Four Books I'd Like to Write

Today I'm going to try a little experiment. 

This post is about books I'd like to write. As someone who has been teaching and preaching for over twenty years, I've accumulated thousands of pages of content and lots of ideas for books. I always have a list of books I'd like to write, along with raw material filling up Word docs and Evernote. Some of these books will eventually be written, and hopefully published, while others will never see the light of day. 

So, I'm writing about some of my book ideas, and am doing so with two goals in mind: 

First, I'm interested in the response of readers. Several thousand people cycle through this blog every month, but only a few leave comments. I would like to hear from you. In particular, I'd like to know which (if any) of the ideas below grab your attention. 

Second, I'm curious to see if an acquisition editor somewhere might respond to one or more of these ideas. Having published several books now and knowing a little bit about the filtering process, I don't have high expectations. But who knows? The digital age has changed a lot of things. (I have a friend who married someone they met through Twitter!) So maybe there is a publisher out there somewhere who is looking to pick up a new author, but one who already has some published books to their name. And maybe one of these ideas will spark enough interest to generate a conversation. 

So here are some of the projects I have in mind. For each one I am writing a one-sentence description of the book idea, one or more potential titles, a brief synopsis, and why I want to write it. 

1. Idea: A book on the biblical metaphors of thirst, fountains, rivers, and water. 

Potential title: Thirst; or Spiritual Thirst

Synopsis: This book would show that God is the fountain of living waters, and therefore the only true satisfaction for our soul's thirst. Here is a rundown of the chapters. I would cover: man's longing for God (chapter 1); how the Triune God is himself the source of life and satisfaction (chapter 2); how we have turned from God to idols (chapter 3); the fatal consequences of that choice (chapter 4); how Christ has born the consequences of our idolatry on the cross (chapters 5-6) and now invites us to come to him for salvation (chapter 7) and the gift of his Spirit (chapter 8); and finally, how God satisfies our souls even as we journey through "the valley of tears" (chapter 9), but promises that someday we will be thirsty no more (chapter 10). 

Here are the chapter titles: 

1 | Thirsty 

2 | The Fountain

3 | Broken Cisterns

4 | The Flaming Sword

5 | “I Thirst” 

6 | The Fountain Opened

7 | The Invitation

8 | Springs of Living Water

9 | The Valley of Tears

10 | Thirsty No More

Why I want to write it: When I was a kid, I began to experience longings and desires that were bigger than any experience in this world could satisfy. I didn't know how to categorize these desires until I started reading C. S. Lewis, and later John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, and Saint Augustine. From Lewis I learned about sehnsucht, the inconsolable longing, while Piper gave me the categories of Christian Hedonism and set me on a life-long study of Jonathan Edwards who spoke of God as a fountain. As the years have passed, I have noticed how often the Scriptures use the rich imagery of thirst for water as a picture of our longing for God. See, for example, David's soul thirst in Psalm 63, or Jesus's conversation with the woman at the well in John 4, or his promise of the Holy Spirit in John 7. This book would be my attempt to explore that biblical imagery in a semi-autobiographical way, weaving in the insights I've learned from Lewis, Piper, Edwards, Augustine and others, along with the echoes of this inconsolable longing in many of our films, songs, and stories. 

2. Idea: A manual for spiritual warfare and Christian living based on Paul's description of the armor of God in Ephesians 6. 

Potential titles: Put on the Gospel Armor; or Armed and Dangerous: Standing Strong in the Armor of God. 

Synopsis: This book would be a biblical and practical study of the realities of spiritual warfare in the everyday life of Christians. Based on a careful study of Paul’s most extensive treatment of spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18), this book would be written with the two-fold conviction that we have a real and dangerous adversary, and that Christ our brother, captain, and king has given us everything we need for standing in triumph against the powers that assail us. I would devote a full chapter to each piece of armor, weaving in both research from current scholarship on Ephesians and many of the rich insights on the armor from the Puritans and their heirs (especially Richard Rogers, John Bunyan, and William Gurnall).

