The first generation of Christians were not popular. They were ridiculed, persecuted, yet according to Acts 17:6–7, they “turned the world upside down.” As a result, their message was communicated louder and clearer than any message before or since. Even with today’s social medias, big-name celebrities, and shiny evangelism techniques that add glitz and glamour to the gospel, today’s Christians fail to communicate as effectively as the first followers of Christ. Simply put, the early church turned the world upside down, but today’s church has been turned upside down by the world.
I have enjoyed writing since I was very young. My first attempted opus was a rambling science-fiction tale, undertaken (and never finished) in my pre-teen years. I remember one line which gave next-oldest sister great merriment. As I recall it, I was attempting to describe a character who was a nurse. I delivered myself of this: "Beneath her cold, harsh posterior beat a heart of gold."
The line reveals two things at least about me. First, I needed a lot of seasoning (e.g. to avoid hackneyed cliches "like the plague" -- or at least to use them correctly). Second, I needed something worth writing about.
The first has continued over the years, honed in academic writing, newspaper columns, papers, tracts, online forums, and blogs.
The second only started in February of 1973, when God absolutely transformed my life by bringing me to faith in Jesus Christ. If you like, you can read more about that, starting here: http://bit.ly/11LuSY.
One of the biggest results of this transformation in my life was the conversion of a mushy-minded, undisciplined non-student into someone bent on serving Christ with all I had. It worked out partly in dedication to the Biblical sciences such as Hebrew and Greek, and work at various educational institutions.
Over and through it all was a unifying obsession with knowing God by knowing His word, doing it, and helping others know it and Him. I needed personally to have a firm and deep grasp, and I dearly desired to pass on everything I got to others. I have always been a slow study. Therefore, when I "get" something, I can usually break it down in a way that any willing hearer or reader can "get" it too.
So that's my aim, in writing: to take everything I've "gotten" from the deepest, hardest, and best Bible study I can do, and put it out there where any willing reader can get at it.
God has been exceedingly good. Gracious souls ranging from published PhDs to those who concluded their formal education at a young age have said they profit from my writing. Pastors and other church leaders are using the books for ministry throughout North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. For that, all the glory goes to God alone.
If you haven't done so yet, I hope you'll become one of those to share the benefit of what I've had the joy of uncovering. After all, what I have been given, I've been given to share with you.
Currently I pastor the dear folks at Copperfield Bible Church in Houston, Texas.
