Gary Allen Wilde (born 1952) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

religious

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

for the Diocese of Georgia. He is also the senior editor for the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

magazine ''The Quiet Hour'' published by David C. Cook Publishing Co.

History

Raised in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Wilde moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in 1971, where he attended

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

in Deerfield, receiving his A.A. degree. From there he went on to

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and received his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree in pastoral training and Greek. From 1975 to 1978 he served as associate

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

at Irving Park Free Methodist Church, in suburban Chicago, then from 1978 to 1985 as senior pastor of St. Charles Free Methodist Church in St. Charles. During that time Wilde also attended graduate school at Wheaton College in Wheaton, taking courses in educational ministry, then got his

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

degree from

Bethany Theological Seminary Bethany Theological Seminary is the a seminary of the Church of the Brethren in Richmond, Indiana. It is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Higher Learning Commission. History The semin ...

Writer and Editor

In 1986 Wilde wrote a short series of biblical commentaries, thus starting his career as a writer. By 1988 Wilde had become an instructor in the Religion/Humanities Department at

Elgin Community College Elgin Community College (ECC) is a Public college, public community college in Elgin, Illinois. It was founded in 1949 as part of Elgin Area School District U46. Community College District 509 was formed 17 years later in 1966, a year after Illin ...

, a position he held until 1991. He also became the Books and Curriculum Editor for the David C. Cook Publishing Company in

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

. In 1990 he developed his own company, Wilde Creative Services, and began contracting himself out as an author/editor. Between 1990 and 2005, working as a freelancer Wilde wrote, collaborated, and edited books, articles, and education materials for different Christian publishers. He is the creator of the ''Bible Wisdom'' series, the ''Encouragers for Men'' series for Victor Books and author-compiler of the 15 books in the ''Promises to Treasure'' series for

Broadman & Holman Lifeway Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the Christian media publishing and distribution division of the Southern Baptist Convention and provider of church business services. Until the end of its physical retail presence ...

Anglican

By 1988 Wilde had left the

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

and started attending services in the

Episcopal Diocese of Chicago The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is the official organization of the Episcopal Church in Chicago and Northern Illinois, USA. The diocese is served by The Right Reverend Paula Clark, who serves as Bishop of the diocese. The cathedral of the dioce ...

. In late 1997 Wilde moved back to the Orlando suburb of

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

, and began going to the Cathedral Church of St. Luke. There he held various positions, including working with men's ministry and the cathedral's ''Dean's Hour'' study groups. From 2005 to 2006 Wilde attended Nashotah House seminary, in Nashotah, WI, taking the school's Anglican Studies Program, in preparation for the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

. On May 27, 2006, Wilde was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida is a diocese in Florida in Province IV of the Episcopal Church. It is bounded on the north by the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the dioceses of Sout ...

. In June he accepted a position as

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of St. John's Episcopal Church,

Moultrie, Georgia Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County, Georgia, United States. It is the third largest city in Southwest Georgia, behind Thomasville and Albany. As of the 2020 census, Moultrie's population was 14,638. It was origina ...

, in the

Episcopal Diocese of Georgia The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, USA is one of 20 dioceses that comprise Province 4 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Province IV of the US Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal Church, and is a dio ...

. On December 13, 2006, Wilde was ordained a

by the Rt. Rev. Henry I. Louttit, Jr., and was installed as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at St. John's. Wilde is an

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

priest and is inspired by

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his mo ...

Family

Since 1973 Wilde has been married to Carol McLean Wilde. They have several children.

Bibliography

*''Philippians: Joy in the Lord'' (1986) *''Old Testament Royalty: History of a Nation'' (1986) *''The Sermon on the Mount: Wisdom of the Kingdom'' (1986) *''Ephesians: Life in the Church'' (1986) *''Acts: Powered by the Spirit'' (1986) *''First & Second Thessalonians: Hope of His Coming'' (1986) *''Your Ministry of Prayer'' (1990) *''Dealing with Death'' (1991) *''Free from the Past: God's Promise for Adult Children of Alcoholics'' (1992) *The Bible Wisdom series (1993-1995) *''Wisdom for Grandparents: Practical Bible-Based Principles'' (1995) *''Be Skillful Leader's Guide'' (1995) *The Encouragers for Men series (1996-1998) *''The Bedside Book of Prayer'' (1997) *''The Power of Prayer'' (1998) *''The Promise of Faith'' (1998) *The Promises to Treasure series (1998-1999) *''Bible Promises for Champions'' (2000) *''All Preachers Great and Small'' (2000) *''Maxed Out: How Old Testament Personalities Handled the Stress'' (2000) *''Prayers for Good Times and Bad'' (2001) *''Life-Changing Prayers: Discover the Power of Prayer'' (2002) *''Christian Family Guide to Starting Your Own Business'' (2003) *''Christ-Based Leadership: Applying the Bible and Today's Best Leadership Models to Become an Effective Leader'' (2005)

External links