As I see snow falling in the mountains...on TV, and I witness Christmas decorations popping up all around me, I'm reminded of how much I live in the south. Eighty-six degrees today for a high. Nov. 8. But alas, a cold front in on the way. Break out the parkas. It will drop all the way to 79 by Friday. Brrr...or is it Grrr?
Nevertheless, we are going to plug ahead with life and welcome a special guest to our big Florida front porch. Pull up a chair and help me welcome author, screenplay writer, radio personality, and speaker, Dr. Craig von Buseck!
Craig, it is a pleasure having you here on our Author Behind the Story Series! Could you tell us a little about yourself? Something to get us kickstarted?
Dr. Craig von Buseck is a published author and a writer for
Inspiration.org, the website of Inspiration Ministries. He is a contributing
writer for CBN.com, MTL Magazine, and Generals.org. He is a regular guest on
Susie Larson’s “Live the Promise” program on Faith Radio Network. He holds a
Doctor of Ministry and an MA in Religious Journalism from Regent University,
and a BA in Speech
Communication from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
Craig’s most recent book is “Nobody Knows: The Harry T.
Burleigh Story”. Craig is also the author of "Praying the News: Your
Prayers Are More Powerful Than You Know", co-written by 700 Club co-host
Wendy Griffith; “NetCasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men”; “Seven
Keys to Hearing God’s Voice”; along with other ghost-written books. He has just
completed a biography examining the Zionist Movement and the life of President
Harry S. Truman to commemorate the 100
th anniversary of the Balfour
Declaration and the 70
th Anniversary of the birth of Israel. This
new book, “I Am Cyrus: Harry S. Truman and the Rebirth of Israel”, will be
released soon.
That is so cool. Very intriguing title for your latest, soon-to-be-released book. Now, before you ever got a notion of becoming
a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that time of your
life?
During
my high school years I attended a church where the youth group sat together in
the balcony. During many of the sermons I could “see” what the pastor was
describing in my imagination as though I was watching a movie. I determined
then and there that I would spend my life as a storyteller. Over the years I have
told these stories through the written word in articles and books, through
songs, and also through TV and film.
I know you mentioned some of this above, but what educational background do
you have?
I
did a joint degree between journalism and divinity for my Master’s program at
Regent University. I was attracted to Regent University because of its
reputation for academic and artistic excellence and also its commitment to
biblical orthodoxy.
A
decade later I returned to Regent to complete a Doctor of Ministry.
I
attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania because it was affordable and it
had a strong communication program. I attended Strong Vincent High School
because it was a block away from my home.
Nothing like close proximity to help further an education. Are you married? Single? Have
kids?
Single
with three kids in their 20s.
I’m going to give you a shotgun
list of favorites. List your favorite in each category and then tell us in one
sentence why it is your favorite.
Favorite
Food:
Steak, loaded baked potato, and salad with extra blue cheese dressing.
Favorite
Drink:
Sparkling Ice Tangerine
Favorite
Song:
Be Thou My Vision
Favorite
Non-Fiction Book (other than your own & besides the Bible): “Unbroken”
by Laura Hillenbrand
Favorite
Bible Verse:
The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of
their lives. (Ps. 37:23, NLT)
Favorite
Movie:
Seabiscuit
Favorite
Actor or Actress: Jeff Bridges
Favorite
Novel (other than your own): “Rhett Butler’s People” by Donald
McCraig
Favorite
Novelist/Narrative Biographer (other than you): Laura
Hillenbrand
Favorite
Sport:
Baseball
Favorite Team
(Can be any sport, any level): Pittsburgh Pirates
Favorite
Subject in School Growing Up: History
Favorite
Subject Now:
History
Favorite
Teacher in School: Dr. Bob Slosser
Favorite
Time of the Year: Autumn
Favorite
Place to Vacation: Hawaii
If you had one person you could
meet (think outside the Bible here) and could spend as much time as you wanted
with that individual, who would it be?
