Richard Young is a former educator, businessman, and pastor. The son of a Free Will Baptist pastor, Richard started preaching at fourteen and pastoring at twenty. He comes from a great heritage of preachers and pastors, as there has been a member of his family in the ministry consistently since 1876. Richard has been a writer all of his adult life, writing corporate training manuals and collegiate self-study courses, as well as two textbooks. He has written articles for both Christian and secular magazines and journals. His previously published biographies are The Rise of Lakewood Church and Joel Osteen and The Journey of T. D. Jakes.

Richard received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. He has completed the coursework for his doctorate in education at Oklahoma State University. He served as vice president of academics at American Christian College and Seminary in Oklahoma City as well as dean of academics at Oklahoma Junior College. He also was a trainer for Century 21 across the state of Oklahoma.

Coauthor Brenda Young holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Communications and a Master of Performing Arts from Oklahoma City University. She has written and produced many Christian children's plays, founded a children's theatre with a large cast, and been a professor of speech, humanities, and drama. During the time she and Richard were in the pastorate, she developed a Fine Arts preschool for children in a low-income area, giving the children a safe place to be creative. Later, she became the director of the church food pantry, where two thousand families per month receive groceries.

Brenda and Richard have been married for more than three decades. Although they find great joy in helping people, their highest delight is spending time with their three children and nine grandchildren. Show Less