Worldview

Aug

2017

Publishing: 3

More from Jim on Publishing

In my last post, I mentioned April Fool’s day 2014, the day that dawned following over ten years’ service to my erstwhile employers, Day One Christian Ministries. In my tenure there as director of publications and marketing, I had gained a good sense of the publishing world, its strengths and its weaknesses, and how it could maybe benefit from having things done differently. I enjoyed working with editors and with graphic designers, and it was both pleasing and productive to develop so many new lines of books. I’ve mapped out some of these things in my portfolio in one of my websites [HERE].

Working in publishing significantly connected me with some fairly well-known authors, including people like John Blanchard, John MacArthur, Andy McIntosh, Roger Ellsworth and many others (you could see a part list HERE–there are over seventy names in it–but since then extended to more than one hundred). Some of them said some kind words [HERE], especially Dr. John Blanchard (pictured, right, with his wife, Pam) who wrote:

“Integrity and Efficiency”
Two words come immediately to mind when I think of Jim and Sue Holmes—integrity and efficiency. When you add gracious courtesy to those you have a combination that encourages you to work with them, as I have in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their experience and expertise will be of great benefit to authors who choose to partner with them and I commend them warmly to any who consider doing so.
Dr. John Blanchard, Evangelist, Author and Christian Apologist

All said and done, I now found myself in the somewhat unenviable position of having been let go of, with a significant workplace injury (which my employers at Day One knew well about and for which they refused to take any responsibility), though, thankfully, with a green card and the right to reside and work in the USA.

Making a Plan

“Well, Sue,” I remarked over my mug of tea. Her gentle face was showing some anxiety and I knew that I would have to work to keep her from stressing overmuch. “It has to be publishing in one form or another. That’s what I know best, and I am happy to be guided by the principle of Ecclesiastes 9:10—Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Around this time, John Lehman, an associate minister at a nearby church, had come into my life. He had, he explained, written a long letter that he wished to convert into a book and wished it to be a blessing to his family members. I looked it over, and it was very promising. Now that I have gotten to know John, we can enjoy a good laugh about how I helped to get the book “out of him.” See the graphic above on the right; John is much better looking than the patient undergoing the X-Ray and I hope I would not be mistaken in real life for the doctor! He and his wife, Suzie, are pictured below. John now has three beautifully produced books—the first on parenting, the second on marriage, and the third on fitness, all with engaging titles: It’s Apparent…You’re a Parent; I Do or I Don’t; and Fit for the Master.

As good J C Ryle said, “The best way to do something is to do it.” So I decided that the best way to start was by pushing ahead in some projects, feeling my way forward using social media and making myself as useful as I was able to. Principles lead to empiricals. “Just try doing it,” I counseled myself. One of the concerns driving me was to establish fair competency in website building and development, so while working on some editing projects for P&R Publishing, I also forayed into the world of Google-Sites and WordPress, soon finding the latter to be quite powerful, and that even eCommerce was not as complex as it might first seem. With thanks, under God, for free online tutorials and perusing numerous FAQs, it was not long before I found my way forward in developing websites for other people to help them promote their writing ministries. These include www.fitforthemaster.fit, www.deborahhoward.net, www.timothyjcross.org, www.lifelineminibooks.com, www.twelvedaysofchristmas.org, www.exposingthefederalvision.org, and several other ones.

An Unexpected Phone Call

An email that dropped into my in box from an online form submission from one of my websites was very interesting, and even more so when I phoned the man from whom it originated. “I represent a publishing family,” he said, “And in doing due diligence, we wish to establish whether you might be the right person to help in their publishing ministry.” It was an extra surprise, a pleasant one, too, to learn that the publishing family was none other than that of Tedd and Margy Tripp. Tedd (pictured here) is well known for his remarkable book Shepherding a Child’s Heart, a manuscript derived from a doctoral thesis that nobody wanted to publish when he first wrote it, so it ended up being self published (under the quickly thought-up name of Shepherd Press). Now with a sales history of well in excess of a million copies, it is a book that has challenged, blessed, and guided countless parents and teachers over the years. To cut a long story short, following a weekend visit to northern Pennsylvania, there commenced a relationship between me and Shepherd Press that enables me to be of service in the promotion and development of the ministry, and to help in recruiting new authors and rolling out of new resources. That’s just one of the various things that I love doing. You can find out more about Shepherd Press HERE and HERE .

