Andrew
Palau, the son of the evangelical evangelist Luis Palau and recent
author of his testimony-ridden book, "The Secret Life of a Fool, has not
had a typical or easy route to the Kingdom as he describes in his
book. Growing up in an evangelical family, he pushed far away from
christendom and all its teachings and saught to satisfy his ever-growing
teenage wants and desires. Andrew's life is a story not too far from
the typical American teenager as well as the familiar story that Christ
describes of the Prodigal Son who flees home seeking to find his place
in life only to return home broken, distraught, and tired. After
visiting one of his father's speaking engagements in Jamaica, Andrew
finally believed the Gospel and took his first steps as a new believer.
While it wasn't easy, 18 years later, and many stories in between,
Andrew is now married with three children, travels often for his
speaking-ministry and has a great purpose to spread God's fame wherever
he goes and to whomever he encounters, no matter the cost.
A former missionary to Zimbabwe, Elliff was pastor of First Southern
Baptist Church in Del City, Oklahoma for 20 years. He was elected
president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1996 and 1997. He worked
at the IMB as senior vice president for spiritual nurture and church
relations from 2005 until 2009 and in 2011 was innagurated as the new president of the SBC International Mission Board.
Elliff is a fourth-generation Oklahoman and third-generation pastor. He
received a bachelor of arts degree from Ouachita Baptist University in
Arkadelphia, Arkansas; a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; and a doctor of ministry
degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He
and his wife, Jeannie, served as missionaries to Zimbabwe in the early
1980s. They resigned in 1983 after their daughter, Beth, was seriously
injured in a car accident there.
Elliff served two terms as Southern Baptist Convention president in 1996
and 1997. He has led several key churches in the denomination,
including First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, Okla., where he was
pastor from 1985-2005.
Elliff then served as IMB senior vice president for spiritual nurture
and church relations from 2005-09. In that role, he taught and counseled
missionaries and helped mobilize churches throughout the convention for
missions involvement. Since then he has led Living in The Word
Publications, a writing and speaking ministry he founded in 2005. He is
the author of numerous books about prayer, spiritual awakening and
family life.
