Publishing Books Today

Modifying the original paradigm of how publishing takes place

Walking with Grace

Walking with Grace

Walking with Grace

In Box Alert

My laptop pinged as another cluster of emails landed in my in box. One of them in particular attracted my attention. It was from a respected associate, informing me that he knew of a young woman who had written a memoir and that she was seeking a publisher. Was I interested in the project? “Why would a young woman want to write a memoir?” I found myself wondering. As I perused the email further, the reason became evident. She was newly married, just in her early twenties, a gifted musician. As I reviewed her writing, I learned how late one afternoon as she navigated a pedestrian crossing on the way to a music recital where she was to play her violin, the trajectory of her life was dramatically changed as she entered a parabolic arc from the impact of a speeding motorist. She lay inert on the asphalt, her body crushed from the trauma.

Humanly speaking, Grace Utomo’s life could have ended that night. Traumatic Brain Injury is not a diagnosis anyone wants to undergo. When her family were called in to visit her in ICU, the nurses attending did not put any limit on the numbers of visitors permitted in the room—an ominous sign of the low level of life expectancy they anticipated.

Soon, hundreds—then thousands—of people were praying for Grace as she lay intubated in hospital. Ivan, her husband, had numerous friends praying on the other side of the Pacific (his family background is Indonesian), and other members of the family and friends soon mustered prayer support from many regions of the world.

As I continued reading about Ivan and Grace, and as I viewed Grace’s blog (HERE), I felt overcome by the magnitude of her story—weeks and months in hospital, the challenge of recuperation from strokes, the onset of migraine headaches, and a diagnosis of epilepsy—and with each of her blogs or Facebook posts, Grace’s face smiled radiantly from the pictures she posted.

“This project is too big for Great Writing,” I mused. “I must see if she would be interested in having this published through Shepherd Press.”

The consensus was a speedy yes—definitely a book for publication. And so the vision grew further. “Grace, we’d like to do this as a color illustrated book,” I communicated to her. “Do you have additional graphics to the ones we’ve already seen on your site and social media?” Did Grace have graphics? She sure did, evidenced by links she soon started sending me from her Google Drive folder. “You may use whatever you would like,” she announced.

And so the vision for Grace’s book was born. I knew straightaway that this would be an editing project for my wife, Sue, so some weeks later, the four of us—Ivan and Grace, Sue and I—were huddled over our devices on Facetime discussing developments and edits to enhance the already excellent writing that Grace had submitted.

Launching Live

There was a tense sense of excitement in the text that came from Keith Crosby, Grace’s dad. It informed me that there was the possibility of a live-radio broadcast launch of the publication of Walking with Grace. This would be via syndicated talk radio hosted by Craig Roberts (Life!Line / KFAX), with a listenership of hundreds of thousands of people in the San Francisco Bay area. In fact, the week that this was possible was the very week I would be present in southern California—the Los Angeles area—and in theory it would be a straightforward matter for me to add San Francisco and San Jose to my itinerary, but, as things worked out, I had already booked my southern California flights and there was no way I could factor in a visit to Grace’s book launch on that itinerary. But then I had an idea: why should I not make two visits from South Carolina to California the same week? I was game—and that way, Sue could join me.

So it was in early October that I found myself on another Delta flight heading out west for an overnight San Jose visit, this time with my beloved wife seated next to me. By then, my body clock was somewhat messed up, but it did not—not for even a millisecond—interrupt my enjoyment of being able to celebrate the launch of Grace’s beautiful and remarkable book.

There’s one more window on my work in this post: my phone pinged in the early hours of Saturday morning, just hours after the live radio launch of the evening before, notifying me that the Delta flight back to Atlanta was delayed by a couple of hours—and the knock-on effect was that we would not be able to make the connecting flight to Greenville. So, for another hour or more I was in a terse discussion (all by text and email chat) with a Delta rep who kindly and eventually secured flights for us back on two different carriers—United Airlines and American Airlines—via Dallas Fort Worth. The expression of relief on Sue’s face (and probably mine, too) was palpable once we had checked in at SFO and finally cleared a line of around 300 people waiting to go through the TSA checkpoint, and we were comfortably seated on United’s Airbus A319 and watching the Golden Gate Bridge slipping past in the distance. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was uneventful and a few hours layover in Dallas Fort Worth proved opportune for a welcome break, interesting conversations with strangers, and an eventual on-time return to Greenville, South Carolina.

Readers interested in buying a copy of Grace’s remarkable book may do so from Shepherd Press or Amazon.