Why I want to write it: I've always been intrigued by Paul's description of the Christian's armor. My interest has only grown over time, especially as I've come to see how the seventeenth-century Puritans used the armor to provide pastoral instruction for the whole of Christian living. William Gurnall alone wrote over 1200 double-columned pages of fine print! I think a fresh treatment of the armor of God for 21st century Christians would be useful, especially if it makes the insights from the Puritans more accessible, while still addressing modern pastoral needs and concerns.  

3. Idea: A pastoral and theological treatment of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Potential titles: Spirit of the Living God; or The Breath of God: Life in the Spirit 

Synopsis: This would be a full-scale treatment of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, written for the person in the pew. It would cover everything from the Spirit's deity and personhood to his unique ministry to believers in the new covenant, including chapters on Jesus' promise of the Spirit, the meaning of Pentecost, the nature and necessity of regeneration, the Spirit's role in sanctification, what it means to be filled by the Spirit, how spiritual gifts function the church, the Spirit's role in revival, and more. I would be writing from an Evangelical Reformed position, with Cessationist leanings - though not without sympathy for those who believe all the gifts of the Spirit continue today. 

Why I want to write it: One reason is because most books on the Holy Spirit written from my theological perspective are either too academic for the average reader or very old. Books written on a popular level are often more inspirational than theological. What is needed (in the tradition of J. I. Packer's excellent book Keep In Step with the Spirit) is a fresh theological study, written with ordinary Christians in mind. I also want to write this book as something of a sequel to my first book Christ Formed in You: The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change, which was an attempt to present a comprehensive and gospel-centered approach to spiritual formation in the Reformed tradition. There is a lot about the Holy Spirit in Christ Formed in You, but not a systematic treatment. A third reason I'm interested in writing this book is that I'd like to synthesize the insights of John Calvin, John Owen, and Jonathan Edwards with the insights of more contemporary Reformed theologians such as Richard Lovelace, Richard Gaffin, Sinclair Ferguson, and Graham Cole - but in a way that ordinary people will enjoy reading. 

4. Idea: An examination of spiritual formation and the practice of spiritual disciplines in the writings of John Owen.

Potential title: Renewed in the Image of God: Learning from the Spirituality of John Owen 

Synopsis: This book would present a careful study of the themes of spiritual renewal and the Imago Dei (image of God) in Owen's writings, along with a detailed exposition of Owen's practical instruction on the exercise of faith in and through the means of grace and what we now call spiritual disciplines. 

Why I want to write it: Some very good books have been written on John Owen, including Sinclair Ferguson's classic John Owen on the Christian Life, and more recently, Owen on the Christian Life: Living for the Glory of God in Christ by Michael A. G. Haykin and Matthew Barnett. Both of these are excellent additions to the growing corpus of Owen scholarship. But with twenty-four thick volumes to Owen's credit, no single book can cover everything. In my own study of Owen, two things I've noticed are; first, how frequently Owen discusses the renovation (or renewal) of God's image in believers (this shows up, for example, in both Owen's Christological treatises in volume 1, as well as his books dealing with sanctification in volumes 3 and 6); and second, how many of Owen's theological works include chapters full of rich, practical, pastoral instruction on spiritual practices such as watchfulness, meditation, prayer, and confession of sin. I think there are rich veins of theological and pastoral gold to be mined in Owen's Works. One more reason why I want to write this book is that I want to research it. 

Well, there you have it. If you read all the way to the end, do me a favor and vote in the comments:  which book are you most interested in reading and why? 

Active Spirituality: The Relationship Between God's Grace and Your Effort in Living the Christian Life

One of the most important questions I am asked as a pastor is how to understand the relationship between God's grace and our effort in living the Christian life. We know that we are supposed to walk in the power of the Spirit. But what does this look like?

