John W. Sloat, a former Presbyterian minister, served churches in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He holds degrees from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and from Princeton and Pittsburgh Theological Seminaries. His first book, Lord, Make Us One, was published in 1986 and several of his sermons have been included in Pulpit Digest, a national preaching journal. He is married to Helen Burdick Sloat, a psychiatric nurse, and they have three children and seven grandchildren. A pianist and organist, Sloat also plays the French horn and gives piano lessons to young friends. He is a scratch model builder and leads spirituality groups.