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Mark has a
B.S in Education (SUNY Geneseo, NY), a M.S. in Administration (Pensacola Christian College), M. Div (Master of Divinity, Baptist Bible Seminary), Th. M. (Master of Theology, BBS), Master Studies in Counseling at Philadelphia Biblical University, and is a Doctoral candidate (Denver Seminar).
Mark Hamby is the founder and president of Cornerstone Family Ministries and Lamplighter Publishing.
Having had a distaste for reading during his childhood, Mark would have been an unlikely candidate to
develop a passionate love for literature. He was in his early twenties when someone introduced him to
his first inspiring biography from which he discovered for the first time someone he aspired to be like.
As he devoured several biographies per week, his appetite for great literature quickly grew.
His desire for quality books was insatiable. As a school administrator, he was determined to provide
this same inspirational influence for his students, and even more importantly, for their parents.
He carefully selected gripping, powerful literature that taught life-changing truths.
Mark is hesitant to use the word “classic” to describe this collection because he is
convinced that this literature reaches beyond the definition of “classic.” The word
"classic" was a term that related to ancient Greek and Roman authors. These authors were considered
to be of the first rank or "class," thus the word “classic.” Many authors of this collection
used pseudo names or were anonymously written because at the time they were written, women were not
accepted as qualified contributors to the realm of literature. Hawthorne, for example, was livid over
the book, The Lamplighter because it was written by a woman and because of the simplicity of its moral
message. Some would argue that Hawthorne was angered more by the fact that this rival book outsold his
Scarlet Letter ten to one in the first year. The Lamplighter went on to sell over a million copies.
Having seen the superior moral quality of this work, Lamplighter Publishing made this the flagship
book that has led the way to 105 more titles.
The beauty of a Lamplighter book is that character is not only taught, but is demonstrated through
the lives of children and adults whose character is tested through the storms of life. Today, parents
are often frustrated with the lack of character exhibited in the lives of their children. Faced with
perceived failure, they easily succumb to the temptation to control rather than influence. Lamplighter
books can help. Parents and teachers can relax as the story does the teaching. Children enjoy the
stories without feeling like they’re being forced to hear another lecture.
Each Lamplighter book has been carefully selected. It must create in the reader a yearning to aspire
to a higher level of character. It must be inspiring and gripping—leaving the reader on the edge
of his seat. Because of Mark's own personal journey, he realizes how much he missed as a boy because of
his distaste for reading. Today he is passionately determined that each book he publishes will create a
longing in a child's heart to read “just one more chapter…please!” As author, speaker,
and teacher, what Mark enjoys most is helping his audience to remove the mask of everyday life in order
to expose the heart. Unless the heart is reached there can be no lasting change. Through the genre of
storytelling and the life-changing power of inspirational role models, we have seen the effects that
love, truth, and hope have on Mark’s audiences. We are finding that the same is true when one
reads a Lamplighter book.
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