Stanley M. Burgess is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. He is the coeditor of the New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (2002) and has authored Christian Peoples of the Spirit (2011) and numerous other works.

Paul W. Lewis serves as the Associate Dean and the Professor of Historical Theology and Intercultural Studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Springfield, Missouri. He is the editor of the International Journal of Pentecostal Missiology and has authored numerous articles and reviews.

The essays in this volume, which are written by friends, colleagues, and former students, are dedicated to Gary B. McGee as a memorial to his life, work, and service. As a professor with a clear calling to teach, he modeled this passion at the Open Bible College (Des Moines, Iowa), Central Bible College (Springfield, Missouri), and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (Springfield, Missouri). He exuded the understanding that quality teaching, superior scholarship, a genuine Pentecostal spirituality, and an irenic spirit can and should go together.
Within the title of this volume, A Light to the Nations, two aspects become clear. First, each person is called to be ""a light to the nations,"" as Gary McGee modeled. Second, and foundational to the first, is the reality that Jesus Christ is the ultimate light, and our energies, study, discussions, and life in general should rely on this fact. As a reflection of Gary McGee's life and ministry, these two aspects are focused through three lenses, which are the three sections of this volume: Ecumenism, Missions, and Pentecostalism. The essays represent a diversity of subjects and denote various explorations by colleagues and friends of Gary B. McGee.