Posted by Jim Holmes in Creativity and Aesthetics, Family and Friends, Gospel, Networking, New & Noteworthy, Publishing Books Today, Reflections, Spirituality, Travel, Windows on My Work, Worldview, Writing, 0 comments
Windows on My Work: Masculine Manhood

Windows on My Work: Masculine Manhood

Windows on My Work: Masculine Manhood

ENDURE

Serving Shepherd Press involves many different activities. The email that came from Bill Newton fascinated me. It was about a project he was working on—a book to help men to finish their lives in a strong position in the Christian faith. In fact, his desired title was Finishing Strong, but Steve Farrar (some years ago) had written a larger work using this title, so we would have to think of a different title.

I asked Bill if he would be prepared to tweak the work a little, so that he would also address some specifics that men face by way of militantly aggressive temptations, and straightaway he agreed to. With that in hand, I felt we had a really strong book to bring into the public arena, and, after taking the book through the editing process and playing around with some design concepts, we settled on a masculine-looking color scheme (grays, blacks, reds) using a truck tire as the central visual motif or metaphor for the concept of facing grueling trials, and yet sustaining significant tread life.

Bill, assisted by a good friend and colleague in ministry, has done a remarkable job in preparing a book for men to share with other men: as the back cover states, “Start, Stay, and Finish Strong… Too many Christian men start enthusiastically, then fall short. Falling short can be a public fall: Church-going husband has an affair. High-profile ministry leader gets caught in a scandal. Outspoken advocate is marred by hypocrisy.”

Alistair Begg endorses the book as “thoroughly biblical and intensely practical.”

Bill’s background is in the navy (he was a pilot based on a naval aircraft carrier) and in business before he entered the ministry in his more mature years. He states that he wants to “help men grow up.” He does a great job in ENDURE: A Christian Man’s Guide to Finishing Strong.


WARRIOR PREACHERS

My good friend Dave Harrell is likewise what I might (in the best sense of the word) call a “man’s man.” I have worked with Dave on several other projects (a total of eight mini books and two full-sized trade paperbacks, all very important books, packed with truth and practical application). When he shared with me his burden to write a book on the challenges of modern ministry, my ears pricked up.

The book is titled WARRIOR PREACHERS: A Spiritual Call to Arms in an Age of Militant Unbelief. Being published under his own imprint, Shepherd’s Fire Media, it is a very substantial (but not intimidating) book of 232 pages. Date states that his aim in writing it is “to fortify and encourage pastors and church leaders who are committed to a God-centered, biblically integrated, and consistent ministry as they face the increased challenges of militant unbelief in our culture and apostasy in the church, and to enlist new recruits to join the fight.

Steve Lawson has written a very strong foreword, including these words: “The church has faced dark days in the past, and it has always been led back to the high ground of biblical fidelity by strong men. It will be the same for the church today. A new generation of preachers, raised up by God, is desperately needed to help return the church to the solid footing of sound doctrine that produces holy living. May God use this book to challenge you to stand strong as a ‘warrior preacher’ in this hour of spiritual warfare.” John MacArthur similarly asserts “Whether you are a minister or a lay person who wants to support and encourage your pastor, this book will edify and encourage you.”

Featured Image: Setting up Shepherd Press books at The Shepherds' Conference, Sun Valley, California.

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Creativity and Aesthetics, Current Issues, Gospel, New & Noteworthy, Publishing Books Today, Spirituality, Theology, Windows on My Work, 0 comments
Windows on My Work: Publishing for Women

Windows on My Work: Publishing for Women

Publishing Books of Interest to Women in Particular

The experts tell us that women, more than men, buy and read books. And so it is that publishers rightly keep women in mind as they prepare new titles for publication. In my responsibilities at Shepherd Press, two manuscript submissions came our way in recent years for publication, both written by gifted women, books written from the heart that addressed life issues with robust biblical fidelity and with a sense of warmth and sympathy on the part of the authors.

So I asked Sue if she would help in the editing of these books. Her response was immediate and positive.
She enjoyed working on both projects. Read a little more about them below:

Who Needs a Friend When You Can Make a Disciple?

If believers are not careful, church can be reduced to a mere social club. Barbara and Gina demonstrate how to find a cherished friendship through the process of discipleship. They have often observed, when women come to a new church, they seem to be on an endless search to “find a friend” so they can “feel” a part or “feel” connected. Often this leaves them discontent in their search. A more biblical and satisfying way is by developing discipleship relationships in the body of Christ.

Who Needs a Friend When You Can Make a Disciple? defines and highlights some practical “how-tos” to help women implement biblical ways to practice and sustain discipleship relationships.

Barbara and Gina’s aim in sharing their personal story is to show women the impact discipleship can have on their spiritual growth as they find a cherished friend.

Unmet Expectations: Reshaping Our Thinking in Disappointments, Trials, and Delays

Lisa Hughes likewise has experience in ministry that is valuable when shared with women. She has navigated challenging pastoral situations when it comes to understanding the disappointments people can face in life, so when her manuscript submission came along, I was particularly interested to see how she addressed it—and she addressed it with comprehensively biblical thinking and examples, and in a style that I sensed would engage with many readers.

