Max Lucado

Max Lucado is a best selling Christian author and well-known minister. Lucado has written more than 50 books with 28 million copies in print., and currently serves as senior minister at Oak Hills Church (formerly Oak Hills Church of Christ) in San Antonio, Texas. After serving in this capacity for 20 years, Lucado announced in early 2007 that he is stepping down due to health concerns related to atrial fibrillation.

Lucado was born in 1955 in San Angelo, Texas, the youngest of four children to Jack and Thelma Lucado. He was raised in Andrews, Texas. His father was an oil field worker, while his mother served as a nurse.
Lucado attended Abilene Christian University. Initially he had aspirations to become a lawyer, but has said that a required Bible course at the university and a mission trip made him change his mind, deciding instead to become a missionary. However, this required that Lucado get a graduate degree in Bible and have at least two years experience ministering to a church.

After graduation Lucado moved to Miami, Florida, to minister to a church. His responsibilities were to minister to a singles' group and write a column for the church's newsletter. Later these short columns were compiled to form his first book, On the Anvil. A After two years in Miami, the newly wed Lucado and his wife, Denalyn, moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to become full time missionaries.

In 1987, Lucado's father succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. After five years in Brazil, he brought his family back to the United States to be closer to his mother. In 1988 he was hired as minister to the Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio; the congregation has been known simply as Oak Hills Church since 2003.

Lucado was named "America's Pastor" by Christianity Today magazine and in 2005 was named by Reader's Digest as "The Best Preacher in America." He has been featured on The Fox News Channel, NBC Nightly News, Larry King Live, and USA Today. His books are regularly on the New York Times Best Seller List. He has been featured speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast.