Luke Harper is a 17-year-old student who just graduated from high school as a published author. Luke authored Josiah Road with his dad as a part of an effort to call students to stand, influence and lead. The study was inspired by principles gleaned from the biblical account of King Josiah (2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 34). All the royalties from the sale of the Josiah Road resources will go into a student leadership scholarship fund, which will be used to equip and train students in the area of leadership.

I know Luke (and his dad, as well), and I was excited to be able to interview him for the blog. I always like the opportunity to introduce new and young leaders. Josiah Road releases today, and is a great resource for students.

Ed Stetzer: How did the idea for the project get started?

Luke Harper: Throughout the years, my dad and I have been studying different characters in the Bible. When we started studying the life of Josiah, I realized it is a story many students have never read. I believe it's a story that every student needs to hear. It is not often that you hear of a 16-year-old radically changing his community for God as you do in the story of Josiah. His story is living proof that there is no limit to what God can do in and through the life of a student.

ES: What prompted you to write a Bible study on the life of Josiah?

LH: The summer of my freshman year, I was attending a student leadership conference and felt led to encourage students through writing. I started blogging and discovered that I really enjoy it. Soon after that, I had the idea that the story of Josiah would make a great D-Now curriculum. I talked to my dad, and we started writing about Josiah. The more I studied about this young king, the more I wanted to tell others about him. My dad and I never dreamed any of this would happen.

ES: What was the response from your friends when they found out you were writing a Bible study at age 15?

LH: At first, I did not tell anyone because I was not sure how my friends would react, but eventually word begin to spread. Some were shocked, some didn't believe me, and some thought I was joking. Some guys even questioned why I would waste my time doing such a thing. Since that time, we've heard story after story of students and church leaders who are using the material. One summer, a 14-year-old guy came up to me and told me that he was going to ask his youth pastor if he could teach it as a Sunday morning Bible study! Last year the principal of my Christian school decided to take the entire high school through the study on Josiah.