Our annual Easter Sunrise Service at Turf Paradise, will feature Dr. Paul L. Maier as speaker. Dr. Maier is Professor of Ancient History (em.) at Western Michigan University, a four-term Vice President of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, and a much-published author of both scholarly and popular works. His novels include two historical documentaries: Pontius Pilate and The Flames of Rome, as well as a theological thriller that became # 1 national bestseller in religious fiction, A Skeleton in God's Closet. The sequels, More Than a Skeleton and The Constantine Codex completed the trilogy.

His non-fiction works include In the Fullness of Time, a book that correlates sacred with secular evidence from the ancient world impinging on Jesus and early Christianity; Josephus -- The Essential Works, a new translation/commentary on writings of the first-century Jewish historian; and Eusebius -- The Church History, a similar book on the first Christian historian. More than five million Maier books are now in print in twenty languages, as well as over 300 scholarly articles and reviews in professional journals.

Dr. Maier lectures widely, appears frequently in national radio, television, and newspaper interviews, and has received numerous awards. He has also penned seven children's books, and hosted six video series dealing with Jesus, St. Paul, the early church, the Bible, and current Christianity. Dr. Maier married his wife Joan in 1967, and they have four married daughters.