Frank John Viola, Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–91), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995) and Toronto Blue Jays (1996). A three-time All-Star, he was named World Series MVP with the Twins in 1987 and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1988. Long-time Tigers manager Sparky Anderson said of Viola, "...He's an artist; I love watching him work..." His overall career stats are impressive, with a 3.73 ERA, 176-150 record, 74 complete games, and 16 shutouts in 421 games.

He batted and threw left-handed, and was nicknamed "Sweet Music" – a nickname he picked up after a Minnesota sports writer declared that when Viola pitched, there was "Sweet Music' in the Dome. The nickname was a play on the fact that his last name is also a name of a musical instrument. A fan began displaying a banner bearing the phrase in the outfield's upper deck whenever Viola pitched. Twins fans considered the banner to be a good luck charm. The banner is now property of the Minnesota Historical Society. It was again displayed when Viola was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. Frank was honored as a member of the Twins' "All Dome" team in 2009.

Leonard I. Sweet is an author, pastor, and scholar currently serving as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School, in Madison, New Jersey; and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon. He is regularly voted one of the most influential Christian leaders in America. Sweet is ordained in the United Methodist denomination.

Before becoming the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism, Sweet had been Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Theological School at Drew from 1995 to 2000. Prior to his appointments at Drew University, he served as President and Professor of Church History at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio. His first academic administration position was as Provost and Associate Professor of Church History at Colgate Rochester Divinity School/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary.

Sweet is founder and President of SpiritVenture Ministries. His writings focus on the study of Semiotics.

He is the author of more than forty books, hundreds of articles (many of a scholarly and technical nature), and over 50 prefaces/forewords to others' books. He has over 1000 published sermons, and currently is the chief weekly contributor to the lectionary-based sermons.com. Sweet has weekly podcasting on iTunes entitled Napkin Scribbles.

George Barna (born 1955) is the founder of The Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in studying the religious beliefs and behavior of Americans, and the intersection of faith and culture. He currently serves as the senior executive in Metaformation, an organization committed to "helping people optimize their life journey."

Barna grew up a Catholic in New York City and Princeton, New Jersey, but has since engaged with evangelical Christianity. He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a Bachelor's degree in sociology (along with a minor or secondary focus in religion), and holds two master's degrees from Rutgers University and a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University.

Barna leads seminars for church leaders, speaks at ministry conferences, has taught at seminaries, and has been a pastor. As an author, he has written more than four dozen books on contemporary Christian issues, with topics ranging from worldviews, trends and children to church life, spiritual growth and leadership. He also writes columns which are published on the website of The Barna Group. As a result of his work, Barna has coined several terms, including: