Faculty

Darby is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2003. She has a master of divinity with a counseling emphasis from Westminster Theological Seminary. Darby brings particular passion and expertise in helping the vulnerable and oppressed, especially women in abusive marriages. She has contributed to Church Cares and the PCA Domestic Abuse & Sex Assault church training materials. She has counseled in a missionary church setting and has also held leadership roles in women’s ministry. She is the author of Is it Abuse? (P&R, 2020), has written a handful of minibooks, and has contributed to several other books.

Dean of Faculty

Gunner is the Dean of Faculty at CCEF, where he has served since 2024. He holds a PhD in biblical theology from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a master of theology and master of divinity from the Master’s Seminary. Prior to joining CCEF, Gunner served as a lead pastor for seven years, after working for fifteen years in Christian higher education as a resident director, director of student life, associate dean of men, and biblical counseling professor. Gunner has a passion for helping believers live consciously in the story Scripture tells, equipping the local church for interpersonal ministry, strengthening pastors, and biblical preaching and teaching. He has published the Psalms notes for The Grace and Truth Study Bible (Zondervan, 2021), What If I Don’t Feel Like Going to Church? (Crossway, 2020), and numerous essays and articles on the Psalms and adoption.

Faculty

Esther is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF. She has a master of arts in religion with an emphasis in biblical studies from Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as a master of arts in counseling. Since joining CCEF in 2015, Esther has served various roles, including as a counseling intern, the executive and faculty assistant, and a content editor. Esther has a passion for bringing biblical reframing to a person’s struggles and also holds deep concern for the importance of attending to multicultural aspects of counseling. She is the author of Shame: Being Known & Loved (P&R Publishing, 2022).