This week we get to learn more about Brad Bigney, author of Gospel Treason: Betraying the Gospel with Hidden Idols.

• Tell Us a Little About Yourself.

I am an ordained minister with the Evangelical Free Church of America. I graduated from Columbia Bible College and Columbia Biblical Seminary in South Carolina. I am a certified biblical counselor with ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors) and am involved in the counseling ministry of the church, as well as teaching at other conferences and training centers across the nation. I have been serving as the senior pastor of Grace Fellowship Church since January 1996. My wife, Vicki and I have five wonderful children that God has used to teach me so much.

• What made you want to write this book?

As a pastor and certified ACBC counselor, I have counseled each year, for the past twenty years, and the issue of idolatry is consistently at the heart of most people’s struggle because it has to do with why we can’t seem to really change long-term.

Also, the subject of idolatry more than any other has been one of the great awakenings in my life.  My salvation was first, followed by an understanding of the sovereignty of God over all things, followed, several years later, by an understanding of the idols of my own heart.  This was a major breakthrough for me in understanding why I do what I do, and why it’s so hard to consistently put to death certain sins. And the breakthrough came in the context of wrestling through a terrible marriage even while I was serving as full-time pastor.

• What kind of response have you received in regard to this book?

So far the response has been fantastic. Many people have said that since it is so personal is was hard to read but that it produced great fruit in their lives.

• What are your hobbies?

I love to spend time with my family, work in the yard, bike with my wife, read great books, and watch the NFL.

• What Is Your favorite flavor of ice cream?

My favorite flavor is Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip ice cream.

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Want to learn more about Brad?

Follow Brad Bigney on Twitter: @BradBigney

Get to know Baruch Maoz, author of Come, Let Us Reason Together: The Unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Church by reading his interview.

• Question #1 – Tell us a little bit about yourself: where you’re from, family, job, personal interests, unique hobbies, what do you do in your spare time, etc.

I am an Israeli Jewish Christian and a retired pastor. I was converted in Israel in 1963 during the course of my mandatory military service. I retired from the pastorate after serving for some 33 years in a church in the country and am involved in writing Christian literature in Hebrew, translating the New Testament into modern Hebrew and the promotion of biblical and theological thinking in my country. My wife and I have been married for 45 years. We have three marries daughters and two foster daughters, one of whom is married and the other now getting ready for her wedding. My hobby is reading, just about anything, but particularly history.

• Question #2 – What inspired you to write this book, about this topic?

Most of my writing is exegetical and expositional, but I wrote Come, Let Us Reason Together because I was disturbed by the eclipse of a Christ-focused faith and the resultant erosion of confidence in the finished and sufficient work of Christ, inadvertently promoted by the Messianic Movement. I share what I believe to be Paul’s concerns and motivations, expressed repeatedly in his letters, particularly to the Galatians and the Colossians.

• Question #3 – Do you have a favorite author? Who is it and why?

My favorite author is John Calvin because he is so clearly devoted to the word of God rather than to a theological system. I believe that is the right priority. In addition, Calvin is so warmly pastoral, and I believe the Bible should be read in order to live, not merely to understanding.

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Want to learn more about Baruch Maoz?

• Visit his website: http://www.themaozweb.com/
• Follow him on Twitter: @BaruchMaoz

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