Author Spotlight: Gary S. Edwards
We are pleased to introduce Gary S. Edwards. Gary recently published The Most Important Lesson with us, which is now available through the Word Alive Press Bookstore, and everywhere fine Christian books are sold. We asked Gary to share a little bit about his new book and his writing. But first, a little bit about him.
About
Gary S. Edwards was raised in a Christian home by parents who were once missionaries overseas. He attended Christian schools and went to university to be trained as a commercial pilot, with the goal of flying helicopters for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While waiting for a call from the RCMP to begin training, he attended university to earn his degree in Education. Upon graduation, he felt God leading him into education and gave up his dream of flying helicopters.
Shortly after beginning his teaching career, he became a semi-professional magician and juggler; performing across Canada and internationally. Following a 15-year career as a teacher, he began full-time Christian ministry in 2002 and in 2011, he founded C-Quest, an evangelism-focused ministry based in Mexico. He is a husband, father of two, and has been a popular speaker at Bible camps, youth events and teacher’s conventions, often using illusions and juggling to share the Gospel. An admitted “adrenaline junkie”, he enjoys travelling, sports, board games and competition of any kind.
Q&A
Q: What event in your life inspired you to write this book?
A: In 2019, I suffered a cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for five minutes. During that time, I experienced a profound “death encounter” with Jesus. This encounter has changed my life and my wish is to share it with others so that they can benefit from it as well.
Q: How is the topic of your book personal to you and why did you choose to share it with readers?
A: The Most Important Lesson applies to everyone. Too many believers, like myself, think they understand what’s really important in life but fail to apply it to the degree that they should. My desire is to save others from wasting precious time and effort by stating clearly what was revealed to me during my death encounter with Jesus, and teaching others the method I used to grow closer to Christ.
Q: Why would someone want to read your book?
A: It took me almost 57 years to finally learn The Most Important Lesson. Despite hearing this important truth countless times before, it took a profound death experience during a cardiac arrest, for me to finally realize what I’d been missing most of my life. My desire is to help others learn and apply what took me so long to learn. My prayer is that it will transform their lives as it has mine.
Q: Explain what you’d like readers to walk away with after reading your book.
A: We all want to go to heaven when we die, but how many of us are 100% sure that we will make it there? Scripture makes it very clear how to receive salvation and how we should live our lives. Unfortunately, too many people are deceived by the contrary and often confusing messages they receive from sources other than God’s word. Matthew 7:21- 23 (NIV) contains three of the most important verses in the entire Bible, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
God’s will is that each of us know Him, and His son, Jesus, intimately. This is what I refer to as the most important lesson I ever learned. Knowing God’s will for our lives and knowing Him intimately are the most important things we can do during our time here on earth.
Q: How would you describe your writing style?
A: If I was to describe my writing style, it would be “honest and straightforward.” This simply mirrors my approach to life. I value honesty and believe that readers deserve to hear the truth, especially when it applies to spiritual things. The enemy is a master of deception and he often uses tricks to deceive people. As followers of Christ our mission is to speak truth in all things. I find that sharing my own personal experiences and what I have learned from these events is an easy way for me to be honest with my readers.
Q: How do you choose a topic to write about?
A: I usually write about things that have been on my mind for some time. At the risk of sounding overly spiritual, for me it usually comes down to a conversation of some kind that I’ve had with God. Usually, these conversations happen in the middle of the night and I get flooded with ideas that I believe come from God. My most recent project is a good example of this. God brought to mind something that happened to me many years ago and I’m now using this as the foundation for my next book, What Will Your Tombstone Say?: How to Leave a Lasting Legacy.
Q: Do you have any advice for new writers?
A: Like the Nike slogan says, “Just Do It!” When considering the idea of writing a book, it is easy to be overwhelmed by looking at the end result. Rather than looking at the end product, I tackle my books one step, or chapter, at a time. As time progresses, the work grows and the end result takes care of itself. Get your ideas down on paper in an outline. Modify it as you “marinate” in your thoughts, and then just start writing. Revisions are part of the writing process, so don’t be glued to stuff that needs to go.
Connecting Points
Find and follow Gary, here:
Website: www.themostimportantlesson.info