Rachel Booth Smith

RACHEL BOOTH SMITH has a contagious love for God’s Word. Her passion to teach accessible theology has led her to develop curriculum and leadership summits, write Bible studies, and teach. Rachel has a Master of Divinity degree from Pillar Seminary, where she learned to study the Bible in its original languages while being trained in ancient Near East context for both the Old and New Testament.

Cheri Appling

MATT AND CHERI APPLING live and work in Kansas City, Missouri. Cheri (DVM) is a veterinarian while Matt (M.Div) writes, mentors and teaches. He has been featured by numerous publications and radio programs and is the author of Life After Art: What You Forgot About Life and Faith Since You Left the Art Room, released by Moody Publishers.

Bradley Baurain

BRADLEY BAURAIN has taught for more than 25 years in the United States, Canada, China, and Vietnam. He currently leads the TESOL programs at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He is the author of Religious Faith and Teacher Knowledge in English Language Teaching, co-editor of the International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching, and writes devotional studies for Moody's Today in the Word.

Justin Buzzard

JUSTIN BUZZARD is founder and lead pastor of Garden City Church in Silicon Valley, California. He has been dating his wife for twelve years and is the father of three young sons. Justin speaks widely, writes at www.JustinBuzzard.net, and is the author of The Big Story, Why Cities Matter, Date Your Wife, John: A 12-Week Study, and Consider Jesus.

Amanda Cleary Eastep

AMANDA CLEARY EASTEP is an award-winning children’s author and a book editor. She works in a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, but she has lived most of her life in the suburbs of Chicago, the home of the Tree Street Kids. Amanda and her husband, together, have eight grown children and a border collie named Annie who wakes Amanda up early every morning to write.

J Merle D'Aubigne

J.H. MERLE D'AUBIGNE was born in Geneva in 1794. He prepared himself for the ministry at the University of Geneva. While visiting Germany in 1817, he was moved to write his immortal History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century. During his life he served as a pastor, a court preacher, and a seminary president.

Gilbert Morris

GILBERT MORRIS wrote numerous novels for both adults and young people. After teaching high school, pastoring several Southern Baptist churches, and chairing the English department at Ouachita Baptist University, Gilbert retired to write and publish full-time. He wrote over 100 novels, including the Bonnets and Bugles and Seven Sleepers series for youth. He lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with his wife, Johnnie.

Helen Lee

HELEN LEE is an award-winning freelance writer and editor with nearly two decades of experience publishing in the Christian market. She is the co-editor of and contributor to Growing Healthy Asian-American Churches (IVP, 2006) and co-founder of the Best Christian Workplaces Institute, which runs the annual “Best Christian Places to Work” survey. Helen has written numerous articles for publications such as Christianity Today, Today’s Christian Woman, re:generation quarterly and Leadership Journal (LJ). In both 2008 and 2009, her articles for LJ earned Higher Goals awards in reporting from the Evangelical Press Association. As a former editor and writer with Christianity Today, she has worked with or interviewed a wide range of evangelical luminaries, such as Michael Card, J.I. Packer, and Chuck Colson. She is married to classical pianist and Moody Bible Institute professor Brian Lee; together they have three young sons. Helen is also a homeschooling mom and seeks to provide her sons with a classical Christian education; she and her family reside in Chicagoland.

Karl Vaters

John Fuller

JOHN FULLER is vice president of Audio and New Media at Focus on the Family and co-host of the daily “Focus on the Family” broadcast. He leads the team that produces more than a dozen Focus programs reaching millions of listeners around the world. Many of these features and podcasts are also available at www.focusonthefamily.com. A media veteran of more than 30 years, John writes and speaks about creativity, media trends, influential leadership, excellence, and social media. As a father of six, he writes and speaks about strong marriages and effective parenting. John and his wife Dena are also advocates for orphan care and adoption. John has a M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado, and serves as an elected member of the board of the National Religious Broadcasters.

Hannah Whitall Smith

HANNAH WHITALL SMITH (1832-1911) was born in Philadelphia to a Quaker family. Her life expressed the joy that is found in complete surrender to the Lord. The secret to a happy life, according to Whitall Smith, is to trust implicitly in the promises of the Bible. Her goal was not to impress the scholar, but to elevate the simple man or woman who longed for a more consecrated way of living. Deeply practical, her writings deal directly with the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people. She is author of The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life and The God of All Comfort.

Kendra Smiley

KENDRA SMILEY, named Illinois Mother of the Year in 2001, hosts a daily radio program, Live Life Intentionally, and speaks nationally and internationally. She graduated with highest honors from the University of Illinois then went on to earn her Master of Science from University of North Dakota.She has written more than half a dozen books including High Wire Mom and Empowering Choices. She and her husband are co-authors of Do Your Kids a Favor...Love Your Spouse and Journey of a Strong-Willed Child. Kendra has also written numerous magazine articles, contributed to several books, and currently writes a monthly column for Hearts at Home magazine.Kendra and her husband, John, live in East Lynn, Illinois.

Fred Sanders

FRED SANDERS is a professor of theology at Biola University's Torrey Honors Institute, where he has taught since 1999. The doctrine of the Trinity is his main interest, but he writes and speaks on the full range of Christian doctrine. He is the author of several books, including The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything and Wesley on the Christian Life: The Heart Renewed in Love. He and his family live in La Mirada, California, and attend Grace Evangelical Free Church.

Kimberly Wagner

KIMBERLY WAGNER is the author of Fierce Women: The Power of a Soft Warrior. Spreading God's glory is Kim's deepest passion. Her desire for women to connect with Christ is woven through everything she writes. You can read her daily blog at www.KimberlyWagner.org where she encourages women to be students of the Word. Kim is a frequent guest on the Revive our Hearts radio program, as well as a regular contributor to the True Woman blog. She is an author, a women's conference speaker, and a blogger. She is married to her favorite pastor, LeRoy Wagner, and they enjoy hanging out with their adult children and growing tribe of grandchildren!

Owen Strachan

OWEN STRACHAN is Associate Professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the Director for the Center on Public Theology at MBTS. He holds a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an MDiv from Southern Seminary, and an AB from Bowdoin College. Strachan has published fourteen books and writes regularly for The Gospel Coalition, the Christian Post, and Thoughtlife, his Patheos blog. He is married and is the father of three children. Strachan hosts the City of God podcast available at https://cpt.mbts.edu.

Darcy Wiley

DARCY WILEY is a storyteller who digs below the surface to find the transforming work of the Lord in unexpected places. As a youth, she took part in praying for the gateway cities of the 10/40 Window, and then traveled extensively, observing movements of God and serving on mission in various regions of the world. Even as family life has turned her from a world traveler into a stay-at-home mom, God continues to cross her path with the nations through international ministries or casual conversations in the grocery store. Darcy lives in the Indianapolis area with her husband and their three exuberant children. She writes about faith, family, and adventure at www.DarcyWiley.com.