Developing a cover for this was more challenging than for Barbara and Gina’s one, but, after thinking of prairie flowers and feminine icons, we landed on the idea of a woman walking to—who knows where? When Lisa shared this image with me (we got it from one of my favorite sources, DepositPhotos.com), I knew we had a winner as far as an apt visual metaphor was concerned.

Here’s text from the back of the book as we developed it:

Plain and simple, life doesn’t always turn out the way we imagined. Yet, we can respond in God-glorifying ways even when circumstances fall short of our desired hopes and expectations. With practical, biblical counsel from the Scriptures, we have the tools we need to put away sinful responses and be women who smile at the future (Proverbs 31:25). In reshaping how we think about disappointments, trials, and delays, we can grow in contentment, trust, and hope in the unexpected parts of life.

In each chapter we’ll look to the Scriptures for the life-transforming help only God can give. This book is designed to be an aid to growth, which is why inductive Bible study questions accompany each chapter, providing even more treasures from God’s Word for hope and encouragement.

Let Lisa tell you more about her book in the following words:

“You want me to speak on what?”

I admit I was a bit lost at first when asked to teach on the subject of unmet expectations. But it wasn’t long before the suggestion took on shades of pure genius. I have wrestled with a few unmet expectations myself and I figured other women must have had similar struggles. It seemed like the perfect topic to tackle!

I couldn’t wait to dig into the Scriptures and see what God had to say about unmet expectations. As I thought, studied, and prayed, I made some encouraging and soul-searching discoveries. Before long, I felt as though I was an archeologist, unearthing expectations everywhere I dug. Some expectations were easy to find and identify, lying readily upon the surface of my heart, while others were buried deeper. My amateur digging soon exhumed different expectations I had about life, the Lord, my family, myself, the best route to the grocery store, and so on. Expectations were coming to light by the spadeful.

There’s nothing wrong with expectations in and of themselves. And it’s easy to see, when digging around in the soil of our hearts, that we have all kinds of thoughts and plans for our lives. All well and good. Expectations aren’t the problem. But when we come face to face with thwarted plans, dismantled hopes, and unanswered prayers, what then? Will we respond with gentle faith and trusting submission to God’s unfolding plans for our lives? Or will bitterness, anger, self-pity, fear, or depression emerge from the miry clay of unbelief?

We have so many thoughts about how things could be different, fine-tuned, tugged into place, fixed, or changed, that when things turn out differently than we anticipated, we may find our hearts waging quite a battle. It’s possible that the cantankerous beginnings of the contentious woman mentioned in Proverbs were the result of her unmet expectations. In fact, it’s more than possible that she grew into her peevish little self, when her life turned out differently than she thought it should. Before she even realized it, her husband preferred to live on their rooftop—in the desert—rather than stay in the same room with her continual nagging. If only she had sought counsel in God’s Word. If she had, she would have been known as the “contented woman” rather than the contentious one.

I doubt that you want to be known as a contentious woman. I sure don’t. And I’m not saying that experiencing unmet expectations automatically make us grumpy and difficult to live with, but the possibility is there. Thankfully, the key to responding well lies in the Word of God. And that’s where we’re headed, straight for the help that only God can provide for those times when we find it difficult to accept our circumstances as God-ordained and good.

When I was around eight or nine years old, I would walk to and from school. It probably wasn’t very far, maybe a few blocks, but it felt like a long way, especially on cold, wintry days in Idaho, when the wind would sting my cheeks and rush right through my jacket. Yet my little journey became bearable when I would imagine I was a pioneer girl, trudging across the prairie, seeking help for Ma and Pa, who lay sick at home in our sod house. Then the walk home from school became an adventure, instead of something to dread.

So, here’s my proposal. Will you go on a pioneer-girl journey with me? As we study God’s Word together, we’ll discover that, though life may turn out differently than we expected, God always intends our good. We’ll look at unmet expectations from a biblical perspective, consider ways we’ve engaged in wrong thinking, repent of sinful responses, and look to the Scriptures to provide the sure footing we need to continue our trek. As we do so, we’ll gain a deeper and better understanding of the Lord and His perfect ways. Just like the pioneers, who were forever changed by their expedition west, we too will be changed through the study of God’s Word.

You may well be thinking, “Wait, wait. Hold it. I don’t want to do the pioneer-girl thing! I don’t have a problem with expectations. They’re not something I struggle with.” Don’t worry. You don’t have to put on a bonnet just yet, but I’d love to have you join me in the adventure, just the same. As we get underway, you may discover— as I did— areas of sinful struggle stemming from unmet expectations. It’s my hope and prayer that, as we press on together, we’ll gain encouragement and strength from the Lord Himself to respond with obedient faith and growing love for His faithful work in our lives.

