Kara Durbin

KARA DURBIN has enjoyed continually serving in various roles of children's ministries. She has a degree in elementary education from Texas A&M University and homeschools her children part time. Kara's inspiration for the book was her mother, who blessed her life by parenting her with Scripture. When thinking about how to best parent her own children, Kara looked for a reference book that would have Scriptures to use for specific parenting moments. Not finding one, she began work on Parenting with Scripture. Kara and her husband and two children make their home near Dallas, Texas.

Michael J. Easley

MICHAEL EASLEY received his Bachelor of Science in education from Stephen F. Austin State University, and his Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. He served as Senior Pastor at Grand Prairie Bible Church and Immanuel Bible before becoming the eighth president of Moody Bible Institute. In January 2009, he became the Teaching Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Nashville, TN. Dr. Easley has authored two books: Interludes, Prayers and Reflections of a Servant’s Heart and The DaVinci Code Controversy. Dr. Easley and his wife, Cindy, were married in 1980, and together they are raising four children.

Jonathan Edwards

JONATHAN EDWARDS was born in 1703 and died in 1758. He is best known for his part in the Great Awakening and as the outstanding theologian of colonial America.

Diane Elliot

DIANE LYNN ELLIOT is an author, professional photographer and business administrator. With a heart for people and a passion for ministry she has worked and volunteered with children, teens, women, and short-term missions and relief projects. Diane's interest in the global orphan crisis started many years ago with a trip to a hospital for terminally ill children in Siberia, and later to an orphanage in Mexico. Seeing a small snapshot of the great need started her journey and fueled her passion for the orphaned child. For the research of the book Diane also traveled to Peru and Haiti which continued to expand your vision and passion for orphaned children. Diane has a BA in Communication from Trinity International University and an M.B.A. in Global Management from the University of Phoenix. Professionally she has co-written two youth management books, and has spent many years as a freelance meeting and events planner and business manager in both not-for-profit and corporate settings. Diane, her husband David, along with their trained Alaskan Klee Kai therapy dog named Kody, live in Wauconda, Illinois and attend Willow Creek Community Church.

Mrs. Paul Friederichsen

KAY FRIEDERICHSEN was born in China to missionary parents in the early 1900s. She and her husband, Paul, served three terms as missionaries in the Philippines and were imprisoned in Japanese concentration camps during the World War II. Following her family’s return to the United States, she conducted Bible classes and presented chalk-talk messages in churches throughout America. Kay is the author of God’s Relief for Burdens, God’s Way Made Easy, and God’s Word Made Plain. She co-authored Like Them That Dream with her husband. Kay is now home with her Lord.

Lee Ellis

LEE ELLIS is the President and Founder of Leadership Freedom and FreedomStar Media. He serves as a management consultant in leadership development and team-building. Lee is the author of a number of books, including Finding the Career that Fits You, Your Career in Changing Times, and Leading Talent Leading Teams. He and his wife, Mary, reside in Dawsonville, Georgia. They have four children and six grandchildren.

W. Glyn Evans

W. GLYN EVANS was a minister at large of the Conservative Baptist Association of New England. He attended the Graduate School of Wheaton College and also had a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University. He served in seven churches, as Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Graduate School of Wheaton College, and as an evangelist under the Charles E. Fuller Evangelistic Foundation.Pastor Evans was author of more than seven books including Daily With the King, Don't Quit Until You Taste The Honey, Practicing Peace, and Beloved Adversary.

Erwin W. Lutzer

DR. ERWIN W. LUTZER is Pastor Emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago where he served as the Senior Pastor for 36 years. A renowned theologian, Dr. Lutzer earned his BTh from Winnipeg Bible College, a ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary, a MA in philosophy from Loyola University, and an honorary LL.D. from the Simon Greenleaf School of Law. He is an award-winning author and the featured speaker on three radio programs that can be heard on more than 1000 outlets in the United States and around the world. Dr. Lutzer and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area and have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

Jonathan Leeman

JONATHAN LEEMAN is the editorial director of 9Marks, which involves him in editing the 9Marks series of books as well as the 9Marks Journal. He has written a number of books on the church, including Reverberation, and he teaches theology at several seminaries. Jonathan lives with his wife and four daughters in a suburb of Washington, DC and serves as an elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington. You can learn more about him and his writing at www.9Marks.org.

Brenda Cannon

BRENDA CANNON was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1890. After teaching school for seven years in that city, she attended the Women’s Missionary Union Training School in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1919 she went to North Carolina to serve as secretary of a small mission school, which developed into a home for homeless children and continued to serve the young mountaineers of the area as a school. Except for two years spent as a field worker and young people’s leader in Oklahoma, Cannon remained in North Carolina, teaching school and doing community work. So when she wrote of mountaineers, she wrote understandingly of friends and neighbors. She died in North Carolina in 1965.

J. C. Ryle

JOHN CHARLES RYLE (1816-1900) was born in Cheshire County, England. He attended Eton and then went on to Oxford, finishing his Oxford studies in 1837. In 1841 Ryle was ordained as a minister in the Anglican Church, and in 1880 he was named the first Bishop of Liverpool. Throughout his ministry he became known and beloved as a defender of the evangelical reformed faith.

Richard Ellsworth Day

RICHARD ELLSWORTH DAY was born in the United States in 1884. In his early life he was an apprentice at the Terre Haute Gazette in Indiana serving as an associate reporter. His first book was a biography on the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon entitled The Shadow of the Broad Brim, which he published with Judson Press in 1934. The book was an immediate success which led to subsequent biographies on Charles Grandison Finney (1942), D.L. Moody (1944), and Henry Parsons Crowell (1946). Richard Day and his wife Deborah would begin each project with extensive research and study and then retreat to their little cottage in Sunnyvale, California to write. In his day he was a noted Christian biographer, and between projects, traveled around speaking in churches and schools until his death in 1965.

Henry W. Coray

HENRY W. CORAY was born and reared in West Pittston, PA, in the heart of the anthracite region. He attended Wheaton College, and Princeton and Westminster Theological Seminaries. Following his three years in the pastorate in West Pittston, he spent one term as a missionary in Manchuria. The First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, CA, has also been one of Coray’s places of service.

Ryan Dobson

RYAN DOBSON is the founder of KOR ministries and the author of four books, incuding Be Intolerant. Through his podcasts, speaking engagements, and books, Dobson seeks to call Christians deeper into the ultimate adventure of following Christ.

T. DeWitt Talmage

Colin S. Smith

COLIN SMITH serves as senior pastor of The Orchard with six campuses across Chicagoland. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Colin received his Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Master of Philosophy from the London School of Theology. Colin is the author of several books including The Ten Greatest Struggles of Your Life. He can be heard daily on the Open the Bible radio broadcast and at openthebible.org and openthebible.org.uk. Colin and his wife, Karen, have two sons and five granddaughters.