Some forms of spirituality promote an unhealthy passivity in their approach to sanctification, by using such slogans as "Let go and let God" or "It's not in trying, it's in trusting." (Note: for an excellent historical overview and charitable critique of one significant stream of this teaching, see Andy Naselli's book Let Go and Let God: A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology.) Even among Reformed thinkers, who are rightly allergic to an overemphasis on moral effort that obscures the primacy of God's grace, there lurks the danger of speaking about the role of the gospel (or grace, or the Spirit) in sanctification in ways that mute biblical exhortations like "walk," "fight," and "run".

I'm working on a book that will address some of these concerns, called Active Spirituality, which will be published by Shepherd Press in 2012 or 2013. But here is a sampling of quotes from theologians across the centuries who seem to get the biblical balance right. 

“Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them.” --Augustine, Confessions, Book X, Chap. 31.

"There can be no doubt...that the beginning of our salvation rests with God, and is enacted neither through us nor with us. The consent and the work, however, though not originating from us, nevertheless are not without us... What was begun by grace alone, is completed by grace and free choice together, in such a way that the contribute to each new achievement not singly, but jointly; not by turns, but simultaneously. It is not as if grace did one half of the work and free choice the other, but each does the whole work, according to its own peculiar contribution. Grace does the whole work, and so does free choice - with this one qualification: that whereas the whole is done in free choice, so the whole is done of grace. --Bernard of Clairvaux, De gratia, 14.46-47; Quoted in Dennis E. Tamburello, Union with Christ: John Calvin and the Mysticism of St. Bernard, p. 42.

"Our duty and God's grace are nowhere opposed in the matter of sanctification, yeah, the one doth absolutely suppose the other. Neither can we perform our duty herein without the grace of God; nor doth God give us this grace unto any other end but that we may rightly perform our duty. He that shall deny either that God commands us to be holy in a way of duty, or promiseth to work holiness in us in a way of grace, may with as much modesty reject the whole Bible." --John Owen, "A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit," in Works of John Owen, Volume 3, p. 384.

"In efficacious grace we are not merely passive, nor yet does God do some, and we do the rest. But God does all, and we do all. God produces all, and we act all. For that is what he produces, viz. our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain; we are the only proper actors. We are, in different respects, wholly passive, and wholly active." --Jonathan Edwards, "On Efficacious Grace," in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2, p. 557.

"In the gospel...there are actually no demands and no conditions. For God supplies what he demands. Christ has accomplished everything, and though he did not accomplish rebirth, faith, and repentance in our place, he did acquire them for us, and the Holy Spirit therefore applies them. Still, in its administration by Christ, the covenant of grace does assume this demanding conditional form. The purpose is to acknowledge humans in their capacity as rational and moral beings; still, though they are fallen, to treat them as having been created in God's image; and also on this supremely important level, where it concerns their eternal weal and eternal woe, to hold them responsible and inexcusable; and, finally, to cause them to enter consciously and freely into this covenant and to break their covenant with sin. The covenant of grace, accordingly, is unilateral: it proceeds from God; he has designed it and defined it. He maintains and implements it. It is a work of the triune God and is totally completed among the three Persons themselves. But it is destined to become bilateral, to be consciously and voluntarily accepted and kept by humans in the power of God... The covenant of grace does not deaden human beings or treat them as inanimate objects. On the contrary, it totally includes them with all their faculties and powers, in soul and body, for time and eternity. It embraces them totally, does not destroy their power, but deprives them of their impotence. IT does not kill their will but frees them from sin; it does not numb their consciousness but delivers it from darkness. It re-creates the whole person and, having renewed it by grace, prompts it, freely and independently, with soul, mind, and body, to love God and to dedicate itself to him." --Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Sin and Salvation in Christ, Volume 3, p. 230.

“God’s work in salvation, in Paul’s view, never absorbs or invalidates man’s work, but arouses and stimulates it and gives it meaning.” --G. C. Berkouwer, Faith and Sanctification, p. 122.

