Prolific Christian author and Bible editor Dr. Lawrence O. Richards died October 16, 2016. Among his authorship of more than 200 works, Richards was the general editor of the Adventure Bible (Zonderkidz) and the co-general editor with his wife, Sue, for the Teen Study Bible (Zondervan).

[Browse books by Lawrence O. Richards in the Bible Gateway Store]

“Larry Richards has been my friend and partner in publishing for 37 years,” Stan Gundry, editor-in-chief and senior vice president and publisher, Zondervan, says. “Zondervan published many of his books, and for a number of years he served on our advisory committee for academic publishing. I soon discovered that this man, whose primary expertise was Christian education, was very knowledgeable in all the biblical and theological disciplines. He was brilliant; his knowledge was encyclopedic; and as an author he was prolific. His versatility was unmatched. He wrote textbooks, devotional books, biblical reference books, and books for children.”

In addition to his publishing history with Zondervan, Richards penned works published with Thomas Nelson, including The Bible: The Smart Guide to the Bible Series.

Early in his career, Dr. Richards was an assistant professor of Christian Education in the Wheaton College Graduate School where he also taught New Testament and Old Testament courses. He went on to write major works on overall philosophy of Christian education, church renewal, children’s ministry, youth ministry, leadership, ministry of the laity, small groups, spirituality, and Bible teaching.