Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Two TWTG items: first picture from a Men's Bible Study, and a neat review

The day started rough. I usually wake up before my alarm, but today it dragged me to consciousness. I was clumsy and off-game, and a bunch of little dumb things went wrong. Shirt-buttoning, no remote to listen to news as I shod myself, knocked box of Atkins bars onto floor (upside-down, duh), and so forth.

But one happy thing was that I knew I had this to share with you:

Last night Pastor Andy Chulka of Hope Bible Church in O'Fallon, Missouri Tweeted me this picture:


And here's the accompanying Tweet:


Even on my iPhone, I could make out all those little green books the smiling folks are holding up (there are a couple of Kindles as well, I believe). Gave me a happy chuckle; I hope it does you.

The folks at Kregel and I hashed out exactly what to title the book, and then which of several covers to pick. I'm really glad we settled on what we picked both, since both are distinctive. Google "world-tilting," and you mostly only find one target. Plus, who can miss that green cover in a bookstore?

Andy's picture thrills and warms my heart, as you can easily imagine. I have prayed that God will use The World-Tilting Gospel to instruct, help, encourage and edify individuals. Scores have written, Tweeted, and blogged that God has blessed it to just that effect, and I am very grateful.

But I also hope and pray to see it used to a great degree in church fellowships. I believe that pastors of like faith in the Gospel will be able to use the book as an extension of their ministries, as a way to frame discipleship. It can be the in-depth talk/study that each would like to have with every person in their church, if only there were enough hours in the day. It can supplement and frame their one-on-one discipleship.

If only the word would get out.

God grant that the Scriptural tour these folks at Hope Bible Church are undertaking will instruct, bless and encourage the brothers at Hope Bible Church, and exalt Christ  and His great work of salvation in their hearts and lives.

Now, the second happy thing, from someone doing her best to get the word out: Jaci Greggs, queen of the blog Me and My SoldierMan, has published her review of The World-Tilting Gospel.  It's thoughtful, warm, and very enthusiastic.  She begins:
If you are a Christian looking to grow in your faith and biblical maturity, this book is for you. If you are a new believer trying to figure out what to do next, this book is for you. If you are just curious about what Christianity is really all about, this book is for you.
...and then she concludes:
I could go on and on, but I'll finish by saying I cannot recommend TWTG highly enough. It will make you think, make you laugh, make you cry (or maybe that's just me), and goad you to a deeper understanding of who God is and what He wants for your life and this world. I can see TWTG being on my regular reading rotation for a while.
Thanks, Jaci. That does not harsh my mellow.

(Maybe you and Reformed Redhead can start a club?)

7 comments:

Noah said...

DJP:
Just bought a couple copies of TWTG and maybe one more for a family study with my brother and parents. I'm in KS; bro in NE; Mom and Dad in CO. I've been looking for a book that could articulate the gospel and explain why it matters.

Thanks for writing it!

JG said...

Thanks for the plug, Dan. I meant every word. Already one person said they got it on kindle. I do hope TWTG takes off. Have you considered a workbook version for study groups? You know, since you've got so much free time. There is a definite shortage of non-unicorn-pink-fluffies studies out there. :)

DJP said...

A study guide has been suggested, but my understanding is that depends on sales of the book, and I don't have one clue about that at the moment.

I'm willing, though.

100 Mile Pants said...

That picture fills my heart with joy! :)

DJP said...

Amen, brother. If you take one like it from across the Pond, send it!

Anonymous said...

I have no picture, but I'm going through the book with my 2 oldest boys (11&12).

So far so good, with the added benefit of using the book as a resource for my preparation for High School Sunday School class.
I'm doing a 6 week series on the gospel and TWTG is proving invaluable.

Incidentally, after the first week, simply covering what the gospel actually is, a youth leader approached me to say the class was a good thing because...wait for it...

these kids grade 9 through 12, had never been taught any of this before...

Sad...

Having said that, there were definitely a few kids in the class who had been taught, probably by parents, but to hear elders kids define the gospel as "a guide" or worse "rules"...is troubling.

Thanks for writing this Dan. Much needed.

Much needed.

DJP said...

Thanks, Daryl; maybe no photo, but the mental picture is priceless.

Thanks too for the encouraging words.

Pray that the word gets out. Pray that it gets out to people who can get it out large-scale.