Mark Shipp
Mark Shipp, the founder of the Timeless Psalter/Commentary Project and general editor of Timeless: Ancient Psalms for the Church Today, Volumes 1 and 2, is an independent Old Testament scholar in Austin, Texas. Mark earned a Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in Ministry from Pepperdine University. He co-authored An Akkadian Handbook with Dr. Douglas Miller and wrote Of Dead Kings and Dirges: Myth and Meaning in Isaiah 14:4b-21 and Gemstones in the Bible and Ancient Near East (forthcoming).
Mark studied hymnody and lyric writing at Princeton Theological Seminary and is a co-composer of the oratorio Hinds' Feet on High Places. He performed in a variety of musical productions on the west coast and in Central Texas. Mark comes from a musical family. His brother, father, and daughters are contributors to Timeless: Ancient Psalms for the Church Today. Mark and his wife, Sheree, worship at Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ in Austin, Texas.
†Randy Daw (1954–2019)
Randy served the Creekside Church of Christ in Greenville, Texas as pulpit minister for twenty-two years. He participated in mission work in Mexico, Guyana, Russia and Ukraine. He held a bachelor’s degree in New Testament from Abilene Christian University and in music education from West Texas State University, and did additional post-graduate work in music theory. In 1980, he completed a Master of Arts in ministry at Pepperdine University.
His love of music led him to teach at summer praise camps for many years. At various times, Randy was a band director, choir director, and conductor for the Greenville Family Theatre orchestra. He served Timeless as the music editor as well as a composer and arranger, and was on the executive committee. Randy and his wife, Debbie, had four sons. Randy died at the age of 64 in February, 2019.
James Tackett
James attended Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Austin on a band scholarship before entering the computer industry. While technology was his occupation, music has his heart. His lifelong study of music began at Texas Normal Singing School in 1963. He went on to be an instructor at the school for more than 40 years and is currently the acting director and a member of the board of directors. James has taught music theory at several singing schools and university seminars across the southern United States. He is the founder and owner of The Paperless Hymnal which supplies song slides to over 1800 churches in the United States and several other countries. Additionally, he conducts the Sweet Expressions, a twelve-member mixed chorus.
James serves Timeless as pre-publication editor and director of marketing. He is the publisher, through Austin Christian A Cappella, of the Timeless CDs and other digital products. James and his wife, Wally, worship with the Church of Christ in Hyde Park (Austin, Texas) where he has been a deacon and worship minister for 28 years.
D.J. Bulls
D. J. is a composer and published arranger with two decades of ministry experience centered on worship, music, and communication. He has a B.A. from Abilene Christian University and a M.M. from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is finishing his Ph.D. in church music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where his research focuses on hymnody, congregational song, and Stone-Campbell Movement hymnody. His work with Bulls’ Pen Music and as one of the founders of Fearless4You/Voices Music (fearless4you.com) have allowed his arrangements to be widely known and sung. Most importantly, he’s Meghan’s husband, Mackenzie’s dad, and is the worship minister for the Glenwood Church of Christ in Tyler, TX. Visit his personal site at djbulls.com.
Cynthia Agnell
Cynthia is a graduate of Texas Tech University and holds a Master of Arts degree in theological studies from Austin Graduate School of Theology. She has a passion for worship that led her to serve Timeless as lyric editor and administrator. She serves on the board of directors for Come before Winter, an organization that serves women in ministry internationally. Through that work and personal travel, she has participated in worship around the world. Cynthia and her husband, Bill, are members of Westover Hills Church of Christ in Austin, Texas, where she teaches adult Bible classes and serves on a mission support team.
Ruth Ann Somervell
Ruth Ann is a piano teacher and composer. She holds a Bachelors of Music in Choral Music Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, where she began as a voice principal and finished as a piano principal. Music Theory was her favorite subject throughout college. Growing up singing a cappella music in church, Ruth Ann developed an ear for harmonies and partwriting. She fell in love with choral music through her experience singing in a Kodaly-based children’s choir. She began writing and arranging choral music at the age of 12, and this continues to be her passion. She’s written two commissioned pieces for different choral groups.
Ruth Ann serves as Timeless Music Subcommittee Co-Chair with D. J. Bulls. Her husband, Mark, and two children worship at Southwest Church of Christ in Tigard, Oregon where Ruth Ann is a soprano section leader
Jack Reese
For more than five decades, Jack Reese has served as a minister, professor, academic dean, community organizer, consultant, lyricist, and composer. He has degrees from Abilene Christian University, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Iowa where he received his Ph.D. in theological studies in 1988. His teaching areas include preaching, ministry, and worship. He served as the President and CEO of the Foundation for Community Empowerment in Dallas, addressing issues of poverty and race. He currently serves as Executive Minister for the Northside Church of Christ in San Antonio. Reese has been composing music for the Timeless Psalter project since 2007 and serves on the music and lyrics committees. His book At the Blue Hole: Elegy for a Church on the Edge was published by Eerdmans in 2021. Jack has three children, six grandchildren, and is married to Dr. MaLesa Reese, a speech therapist and partner in faith and life.