Waging War on Worry!

Because the Shepherd Press work is flexible and part-time, there are many other things that I do in publishing. Like when Simon Robinson, my good friend in England, told me that he had been writing some notes all about anxiety. “I think we should make a book of it,” I ventured. “If you could get to 31 readings, it could even become a daily reading book.” Simon warmed to the idea immediately and soon after we were exchanging emails and sharing ideas. The outcome not long afterwards was a book in a black and red cover with an anxious man regarding people holding the book—the man on the cover that is—with 31 easy-to-read chapters, complete with Bible reference, application points, and a suggested prayer to pray—even if just to prime the pump, as it were–all to strategically help readers get over the worry factor.

So, why do I publish… That’s a great question. Perhaps it’s something like ink (rather than blood) in my veins.

So I am not yet done in sharing these thoughts. There is more to say about this ministry of publishing, especially inventing new and more efficient and effective ways of doing it, so I will add to this short cluster of posts and share some interesting insights into what I do and how I do it—and especially how the paradigms are changing!

To read the earlier posts on this topic, see HERE and HERE. To read the next one, see HERE.

Jun

2017

On Boundaries and Neighbors

My Backyard

Talk of border walls made for contentious media reporting in the run-up to the US elections in 2016. Less contentious is the matter of the wall that defines the extent of my backyard. A few months ago it was in rather a dilapidated state, and from time to time in the last few years I had braved snakes, female mosquitoes (the males are harmless—they don’t bite, apparently, though I have never looked closely enough to check for myself), and some ominous looking plants in order to do a temporary patch-up job and stop the whole thing from falling down like a giant pack of wooden cards.

Then, one day, a letter in an important-looking envelope from the Taylors Fire and Sewer District arrived informing me (and all my neighbors, for they also received the same) that the area of no-man’s-land that runs between all the back-to-back properties was to be cleared and widened, and, sorry to say, all fences would have to be taken down—or, if we preferred, the Taylors Fire and Sewer District staff would do this for us, endeavoring to minimize damage so as to enable subsequent reconstruction to take place.

Well, who am I to take issue with the Taylors Fire and Sewer District Chiefs? And maybe, after all, the fence could be improved on being put back up. So, a week or two later, I watched, resigned, as what looked like tons and tons of timber was removed and stacked in somewhat unruly piles. My heart sank at the thought of having to reconstruct this mess.

New Friends

But this clearing the no-man’s-land suddenly enabled some good neighborly conversations to take place. Steve, or someone from the shadowy safety and confines of his side of his wall who had once shouted obscenities at me when I was burning some yard waste late one Saturday afternoon, suddenly became friendly and conversational, and his wife donated several golf balls to my son who has recently developed a fascination for the game. My son Matthew, now fourteen years old, has wildly been sending these little white missiles in ever more dangerous arcs across our backyard and not infrequently violating our neighbors’ airspace. Mrs. Steve’s generosity concerned me, as I imagined one of these projectiles, like friendly fire in a war setting, entering her closed kitchen or bedroom window and doing more than a little damage. But I thanked her kindly and was glad for one more opportunity to be friendly and hopefully to begin to build into her and her husband’s life.

Do we need walls? Are you familiar with the poem by Robert Frost, Mending Wall? It starts like this:

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

Frost seems to think walls have some benefit, if I understand his poem well enough. They do demarcate territory; they do map out where one set of responsibilities ends and another set begins; but they don’t have to be overdone or overbuilt.

I’ve made a good start on building our wall again, but this time it is a recycled wall, a less-than-it-was wall. A previous owner of our home kept large dogs, so a wall was an important detail. But I thought a new wall should be less prisonlike and so, the way I designed it, instead of towering imposingly over me and hiding me from our neighbors, it’s more like a picket fence, not much more than four feet high.

