Kickstarter

After I graduated from Dallas Baptist, I spent time reflecting on the journals I had kept during my years there.  When I was searching through these journals, I was able to see so many answered prayers, truths that God had sealed in my heart, and many pitfalls I had fallen into during these formative years.

One thing that I noticed in these journal entries was they essentially tracked my coming of age in what Colin Hansen has called the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” movement.  As I retraced my steps along this path of entering into Calvinist, or Reformed theology, along with other brothers and sisters I walked with at university and in my local church, I realized that these pitfalls were not uniquely mine, but many others had fallen into these traps as well.

In the midst of pursuing a thoroughly biblical, God-exalting, humbling theology…our sin had twisted this wonderful spiritual journey.  As Al Wolter’s would argue, God-centered theology was intended to lead us to deeper worship and practice, but the direction of this theological pursuit had been skewed by our sin.

I begin to search for books that could put words to the pitfalls I, and so many others, had stumbled into but I kept coming up short in this search. Hansen’s Young, Restless, and Reformed was a great introduction to the movement and is an excellent survey of the key influencers and leaders who have helped to stir up and give direction to the renewed interest in reformed theology.  Smith’s Letters to a Young Calvinist provides some great insights into the growing pains of encountering Calvinism, but its heart is really to help stretch the young Calvinist to consider more than just “the five points of Calvinism” and it does so by painting a Kuyperian (Dutch Reformed) vision of Reformation theology. These books are excellent, and I recommend them to you for your growth and edification, but they were not what I was searching for.

I wanted a book that would help to serve as a “heart analysis” of the young reformed movement.

When I realized that I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to write a book.

My hope is that this book, tentatively titled “Pitfalls: Along the Way to Becoming Young and Reformed,” would serve those who have joined the ranks of this growing movement by helping to point out common pitfalls that many stumble into as they begin to encounter Calvinism, the doctrines of grace, and reformed theology.

Having sent in the proposal to a variety of publishers, I was contacted by Lucid Books based out of Houston, TX. They were interested in publishing the book and we are now in the process of working towards a September 2012 manuscript submission with a January 2013 publication date. I am hoping to raise the money to buy my "creative license" up front. This would allow me to own the content (or intellectual property) in the book.

I am thrilled by this opportunity and will be keeping the blog updated with details regarding the writing process, project development, and content of the book.

Again, my heart is that this book would serve those entering the ranks of the young and reformed movement, the churches they inhabit, and the schools they train at.

For God’s Glory

KW