"Passivity, which quietists think liberates the Spirit, actually resists and quenches him. Souls that cultivate passivity do not thrive, but waste away. The Christian's motto should not be 'Let go and let God' but 'Trust God and get going!'" --J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit, p. 157.

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." --The Apostle Paul, Philippians 2:12-13

Endorsements for Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin

My next book Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin is now complete and will be shipping in just a couple of weeks. You can pre-order the book from Cruciform Press in both print and e-book formats.


Here are several endorsements of the book:


“Are there things you hate that you end up doing anyway? Have you tried to stop sinning in certain areas of your life, only to face defeat over and over again? If you’re ready to get serious about sin patterns in your life – ready to put sin to death instead of trying to manage it – this book outlines the only strategy that works. This is a book I will return to and regularly recommend to others.”

--Bob Lepine, Co-Host, FamilyLife Today

“Sanctification is a grueling process. But it’s NOT the process of moving beyond the reality of our justification but rather moving deeper into the reality of our justification. This is why when Jesus was asked in John 6:28, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” he answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he sent.” Jesus was getting at the root of the problem because justification alone kills all of our self-salvation projects that fuel all of our bad behavior and moral failures. Brian Hedges shows the importance of fighting the sin that so easily entangles us and robs us of our freedom by fleeing to the finished work of Christ every day. Well done!”

--Tullian Tchividjian, Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and author of Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels

“Brian Hedges hasn’t written a book for our recreational pleasure, but a “field manual” to assist us in our battle against sin. Rather than aiming at simple moral reformation, Licensed to Kill aims at our spiritual transformation in this fight by addressing the “drives and desires of our hearts.” Like any good field manual, this is a small volume that focuses on the most critical information regarding our enemy, and gives practical instruction concerning the stalking and killing of sin. This is a theologically solid and helpfully illustrated book that not only warns of sin’s danger, but also holds out the gospel confidence of sin’s ultimate demise.”

--Joe Thorn, author, Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself, Lead Pastor, Redeemer Fellowship, Saint Charles, IL

“Are you ready for a serious fight to the death? My friend Brian Hedges goes for the jugular by dusting off a near antique word (and worse, a scarcely-used yet lethal weapon): mortification. Are Christ-followers really licensed to kill? Read this “field-manual” and you will discover that you have a monstrous and aggressive antagonist who is aiming to annihilate you. It’s your duty to fight back! Brian has given us a faithful, smart, Word-centered guide to help us identify and form a battle plan for mortally wounding the enemy of indwelling sin.”

--Wes Ward, Senior Director of Media & Content Strategy, Revive Our Hearts (and a co-elder with the author)

Edward Knippers and Fred Sanders: Two Happy Discoveries

I have made two happy discoveries this year in the worlds of authors and artists. The artist is Edward Knippers, to whose work I was introduced several months ago via Gene Edward Veith's stimulating, well-written The State of the Arts. (For a briefer introduction, see the article by Marvin Olasky on Knippers entitled "Body of Work" in a recent issue of World magazine.)

Descent from the Cross
by Edward Knippers

As Veith and Olasky point out, Knippers is a Christian artist whose work, though controversial in some circles for its use of nudity, is thoroughly grounded in Christian orthodoxy. In a press release for Flesh and Flight, an upcoming exhibit of Knipper's work in Annapolis, the artist explains: "The human body is at the center of my artistic imagination because I am a Christian, and because the body is an essential element of the Christian doctrines of Creation, Incarnation and Resurrection."

Moses and the Burning Bush
by Edward Knippers

Knippers' paintings beautifully capture scenes from the biblical narrative, conveying both their physicality and earthiness on one hand, and their transcendence and glory on the other.

The second discovery is theologian and writer, Fred Sanders, an associate professor of theology at Biola University, whose recent book The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, I am now reading and can heartily recommend. One of Sanders' aims in this book is to show just how thoroughly Trinitarian the gospel actually is and how deeply immersed evangelicals already are in the reality of the Trinity -- whether we realize it or not. As Sanders says, "Nothing we do as evangelicals makes sense if it is divorced from a strong experiential and doctrinal grasp of the coordinated work of Jesus and the Spirit, worked out against the horizon of the Father's love" (p. 9).