I am thankful for a background in Africa that has encouraged frugality and good stewardship, so whatever could be kept and used again has proved the axiom “We need what we have, and we have what we need.” Old screws carefully removed have found new usefulness in lumber that should still be serviceable for some years. Warped beams have been coaxed back to a measure of straightness. And there, rising from the ground if not with elegance then at least with some character, a new wall graces and defines where our yard ends, and no-man’s-land begins… and not too much further away, our neighbor’s backyard begins.

Practical and Spiritual Lessons

I am thankful for the example and influence of my late father. I wrote about him some months ago HERE. He taught me some skills that have come in useful—like how to drill a hole, cut wood, use a hammer and nails, and many other things—all without loss of life or limb. I also learned from him that, if you do something routinely and keep at it, you will make progress. Rome does not get built in a day, but it does get built. The tortoise does cover some significant ground in a few hours, simply by keeping going, as I was able to point out to Sue one afternoon recently when one such little creature traversed our backyard.

I’ve also come back to the need for objective measurements: not just estimations or guesswork, but actual feet-and-inches dimensions, degrees of levelness, and the necessity of a straight line and a truly objective vertical reading. Our backyard slopes downhill, so posts have had to be put in vertically, even if they do not look upright. Crossbeams have to be horizontal and on more than one occasion I found myself thinking that my spirit level was wrong. But when I laid hands on my large L-square, I discovered that I was being deceived by an optical illusion. “Don’t do what you think looks right, Jim, do what you KNOW is right,” I found myself mentally admonishing myself. It was a good and practical lesson for Matthew who was helping me on that occasion.

We need objective measuring tools. Amos spoke of a plumb line (See Amos Chapter 7); I had to have at least a tape measure, a length of string, and a spirit level to establish that everything will fit, and will not look horrible once I am done with the work. By way of spiritual analogy, I am thankful that we have such in the Bible—the canon, the measuring line—that determines right from wrong, true from false, and gives us what Francis Schaeffer once called “true truth.”

Oh, and what about the sweat and mosquitoes I mentioned a bit earlier? Adam was promised hard labor after he exited Eden. Even though the small spade I got for the job worked well, the ground was hard and my shoulders and arm muscles were more than ready to take a break once each of the holes had been dug. Mixing the cement, too, was an interesting experience. And yet, even in circumstances such as these, it is possible to honor God in this kind of labor. Psalm 104:23 states that “Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.”

Walls. I’m thankful for them, but glad also not to have to depend on them!

May

2017

Our Everyday Conversations…

A Book That Engaged Me for Several Hundred Miles

Notwithstanding my smaller-than-average stature and build, I was feeling cramped and as if I had been traveling for over twenty-four hours. I shifted again in my seat to try to alleviate the numbness in my posterior. The American Airlines plane, a small two-engine jet en route from Chicago to Greenville, South Carolina, hit another patch of turbulence; involuntarily I looked out of the small window and noted the proximity of denser cloud–purples etched with grays. “Not too much longer,” I thought to myself above the all-pervading hum of the aircraft. I turned my eyes back to the book that had been holding my attention for much of the journey that day on an earlier flight from Manchester airport, and now on this last leg of the journey: “Everyday Talk–Talking Freely and Naturally about God with Your Children” written by Jay (John A.) Younts (further details HERE). I must say that an important detail escaped my attention at the time: the author lived in the very town to which I was traveling!

Rummaging through my laptop bag wedged under the seat in front of me, I checked my papers for when we would arrive at GSP, the Greenville Spartanburg Airport. With my wife, Sue, and our son, Matthew, just five or so years old at the time, we were to be staying for a few weeks in the Greenville area to get a sense of whether we might one day be able to live there. My UK employers at the time were keen for me to establish a greater presence in the United States.

Happily, in my many travels, my pathway had often crossed with that of Rick and Linda Riggall, a delightful couple from Shepherd Press. Often at trade events, Rick would show me the latest resource that had been produced. I was always struck by the commitment to editorial integrity and production quality that was a hallmark of Shepherd Press. The one I held in my grasp in that turbulent air was another such book. As I had read through it all those hundreds of miles over the Atlantic and then over the US landmass, I had found myself mentally underscoring large sections and I could hear my voice (the auditory equivalent of my mind’s eye) affirming, “Yes, that’s right!”