Let’s embark on a journey together, a journey of growth, discovery, and change. I can’t guarantee it will be easy; real heart-growth rarely is. It is my hope that you’re not the kind to give up easily and my prayer that your love for the Lord will drive you to discover how you can give Him the most honor and glory possible, no matter what your circumstances. Are you ready?

Excerpted from Unmet Expectations: Reshaping Our Thinking in Disappointments, Trials, and Delays by Lisa Hughes, now available to order from Shepherd Press.


Posted by Jim Holmes in Friendship, Gospel, Guest Post, Publishing Books Today, Windows on My Work, Writing, 0 comments
Introducing Coffeetime in All Seasons

Introducing Coffeetime in All Seasons

Coffeetime in All Four Seasons

An ongoing project in recent years has involved working with Roger Ellsworth on the preparation and presentation of daily Bible meditations or reflections. The project originated as we discussed an idea he had–and which speedily morphed from a single, standalone volume to several more, and, quickly after that, into a reading for each day of the year.

We’re pleased to say that we now have a new format for these delightful readings–four seasonal books that gather all of the months of the year into the four seasonal categories: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

The creative energy that has gone into developing this series of books has been considerable. We are passionate that you will enjoy using and sharing these excellent resources.

Enjoy viewing the introductory video here!

There’s another video you could also view HERE that introduces the Autumn readings.

 

For more information, visit www.mycoffeecupmeditations.com or click HERE.

Posted by Jim Holmes in Creativity and Aesthetics, Family and Friends, Gospel, Publishing Books Today, Reflections, Spirituality, Theology, Windows on My Work, 0 comments
Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation

Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation

Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation

A Guest Post from Professor Donald T. Williams

Several months ago, I received an inquiry about how to publish a book. It had a fascinating title: Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation–A Road Map for Post-Evangelical Christianity. With its depth and breadth of content, yet it’s surprisingly easy-to-read style (not to mention the author’s own poetic contributions–he is an accomplished poet) I needed little encouragement to help him in the process, and so we set to work to agree a design format and cover to present it with appeal, warmth, and gravitas. Don recently shared news of his book’s release under his own imprint, Semper Reformanda Publications. Here’s what he wrote:


Do you believe the Evangelical movement needs not just a Revival but a new Reformation? Do you think the new book Ninety-Five Theses for a New Reformation (Semper Reformanda Publications, 2021) can be a factor in leading us in that direction?  Here is how you can help!

  1. Get and read the book.
  2. Buy additional copies of it for all your friends and relatives—well, at least for those who might be interested, and particularly for strategic people like your pastor or youth leader who need to be in the vanguard of Reformation.
  3. Donate a copy to your church library, local library. school library.
  4. Write a review for Amazon, publish it also on your Facebook page or other social media, and share it to any relevant Groups you belong to.
  5. Start a Sunday School class or study group where you discuss one Thesis each week (they are all tied to Scripture).
  6. Invite me to speak to your church, school, or other group.  (You can contact me via email at dtw@tfc.edu for that purpose.)
  7. Above all, pray for God’s blessing on the project. Unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain. Believe me; I have verified the truth of that verse through much experience!

The church always needs Reformation–perhaps more desperately now than at any time since Martin Luther nailed the original 95 Theses to the Wittenberg church door in 1517. May God use this poor unworthy book to help it happen again! Soli Deo gloria. Amen.

To order, go here.


Thanks to Dr. Donald T. Williams for allowing me to share this content. To find out more about him and his writing ministry, visit his website here.

Posted by Jim Holmes in Current Issues, Guest Post, Heritage, New & Noteworthy, Publishing Books Today, Spirituality, Theology, Windows on My Work, Worldview, Writing, 2 comments
Windows on My Work: “The Man in the Gap”

Windows on My Work: “The Man in the Gap”

Windows on My Work: “The Man in the Gap”

One of the delightful things about my work is that I am able to preview as well as oversee items for publication that reach my desk. This is a project that I was long concerned to get into print. Friends in the UK and USA as well as in South Africa have had a strong interest to see this book written, edited, and printed. Rex and Esta Jefferies were close to Martin Holdt in his latter years, so when Rex and Esta and I started a conversation a few years ago, I needed no extra encouragement to help them in the writing and editing process.

Dr. Joel Beeke writes of this publication that it is a MUST-READ book.

I love good biographies of godly men. They are so stimulating, convicting, edifying, moving, challenging, and alluring. This is one of those biographies. It is a “must read” book—one that is so true to a godly pastor who lived, by God’s grace, wholly for Christ and out of love for the souls of people.
Martin Holdt was one of the very best friends in Christ Jesus that I have ever had. He was also one of the most godly people I have ever known. When he died so suddenly in the last week of 2011, I grieved as if I had lost a brother—because I did. He was like an older brother to me.

