Lord willing, every Monday until it is complete I am working on writing a book. I hope to self publish this book through Amazon unless something else comes up before it is completed. Because the book is not yet completed I cannot really “pitch it” to you but I will provide you a brief summary and the potential chapters.
The major thesis or theme is simply this:
Redemption is painful and God will stop at nothing to bring it about. Completely. And that is what this book is about. All things, both good and ill, work together for our greatest good—conformity to Jesus. This includes our pain. It is the argument of this book that the Lord in his goodness will rip us to shreds to replace idols with lasting joy. He will stop at nothing to fully redeem us–which means He will have to fully change our desires. And this is good.
The chapter break down as of now looks like this:
Chapter One: God makes sweeping promises. We like the fruit of the promise but not the labor of trust needed to enjoy them. So we hew out for ourselves broken cisterns and try to find rest in lesser promises.
Chapter Two: Because God is supremely loving and good He will not allow us to rest in an inferior promise. He will expose the emptiness of our idols and even allow profound brokenness so that our restlessness draws us to resting in His superior promise.
Chapter Three: But does God really do this? Is it really true that everything that happens comes from His hand? Does God really tear in order to heal?
Chapter Four: God tears to heal. He breaks to dance, He leaves naked to woo. What happens in Hosea and Zephaniah serves as a grid for understanding much of our own pain and brokenness. God is providing redemption.
Chapter Five: The already, not yet of healing. What does healing look like this side of Eden. Yes we are healed, but not fully, not yet. We still go back to our idols. Yet, thankfully God is radically committed to our joy in Him. This process of tearing to heal happens often. And someday it will be complete. God completes what He begins.
Chapter Six: Tearing and Healing in the context of the local church. You alone are not the bride of Christ. This rescue plan involves all of His children. What does this look like lived out in a local church?
Chapter Seven/Conclusion: So What? What does this mean for our every day lives? Why even bother writing this book?
Needs:
My goal is to make this book about 144 pages and to be written on a somewhat popular level (Think Crossway titles and not Joel Osteen type of popular). I could certainly use your prayers, this is a huge undertaking and I constantly question my ability to even write cogently. At the end of the day pray that even if this book never hits the press that God uses my labor on Monday’s for His glory. Everyone can pray.
I also will need some pre-editors. If you would be willing to look through this book once I get it “finished” and try to find grammar and punctuation mistakes it would be much appreciated.
I also need a cover designer. This is not a picture book but it would be very helpful to have a good cover. I am not all that creative or artistic, but I need something to capture the major concept of the book; namely, Torn to Heal.
Lastly, I will need reviewers once the book is completed. If you want to help out in any of these please let me know via comment, email, or social media comment.
My sister is a professional marketer, graphic designer, and avid reader. I might pass this on to her…