Big Writing Announcement!

Hello friends,

And a very happy new year to you! Hope it’s off to a good start.

Mine’s starting with a bang. Some fun news to share with you all on the writing front.

As you know, just a few months from now my 3rd book, A Strange and Gracious Light: How the Story of Jesus Changes the Way We See Everything releases with Herald Press. I’m so excited to share this one with you all—a long meditation on how the entirety of the Jesus story is “gospel” (and currently available for pre-order at Amazon!).

BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT THIS POST IS ABOUT. This post is to announce that I’ve just signed a deal with Whitaker House to publish two devotional commentaries based on Christian classics: Augustine’s Confessions and (of course) the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.

Whitaker House has been something of a flagship publisher in the charismatic world for many years. These devotional commentaries—part of a new line they’re launching—are a way of helping folks access some of the classic works of Christian history. Think stuff like Augustine’s Confessions, Julian of Norwich’s Showings, Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, St. John of the Cross’s Dark Night of the Soul, and many others. They’re a way of taking readers by the hand and saying, “Here, have a look around. Even more—taste and see. These words are nourishing.”

I gotta tell you—I’m incredibly excited about both. The desert fathers (and mothers) one for obvious reasons. My latest book, Streams in the Wasteland: Finding Spiritual Renewal with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, recounted some of their significance for me and was my way of “thematizing” their teaching for a modern audience. This devotional will help continue that work, I think, and also provide people with a more immediate encounter with those wonderful, wild desert folk who somehow still speak to us today.

The Confessions one though… man, that’s got me really jazzed. One of the most important figures in church history, Augustine has been personally meaningful for me for a very long time. I don’t always agree with him (but then, I don’t always agree with anyone), but there’s something about his thought-world that I’ve always found myself at home in—a world laden with mystery and meaning and shot through with the glory and good will of our good God. But maybe even more—there’s a style he has; a way of doing theology that is powerful and poetic and speaks to the heart.

If you’ve heard me preach, you know how deeply Augustine’s rhetoric has soaked into my bones. I’ve quoted him more times than I can count.

Our souls are restless till they rest in thee…
Late have I loved you, beauty so ancient so new…
You were leading me on a journey by my desires that was to put an end to those same desires…

Just a sampling from the Confessions. And of course from City of God:

There we shall rest and see,
See and love,
Love and praise.
This is what shall be in the end that has no end…

So to be able to do some real work on him, and bring the riches of his great spiritual autobiography to bear on a modern audience… well, that’s a real treat.

If you would—pray for me. Both manuscripts are due this year (and release next year). Based on my weekly writing schedule/output, it’s more than doable… but… BUT…

That will mean I’m on here somewhat less over the next bunch of months. I’ll keep you updated on how things are going (and you’ll especially hear from me more as we get closer to the release of SGL). Once the manuscripts are in, I’ll jump back into a regular writing schedule with you all.

I’m so appreciate—SO appreciative—of y’alls interest in and support for my writing. It’s meant more than I can ever tell you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Talk to you soon,

A