Roger Ellsworth, author of over fifty books, says this of The Man in the Gap:

We have here the wonderful biography of a wonderful man. I give it five “I’s”— interesting, informative, instructive, insightful, and inspiring. It will do good for all who read it. Pastors will find it particularly helpful as they read the story of a man who was what all pastors should be—diligent in prayer, mighty in the Scriptures, devoted to the Christ-centered preaching of God’s Word, hardworking, compassionate, and wise. I found the author’s emphasis on Holdt’s prayer life to be especially enlightening— and convicting! May God be pleased to use this book in such a way as to raise up many more Martin Holdts. Today’s church sorely needs them!



Chapter 1, reproduced with permission from Shepherd Press.



Childhood and Youth

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
1 Timothy 1:16

Martin Petersen Holdt was the second child of Sofus and Hedwig Holdt, and was born in East London, South Africa. He had an older sister, Gudrun, born on 16 September 1937, and on 14 February 1946 Martin’s younger sister, Linda Heidi, was born. By this time, World War II had come to an end. Martin came to appreciate the fact that his mother had not reasoned as follows: “Well, there is a war on; I don’t want to have another child in circumstances like these. . .”

“Had she thought along such lines,” Martin said, “I would never have been born. I am so glad she didn’t.”

They (my parents) had a lady, Harriet, who was my nurse. She looked after me, and she used to take me to what they called revival meetings. I’ve a vague recollection of people singing happily, and then I would go home, and I would try to sing the little choruses and the little ditties that I’d sung there. My mother used to tell me that, because you know I was still very small, instead of singing “in the sweet by and by when the battles are fought and the victories are won” I would sing “in the feet by and by when the battlies are fought and the victlies are won” and so on.

But, I wonder whether Harriet wasn’t God’s instrument in sowing the first seeds that eventually, well when I was nineteen years old, led to my conversion.

Hedwig’s father, Christoph Sonntag, was a missionary from the Berlin Mission Society whose first mission station was at Blouberg in the then Northern Transvaal. He wrote a book, based on a diary he kept of his journey to South Africa and his experiences there, entitled, My Friend Maleboch. (An uncle, Konrad Sonntag, translated this book from German into English.)

Christoph Sonntag later worked among the Venda people at Tshakuma, also in the Northern Transvaal. Martin remembered visiting his grandfather at Tshakuma.

After his first wife’s death, Sonntag married Magdalene Truempelmann. They had nine children. Martin’s mother, Hedwig, was one of them. Martin had a very special bond with his Oma Sonntag.
In his testimony to his friends in August 2010, Martin made this remark: “You know, Victor Thomas once said to me, (I don’t know why he asked me), ‘Martin, did you have a praying grandmother or grandfather?’ I said to him, ‘Yes I did.’”
Martin told his 2010 audience, “I still have a card with pressed flowers”:

Liebe Martin, diese Blumen sind gepflükt in Jerusalem
wo unse liebe Heiland für uns gestorben ist.

Interpreted, this reads: “Dear Martin, these flowers (pressed flowers on the card) were picked in Jerusalem where our dear Savior died for our sins.” Martin had a faint recollection of Oma Sonntag, but he was overjoyed because, as he said, “We’ll see her in heaven one day. What a joy it will be to see her there!”

Sofus and Hedwig Holdt lived with their young family in a little village, Nxamakwe (now called Nqamakwe), in the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape Province (north of East London, east of Queenstown). Harriet, the woman in their employ, was young Martin’s nurse. It was when Martin was about four years old that she took him along to revival meetings. As Martin’s testimony points out, he reflected that it was possible that Harriet might have been God’s instrument in introducing him to the Lord.

The Holdts’ home language was German. Martin could speak nothing else until he was about five years old. He recalled being teased because he was the slowest of the three children in the family to pick up any other language in the multilingual country of South Africa.
One day Martin’s father, Sofus, took the boy on a visit to a tribal chief. Father and son walked along together. In his left hand, Martin was carrying a gift for this important personage. “In der Regterhand, Martin,” ordered Sofus, for in certain cultures it is not good to give something to another person using the left hand. Early influences such as this no doubt helped Martin later in life to be sensitive to the values and customs of people from different cultures and in different language groups.

Martin, from an early age, had an inherent fear of death. It was as if he knew instinctively that God is the One who gives life and takes it. He later testified, “God spared my life three times.”

I have these vivid recollections. And then I think of Deuteronomy 32:39 where God says, “Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.” Why did I survive my childhood when others did not? And when I say “when others did not” I remember at eight, nine or ten—I don’t recall the exact age—when we were in Flagstaff where my father was the magistrate—reading the Kokstad Advertiser which was the local newspaper of that part of the Transkei, and how terribly upset I was to read about a boy my age who lived in Paddock, near Port Shepstone, who had been bitten by a puff adder and died.

