Arthur E. Smith

ARTHUR E. SMITH, father of five, was born in London, England. Smith received the diploma of Fellow College of Violinists (F.C.V.) of London and after he moved to Canada, became a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, serving as violinist with the organization for ten years. Most of his time has been spent in Bible teaching in Canada and U.S. His 40 years of evangelism include work among the men of lumber camps and gold and silver mines of northern Ontario.

L C W

L.C.W. was a contributor to the Moody Colportage Library, a collection of the finest writings of many consecrated Christian men and women.

William Dyer

REVEREND WILLIAM DYER was born in England in 1632. During his earlier ministry he was a pastor with the Church of England at Chesham and Cholesbury. He and many other pastors were known as “Puritans” because of their desire to purify and reform the state church. However, in 1662, Dyer and over two thousand other Puritans pastors were ejected from their parishes because of a lack of compliance to the new policies of the church. In the year following his dismissal from the church he wrote two of his most enduring books, A Cabinet of Jewels and Christ’s Famous Titles. In his later life he worked alongside the Quakers because of their zeal for Christ and passion for souls. He was buried among them in Southwark, England in April of 1696. From his writings he is seen to have been a man of great character, earnest to win men to the Lord, and eager to build up the saints in the love and confidence of Christ.

Jim McBride

JIM MCBRIDE joined the staff of Sherwood Baptist Church in 2000 and has served as the executive pastor overseeing operations, church staff, finances and Men's Ministry since 2003. He is an executive producer of the films released by Sherwood Pictures, including Courageous, Fireproof, Facing the Giants, and Flywheel. Jim has also worked for Coca-Cola fifteen years and served in the U. S. Marine Corps for six years. Jim and his wife, Sheila, have been married for 28 years. They have four children, Victoria, Buddy, Tommy, and Sarah.

Sharon Jaynes

SHARON JAYNES is a popular conference speaker and author of nineteen books including The Power of a Woman's Words, and Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe. She served as Vice-President of Proverbs 31 Ministries and co-host of their daily radio feature for ten years. She is the co-founder of Girlfriends in God, Inc. that reaches over 500,000 subscribers with their daily on-line devotions. Sharon and her husband, Steve, have one grown son. They call North Carolina home.

Louis Markos

LOUIS MARKOS, is a professor in English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University and holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities. Dr. Markos is a respected and widly requested speaker on C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, and Christian worldview as well as the arts, education, the new age, apologetics and, ancient Greece and Rome. He is the author of several books and numerous lectures and articles. Dr. Markos lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife Donna, his son Alex, and his daughter Stacey.

Penny Thrasher

PENNY THRASHER- Penny Thrasher was raised in a home given to hospitality and feels privileged to carry on that tradition, especially in hosting large holiday celebrations. She contributed to her husband's book, Believing God for His Best -- How to Marry Contentment and Singleness. Penny is in her 17th year of home schooling and enjoys serving in their church, being part of a prayer group which supports missionaries, and mentoring younger women. Bill and Penny have three sons, Will, Michael, and David.

Josh McDowell

JOSH MCDOWELL As a young man, Josh McDowell considered himself an agnostic. He truly believed that Christianity was worthless. However, when challenged to intellectually examine the claims of Christianity, Josh discovered compelling, overwhelming evidence for the reliability of the Christian faith. In 1961 Josh joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ International. Not long after, he started the Josh McDowell Ministry to reach young people worldwide with the truth and love of Jesus.

Glenn T. Stanton

GLENN T. STANTON is the director of Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs and a research fellow at the Institute of Marriage amd Family in Ottawa. He debates and lectures extensively on the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting at universities and churches around the world. Stanton served the George W. Bush administration for many years as a consultant on increasing fatherhood involvement in the Head Start program. Glenn is an author and contributor to many books and is quoted as a leading spokesperson on marriage and family issues. His latest book, Loving My (LGBT) Neighbor: Being Friends in Grace and Truth, explores how Christians should interact with gay or lesbian neighbors in a Christ-honoring way. He is also the author of The Ring Makes All the Difference and Secure Daughters, Confident Sons: How Parents Guide Their Children into Authentic Masculinity and Femininity. Stanton is a graduate of the University of West Florida with graduate degrees in philosophy and history. He now makes his home in Colorado Springs with his wife and five children.

