Respondent Biographies for Faith and Film at Film Alley

For the Current Series (and some from the past)

Dr. Jacob Youmans

Dr. Jacob Youmans has served as the Director of the DCE (Director of Christian Education) program at Concordia University Texas since 2009. Prior to that, he served as a Youth and Family Minister in Hawaii and California. He has authored four books, including Talking Pictures, which demonstrates how one can use movies to teach the faith to teenagers. He was also a contributor to Movies From the Mountaintop, an anthology on faith and films that also featured insights from Rob Lowe and Mark Wahlberg.

Rev. Dr. David Kluth

Kluth will be responding for the fourth consecutive season. Previously, he helped unpack Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Leap of Faith and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Dr. Kluth has a doctoral degree in Communication and has been a professor and administrator at several universities. Currently, he is known as a popular Bible class leader at Zion Lutheran.

Homer Drew

Inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame, Drew is a legendary coach from Valparaiso University. Now retired, he enjoys watching his three children: Scott Drew, head Basketball Coach at Baylor University; Bryce Drew, head basketball coach at Grand Canyon University; and Dana Drew Shaw, Vice President of GCU.

Kevin Pieper

Kevin Pieper and his wife, Mary, are career church workers and parents of John and Michael. He has worked for Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, Texas, since 1990, serving in a variety of roles, including youth ministry, missions and outreach, and visitation. Pieper also led their partnership with an international church denomination that recruited and trained members of congregations to implement their church’s standing mission commitments in Kenya. He has traveled to that country more than 60 times. He would love to tell you how much he loves the people of Africa.

Rev. Ryan Pennington

Pennington is the pastor of Fortress Lutheran Church in Harker Heights, TX and has served as a church worker for more than 15 years. A lifelong lover of music and movies, he enjoys helping people see how good storytelling points to our need for redemption – and the God who provided it. He lives in Killeen with his wife, Corrie, and their two kids.

Matthew Powell

Matthew (Matt) Powell has a recognized and distinguished record of improving businesses and cities through strategic planning, economic development, and quality of life improvements. As an elected official in Cedar Park, he guided the city in added tens of millions of dollars in new revenues and added quality of life amenities while maintaining its character in the face of explosive population growth. As municipal consultant, Matt also led multiple successful efforts in fast-growth cities, including Leander and Pflugerville. While in college, Matt interned at the Reagan Library and became friends with Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

Dr. Denise Patrick

Patrick is a former lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. She is also a consultant and chief inspiration officer at Teach Lead Inspire, a firm dedicated to raising effective leaders. She wrote, “Communication is an art beyond words. It’s about connecting hearts, understanding emotions, and seeing the world through each other’s eyes. Let’s not just exchange information.” Read more about Dr. Patrick here.

Scott Linebrink

Linebrink is a former major league pitcher who played for 15 seasons with teams like the Astros, White Sox, and San Diego Padres. Recently, he has served as Brand Ambassador for Water Mission, a faith-based organization providing clean water resources globally for communities in need.

Dr. Philip Hohle

The Faith and Film Series is led by Dr. Philip J. Hohle, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. from Regent University in Communication Studies. A member of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image, he has presented how audiences interpret the movies they watch in the U.S., Finland, and Spain. He has also published two books and several articles on viewer response theory. Currently, he is semi-retired, but continues to teach at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.