This report upset young Martin very much. When the family later moved to Oshikango, Namibia (then South-West-Africa), where Martin’s father was working as a “Native Commissioner,” Martin had a near-miss encounter with a venomous snake. The children, he remembered, had a kind of playroom.

. . . my mother was once sitting on the stoep (veranda). I don’t know if she was sewing; she was doing something, and just outside there was a small little hut, thatched, where we children used to play—our toys and our little books were there—and she looked up and she saw a very venomous snake slithering through the window, and she alerted me—and I got out.

But that wasn’t the last about snakes. Martin’s second encounter with a snake was back in Flagstaff, where his father the magistrate had been transferred again. One day, Martin was watching his dad at work among the fruit trees. Martin was unaware of a large puff adder at his bare feet. He could have tramped on it, and might have gone the same way as the little boy in Paddock, but the snake slithered off. Martin’s father followed and delivered the coup-de-grace, protecting his son from further possible danger.

Now the Wild Coast where the Holdts lived is regarded as one of the most beautiful parts of South Africa’s coastline. It stretches along the Eastern Cape and Transkei shoreline between Port St Johns and East London, a distance of roughly 250 kilometers. The Wild Coast has wonderful places to visit: Mbotje, Grosvenor, Mkambati, Msikhaba—but boys are always too busy doing things that boys do, rather than enjoying the scenery.

Martin, a typical boy, was more concerned with having fun. One day he and a group of his friends decided to see which of them could jump the furthest into a lagoon. The boys never realized that where they would land “was like a bottomless pit”—and none of them could swim.
Once in the lagoon Martin found himself sinking, and sinking, and sinking. . . . He was struggling to surface when one of the other boys landed on top of him. Getting on Martin’s shoulders the boy was pushing him further under. Once in the depths, Martin felt that the end had come, but with one last effort he somehow managed to rise and clamber out of the water, in a state of shock. God had once more spared him. The question Martin asked afterwards was this: “Why did God spare me from snakes and from this?”

Martin’s mother had given him a Bible while they were still living at Flagstaff, a very small village with no Sunday school and only three churches. He recalled how he

. . . one day opened it and it fell open on Matthew 24, and what I read terrified me: I read about, as I could see it, the end of the world. And having no one to instruct me I began to think that now if it’s going to happen—and I had no information—I’ll fight to survive.

The young Martin already knew that death is to be followed by judgment, but what bothered him more was this question: What then? Then, he thought, “to avoid drowning or perchance another world-inundating flood,” he would try to make a rubber dinghy for himself and so escape the clutches of death. These near misses with death and the terror Martin felt must have heightened the sense of urgency in him. Interestingly, Martin had as yet not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Martin used to walk past a Roman Catholic Church. Through the doorway, he could see the table and its cloth covering and the candles. In his desperation to get peace, he thought he would try this at home; maybe some incantations would ward off the fear which stalked him. He put a small table in his room and covered it with “a nice table cloth.” Then he set out candles on the table, as he had seen in the Roman Catholic Church—but this did not help. Martin didn’t find peace. He knew that he was a hell-bound sinner, and he feared death like the plague.

As he himself admitted, Martin’s chief sin was laziness.

You know the apostle Paul talks in Romans 6:21 of sins of which we are now ashamed. I’ll tell you what one of the paramount sins was. I’m so glad there are children here to hear this: it was laziness. Boy, I tell you, was I lazy!

When he and other primary school children were told to draw “what you want to be when you grow up,” Martin knew exactly what he wanted. He drew himself lolling in an easy chair, with a wife bringing in a tray of snacks and refreshments!

I used to say to my friends: “I don’t know why they have a thing like school. What’s it going to help us when we do History?” I can remember lighting the lamp (there was no electricity) very early in the morning and with a torch, tiptoeing to my mother’s office and opening the drawer to see what she was going to ask for the exams. Of course, I passed.

Therefore dishonesty was, like laziness, also one of his sins.

***

In the second year of Martin’s high school career, his father was transferred to the Pilansberg District in what was then the Western Transvaal, and Martin attended the Rustenburg High School.

But laziness was perpetuated. I tried to do only just enough to pass. I’m sad about it today. My teachers gave up on me.

Martin was not unintelligent; he was just bone idle! When given an option of receiving a hiding from a teacher or from the school principal, Martin chose the latter. He knew that the principal, seeing the familiar face at his door, would say: “Oh, it’s you again—you can go!” Even the principal did not think it worthwhile giving “Lazy Bones” a hiding. In fact, Martin’s mother shed many tears over her boy’s intractability. “I remember my mother in tears after a PTA meeting,” Martin said, “and I’d just shrug it off.”

The boy managed to matriculate in 1958.

His sister, Gudrun, eventually asked him whether he could not pull himself together: “What are you going to do?” she asked. His response was just blank, negative. Yet the very fact that his inherent fear of death still followed him everywhere suggests that Martin knew he was wrong; he knew that his attitude was sinful.

