Arena - Experts

MEET THE EXPERTS

Dr. Craig Strickland
Dr. Craig Strickland began Hope Church in 1988 in a living room with 8 original members. Now approaching its 25th year, Hope has reached out to people and churches of all denominations and faith communities with a message filled with hope and guided by a commitment to servant-leadership at every level. Today, Hope welcomes an average of 7000 members and visitors every weekend. Craig graduated from Messick High School. After high school, he graduated from Memphis State University and received both his Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry Degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He was the founding member and Chairman of the Board of The Memphis Leadership Foundation and has served on numerous committees involving church growth. He is currently Chaplain of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, The Germantown Police Department and Chief Chaplain of the Tennessee Public Safety Network. Craig lives in Germantown with his wife, Lee, and their two dogs, Barklee & Charlee. They have three adult children; Emily (married to Scott), Tucker, and Taylor, and two grandchildren, Scottie and West.

Dr. Eli Morris
A lifelong resident of Memphis, Eli graduated from Overton High school followed by his B.S. from Memphis State in 1977. Eli received his Master of Divinity with honors from Memphis Theological Seminary in 1990 and his Doctor of Ministry in 1996 from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Eli’s concern for the poor has been a hallmark of his work at Hope. His current role at Hope as the Associate & Urban Ministry Pastor finds him each and every day engaging with and ministering to those who live with the challenges of poverty. He serves on the boards of STREETS Ministry, Oasis of Hope, Luke 4:18 Ministries, and MIFA Emergency Services. Eli also is the pastor of our unique Sunday evening service, The Stirring. An avid runner, Eli has logged over 22,000 miles and has run in all 50 states. Eli lives in East Memphis with his wife Patty and two cats. They have three adult children; Tommy (married to Jessica), Avery (married to Destiny), and Lindsay (married to Austin).

Rev. Rufus Smith
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Rufus joined the Hope staff September 1, 2010. Before moving to Memphis and Hope he served 12 years as the Sr. Pastor of City of Refuge Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), a diverse, dynamic and socially active congregation as well as the Founder of the Forge For Families, a Community Development Center empowering inner city families. He was the Chairman of the Evangelical Presbyterian Urban Ministry Network and served 3 years as the lead Chaplain for the NBA Houston Rockets. Ordained in 1988 after studies at Houston Baptist University majoring in Theology and Psychology, his passion is preaching, teaching and discipleship development. In addition he advises on several other local and national Boards. Rufus loves baseball, reading, fishing and walking, but his claim to fame and fun is His wife Jacqueline of 28 years along with their three adult children, Ruth Abigail, Rufus V, and Rhoda.

Leslie P. Schilling, MA, RD, CSSD, LDN
Leslie is a master’s level, registered/licensed dietitian who specializes in disordered eating, sports nutrition, and weight management. She received her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees both from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Leslie has worked with recreational, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes and has worked in many practice settings including research, acute care and outpatient pediatrics, adult and pediatric weight management, as well as athletic training facilities. She has also served as an adjunct instructor in the Graduate Nutrition Program at the University of Memphis. Leslie has been invited to provide nutrition programs and presentations to teams and professionals across the nation. She also reviews and writes for local media, professional and consumer publications. Leslie is a member of Sport, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN), Behavioral Health Nutrition (BHN), and Nutrition Entrepreneurs (NE) Practice Groups of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), Sport Dietetics-USA, the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA), the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (EDCT), the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) and, mostly recently accepted into The National Speakers Association (NSA). Leslie is the owner of Schilling Nutrition Therapy, LLC in Memphis, TN.

G. Scott Morris, MD, M. Div.
Dr. Scott Morris is founder and Executive Director of the Church Health Center, which has as its mission to seek to reclaim the Church’s biblical commitment to care for our bodies and spirits. The Church Health Center opened in 1987 to provide primary health care to low-income, uninsured working people of Memphis. The CHC, a health care ministry supported by a broad base of the faith and medical communities, provides care to over 55,000 patients in its Clinic, which now includes primary care, dentistry, optometry, counseling and social work services. The CHC has also developed its Wellness and Faith Community Outreach ministries where the best disease prevention efforts of medicine are combined with the pastoral and spiritual care of the faith community. Dr. Morris has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University, and M.D. from Emory University. He is a board certified family practice physician and an ordained United Methodist minister. Dr. Morris writes a monthly column for the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Kurt Walter Tauer, MD
Kurt Walter Tauer is a Board certified oncologist at the West Clinic in Memphis, TN. He has served on the local Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society and on the executive committee of the Baptist Cancer Institute, and as Chairman of the Cancer Committee of Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis as well as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at Baptist Memorial Hospital. He has been past president of Community Oncology Alliance and has served on the Board of Directors of the Cancer Clinics of Excellence. Dr. Tauer graduated cum laude from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, followed by a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He began his affiliation with The West Clinic in 1985. Dr. Tauer has co-authored more than 45 abstracts and two dozen papers, which have appeared in such publications as Proceedings from the American Society, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Treatment Report, and The New England Journal of Medicine. His research activities have focused largely on the analysis of high-dose chemotherapy and peripheral blood stem cell infusion and on the study of various methods of cell therapy.

Kyle Rote, Jr.
He’s spoken in Washington, D.C. for 3 U.S. Presidents and in London for Prince Philip. Kyle is also a Soccer Hall of Famer—and was the first American born player to win the North American Soccer League’s Scoring Title. Today, he is the retired CEO of a 26 year old sports agency he started that has represented hundreds of this generation’s greatest athletes. Author of 4 books including publisher ThomasNelson’s recent release of Living Life In the Zone (with co-author Dr. Joe Pettigrew) a 40 day “easy to read” devotional using short stories of modern sports and business personalities to teach and reaffirm eternal Biblical truths. Kyle and his wife Mary Lynne have been married for 40 years while having the additional joy of raising Will, John, Josie and Ben in their 31 years of residency in Memphis, Tennessee.