Eric Metaxas

Mr. Metaxas can name-drop with the best of them—and does, on his website. Probably the coolest thing in his bio is the part where he upstaged Dick Cavett when delivering the satirical commencement speech for his Yale graduating class. The most well-known is his recent publication of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, as well as his even more recent speech at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast.

It can be difficult to maintain solid Christian ideals among the New York writerly milieu, but Eric Metaxas seems to be doing just that. Born in 1963 in the NYC, Metaxas was raised by Greek Orthodox parents in Danbury, CT. He attended Yale and became atheist/agnostic/postmodern, graduated in good standing....and meanwhile churned out a lot of high-quality humor writing.

Rumor has it even Woody Allen thinks he's funny. And he is—if you had the pleasure of watching his Prayer Breakfast speech, you'll know the man can hardly speak three sentences without a wisecrack. But he has a serious side, too, as is evidenced by his two wildly popular and much-awarded biographies: the aforementioned Bonhoeffer biography, and his work on the life of William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace, a movie tie-in for the film starring Iaon Gruffudd and Albert Finney.

The list of writing credits claimed by Metaxas is overwhelming and too long to fit here, but suffice it to say he's written for everyone from the New York Times to VeggieTales to the children's book publisher Rabbit Ears Books to Chuck Colson. The list of well-known shoulders he's rubbed is equally impressive, but his attitude remains humble and demure.

In fact, he repeatedly gives all the glory people try to attribute to him right back to God. A staunch Christian after a refreshingly undramatic conversion in 1988, Metaxas has set himself the task of using his substantial gifts in the name of Jesus Christ. Of his Bonhoeffer biography he said the only reason his book won so much praise and sold so many copies was that his subject was such a great man.

CHC