James L. Nicodem

JIM NICODEM has been the senior pastor of Christ Community Church since its start in 1984. Beginning with a group of six families, the church has grown to over five thousand weekend attendees at four campuses. A significant focus on reaching spiritual explorers has resulted in scores of new believers being baptized each year.Born and raised in the Midwest, Jim received his BA in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College, and his MDiv and DMin from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. In keeping with Christ Community Church’s mission to "make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ", Jim loves to mentor others in prayer and the study of God’s Word. With that goal in mind, he has authored Prayer Coach: For All Who Want to Get Off the Bench and Onto the Praying Field (2008) and the four-book Bible Savvy series (2013).Jim and his wife, Sue, have been married for more than thirty years. They have three adult children, and are the proud grandparents of four grandchildren. Jim enjoys biking, hiking and kayaking for recreation. He loves to hang out in Chicago, where he can watch the Cubs play (no better park than Wrigley) or listen to the world-class Symphony Orchestra.

Byron Paulus

BYRON PAULUS serve as Executive Director of Life Action Ministries, the largest organization in North America dedicated solely to the mission of revival. For more than four decades he has inspired thousands of believers to seek the Lord for widespread spiritual awakening through his writing, speaking, and leadership roles. Life Action Ministries focuses on igniting movements of authentic Christianity and is the parent organization of One Cry, Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and a variety of additional Life Action outreaches. The One Cry movement was birthed in Byron's heart, and he currently provides strategic leadership to this expanding initiative. The One Cry prayer summit, hosted by Moody Radio on the National Day of Prayer, has been used of God to lead others in praying for another great awakening in our nation. Byron and his wife Sue live in Niles, Michigan and have three children and twelve grandchildren. To learn more about his personal revival journey, visit www.OneCryBook.com.

Vicki Rose

VICKI ROSE is a strong Bible teacher with a relevant, life-changing message. She was born and raised in New York City and upon graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1975, Vicki began her retail career at Saks Fifth Ave and went on to marry Bill Rose in 1977.After almost 10 years of marriage, Vicki found herself the single mother of a 1 ½ and 4 year old, separated from her husband who was addicted to cocaine, woman and work. 1 ½ years later, Vicki accepted Christ through an outreach dinner at age 35 and became a passionate follower of Jesus Christ with a deep hunger for His word. As Vicki began to pray for her husband to also know Christ, her heart toward him changed and they were reconciled after he accepted Christ, entered rehab and they spent time in counseling. They had been separated for 5 ½ years. Both Vicki and Bill are Jewish believers though neither was raised in a religious Jewish home. Vicki has taught, facilitated and led many Bible Studies for women in her church as well as acted as Prayer Coordinator for the Women’s Ministry and has taught and shared her testimony all across the U.S. as well as in Nicaragua, Poland, Russia, Bulgaria and Italy.

J. P. Moreland

J.P. MORELAND (B.S. University of Missouri, Th.M. Dallas Theological Seminary, M. A. University of California-Riverside, and Ph.D. University of Southern California) is the Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, California. He has co-planted three churches and he and his wife Hope attend Vineyard Anaheim church and are deeply committed to the body of believers there.

Charles Sheldon

Melinda Schmidt

MELINDA SCHMIDT graduated from Moody Bible Institute and holds a B.S. in Broadcasting-Bible from Calvary Bible College. She has served with Moody Radio since 1980 in various hosting capacities. She is now a co-host of the radio talk show for women, Midday Connection (www.middayconnection.org) . Melinda has served as an editor and contributing author to Come to Our Table: A Midday Connection Cookbook, Daily Seeds from Women who Walk in Faith, and Tending the Soul. Married to Dave, they are parents of two young adults, Kelly and Kevin.

Robert L. Saucy

ROBERT L. SAUCY (Westmont College, Dallas Theological Seminary) is a distinguished professor of systematic theology at Talbot Theological Seminary. He previously served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society and addresses that group frequently. He is author of numerous books, including The Church in God’s Program, and is the editor of Women and Men in Ministry: A Complementary Perspective. His shorter works have appeared in many journals including Bibliotheca Sacra, Grace Theological Journal, and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Dr. Saucy resides in Anaheim, California.