Abraham
Lincoln – one of the wisest and one of the most compassionate presidents we
have ever had, I would love to spend time talking with Lincoln to learn of his
worldview, his core beliefs, his method of coming to a decision, and why he
chose to do some of the things he did in life and as president.
 |
“Nobody Knows:
The Harry T. Burleigh Story” |
I agree. He would be an interesting person to talk to. If you had one person you could
meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you
wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus?
Barnabas
– one of the most important of the early disciples, and one of the most
overlooked. Barnabas embraced Saul (Paul) when the apostles were afraid of him;
When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles in Antioch, Barnabas
remembered the call Saul received on the road to Damascus to minister to the
Gentiles. Barnabas traveled to the desert to find Saul and bring him to
minister with him in Antioch; Later the Holy Spirit separated Barnabas and Saul
for their first missionary journey. In the midst of that ministry trip Barnabas
stepped back and allowed Saul to step fully into his ministry to the Gentiles.
Luke begins the 13th chapter of Acts by identifying “Barnabas and
Saul”, then he ends that same chapter identifying “Paul and Barnabas” –
highlighting the changed that had occurred in Paul’s life and ministry, which
came in large measure due to the love and maturity of Barnabas; Later Paul and
Barnabas have a falling out over the immature actions of John Mark. Barnabas
chose to go after John Mark and disciple him further, while Paul cut them both
off and chose Silas as a new ministry partner. Later John Mark re-emerges as
the ministry partner of Peter and pens the Gospel that bears his name, which
was dictated by the apostle. In an amazing twist, at the end of his life Paul
calls for John Mark to come and visit him and expresses his admiration for him.
All these things occurred because of this giant of the faith, Barnabas.
Besides the usual things authors
face, has there been an unusual event that changed your perspective about being
an author?
I
started at Regent in the Divinity School, but I knew writing would be a part of
my ministry. Someone recommended the class “The Craft of Good Writing” as an
elective. The course was taught by Dr. Bob Slosser, who had been an editor with
the New York Times before moving to Virginia to help build Regent University.
Throughout the semester Bob continued to drive home the idea, “make writing
your ministry, not just your career.” This message resonated with me and I
spoke to Dr. Slosser about my idea of pursuing a joint degree. I’ll never
forget his response: “There are a lot of ‘right-thinking’ pastors,
missionaries, and Bible school professors out there, but there are not a lot of
‘right-thinking’ writers and communicators. If you feel God calling you to this
I want to support you in that decision.” I graduated with a joint-degree and my
Master’s thesis would later be published by Baker books as “Nobody Knows: The
Harry T. Burleigh Story.”
"Right-thinking" writers are definitely something of which the world needs more. I heard someone say that we have been great at being salt and light, but unfortunately, the salt has lived in the mine and the light has remained in the light bulb factory. So, besides becoming an author, what’s the craziest thing you
have ever done?
During
my freshman year of college I jumped off a 3-story cliff into an abandoned
quarry without first checking to see how deep the water was. Dumb. Fun at the
time, but dumb.
Why do you live where you live?
I
recently moved to the Charlotte, North Carolina area to work for Inspiration.org,
the website of Inspiration Ministries. My Family used to take vacations in the
Charlotte area and so I’ve loved this region since I was a kid. I was thrilled
when God opened the door for me to do media ministry in one of my favorite
places in America. Inspiration Ministries, the parent company of Inspiration TV
and the INSP cable network, is located just a few miles south of Charlotte
across the line in South Carolina. I chose to live on the South Carolina side,
which is a both urban and rural. It is a beautiful area with rolling hills,
pine forests, a river and lakes.
We have some good friends who live in Rock Hill, which must be a hop, skip, and a jump away from you. They pastor a church there. Small world, huh?
We know “Readers are leaders,
and leaders are readers.” Is there a book you’ve read in the past five years or
so that has helped you become a better you? If so, which one was it, and how
did it affect your life?