One of the great strengths of this book is its clarity and simplicity in explaining complex theological issues. For example, here is Sanders clearly and briefly explaining and debunking modalism (an unbiblical alternative to the doctrine of the Trinity) without ever using the word "modalism":

Another alternative would be to say that a merely unipersonal God was first the Father, then the Son, and then the Spirit. But that kind of serial monotheism cannot do justice to the biblical episodes in which the Father and the Son address each other in interpersonal communication. A one-personed God who puts on different masks for different tasks, or goes into different modes when he is in different moods, or plays different roles with different rules, is not the Trinity of the Christian faith (p. 90).

As you can see, Sanders is a winsome and creative writer. He also regularly blogs at The Scriptorium Daily and has recently written interesting little bits on C. S. Lewis and N. T. Wright. Interestingly enough Sanders has also written about Ed Knippers, in this piece: Art & Incarnation (2): Engaging the Art & Theology of Edward Knippers.

I am more and more convinced that many Christian leaders and churches spend far too much time on peripheral aspects of Christian teaching, discussing and debating issues that we disagree with one another about, while neglecting the more central doctrines of the faith that are most integral to the gospel - doctrines such as the Trinity, creation, incarnation, and resurrection. Perhaps one reason I have come to appreciate both Knippers and Sanders is because each one, in his respective way, is drawing our attention back to the center.

Study Leave

So, what does a pastor do on "study leave"? Well, he studies. But what? Here's what I've been working on this week.

1. Personal Spiritual Renewal

I've tried to spend a portion of each day in some combination of reading Scripture, prayer, journaling, and reading for personal spiritual renewal. In Scripture, I've primarily been in the Psalms, the last few chapters of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and the Pastoral Epistles. For books, I've been reading in John Owen's Spiritual-Mindedness and John Ortberg's The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God's Best Version of You. These two books are, as you can imagine, quite different, but each beneficial in its own way. John Owen was a Puritan and his book presses the importance of meditation on spiritual things and diagnoses why a person may lack a spiritual mind. There is nothing light about Owen. Someone once compared Owen to a surgeon and said that before reading him, you should prepare to "come under the knife." But no human author has ever helped me more than Owen. Ortberg, on the other hand, is a contemporary author and pastor. This is a very good book on living in the "flow" of the Spirit. Ortberg writes with personal authenticity, profound insight into spiritual life, with large doses of warm humor thrown in. I like him, partly, because he is so human. I can relate to him and find his ideas and stories both insightful and applicable. This is a great book.

2. Reading on Preaching

A second part of this study leave has been devoted to reading (and some listening) about preaching. This week I finished again D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Preaching and Preachers. Few books have proven more helpful to me as a preacher, and it was refreshing to read again. I've also read Andy Stanley's Communicating for a Change, a book that approaches preaching from a very different angle than Lloyd-Jones! The gain of Stanley's book is its immense practicality. He is an advocate of "one point sermons" and shows you how to do it. I benefited from his book and hope to apply some of what he teaches. Yesterday I received in the mail Michael Quicke's 360 Degree Preaching. I've only read about three chapters, but have already found it very, very helpful. Then, I’ve been dipping into volume 7 of Hughes Oliphant Old’s The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church. Old has thoroughly researched the history of preaching, and in this final volume, provides brief analysis of dozens of contemporary preachers including John Stott, William Still, Chuck Swindoll, Charles Stanley, Tim Keller, John MacArthur, Dick Lucas, Sinclair Ferguson (those are the ones I’ve read) and more. In addition to all the reading, I'm also listening to various preachers, both to be fed and to learn from their unique styles. So, I've listened to Andy Stanley, Lloyd-Jones, John MacArthur, and Tim Keller - and plan to listen to several Sinclair Ferguson sermons before the trip is up.

