Robert Ketcham

ROBERT KETCHAM (1889-1978) was a Baptist pastor, and a founder of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. Although virtually blind for most of his career, he had a successful pastorate and wrote several books, including I Shall Not Want and Boxes, Bottles and Books.

Joe Gorra

JOSEPH E. GORRA is engaged in content development and publicity, research, writing, editing, and speaking. His writings can be found through various outlets, including the Christian Research Journal, the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Through Veritas Life Center, he cultivates multidisciplinary research, writing, and speaking on practical theologies of spiritual formation designed for the flourishing of our public life with others. www.veritaslifecenter.org

Ron Blue

RON BLUE is a successful entrepreneur in the financial services industry and an admired leader and speaker on the topic of Biblical financial management. In 1970, he founded an Indianapolis-based CPA firm which has grown to be one of the 50 largest CPA firms in the United States. In 1979, he founded Ronald Blue & Co., a fee-only financial planning firm, convinced that Christians would better handle their personal finances if they were counseled objectively with the highest technical expertise and from a Biblical perspective. Ron is the author of twelve books on personal finance from a Biblical perspective, including the best-seller, Master Your Money, and his most recent book, Wealth to Last, co-authored with Larry Burkett. He is currently the President of Kingdom Advisors and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ryan Whitaker Smith

RYAN WHITAKER SMITH is an author and filmmaker from Nashville, Tennessee. His film projects include the romantic drama Surprised by Oxford, based on the award winning memoir by Carolyn Weber, the Lionsgate documentary The Jesus Music, and a forthcoming adaptation of G. K. Chesterton's comic adventure The Ball and the Cross. He is coauthor, with Dan Wilt, of Sheltering Mercy and Endless Grace, two collections of prayers inspired by the Psalms.

Peter F. Gunther

PETER GUNTHER attended Biola University, Wheaton College (BA), and the Wheaton Graduate School (MA). He compiled Sermon Classics by Great Preachers and was the assistant director of Moody Literature Mission.

Joseph Parker

Christmas Carol Kauffman

CHRISTMAS CAROL KAUFMAN received her unique name in honor of her Christmas morning birth in 1901 in Elkhart, Indiana. She was raised in a Mennonite home and spent some time as a student at Goshen College. When she was 22, she married Norman Hostetler. However, tragedy struck when two months after their second anniversary, Norman was killed in an electrical accident. She worked in a sewing shop following the wake of her loss, but in 1928, her bishop recommended that she get away for a while and enroll as a Bible student at Hesston College. It was there that she met the man who would be her life partner—Nelson Kaufman. The two were married in 1929. Five years later they were commissioned by the Mennonite General Mission Board to start a mission church in Hannibal, Missouri. It was in their 22-year ministry in Missouri that she found the inspiration to write her many novels. In 1956, they returned to Elkhart where Kaufman wrote her last several books. She died in Elkhart on January 30, 1969.