At least nothing that I was aware of, ever since RA Torrey’s remarkable book How to Work for Christ was published over a century ago! While I can’t put myself anywhere near that tireless Christian leader, it did occur to me that – after several decades, since my ‘calling,’ at the age of seven while breakfasting on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya (through I’m grateful for the supportive comments that feature in the opening pages of my book – written by Fiona Ashton, Timothy George, Alec Motyer, Mike Reeves (Foreword), Bishop John Perry, Richard Trist and George Verwer). There are 25 shortish chapters of no more than 2,000 words each. And plenty of stories. You can dip in anywhere! Obtainable from Christian Focus. Thank you!
ITS NOT GOOD for authors to count how many books they've written! So quipped John Stott to me once; he equated it with 'the sin of David', in numbering the people against the will of God (1 Chronicles 21:1).
Really a book should only be written if it must
be written; there has to be a compulsion about it - beginning with a
flickering flame of an idea steadily infiltrating the screen of your
mind. In my case the idea has usually come while I'm lying in bed at the
start of a new day. When I finally begin to write I find that the early
morning is often a good time - before the phone has started ringing -
while I'm conditioning my reflexes for the day ahead, with a cup of tea,
and quite often still in my dressing gown.
Having now written over twenty books, what I have tended to do over the years is to spot the gaps , where not enough is being written on certain topics, to help everyday believers. Even my compiling of the illustrated Wesley Country hardback was an attempt to get a little spiritual history into the common Christian mindset of reading people.
The book I actually enjoyed writing the most was Speaking in Public - Effectively.
There are plenty of books on preaching, to be sure - but I reflected
that there was still a gap to fill, in a book that could get budding
speakers off the ground, and maybe help to inspire even well-established
speakers.
It was the same with Beginning the Christian Life.
Lying in bed one morning I reflected that, despite the many books being
written to help new believers, there seemed to be a gap to fill - with
regard to an easy-to-read paperback that got the main tips for a beginner into a single small volume; a book that the average church could regularly stock on its bookstall.
Have a look, then, at the
information about a few of the books that my kind publishers have seen
fit to present to the public. And do it with a cup of tea!
For further information about books, and distribution facilities, please visit www.allsouls.org and Christian Focus Publications.
