Check Out My New Book!

My second publication hit shelves just yesterday. It is another contribution to the excellent FLEX series by 21st Century Christian publishers. The idea behind FLEX is that they could offer a variety of quality Bible studies that are available at any time, and not only at a particular quarter (which is how most curriculum is produced and rotated).

This one is called Watershed Moments: Pivotal Points in Church History. I tried to make a very basic collection of highlights that would be good material for discussion in Bible classes. I also have written from a Restorationist perspective. As many of our churches have historical amnesia to an extent, but are likewise suspicious of denominational literature, I hope this will give them a more comfortable way to encounter believers of the past. The material is about 1/3 pre-Reformation, 1/3 Reformation, and 1/3 Restoration Movement. It is by no means an exhaustive study of church history, but it would make a great first step if you are curious about it, but don't know where to begin.

They are priced so that you could teach it at church, and be able to afford a copy for everyone in your class. You can check out a free sample of a chapter, or purchase the book here.

A Big Milestone for Me: My First Book

Now that it is actually in publication, I am pleased to announce that my first book is available for purchase. It is part of the brand new Flex curriculum published by 21st Century Christian.

Many churches consider curriculum, but for decades, curriculum has been on a set rotation of subjects that are only available at specified times. They have now produced a set of a la carte curriculum that is simply available to you whenever you want it. They have 2 options so far, with 2 more coming in August, and they will continue to add to the options in the upcoming months.

The advantage of this is that they are keeping the costs down, so as opposed to buying everyone a $16 book for your Bible class, you can get everyone one of these at $3.75 each.

My book is called The Story of God's People, and it is a very panoramic look at all of Biblical history from pre-creation up to what Scripture teaches about the end of time.

This comes from a class I taught at Old Hickory. I made a series of sophisticated handouts--if I may toot my own horn, which I pitched to 21st Century Christian. They told me that with a little reworking of the format, they wanted to publish them. I sincerely hope that this book will be a blessing to people; especially to those who want to understand more about how the Bible fits together.

I would be flattered to have you take a look at it. It is available here.

Personal Milestone Accomplished

I've had an insanely busy year in 2007, but it's been a good one. The biggest thing that's happened for me was getting to teach my OT Survey class at Harding. Teaching Bible at the University level was a lifelong goal of mine that I expected it would take me a couple more decades to achieve. I was very flattered at the opportunity to do this at the age of 26. It kept me totally stressed out, but it was worth it. Several of my students said some really nice things to me (yes, I'm aware they could have been kissing up for a better grade), that made me feel good. I know that I genuinely helped some of them through some struggles and taught them a lot. Eventually, I may be back in the classroom, but I'm not as driven in that direction as I used to be, since I've already done it.

Yesterday, I finished and submitted a lesson for some adult curriculum from 21st Century Christian which represents another personal goal I've been working towards. If you've never used the Power Points For New Life series, it's a good one. There are lesson books that the teachers and students utilize, then there are free Power Point presentations available for download on the website that you can use while teaching the class. My lesson should be in the Spring 2008 quarter on Romans 8. I don't know how good it is, but I'm proud that I got to do it. This is the first actual lesson I've got published that wasn't just a newspaper article or something.

Frankly, I am even more glad to not have that hanging over me right now. I've got VBS coming up in a couple of weeks, and camp in about four weeks. It's all stressful, but it will also be rewarding, I'm sure.

At any rate, I just wanted to make a post to recognize this point in my life. I've been blessed.