Advisory Board

James Bradford

James Bradford currently serves as Dean of the Business school at Vanderbilt University. He also serves on the board of directors for several leading companies and organizations, including Clarcor Corporation, Genesco, Granite Construction, and the Harpeth Capital Investment Banking Advisory Board. An ex-officio board member of the Nashville Health Care Council, Dean Bradford is active in the Nashville Chamber of Commerce’s Partnership 2010, a regional economic development initiative. He also serves as a leader in his local church, Belmont United Methodist.

Previously, Jim Bradford served in numerous capacities as an experienced corporate executive. He was president and CEO of United Glass Corporation and AFG Industries Inc., North America’s largest vertically integrated glass manufacturing and fabrication company. Prior to that, he served as AFG’s general counsel and spent 11 years in private law practice. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1969 from the University of Florida and his law degree from Vanderbilt in 1973. Dean Bradford completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School in 1997.

George Chavanikamannil

Born and raised in India, George Chavanikamannil came to the United States in 1973. He served as a manager for World Vision, a Christian humanitarian relief and development agency. In 1986, he left World Vision to start a seminary and training center in Northern India, the New Theological College (NTC). NTC is now the largest accredited Christian seminary in Northern India, training approximately 250 students each year, with a focus on

church-planting and pastoral education. Over 600 churches have been planted throughout India through the ministries of Good News for India, the non-profit established by Dr. Chavanikamannil which also supports NTC.

Timothy Tennent

Timothy Tennent currently serves as President of Asbury Theological Seminary. He was formerly the Professor of World Missions and Director of Missions Programs at Gordon-Conwell. He received his M.Div. in 1984 from Gordon-Conwell, the Th.M. in Islamic studies from Princeton Theological Seminary, and did graduate work in linguistics (TESL) at the University of Georgia. He completed his Ph.D. in non-western Christianity with a focus on Hinduism and Indian Christianity in 1998 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Dr. Tennent has also taught missions at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia, where he was honored as teacher of the year in 1995.

Dr. Tennent has ministered and taught in China, Nigeria, India and Eastern Europe. Ordained in the United Methodist Church, he has pastored churches in Georgia and continues to preach regularly in churches throughout New England and across the country. Dr. Tennent is the author of several books, including Building Christianity on Indian Foundations (ISPCK, 2000), Christianity at the Religious Roundtable (Baker Academic, 2002), and his most recent book, Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church is Influencing the Way We Think About and Discuss Theology (Zondervan, 2007).