

Lecture Title: Women Pastors Experiences in the Church

Antoinette Erasmus is the senior pastor of the Corpus Christi AFM Church in Midrand.

Pastor Antoinette has a Diploma in Theology and a Diploma in Pastoral Counseling from Auckland Park Theological Seminary.She did her Honors in Practical Theology at University of South Africa (UNISA) and she is currently doing research for her Masters Degree on Gender Equality in Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches.

In more than a century Pastor Antoinette was the first women to be voted Regional Leader of the Gauteng North Area, making her the first female member of the National Leaders Forum of the AFM.

Keketso Maema

Lecture Title: Working Towards Achieving SDGs By Combating Gender Based Violence

Keketso Maema is currently the CEO of the Commission for Gender Equality in South Africa.

She holds a BA degree in Sociology and Development Studies from the University of Lesotho, as well as an LLB and an LLM from Witts University.

Ms. Maema has worked for the UNICEF and the Lesotho Highlands Project. She also worked as an Associate Attorney at Nicholls, Cambanis and Associates.

She became a member of both the Constitutional Court as well as the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Janice Kaufmann- Chafunya

Lecture Title: Unseen Women in the Bible

Janice Kaufmann-Chafunya is a pastor at Rhema Bible Church and is a lover of God and his people. She studies at Rhema Bible College in 1995 and 1996 and went on to complete her bachelors in Theology and an hounours in theology at UNISA. In 2003, she started teaching at Rhema Bible College on a part time basis and became a full time Senior Lecturer in 2006. She is currently overseeing the Women’s Ministry of Rhema Bible Church.

Maclean Dlodlo

Lecture Title: Equitable Relationships: The First Steps

Maclean Ndabezinhle Dlodlo is a Christian leader currently serving with World Vision Global Centre teams as Senior Advisor for Faith and Gender in Development. His present role involves providing leadership in the development and implementation of strategies and approaches that enhance World Vision’s partnership with faith/church communities in planned and sustained response to gender injustice.

His career as a church partnership specialist with World Vision has over the years also included integrating biblical theology in developmental programmes, building local capacities for peace, and HIV&AIDS prevention, care and advocacy.

Ethel Schultz Pittaway

Lecture Title: Wounded Women in the Bible

Ethel Schultz Pittaway is a Canon (priest) in the Anglican Diocese of Port Elizabeth with a portfolio of gender issues. She serves as a change agent to elevate awareness of gender issues in the 40 parishes of the diocese and is the founder of the NPO Gender Reconciliation Association.

She facilitates courses on “Biblical Equality” and “Women in the Bible and Great Africans of the Bible” and organizes the yearly event “Women of Valour” during Women’s month as well as workshops and seminars.

Alan McCauley

Lecture Title: Jesus and Women

Alan McCauley has been a pastor at Rhema Church since 1983 and is a qualified attorney, with two degrees from Wits University (BA LLB).

He has chosen to serve the poor in full time ministry and co-founded Hands of Compassion with his wife Xana in 1986. Together they oversee the social projects of Rhema ministries, and live in intentional community. He is an active campaigner for gender equality.

Christina Landman

Lecture Title: Gender Equality in Marriage

Christina Landman is the Director Research of the Research Institute for Theology and Religion, University of South Africa. She is a Full Professor, a C-rated researcher (National Research Foundation) and Editor of Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae (accredited), subject journal of the Church History Society of Southern Africa.

Desmond Lesejane

Lecture Title: By Men, For Men, Through Men

Desmond Lesejane is pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa and the Director of Sonke Gender Justice Network.

He holds a Bachelors Degree in Church History (Honours) at UNISA and University of Natal.

Furthermore, Pastor Lesejane has held many political and religious leadership positions in South Africa.