In Everyday Talk, Jay writes from the heart about making and taking those natural opportunities to speak to our children about spiritual matters. There needs be no divide between the “secular” and the “sacred.” All of life belongs to God, and, if we are living in reference to Him, there are certainly many ways a spiritual conversation may be engendered, and many is the time that there is an event that intersects with our lives that proves a natural node for discussion. You can find out a lot more about the book here; to you, let me say that I rate it a five-star book!

Some Years Later

Fast-forward nine or so years and I find myself in different yet related circumstances. Instead of living in the UK, I am now resident in the USA—in Greenville, South Carolina—and no longer in the employ of Day One, but serving Shepherd Press on a part-time and freelance basis. And it has been my delight to make the personal acquaintance of Jay Younts. He is the blogger at Shepherd Press. Moreover, he has more than one book in him!

Today, we are seated in the studio of HIS Radio, from which Kevin Boling, host of Knowing the Truth Radio, broadcasts a live, one-hour interview with Jay. Kevin, energetic, distinguished, articulate, friendly, has a way of putting his radio guests at ease. With Gary, the engineer behind the desk managing the controls, and Jay occupying a seat next to me, I enjoy the passive perspective of listening in on the interview, ready to chime in if appropriate, but mostly just glad to have Jay be able to share with the radio listeners—and you (for you can listen in online–see below)—to the wisdom he has gained over the years on how to cultivate a relationship with our kids so that we may speak to them in natural terms and ways about the special relationship God has established in marriage. Jay, himself not only a father but also a grandfather, is a natural communicator and has worked with his son, David, in putting together this resource titled “Everyday Talk about Sex and Marriage” and subtitled “A Biblical Handbook for Parents.” Silver-headed (and now without a beard after radiation treatment for throat cancer), his easy-to-listen-to voice comes over well on the radio, and he punctuates his conversation with illustrations and some humor.

I am so thankful to be able to have a part in the ministry of Shepherd Press, and to be able to help produce and promote such excellent, biblically faithful resources. Find out much more about the book in the information sheet HERE. And do be sure to listen in to the interview between Kevin and Jay–below.

May

2017

On Blogging

The Discipline of Writing

I love writing. That’s why I do the work I do. On Twitter, I describe myself in these terms:

A Christian publishing consultant with the passion and skills to assist people to communicate their message clearly and efficiently to a global audience.

Francis Bacon said, of writing, that it “maketh a precise man.” (Interestingly, he also said that reading makes “a full man” and conference–debate–makes a “ready man.”)

Perhaps I am just a little guilty of not practicing what I preach. Maybe the doctor should be healing himself (I’ve been wonderfully engaged in helping others to write, and to write well).

So, my reader friend, it’s back to blogging and not just the snippets that I have been posting on Facebook and via my Twitter feed.

Apr

2016

If Just 100 People Lived on Our Planet. . .

In the 1970s. . .

I remember at school learning that the world’s population was around 3,6 billion–that was in the 1970s. Things have changed quite a lot since then, but it is likely that some of the poverty and other demographic ratios shown in the video are relatively unchanged.

And Now!

View the video below (I came across it on Facebook) for an interesting schematic sense of how those ratios would look if there were just 100 people living on earth.

Mar

2016

From Wood Off-cuts to Desk

A Place for Everything

A place for everything, and everything in its place. It’s a good saying. I like to try to inculcate this in my young son, aged twelve. Or, to adjust an old saying slightly, “Orderliness is next to godliness.”

“He really needs his own desk,” I said to Sue. “That way, he can start to develop good study and work habits.” We were in a departmental store a day or two later, and we spotted a small desk for sale. “Something like that would be good for Matthew,” we found ourselves saying to each other.

I sketched it up in my mind’s eye. “I have some wood from the bookshelves I made,” I remarked, referring to a project I had recently completed” (oh, the joys of being in publishing and book-selling!) “I think I could make something rather like this.” Sure enough, when we got home, and when I checked the supply of off-cuts in the corner of the garage, it looked like there was enough lumber to make a small desk.

