People whose books I have read, who I have read about, or who I have met or contacted (OK, in only a few cases) who deserve my respect!
Note. Of course, I do not necessarily accept every aspect of every one of these people. But that's not the point. After all, "people are human" .
Jesus Christ for (as I believe)
saving us from separation from God both now and eternally. I believe that Jesus is the clearest image we have of God's love.
Brother Yun, a Chinese believer, for the fire and simplicity of his faith as described in his bestselling book
The Heavenly Man, and for his passion for sharing the gospel.
Philip Yancey for reclaiming words like
grace, for his commitment to God despite the human-ness of the church and his own pain, and his open-mindedness.
Martin Luther King, incredibly gifted orator and civil rights activist, for his victory through non-violent means.
Theologians
John Stott, a theologian who have been called a "father" to evangelicals, and for his mature and open minded attitude.
Clark Pinnock, a theologian with a hint of rebelliousness, whose theological pilgrimage is similar to my own in many ways. One of my lecturers did his masters(?) degree on him, which is where my interest came from. He has been very positive about the Adventists
Richard Rice,
Alden Thompson, and also
Le Roy Edwin Froom. I would describe him as being on the progressive end of "evangelical".
N.T. Wright for his openness to fresh perspectives and to remain faithful to the Bible.
Seventh-day Adventists
Alden Thompson for his uplifting, fresh, free-thinking and yet mature and loyal approach to Seventh-day Adventist theology.
Jon Paulien for faithful biblical, Christ-centered interpretation of Revelation which is not based on the latest sensational news report. He's pretty moderate within the church.