This site uses cookies to provide you with more responsive and personalized service and to collect certain information about your use of the site. You can change your cookie settings through your browser. If you continue without changing your settings, you agree to our use of cookies. See our Privacy Policy for more information.
DR. JERRY VINES (B.A., Mercer University; Th.D., Luther Rice Seminary; PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) retired as pastor of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida in 2006, where he served for 40 years. He served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jerry is author of a number of books including Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons, and A Practical Guide to Sermon Preparation. He and his wife, Janet, have four adult children and five grandchildren.
Read More
DEBORAH ALCOCK (1835-1913) is best known as the author of historical fiction on religious themes. She was born in Ireland, where her father, the Venerable John Alcock, became Archdeacon of Waterford. She lived with her father, writing a memoir of him on his death, and stayed unmarried for her entire life. Her work The Spanish Brothers, published in 1870, was set in the 16th century and was a tale of Protestant martyrdom. Other works include The Czar (1882), set during the French invasion of Russia; Archie's Chances (1886); and Prisoners of Hope (1894). A biography of her life, The Author of Spanish Brothers, was written by Elisabeth Boyd Bayley.
Read More
TESSA AFSHAR’s books have been on Publishers Weekly, CBA, and ECPA bestseller lists and have been translated into many languages. Her Bible study, The Way Home: God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, won the ECPA Christian Book of the Year in the Bible Study category. Tessa’s novels have been the recipient of the ECPA’s Bronze Milestone, Christy, and INSPY Awards. She holds a master of divinity from Yale, where she was elected to serve as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship for one year. Tessa is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener, and an enthusiastic cook of biblical recipes. Learn more at TessaAfshar.com.
Read More.jpg)
RICH BROWN Rich and his wife Janet have served together in churches in the Midwest and the Seattle area. He and Janet have three adult children; Rich III, Jenna, and Ryan. In 2003, Rich transitioned from serving as Pastor of Student Ministries to become Associate Professor within the Department of Church Ministries at his alma-mater, Liberty University. It is in this context of mentoring, equipping, and teaching the next generation of youth ministry leaders where he ministers to the college students God has placed in his life. Along with his residential teaching load, he also teaches online to adult learners. He has developed a number of youth ministry courses, including published work texts.
Read More
SARAH CUNNINGHAM is an idea junkie who blogs about extraordinary friendships in a sometimes too ordinary world. She and her husband, Chuck, live in southern Michigan, where they serve as chief servants to the Emperor Justus, her 3 year old son and his newly-appointed chief of staff, the 5-month old, Malachi. She has authored three other books, does freelance event and communications work and attends a Wesleyan church plant that meets at her city's YMCA.
Read More
JOY DOWNS is a 1979 graduate of Indiana University in Journalism. After graduation, she joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ where she served as a radio writer and producer and helped direct the Communication Center, a communication training facility of Campus Crusade. Joy and her husband, Tim, have spoken at FamilyLife Marriage and Parenting Conferences. Together they have co-authored two books entitled The Seven Conflicts: Resolving the Most Common Disagreements in Marriage and Fight Fair!: Winning at Conflict without Losing at Love. Joy lives in Cary, North Carolina, with her husband and three children.
Read More.jpg)
DR. ROSALIE DE ROSSET is a professor of Literature, English and Homiletics at Moody Bible Institute where she has been for forty-two years. She earned her M.A. in English from Northeastern Illinois University, M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Ph.D. in Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric from The University of Illinois at Chicago. In addition to teaching, she regularly appears on Moody Broadcasting Network programs as a guest and co-host, and speaks at conferences and seminars. She lives on the northside of Chicago.
Read More
ESTHER AHN KIM was a Korean Christian who spent six years (1939-1945) in Japanese prisons during WWII as a result of her faith. As she prepared to be martyred, Miss Ahn’s courageous activities in prison brought the light of the Gospel to many, and resulted in a reduction of the brutal torture Christians were subjected to. After her release she was married to Don Kim, and the couple toured Europe and the United States speaking of God’s sustaining power during those harrowing years. She is author of If I Perish. Her story was published in Korea and Japan, where it became a national sensation, reaching number three on the all-time religious bestseller list.