My friends, that was sin—and I want you children and young people to know it. It could have been so much better.

He had not come though, to the point where he would or was ready to confess, in the words of the hymn writer,

I have long withstood his grace,
Long provoked him to his face,
Would not hearken to his calls,
Grieved him by a thousand falls.

The time was not very far off, however, when he would acknowledge the truth of words such as these. Within two years of finishing high school, he would see, by grace, that the God he had been ignoring was hard on his heels. More than fifty years after matriculating from school, the ageing Martin would ask an attentive audience to rise and sing with him, joyfully, the hymn Depth of Mercy.

Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God his wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

But even through all that, Martin could testify in these words: “I still retained the fear of death: What if I die? What then?”


Copyright © 2020, Rex Jefferies

www.shepherdpress.com | P O Box 24 | Wapwallopen, PA 18660

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations in this publication are from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright © 1988 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission.

First Edition: 2020

ISBN: 978-1-63342-216-2

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Publishing Books Today, Spirituality, Windows on My Work, Writing, 0 comments
Windows on My Work: Shepherd Press

Windows on My Work: Shepherd Press

Windows on My Work: Shepherd Press

I like to describe Shepherd Press as a small publisher with a big heart. Its aim is to produce books that have three qualifying criteria:

  • They must be gospel centered.
  • They must address the heart of the reader;
  • They must be life changing.

I have shared the story before about how Shepherd Press started in light of the need to find a publisher for the doctoral thesis Tedd Tripp (pictured here) had written on child nurture–nurture rather than simple modification of behavior, something rather prevalent in counseling at the time–and how the book became a snap success, eventually exceeding more than one million copies in print and translated into numerous languages throughout the world.

My involvement with Shepherd Press goes back a few years to when I was asked if I could help in some projects that were under consideration. The inception of the LifeLine mini-books proved a catalyst around that time and it was with delight that an association got underway between us, one that has seen my involvement in the evaluation of manuscripts submitted, and also my oversight of some editing and production matters.

There are numerous books in preparation right now, and some that are just about to launch.

A catalog is available and I encourage you to take a look at it HERE as well as to visit the Shepherd Press website and sign up for the newsletter.

 

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Posted by Jim Holmes in Publishing Books Today, Windows on My Work, Writing, 0 comments
The Incredible Power of Simple Service

The Incredible Power of Simple Service

The Incredible Power of Simple Service

My work connects me with some interesting folks…

Meet Bill Mulligan. Bill had reached out to Shepherd Press with the idea of telling his story, an account of how he came to suddenly get let go of (for my non-American friends, “let go of” means “be made redundant.” We felt it wasn’t really a Shepherd Press book, but Bill took up the conversation with me privately. How could he get his book published?

So I told him about one of my initiatives, Great Writing Publications, and we came to an arrangement in which I would help him publish his book.

I loved the story straightaway, but I won’t give you any spoilers. Let me just put it this way:

With wit and wisdom, Bill Mulligan tells the story of what happened after his job suddenly came to an end . . . and how, in a most unusual turn of events, he learned joy and contentment in serving others.

Table of Contents

Cleveland Fall Technical Conference
The Big One: “You Are from Where?”
Be Careful What You Ask For
Terminated, Canned; You’re Fired
The Reality of “What Next”: Instacart?
The Beauty of Simplicity
Are You My Customer?
Recovering Patient(s) on River Road in Wilkes Barre
The Mansion on the Hill
The Woman Behind Moe’s
“Dad, The Grocery Guy Is Here!”
My Doctor Told Me to Change My Diet
“Do You Do Any Driving?”
Smoky and the Neighbor
“Is This 17 West Ross Street?”
Thinking About Instacart
What is Service, Anyway?
Gotta Serve Somebody
Why Serve?
What Is My Purpose?

Bill Mulligan spent the greater part of his career selling and servicing his clients in the print and packaging industry. After spending twenty-five years on the road, he is now enjoying spending more time in his home office, allowing for new ventures including, but not limited to, the writing of The Incredible Power of Simple Service. He and his wife, Rosemary, live in Clarks Summit, PA, and have one son, a beautiful daughter in law, and the two greatest grandkids on the planet.

Posted by Jim Holmes in Networking, Publishing Books Today, Windows on My Work, Writing, 0 comments
Heritage Classics Press

Heritage Classics Press

Heritage Classics Press

“I’d like to introduce you to a longstanding friend,” announced my good friend and colleague, Carl Dobrowolski. “Meet David Dooley…”

As is so often the case these days, our introductions and networking take place on Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, or similar portals. On this occasion, David disappeared from the screen almost as soon as he had made his appearance, but his voice didn’t cut out, so the meeting between him, Carl, and me proceeded.