3. Sermon Preparation

A third focus in this study leave is sermon preparation. This summer I will be preaching through the letters to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3. So, I've started working on these sermons: outlining, taking notes, and reading Grant Osborne's excellent commentary on Revelation. My goal is to get several weeks ahead in the "spade work" of sermon prep, so that most of the textual/exegetical work is complete and initial ideas for the message are on paper and simmering. I'm also charting out possible sermon series for the next year and am re-thinking my weekly routines for sermon preparation. I would like to develop a system where I'm preparing three sermons at once: doing the exegetical work for messages about three months in advance, writing the first draft of upcoming sermons ten days in advance, and then working hard on the current week's message. We'll see how sustainable this plan is, but so far, I'm encouraged with the headway I've been able to make.

4. Writing

I've also spent one morning working on the final edits of Christ Formed in You. Once these are approved by my editor, we'll be sending the final, edited manuscript into Shepherd Press. I'm excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

So, that's been the substance of this week. For those of you who attend Fulkerson Park, thank you for this extra time off to think, plan, study, pray, and prepare.

An Update on Christ Formed in You

We're now about two-thirds through the editing process of Christ Formed in You. Kevin Meath has three chapters on his desk that will them come back to me. I've recently sent three rewritten or revised chapters back to him. Depending on how Kevin thinks these are shaping up, these could also come back to me for more work. On top of that, we still need to finalize the introduction to the book, I need to write brief intros to the three parts (one of which is substantially finished, though not turned in), and an afterword.

Dr. Donald S. Whitney has graciously written the foreword to the book and it is now in hand.

We recently received a positive mention from Mark Tubbs at The Discerning Reader.

Between rewrites, pastoral responsibilities, and other reading, I'm reading Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer. It is the best book on writing I've read so far, better even than William Zinsser's On Writing Well.

And here are two new posts at The Making Of . . . site on the Table of Contents and my perspective on the benefits of editing.

Links Worth a Look

Several recent posts on how the process of editing my book is taking shape. All I will say at this point is that on one hand, it's a lot more work than I anticipated - but on the other, I'm very pleased with how Kevin is helping me improve the material.

Keller's new post on why preachers who only study and preach and don't spend time shepherding people are not very good preachers.

Andy Crouch's letter to a soon to be published author. Very apropos. (HT: Jim Belcher)

Justin Taylor on Piper's call to the ministry.

Not that many people will care, but for the few who will be interested, my library is now fully cataloged and tagged. There are over 2500 books! Now I'm just adding new ones and the occasional stray that hasn't made it to the list.

First Excerpt of Book

You can now read the first excerpt of Christ Formed in You over at the blog that is tracking the editing process. This is a section from chapter six - representing perhaps one third of that chapter - that will give you a feel for how the book will read.

We're now neck-deep into editing. Kevin has sent back edits on chapters two and three, along with some directed rewriting of chapter four. I am planning to sit down to work on these three chapters tomorrow afternoon and perhaps again one afternoon next week.

Links Worth a Look

My editor, Kevin Meath, has written a new post on his personal blog about writing and editing for a popular audience.

The audio and video for the recent Desiring God National Conference on John Calvin is now online.

Tim Keller's new book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters, releases in less than a month. You can pre-order now.

I've been reading Jim Belcher's new book Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional. I deeply resonate with this book and hope lots of people will read it - especially those who are concerned about this debate and don't know quite where they fit. I may write a review later, but if you want to know more, check out Steve McCoy's review. (Steve's blog put me onto the book).

BTW, Jim is also a pastor and you can visit his church's website to hear some of his sermons.

Check out The Making of Christ Formed in You

Editing is now underway!

I'm thrilled that Shepherd Press has contracted Kevin Meath to be the editor of Christ Formed in You. Kevin has edited books by guys like C. J. Mahaney, Paul Tripp, and Richard Phillips. But he not only has lots of experience with accomplished authors. He's also innovative.

