Stuart C. Smith was pastor of Orchard Community Church in Eugene, Oregon, from 1975 to 1985. In other churches since then he has served as a Bible teacher, life group leader, and mentor. He and Christine began their marriage in 1975 and have three married children—Michael, John, and Anna—and five grandchildren.

Stuart and Christine are members of Life Bible Church in Harrisburg, and when travel is difficult they also attend First Baptist Church in Eugene.

For 36 years, he worked in the College of Education, University of Oregon, and retired in 2003 from a research faculty position. In that role as associate director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, a federally funded information center, he directed a publications program that analyzed research for the nation’s school leaders. He wrote and edited many books and articles while at the University of Oregon, including School Leadership: Handbook for Excellence in Student Learning (Corwin Press, 2006).

Dead to Sin, Alive to God: Discover the Power of Reckoning to Set You Free in Christ is Stuart’s first work in Christian publishing. This book combines his biblical knowledge and analytic skills, and the result is a synthesis of Bible text and scholarly sources in a clear and concise style. The book comes from the heart of a pastor and the mind of a professional writer and editor.

Stuart says, “I am a flawed messenger of a tremendous message. This book is not about me. It is about the liberating work of Christ and the Scriptures that proclaim Christ’s work.”