Ethnicity Matters Video and Discussion Guide

James serves as InterVarsity's Vice President of Strategy & Innovation — overseeing evangelism, discipleship, planting, growth, missions, multiethnic initiatives, and the Creative Labs. He is also ordained with the Vineyard USA, and has written three books — the latest being Longing for Revival. He speaks frequently and consults at campuses, churches, seminaries, and conferences, and most recently taught a doctoral course on evangelism at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is thankful that his work has been featured in Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, Outreach Magazine, Seminary Now, and exploregod.com.

James wrote his D. Min. dissertation on postmodern leadership development also at Fuller Theological Seminary, received his M. Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and studied management science and marketing at MIT. For fun, he likes to travel with his wife, laugh with his two sons, spoil his daughter, bask in Los Angeles’ endless summer, and swing a racket in hopes of playing something like tennis.

Rev. Bowling-Dyer (Phil) was born in Oakland, California, to Philip and Hermanee Dyer. He was blessed to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout in 1978. He sang in the Oakland Youth Chorus, is a product of Oakland Public Schools, and graduated from Oakland High School in 1980. He went on to graduate from the University of California at Berkeley (A.B. Biology) and the American Baptist Seminary of the West (M.Div.). He received his ordination to the ministry of Jesus Christ thru Allen Temple Baptist Church in 2000.

For the past twenty-seven years, he has worked as a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. InterVarsity is an organization that equips college and university students and faculty to lead and transform the world for Jesus’ sake. Although his ministry is primarily focused on Black students and faculty, he is blessed to do significant work in White, Asian, Latino, and First Nations communities. He currently serves as the national director of InterVarsity’s Black Campus Ministries where he brings servant leadership for 100 ministers and 3500 Black students and faculty on 120 campuses across the United States.

He is married to Rev. Leslie Bowling-Dyer, a very gifted and able minister of the gospel. They have two children (Arthur Edward and Janine Leslie), and live in Oakland, California.

Life Call: To serve God’s purposes in his generation (Acts 13:36)