Read More
MARGARET McSWEENEY lives with her husband, David, and two teenage daughters in the Chicago suburbs. After earning a master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina, Margaret moved to New York City to work at a large bank where she met David. Margaret is the editor of Pearl Girls, author of A Mother’s Heart Knows and co-author of Go Back and Be Happy. Charity and community involvement are very important to Margaret. She has served on the board of directors for WINGS (Women in Need Growing Stronger) for over six years.
Read More
MAXINE MARSOLINI is a free-lance writer, author, poet, pastor’s wife and homemaker. Maxine, author of Raising Children in Blended Families: Helpful Insights, Expert Opinions, True Stories and Blended Families: Creating Harmony as You Build a New Home Life, writes from what she calls “wisdom born of pain” through the difficult soil of a blended home. She and her husband Charlie, reside in the state of Oregon where they serve in ministry together working with couples who are struggling with relationship and financial issues. Maxine and Charlie have seven children in their blended family.
Read More
BRANDON J. O'BRIEN (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Director of Content Development and Distribution for Redeemer City to City, where he coordinates, edits, and shepherds writing projects with Timothy Keller and urban church planters around the world. Brandon has served in pastoral ministry, worked in publishing, authored a few books, and taught for state and Christian colleges and universities. He and his wife Amy and their two children live in Washington Heights, NY. They enjoy good food, good company, and exploring New York City.
Read More
DANIEL DARLING is an author, pastor, and leader. He was recently appointed as the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dan is a bestselling author of several books, including The Original Jesus, The Dignity Revolution, The Characters of Christmas, The Characters of Easter, and A Way With Words. He is the general editor, along with Trillia Newbell, of a small group study on racial reconciliation, The Church and the Racial Divide and is a contributor to The Worldview Study Bible. Dan is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. He is a columnist for World Magazine, and a regular contributor to USA Today. His work is often featured in Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition and his op-eds have appeared in The Washington Post, CNN, Washington Times, Time, Huffington Post, National Review, First Things, and other leading outlets. Publisher's Weekly called his writing style "substantive and punchy."Dan speaks and preaches around the country and is regularly interviewed on radio and television, including MSNBC's Morning Joe, CNN, and Fox. He is the host of a popular weekly podcast The Way Home where he interviews Christian leaders, politicians, and journalists. He holds a bachelor's degree in pastoral ministry from Dayspring Bible College, has studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served churches in Illinois and Tennessee. He and his wife Angela have four children.
Read More
KEVAN CHANDLER is the founder of a nonprofit organization called We Carry Kevan, and speaks worldwide about friendship and disability. He and his wife, Katie, enjoy doing everything together, including growing vegetables and reading to each other.
Read More
JOHN WALSH is the founder of BibleTelling and the Christian Storytelling Conference. His network of BibleTelling trainers conduct seminars in the US as well as 21 other countries. The most exciting seminar is the annual BibleTelling Seminar in Israel. Those who attend tell 120 stories of the Bible at the 45 locations where they happened. The Art of Storytelling was first published in 2003, and then republished in 2014. His book, All the Stories of the Bible is used worldwide by missionaries, pastors, and other Christian workers. John shares his Bible stories on a 2-minute daily radio spot called All the Stories of the Bible in a Year and a 4-minute weekly radio spot called Telling the Stories of the Bible.
Read More
RHETT SMITH is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in private practice at Auxano Counseling in Plano, TX. He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary (MDiv, MSMFT) and former college pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Rhett has a passion for helping people navigate significant areas of transition in their lives such as parenting, marriage, and the adolescent to young adult journey. He also serves on staff at The Hideaway Experience in Amarillo, TX where he helps couples work towards having great marriages. Rhett lives in Frisco, TX with his wife Heather and their two children. You can find out more about Rhett at his blog www.rhettsmith.com or his counseling practice www.rhettsmithcounseling.com
Read More
JEAN ANDRIANOFF might easily have been chosen "Person Most Likely to Spend Her Life Behind a White Picket Fence in Mid-America" by fellow students at Geneva College. Instead, God took her and her husband David to Thailand, Laos, Mongolia, and Malaysia over a twenty-five year period of ministry under the Christian and Missionary Alliance and World Concern. They now live in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, where Jean finds inspiration for writing from God's creation, family, life experiences and her faith in Jesus. She is the author of Chosen for a Special Joy, the story of David's parents and a people movement to Christ among the Hmong of Laos. The Sunday School curriculum she developed for the Lao church is widely used in Cambodia as well. David and Jean have two daughters and two grandchildren.
Read More
