Hi Friends!

I hope you are all well and thank for being regular subscribers. As I mentioned in my last subscriber-only update in January, I set out this year with the goal of writing two books:

• How I Became a Christian Despite the Church
• The Dangers of Growing Up in a Christian Home (and how to avoid them!)

Many of you have been praying, and several of you sent me a note after the January update letting me know that you would be praying for me in a committed way this year regarding these goals. I have felt those prayers and am very grateful to all of you.

In, fact, I’m excited to let you know that as of this week, I’ve completed How I Became a Christian Despite the Church! Of course, I will continue to tweak and make enhancements in the coming months, but I’m pleased with its current form. God has given me the fire so that I was able to complete this in just three months. I basically wrote two hours a day, five days a week with another 2-3 full Saturdays devoted to the project.

By the way, the Gothard and related articles (basically the last seven weeks of blog content), although they’re related, are not something I plan to include in the book. Also, regarding the blog, I would like to give a special thank-you to Joane Wrenn for her weekly help in catching typos and other things that just don’t quite make sense. 🙂

Besides your continued prayers, if any of you have any recommendations or strong connections with a good agent or publisher, please let me know. In the next two months, I will be sharing the content with a several select individuals, soliciting their feedback on how to enhance the final product. I also hope to secure the services of a good agent or publisher. Again, any feedback or recommendations on any this would be greatly appreciated.

My son, Tim, who is an excellent writer and someone I’ve learned a ton from, has told me it’s important to be able to tell a person what your book is about in ten seconds, so here it is:

It’s the compelling story of how I became a Christian despite the church—particularly one really destructive and harmful church called Berachah. Constructive in tone, it’s written from the perspective of a carpenter-theologian where the bible is handled with a rare combination of both practicality and precision. Although it’s a blueprint for healthy discipleship designed to bring hope, healing, and clarity to all, it’s written especially for those who’ve been hurt or turned off by religion.

And here’s an excerpt from the introduction in its current form:

“And that’s the God I hope you come to know in a deeper way as I share my story of how I became a Christian despite the church—particularly one really destructive and harmful church called Berachah. If you’re a skeptic or seeker, even if you don’t believe in God, I hope you’ll feel respected as you read, and that the content will challenge, surprise, and inspire you. In recounting the details of my experience, although many names have been changed, I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible. Although I’m not a stand-up comic or late-night talk show host—the trusted purveyors of knowledge in our day, in what follows there are definitely some you’ve-gotta-be kidding, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction stories laced with lots of honest questions, research, and practical help. To provide minimal distraction and clutter, and yet still to promote maximum engagement with the Bible, I’ve included references to key verses in the footnotes.

Unlike many popular deconversion stories,[1] I’ve tried my best to avoid this kind of formula:

• “Step 1: Recount the Negatives of Your Fundamentalist Past
• Step 2: Position Yourself as the Offended Party Who Bravely Fought the Establishment
• Step 3: Portray Your Opponents as Overly Dogmatic While You Are Just a Seeker
• Step 4: Insist Your New Theology Is Driven by the Bible and Is Not a Rejection of It
• Step 5: Attack the Character of Your Old Group and Uplift the Character of Your New Group”[2]

My goal is rather to handle scripture responsibly, maintain a constructive tone, own my own stuff, and avoid villainizing everybody else but me.

At the same time, like many deconversion stories, shame, distorted views of sex, and abuse are major themes. If you’ve struggled or suffered in these areas, I hope you’ll find hope and clarity in the coming pages. As you’ll see, although I do want to take an axe to repression, I have no interest, as many are now doing, in disregarding or mangling key biblical terms like holiness, or in radically “redefining the stale and oppressive sexual ethic the church has taught for so long”[3] I’m rather with those who still believe that “chastity and celibacy are good and sex is necessarily covenantal.” [4] Anglican priest, Tish Harrison Warren, explains what “covenantal” means in this context:

“When we have sex, our bodies are enacting a promise—two are becoming one flesh. That mysterious conjoining and fusing is a physical embodiment of the covenant of marriage. It’s set up so that the person you sleep with is the one you do your taxes with and celebrate anniversaries with and struggle through long, dark years with and fight over the thermostat with, till death do us part.”[5]”

God bless you and thanks again for praying, reading, and sharing this journey with me!

---

[1] “De-conversion stories are designed not to reach non-Christians but to reach Christians. And their purpose is to convince them that their outdated, naïve beliefs are no longer worthy of their assent.” Bart Ehrman, Rob Bell, Peter Enns, and Jen Hatmaker are examples of authors who have written in this genre.

[2] These steps are detailed and taken from this excellent piece: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/jen-hatmaker-power-deconversion-stories/

[3] Nadia Bolz-Weber, Shameless (New York: Convergent, 2019), 198.

[4] Tish Harrison Warrren, “The Church Made Vigina Sculptures Long Before Nadia Bolz-Weber,” Christianity Today, Posted Febrary 26, 2019.

[5] Ibid.