Today marks two years since I officially released my first book “The Man in the Window”, it’s simply amazing looking back at the way God works and builds his kingdom. It was in 2015 when the Lord laid it on my heart to write this book, to encourage the church to move outside the walls of the “church” and pursue those not in it.
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Over the next four years, I simply carried this message around in my heart, it was a conversation piece for me. It was in November of 2019, when the Lord in a lovingly way reminded me, that I had not been fully obedient and done everything that he had asked me to do. So I spent Winter of 2019/2020 sitting down to write this book that the Lord had given me. I’m not a writer, in fact, I reminded the Lord of this point multiple times in prayer over the next couple of months. In March of 2020, I flew to the UK for a church conference and some ministry events. It was on this trip that I had the final version with me for review. I wanted to carry it with me on the trip, so I would have one final time to review it before I sent it out into the world. (There’s always something a bit raw, when you carry something around for that long and then release it for the world to critique).
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While in the UK, we saw the world systematically shut down in the midst of the unknown pandemic at that time Corona Virus. We would end up coming home early due to fears of a global shutdown on international travel. We watched as churches across the globe shut their doors, and attempted to move outside the building. Here I was sitting on a book that the key premise was the Global Church moving beyond the building and into the streets.
Fast forward 2 years, I’ve been able to carry “The Man in the Window” into multiple churches across the states, we’ve had a great response from across not only the US, but the UK as well. I’ve been continuously encouraged by emails received from both pastors and people from other places that have taken the time to read the book. On a more personal level, I’ve tried to take this practice of carrying the Gospel into the City. Most recently I ran for the Arkansas State Legislature, where I was able for 6 months on the campaign trail have legitimate conversations about the Gospel and Kingdom with residents, state leaders, and elected officials.
I was also able to have conversations about “The Man in the Window”, why would a Pastor run for elected office? Why would the church be interested in local politics? Should the Church be more involved politically? I do honestly believe that we are called to political realms, we are called to non-profit boards, city governments, state governments, government agencies, and even school boards. The message from “The Man in the Window” still hasn’t changed. I’ve been proud of the response we’ve received from it. We began talks with a publishing house in April to release a “Revised Edition” hopefully this fall, that will include them distributing it through their channels and networks. I am also excited that they will be releasing my second book hopefully in Spring 2023 on Fatherhood, Sonship & Identity.
I want to thank everyone for their encouragement. This has been a journey. In my introduction that I wrote what seems like so very long ago, I had a quote from one of my favorite books. I find today that it still rings true.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step on the road and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings