Galli, Mark

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Galli, Mark

PERSONAL:

Religion: "Anglican." Hobbies and other interests: Fly fishing, golfing.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Glen Ellyn, IL. Office—Christianity Today, 465 Gundersen Dr., Carol Stream, IL 60188. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Editor, writer. Former Presbyterian minister, Sacramento, CA, and Mexico City, Mexico. Leadership magazine, former editor; Christian History magazine, former editor; Christianity Today, managing editor, 2000—.

WRITINGS:

Dangers, Toils & Snares: Resisting the Hidden Temptations of Ministry, Multnomah Books (Sisters, OR), 1994.

(With Craig Brain Larson) Preaching That Connects: Using the Techniques of Journalists to Add Impact to Your Sermons, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 1994.

(With James S. Bell, Jr.) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Prayer, Alpha Books (Indianapolis, IN), 1999, 2nd edition, 2004.

(With Ted Olsen) 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, Broadman & Holman (Nashville, TN), 2000.

Francis of Assisi and His World, InterVarsity Press (Downers Grove, IL), 2002.

Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God, Baker Books (Grand Rapids, MI), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Journalist, editor, and former minister, Mark Galli is the author of numerous books dealing with religion, from hands-on, how-to titles such as Preaching That Connects: Using the Techniques of Journalists to Add Impact to Your Sermons and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Prayer, to historical perspectives on Christianity, including Francis of Assisi and His World and the 2006 work, Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God.

In Francis of Assisi and His World, Galli produces a life-and-times biography of one of the great Catholic saints, noted for his piety, love of animals and the poor, and his gifts as a peacemaker. Writing in Australian Screen Education, Wendy Rawady felt that the book's "presentation, the broad area covered in such a short space, and the obvious enthusiasm with which Galli attacks the subject, are all indications that this is a great starting point for some scholarly research."

With Jesus Mean and Wild, Galli takes a look at "the less lovable side of the Christian deity, offering a well-written, thoroughly researched look at Jesus," as a Publishers Weekly contributor noted. Galli uses numerous passages from the Gospel of Mark to demonstrate that Jesus was not always loving, meek, and compassionate, but also was capable of showing a less appealing side of impatience, anger, and a tendency toward confrontation. This portrayal of a "militant" Jesus is, as a reviewer for California Bookwatch concluded, "ultimately more challenging and revealing" than the usual evocation of Christ in biblical histories.