Some days later, a trail of sawdust leading into the house, some sandpapering, and a couple of coats of varnish, the outcome was a compact little desk about the same size as the one we had seen in the shop–and for just a few dollars for the materials that I did not already have to hand. Pine can look nice when it has a lick or two of stain and varnish on it.

Our predecessors, early settlers in Africa and America, learned to make do with what they had, finding that they could be both frugal and artistic in the process. I’ll always remember the words of a mentor who said to me: “We often discover that we need what we already have.”

I’m glad to say that I had what I already needed, as well as needing what I already had!

Sep

2015

Friend Focus: John Blanchard

Why Focus on a Friend?

I’ve previously mentioned how my work in books introduces me to some delightful people. In serving them, it is my privilege to have made new friends over the years, so I thought it would be good from time to time to point the camera, as it were, on some of them, and the excellent ministries that they themselves conduct.

Right with God

I first heard the name of John Blanchard in 1979. His book, Right with God, was known as a popular and standard explanation of the gospel. But it was not for another several years that I was to meet him in person. At the time, recently married, I was living in South Africa and Martin Holdt, pastor of a church in the Johannesburg area, had invited him to speak at key meetings throughout South Africa.

Somehow, I managed to get his phone number in about 1987 and (it was a big deal back then in the 1980s) I put through a person-to-person phone call to him in his home near London. “You’d like me to take a special meeting in Pietermaritzburg…?” asked the voice with a melodious sounding Guernsey accent. “Well, that should be no great problem. Yes, I’d be glad to do that!”

A few years earlier, Sue and I had seen his excellent color illustrated booklet, Ultimate Questions, and immediately purchased 100 copies to be used as giveaway items. We cleaned out the suppliers almost all in one go! We knew that, if we could get him to come and speak in our church (we met in a school hall), we could pack the place out… and we did, with a few people coming to faith in Christ the evening he spoke. Some years later, we were involved in preparing a Zulu edition of Ultimate Questions and having it distributed in Southern Africa.

But back to some details about John Blanchard: South Africa became one of his favorite ministry countries. People there loved his clear gospel presentation, and so it was that he came to make many repeat visits there, speaking to large crowds at key locations in cities such as Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

In 1999, Sue and I relocated to the UK, and I served Evangelical Press (now EP Books) for a while as international sales manager. That connected us more closely, a link that did not weaken in subsequent work and projects I undertook in literature, both in the UK and the USA. It was a special delight to work with John in promoting his major work, Does God Believe in Atheists?, a labor of love that has helped persuade many of the folly and impossibility of consistent atheism. I sometimes would joke with him about his PCA program. PCA is what John referred to as his Popular Christian Apologetics; I rephrased it to Program to Combat Atheism!

“As much as I can, as well as I can, for as long as I can”

John cannot sit still! I met with him about a year ago when he was visiting South Carolina, and we enjoyed a morning of happy fellowship in the country some way away from Greenville. “Well, I’ll be preaching tomorrow in town, and then the next day in Savannah, and after that I am flying to Arkansas and…” (he rattled off several places where he was scheduled to be speaking). Well does he describe himself and his ministry in these terms: “As much as I can, as well as I can, for as long as I can!”

Origins and Ministry

John’s life story is engagingly and fascinatingly told in a DVD and a biographical travel guide. Born in Guernsey before World War 2, he was evacuated before the German occupation of his island, and resided for much of the war in Scotland. Later converted, he found himself part of a team of itinerant evangelists in the UK, and with an expanding ministry.

Joyce, the wife of his youth, died in February 2010, but I was delighted to learn that God has brought another special woman into his life, so now he and Pam together serve the Lord! You can connect with John and read his updates by visiting his site here, and also subscribe to his regularly ministry updates, Newsline.

Do You Use Literature?