In
the groundbreaking book, “Discipling Nations”, Darrow Miller comments on Romans
8:19-22, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be
revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice,
but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious
freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been
groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
Miller
gives this optimistic interpretation. “Here we learn several critical facts:
(1) creation’s fate and ours are inextricably bound together; (2) God’s work of
restoring all things to Himself is a process, a story, that will one day be
consummated; (3) man has been commissioned to be a part of that process; and,
by extension (4) science and technology are tools in this process.” He doesn’t
think it is getting darker and darker in the world and that the Devil is alive
and well on planet Earth. He agrees with Larry Tomczak’s observation, “The
Devil may be alive, but he’s not doing well. In fact he knows his time is
short.”
Now
is the time for the Church to rise up into its proper place of dominion and
creativity – believing God for strategies to reach the nations with the Gospel
so that all may know of God’s plan of salvation. Jesus said, “…the Kingdom of
God suffers violence and those who take it, take it by force.” It is time for the
Church to take possession of all that has been promised to us and like Caleb
said to Joshua, declare that, “I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses
sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for
going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the
Lord spoke in that day” (Jos 14:11-12 NKJV).
In Christ and for the Church and the world, relying on the leading and
creativity of the Holy Spirit, and using the dynamic tools on the Internet and through
digital technology, I believe the best is yet to come.
When you look for a new home,
what are the things that are important to you?
Near
water, surrounded by woods, comfortable, with its own movie theater, and a fully
equipped kitchen. I like a combination of wood and stone both on the interior
and exterior.
When you look for a new car,
what are the things that are important to you?
My
next vehicle is going to be a pickup truck. Since I live relatively close to
some beautiful lakes I plan to purchase
a pontoon boat and I need a truck with enough power to haul it. I’d like a truck
with four-doors to seat 4 or 5 people so I have room when my kids come to
visit, or during vacations.
When you are looking for a book
to read, what are the things that are important to you?
Like
most things that I buy or consume, I do a decent amount of research before I buy
a book. I want to know what both the critics and readers are saying. I look to
see what kind of leaders have endorsed the book, both within the covers and in
the press. I am not usually a person who will spontaneously pick up a book
based on its cover. I have way too many books that I want to read in my own
library. I don’t need to be adding books that I’m not sure are worth the time
and expense.
What Bible scripture has
impacted your life the most, and why?
In
John 16:13, Jesus tells His disciples “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will
guide you into all truth.” I often say, “I’m an amateur at life – this is the
first time I’ve ever lived, so I need all the help I can get. From the time I
was in high school I’ve relied on the leading of the Holy Spirit to “guide me
into the truth.” So in high school, college, and graduate school I prayed
before every test and before beginning any major paper or project, asking that
the Holy Spirit would guide me into the truth. Throughout my career, when I
begin a new book, movie script, article, or some other project I always ask for
the guidance and anointing of the Holy Spirit – because apart from Him, I know
I can do nothing of eternal significance.
I like that: "I'm an amateur at life-this is the first time I've ever lived..." Great line.
Is there anything else you’d
like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover?
The world celebrates three remarkable anniversaries this
year: the 100th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration; the 70th
Anniversary of the U.N.’s vote on the partition of western Palestine; and the
70th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel. In this
momentous year, watch for my new book I
Am Cyrus – the remarkable story of Harry S. Truman and his part in the
rebirth of Israel. I have also recently completed a screenplay based on the
true story of a young woman who survived the Holocaust. Watch for announcements
on the progress of these two projects on my website, www.vonbuseck.com
The days are numbered. The world is in labor. That's for sure.
Craig, it has been wonderful having you as a guest in our Author Behind the Story Series. Your non-fiction prowess has helped to bring balance to this heavily-laden fiction blog series. :-)
Readers, want to find out more about Craig's ministry? You can find him at the following sites:
May God Bless You, and May You Bless God!
Kevin
You can find Kevin's books at his website: www.ckevinthompson.com
