December 11, 2024

Rejoicing in a ‘Failed’ Book

In my introduction to the CT Book Awards, announced last week, I noted the pleasant surprise of seeing a few independently published books elbow their way into the winners’ circle. Measured in raw numbers, there weren’t that many. But in a contest typically dominated by entries from evangelical publishing fixtures like Zondervan, Baker, and InterVarsity Press, even a handful of party-crashers counts as eye-opening.

Later last week, we published a first-person reflection from a writer, Tom Petersen, who nominated his self-published book but didn’t win any CT awards. In fact, Petersen is candid in admitting that his book, Thank God It’s Monday(?): Balancing Work and Faith While Keeping Your Sense of Humor, has fared pretty abysmally in the marketplace. Yet he offers several reasons for rejoicing in the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong goal, even if the results were humbling and disappointing.

In closing, Petersen affirms that ”God used my ‘failure’ to grow my faith. In hindsight, my book adventure started from a place of hubris. On some level, I figured the path would be easy and the finished product would win me esteem, especially because I felt that God had put this project on my heart. That’s one reason why, at least initially, the paltry sales figures came as a gut punch.

“I often tell people that because my ego is so important to me, God effectively uses it to get my attention. But rather than feed my ego, he allowed it to be bruised, all so he could open me to new opportunities, change my perspective, and grow my faith. I learned to see the common ground I shared with others in the faith-and-work movement as fruitful in its own right. Connecting with them might not have done much to sell my book, but hopefully it played some small but God-ordained role in advancing his kingdom.

“Perhaps most importantly, this adventure has changed how I view myself. After struggling for so long to live out my faith at work, I have become someone who regularly writes and speaks about how my relationship with God forms me for his purpose. Maybe my years of church attendance, Bible studies, and small group participation prepared the way for that journey. But something about the act of writing a book—stepping forward in faith into an endeavor I felt God calling me to pursue—seems to have launched it in earnest.

“All of this is far more rewarding than the smug feeling of seeing my BookScan numbers hit triple digits. Perhaps I’ll never sell another book. Perhaps I’ll sell enough to fill a second backpack. But maybe the purpose of the book was teaching me humility, deepening my faith, and making God’s presence more real.

“My advice to new authors is to take a step back at the start of your book-writing journey. Ask yourself what you think God is really calling you to, and why. Then be ready for God’s blessing to show up in ways you don’t expect. Maybe your blessing will be huge sales. (In which case, great, I’m not at all jealous. Nope. Not one bit.)

“But you may be surprised to find that the blessing comes in the shape of new friends, fresh ways to use God-given talents, and a renewed trust that God will always deliver what’s best for you, even if it wasn’t what your heart had desired.”

Angels All the Year Round

Angels get plenty of attention during the month of December. We meet them in the lyrics of our favorite Christmas hymns, on the stages of church Christmas pageants, and in the Bible’s narratives of the birth of Jesus.

Pastor and author A. J. Sherrill thinks the attention angels receive during the Advent season should awaken us to the magnitude of their presence throughout Scripture. In a CT excerpt from his recent book Rediscovering Christmas: Surprising Insights into the Story You Thought You Knew, Sherrill invites readers to live with greater awareness of God’s supernatural messengers all the year round.

“Long ago, Jacob confessed, ‘The Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it’ (Gen. 28:16),” writes Sherrill. “Declarations like this haunt me, in the best of ways. It makes me wonder if the world is charged with far more spiritual activity than we notice. Borrowing a word from the philosopher Charles Taylor, what if the earth is enchanted with heaven? Like Jacob, perhaps once we die we will discover that many things—visible and invisible—were ever-present and we were unaware.

“The inclusion of angels throughout the biblical narrative is evidence of this, and the season of Advent can help us to reclaim the place these enchanted beings hold in our faith. Angels saturate the Christmas story and are seen as extensions of God’s indwelling presence. Angels, not humans, were first to announce the good news of Christ’s birth. And their proclamation was made to poor shepherds, not the wealthy and powerful elite. In the Bible, angels were seen as help from heaven (Psalm 91:11-12).

“If you’ve ever received insight into a problem, felt oddly protected from harm, or sensed a vague spiritual nudge toward a specific direction, maybe the Lord’s angelic emissaries were at work and you were unaware.

“In her book Walking on Water, the great writer Madeleine L’Engle observed, ‘We lose our ability to see angels as we grow up.’ By this, she meant we live in a culture that encourages us to suppress our imaginations as we age. We do this in the name of cultural sophistication. We think it is charming to believe in (and claim to see) angels as little children. But as we grow, we are encouraged to put this enchanted nonsense behind us.”

Matt Reynolds

Senior Editor, Books

PAID CONTENT

As Bible reading among Christians continues declining, thoughtfully chosen books become more crucial than ever. This holiday season, give gifts that strengthen faith and deepen biblical understanding.

CT’s Holiday Gift Guide for Book Lovers offers a handpicked selection of this year’s most impactful Christian literature—devotionals that inspire daily worship, children’s books that plant seeds of faith, and nonfiction that tackles today’s toughest questions.

Choose presents with eternal impact.

Advertise with us

don’t miss

My Book Sales Stink. But I’m Glad I Took the Publishing Plunge.

Ever since I was a child, I have wanted to write a book. When I told my brother last year that I was finally publishing one, he said, “You’ve wanted…

Have Yourself an Enchanted Little Advent

Long ago, Jacob confessed, “The Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it” (Gen. 28:16). Declarations like this haunt me, in the best of ways. It…

PAID CONTENT FOR COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

Empowered to Dream

David and Alex have always been dreamers. As brothers growing up in Esmaraldas, Ecuador, they fantasized about becoming professional soccer players—but the challenges of poverty stood in their way. The…

in the magazine

As this issue hits your mailboxes after the US election and as you prepare for the holidays, it can be easy to feel lost in darkness. In this issue, you’ll read of the piercing light of Christ that illuminates the darkness of drug addiction at home and abroad, as Angela Fulton in Vietnam and Maria Baer in Portland report about Christian rehab centers. Also, Carrie McKean explores the complicated path of estrangement and Brad East explains the doctrine of providence. Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt shows us how art surprises, delights, and retools our imagination for the Incarnation, while Jeremy Treat reminds us of an ancient African bishop’s teachings about Immanuel. Finally, may you be surprised by the nearness of the “Winter Child,” whom poet Malcolm Guite guides us enticingly toward. Happy Advent and Merry Christmas.

VIEW FULL ISSUE

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Share