“I want for us to be able to reprint those great, classical books from the past, books that can be beautifully bound, a joy to hold and handle. I want for people to read the old books, and to enjoy possessing heirloom classics, books they can pass on to their kids and grandkids.” David’s tone was earnest, and the sense of enthusiasm between the three of us grew as we considered, under God, what we might be able to do.

A series of outcomes developed in rapid succession.

  • The inception of a publishing company geared to this project
  • The vision for a series of beautifully produced reprints
  • The strategy to introduce such publications to people all over the world
  • The participation of a reading audience to help establish the priority of which books to produce first
  • The opportunity for people to buy in to the print run ahead of the actual production and release of the books
  • The commitment to financially supporting a missionary partner from revenues that are generated


The mission statement of Heritage Classics Press states:

Heritage Classics Press delivers unique, elegant, durable, leather-bound, heirloom-quality books from the Church’s strong Christian heritage. Enjoy beautiful typographic designs and engaging historic illustrations. An audio version accompanies each book. Revenue from sales of our books supports Christian charities.

The promotional webpage invites readers to consider a range of books and also to take a one-question survey.

Visit Heritage Classics Press HERE and follow HCP on Facebook HERE.


Books Initially Under Consideration for Publication


Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther 

In one of the most important books of the Reformation, Luther carefully explains that mans nature is fallen and incapacitated, thus fully reliant on the grace of God and His sovereignty to free him.  Written in 1525, this books still speaks volumes today.   


Select Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon

This treasure from the Prince of Preachers contains some of the most beloved writings and prayers of C.H. Spurgeon: According to His Promise. The Prayers of C.H. Spurgeon, The Letters of C.H. Spurgeon, Words of Cheer for Daily Life, and Words of Wisdom for Daily Life. 


Creeds, Confessions and Catechisms (of the Protestant Church)

Starting with the ecumenical creeds, this title incorporates the key confessions and catechisms from the Reformation onward: Augsburg Confession, Westminster Confession, Geneva Confession, Helvetic Confession, Canons of Dordt, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Westminster Confession and (Larger and Shorter) Catechism, Savoy Declaration, The 39 Articles, London Baptist Confession of Faith, Luther’s Catechism, Spurgeon’s Catechism.


Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, John Foxe 

This classic text written in the seventeenth century chronicles the deaths of martyrs of that time and in centuries before.  A challenging book that leaves a testimony behind of dear saints sacrificing their lives for the Savior.   


Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan 

An allegory penned by John Bunyan, a Reformed Baptist preacher imprisoned for his faith, has entranced and encouraged the lives of millions of believers since its release in the 1600s.  It is the most published book in history–apart from the Bible.  


And while you are here, why don’t you take the survey? It won’t even take one minute!


 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Creativity and Aesthetics, Heritage, Networking, Publishing Books Today, Spirituality, Westminster Standards, Windows on My Work, 0 comments
In the Shadow of the Shahs

In the Shadow of the Shahs

In the Shadow of the Shahs

This is the engaging title of a book just released by Lion Hudson in the UK.

The story goes back a few years…

Farifteh Robb, the author, wished to write her memoirs. When she sent me the early draft of a couple of chapters, because it was so engaging to read, I could see how publishable it was.  I encouraged her in the process, guiding her as best I was able, and ended up helping her to publish the book through my publishing operation, Great Writing Publications.

After we published her book, I found myself describing it in these terms:

It has been a joy to work with the author on this project! Farifteh Robb writes with eloquence, passion, grace, and humour. Readers will love her gentle style, her insightful comments, the deft touches she uses to establish atmosphere and setting, and her gentle appreciation of the spiritual world. She writes in a natural way of the transitions her life has made, from 1950s and 1960s Europe, through pre-Revolution Iran, the British Isles, the Iranian Revolution itself, and, for the greater part of her life, in the United Kingdom.

Upon publication, the book proved a success, so we began to dream bigger dreams. Might we find a more established publisher, one that would take on her story and so achieve larger market penetration, especially in sectors not in immediate reach, such as UK retail outlets? One thing led to another and, via friend of a friend, we made a connection with Lion Hudson.

Folks there have been good to work with. They overhauled some of the earlier work and designed an attractive new cover.

The table of contents alone makes for interesting reading:

Introduction
Baba and Mami
Childhood Memories
In the Shadow of the Shahs
Academic Interlude
Love
The Secret World of God
Perfect Joy
Chaos
Rising from the Ashes
Into the Light
Motherhood and a Scottish Mullah
Four Last Things

Would you like to order a copy? Here are some links:

Order from Amazon!

Order your copies from Amazon–UK, HERE

Order your copies from Amazon–USA, HERE

 

Order your copy from Eden HERE.

Order your copy from Waterstones HERE.

Order your copy from Blackwell’s HERE.

 

 

 

Posted by Jim Holmes in Family and Friends, Publishing Books Today, Windows on My Work, 0 comments