Melanie Ross works at the intersection of ecumenical liturgical theology, North American evangelicalism, and the worship practices of contemporary congregations. Her first book, Evangelical vs. Liturgical? Defying a Dichotomy (2014) brings together historical analysis, systematic theology, and congregational fieldwork to argue that the common ground shared by evangelical and liturgical churches is much more important than the differences than divide them. Her second book, Evangelical Worship: An American Mosaic (2021) draws on extensive fieldwork in seven congregations to show how evangelical identity is formed through corporate worship practices.

A Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology, Ross has also received research grants from the Louisville Institute and the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.  Ross has written numerous chapters in edited volumes, and her work has been published in journals such as Worship, Studia Liturgica, and Pro Ecclesia, among others.  She coedited, with Simon Jones, The Serious Business of Worship: Essays in Honour of Bryan D. Spinks (2012) and is coeditor of the Worship Foundations series (Baker Academic).  Her greatest academic achievements are the successes of her current and former students.

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis is a writer, journalist, and musicologist based in central Iowa. She holds a PhD from the University of Iowa. 

Kelsey is the worship correspondent at Christianity Today, where she writes and reports on worship practices and trends, the music industry, and church culture. As a regular contributor to Christianity Today’s culture section, Kelsey contributes opinion pieces that comment on Christian media and evangelical culture more broadly. She is also a lecturer at Grand View University in Des Moines, where she teaches music, theology, and humanities courses.