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, pe ...

religious

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and an Episcopal

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 deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

for the Diocese of Georgia. He is also the senior editor for the Christian magazine ''The Quiet Hour'' published by David C. Cook Publishing Co.

History

Raised in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Wilde moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

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 founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

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

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

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 official seminary of the Church of the Brethren. Bethany, located in Richmond, Indiana, is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Higher Learning Commissi ...

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

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 evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Methodist Church has members in over 100 ...

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, US. The diocese is headed by Bishop Paula Clark, who is the first woman and first African-American to lead the diocese. ...

. In late 1997 Wilde moved back to the Orlando suburb of Oviedo, 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 churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

. 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 churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. 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 pre ...

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 2010 census, Moultrie's population was 14,268. It was originally ...

, in the

Episcopal Diocese of Georgia The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, USA is one of 20 dioceses that comprise Province IV of the US Episcopal Church, and is a diocese within the worldwide Anglican Communion. The current bishop is Frank S. Logue, who succeeded Scott Anson Benh ...

. 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 Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

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 and wrote on a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his most ...

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