When I think of John, I cannot but think of him as a speaker and writer. Books and booklets are a must when it comes to establishing others in the truth. I cannot recommend his books too highly! In one of my web initiatives, I am endeavoring to make all of his titles available, and, with the kind assistance of EP Books and their distributors, these are available at generously discounted prices. To find out more, visit here or click or tap on the image of John’s books near the head of this page!

Sep

2015

Back to School: Bob Jones Academy–Middle School

A New Term Begins . . .

Matthew: first day at BJU Middle School

After a lengthy summer’s break, Matthew, our son, returned to school, this time embarking on his experience of middle school. Seventh grade is a whole new ballgame, for parents and students alike. Greater maturity is expected. Students are now beginning to attain a new altitude in terms of more demanding work (the pre-algebra is an interesting case in point for me!) and in the requirements of assuming greater levels of independent responsibility when it comes to taking ownership of projects, such as in life science.

What’s Bugging You?

Matthew’s bug collection (a BJU life science project) has kept us all engaged, with a butterfly net kept to hand in case of a sudden find (he has to present 35 pinned and identified bugs, each specimen to be mounted on a board). As we were driving somewhere the other day, an unfortunate ladybug made her belly visible through the windshield when we were about halfway to where we are going. “Dad, why are you stopping here?” Matthew’s voice asked from the back seat. With hazard lights blinking, and the car parked as much off the road as possible, I responded shortly before jumping out, “Look at what’s on our windshield,” and, with that, I managed to capture the insect in one of the containers we were keeping near to hand for this kind of eventuality. An hour in the freezer is usually enough to end the life of a bug like this, and, presto, another one is ready for the collection!

Worldview

It’s interesting to see how worldview comes through in such a practical way in the teaching of a subject like science. Consider a few excerpts from a science worksheet Matthew recently brought home:

Worldviews shape the way we think… help us make sense of what we are doing…help us to answer other questions regarding our purposes in life.

We believe our worldview is based on the truth of God’s Word; a non-biblical worldview would be based on something else that a person considers more reliable than the Bible–…church traditions, scientific theories, philosophies, or other ideas that have originated from human beings.

We can bring God glory through our work of dominion… relieving human suffering and proclaiming the gospel we become instruments for God’s redemption of the world, reclaiming life science for God’s glory, valuing a life created in the image of God as opposed to just another animal*

I could wish that I had received such a robust worldview when I was twelve years old!

Vision and Values

The university (of which the school is a part) defines its mission in these words: “Bob Jones University exists to grow Christlike character that is scripturally disciplined, others-serving, God-loving, Christ-proclaiming and focused above.” You can read more about Bob Jones University and schools here.

(Excerpt from Seventh Grade Worksheet, Life Science: What is Science?)

Aug

2015

Shepherd Press Catalog Online

Resources for the Heart

It’s always an exciting matter to take what a publisher has on offer and to present the range in a systematized and visually appealing way.

The challenge any designer faces in a project such as this is to render a large number of items within the constraints of a relatively small space. So, the emphasis has to be on key descriptions, enough of a visual display to give a sense of what the items are like, and the power of written endorsements to encourage the pull of the “Buy Now” trigger. It was well said by Erasmus that he purchased books, and, if he had any spare money, he would buy less important items such as clothes and food!*

Shepherd Press Publications Are Excellent!

Shepherd Press offers a unique range of resources, all carefully designed and well branded. Included in its range of publications are the Lifeline mini-books (more details here). Here is the online version of a mini-catalog my editing and publishing operation, Great Writing, designed for hard-copy printing and circulation. You may view the PDF itself here if you wish.

*Erasmus quote: "When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes."

Aug

2015

More from Jim on Publishing

Making a Plan

An Unexpected Phone Call

Waging War on Worry!

My Backyard

New Friends

Practical and Spiritual Lessons

A Book That Engaged Me for Several Hundred Miles

Some Years Later

The Discipline of Writing

In the 1970s. . .

And Now!

A Place for Everything

Why Focus on a Friend?

Right with God

“As much as I can, as well as I can, for as long as I can”

Origins and Ministry

Do You Use Literature?

A New Term Begins . . .

What’s Bugging You?

Worldview

Vision and Values

Resources for the Heart

Shepherd Press Publications Are Excellent!

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