One of his ideas was to take the editing process public: to show through a blog what it looks like to move from manuscript to finished product. I thought it was a great idea, and so did Shepherd Press. The blog, called The Making of Christ Formed in You, is now active. Check it out.

Christ Formed in You: Update and Wordled

Update: The manuscript to Christ Formed in You is complete. We're now in the process of editing.

I just discovered http://www.wordle.net/. cool website that will do word cloud for large blocks of text. I entered the manuscript of my book in its current form, and here's what I got! It will give you an idea of some of the main themes of my book.

Writing Update

I have now completed the manuscript of Christ Formed in You. I sent it in to Shepherd Press on Tuesday and have started sending it to various Christian authors and scholars who have agreed to read it in view of writing endorsements.

The last six weeks on this project have been a sprint to the finish line. I was hoping to be finished by the end of September. But I'm pretty happy with mid-October. That means the total time for actually writing the manuscript was 8 1/2 months.

Here are some stats on the book at this stage:

Chapters: 12
Total sentences: 4925
Word count: 76,119 words, plus 13,070 in footnotes – totaling 89,189.
Average sentences per paragraph: 3.8
Average words per sentence: 17.2
Passive sentences: 10%
Flesch Reading Ease: 62.7
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level: 8.4

Translated, that means that this is a medium-length (250-300 pages) book written on a fairly popular level. You won't need an M.Div. to understand it, though it will be more demanding than, say, Max Lucado - who is an incredible author! No disparagement intended.

(For more on Flesch-Kincaid and other readability tests, see this post that a friend wrote. That was my first introduction to these readability tests. I since learned that Flesch-Kincaid is built into Miscrosoft Word, making it easy to test your own writing.)

The next stage is editing by a professional editor. This will be more than just proofing. The editor will work through the entire book, helping with overall structure, congruency, and flow. I'm sure the book will be shortened some, too. I've never done this before, so I'm not sure what else to expect. But I'm excited and am looking forward to this stage. I hope I learn a lot about writing and can improve my skills by working with someone who has more experience than I do.

Thanks for those of you who have prayed for this project. Stage 1 is complete. I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

English Comp Refresh

One of the things I dread in the process of publishing a book is the editor's knife. My work is sure is to get sliced and diced to pieces! In an effort to minimize the pain, I decided to do some brush up reading on English Composition - and then edit myself. So for the last few days I've been reading Shrunk & White's The Elements of Style.

I was sitting in Starbucks reading it last week and a middle-aged man commented: "Best book in the world." Turns out he is a teacher who focuses on creative writing; he reads Shrunk & White once a year.

It's short: 105 pages including the index.

It's practical: 11 elementary principles of usage; 11 elementary principles of composition; 21 pointers on style; and a great chapter on "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused."

And it's already reduced my word-count! Amazing how many superfluous words we use in writing!

Give it a try.

Writing a Book

Several months ago I alluded to an ongoing project that partially accounted for my infrequent posts on this blog. As of today, I'm ready to go public with this project: I'm writing a book.

Today I signed a contract with Shepherd Press who will be publishing Christ Formed in You: The Grace and Beauty of Spiritual Transformation (tentative sub-title). The manuscript is about 60% complete - the goal is to have it done sometime this fall.

Needless to say, I'm very excited! This is a life long dream come true. I've wanted to write a book since my teen years (maybe before). This particular book has been in the making for several years. It originated in a series of sermons in 2004, but the content has expanded and taken on a new shape in the past six months.

I honestly wasn't planning to write and publish a book any time soon, but six or seven months ago I asked the Lord to open the door to do so if he wanted it to happen sooner. In February, while attending the Desiring God Pastor's Conference, Shepherd Press announced their interest in talking to new authors. I stopped by their table, shared my idea of a book with them, and they graciously agreed to enter into a dialogue with me. Now, it's official.

I will share more in the future. In the meantime, I'd appreciate your prayers as this book continues to take shape.