Meet Author Erik Steidl

To be completely honest, I am not any kind of expert in the area of biblical history. I’m not even an expert in working with teenagers or children. Although I have a minor in youth ministry, have published one book already, and have taught and worked with youth for almost a decade, I still feel very inadequate in these areas.

I think that no matter how much I teach children, work with teens, or study in a post-grad setting, I’ll never be an “expert.” I don’t know that anyone truly can because every young person is unique. Young people have a way of taking expectations and completely bypassing them in ways that are simultaneously surprising and brilliant. I never cease to marvel at my students’ talents and abilities.

I honestly began writing, and continue writing, out of a simple desire to connect young people with scripture. My entire teen lit series is going to be retelling biblical stories from the perspective of young people who play minor roles in those stories. I hope that seeing the classical biblical stories from that new perspective will shed new light on them and show young people that their role is important in whatever story they find themselves in.