M.L.S. Weech's Blog, page 26

Book Review: Following Christ by Charles Spurgeon

Following Christ by Charles Spurgeon is a book centered on what it means to follow Christ. It starts with the basic principle, and then it moves on to more applicable things like evangelism and serving the body.

This cover image was taken from the book’s Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

I took three things from this book that I’d like to share with you:

Following Christ is, in one respect, honestly as simple as trying to imitate Christ. Do the things you think Christ would do. Don’t do the things you don’t think he’d do. This isn’t meant to imply people should walk around trying to heal the sick (unless they’re doctors) or raise the dead. Instead, it means the temperament and behavior of Christ. For non-fiction, I love it when authors are blunt, and Spurgeon leaves no room for interpretation. This portion of the book was every bit as convicting as it was inspiring. I think even the most devote Christian finds himself acting in ways that are contrary to Christ. The difference is that a Christian regrets his sins and works to return to the right path. This book simply states the obvious in a manner that doesn’t condone sinful behavior. It doesn’t lash out at sinners or sin. Instead, it simply shows that when you do sin, you’re not acting like Christ.

The tricker part for me (and a reason I intend to read this again in a while) is the parts talking about serving the body and evangelizing. On one hand, you have that fervor all evangelists should have. In this regard, I am currently a coward. This book convicts me to be bold. This blog allows me a degree of separation that makes me comfortable, but the idea is to make yourself uncomfortable. Yes, I’d love to see the whole world embrace Christianity. Other posts I’ve made offer my reasons, and you can read those thoughts if you wish. But in person, I’m not very bold, and I want to be. That doesn’t mean I’m going to run through my office at work shouting, “Christ is king!” But pray God grants me boldness in this respect.

This image was taken from the Christian Hall of Fame of Canton Baptist Temple website in an attempt to represent Spurgeon. This caption is a credit to where the image came from but does not necessarily endorse the site or its teaching as I haven’t studied their site much.

The final thing this talks about is something I’ve been pondering for a year now. How do I serve? In my wildest dreams (I do have them). I see myself building a school that runs from Pre-K to high school. I want to build a school where the graduates leave with a diploma and a scholarship for whatever occupational trade school or (state) college they prefer. Again, these are my wildest dreams. I dream of building churches based on Biblical expository teaching. I want to fully fund a missionary journey. I want to do all of these things, but I can’t have someone over for dinner and talk about scripture. Again, I pray for boldness. But in this case, I’m talking about serving the body. This part of the book was freeing in a way. One doesn’t need to head a ministry or be a deacon to serve. Instead, all one has to do is ask, “How can I help?” and mean it. All one needs to do is look for a person in need and help them. I think I’ve been so caught up in overt methods of service rather than just looking for ways to serve. This book speaks to that issue. I’m not saying I wanted to be a “shining star” in my church. I was just looking for, I guess the term would be, measurable ways to serve. Now, I feel a little easier just looking for ways to do so. I need that other COVID shot before I can do much of anything, but once I get vaccinated, I’m happy being that guy who just looks for a thing that needs doing.

Spurgeon is such a compelling, charismatic figure. Just reading his books makes me wish I could sit down and have a beverage with him. Reading his books gives me the same feeling as reading something from Lewis. So I’m looking forward to reading another book from him (which I’ve already downloaded).

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Pastor Tom Leake, A Tremendous Example of Faith Given to Christ

Obviously, this isn’t the next installment of Visits, but I have this unfortunate need, and this feels like the right place.

I may have said a total of 50 words to Pastor Tom Leake in person. I attended his Growing Disciples Class on The Sermon on the Mount. But I watched him the same way I watch all of my heroes. When I want to learn about writing, I watch Brandon Sanderson. When I want to learn more about how to coach the game of football, I watch Kyle Shanahan. When I want to know how to be a better Christian, I, of course, seek Christ, but I feel that Pastor Tom is as good an example to follow this side of Christ as any. It’s weird to write the word “is” because I learned March 26 that my hero died, and I’m not even sure how I feel.

I have many people I look up to. When I think about Pastor Tom, I looked up to him the same way I looked up to those who were much further off and less approachable. I’m certain we didn’t know each other as well as either of us would like, but he was so beloved by people he’s shepherded at our church for more than 22 years, and I’ve only been a member for just over two of those years.

So I wanted to dedicate this post to him and to Christ, who gave Pastor Tom a strength and conviction that is a testament to God’s power and mercy.

Somewhere around four years ago, I hated “organized religion.”

I’ve mentioned a few times that my home town had a lot of churches that were more cultish and hate based than anything else, and that led me to believe that’s what a church was. I wanted no part of it. I’d been to other churches. For me, it was downright frustrating to believe in Christ and yet feel confounded in trying to find a church that actually followed him. To be fair, I didn’t look very hard. I didn’t look much at all. I found a church in Virginia that I appreciated, but I live in Maryland now.

Then a friend offered the link to Hope Bible Church’s webcast of sermons. She told me to watch.

The first thing I noticed right away was that Pastor Tom opened a book of the Bible and just taught about that part. He was in Acts 2, and at the time of his death, he’d made it to Acts 14. It’s called expositional teaching. True, there were breaks in that to cover things like parenthood or how a church should function in society and how Christians should submit to leadership, but even those were grounded in specific passages of the Bible.

The more I watched, the more I realized Pastor Tom was this man who was grounded in faith, convicted in his belief and loving in his temperament. Some can argue I didn’t know him that well, and I didn’t, but that’s the man I saw, so that’s the man I’m speaking to you about.

Not long after my wife and I became members of the church, Pastor Tom was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It was the second time he’d battle that condition. He was given less than a year to live, and he spent the next two years preaching, and I testify to you that he preached with as much fervor and energy as I’d ever seen. I watched for two years as a man’s clothes grew looser and looser. He moved more and more slowly. His strength and body rebelled against him. In his last sermon, he had helpers walk him to a lowered pulpit so he could sit while he taught scripture, urging others to serve the body of Christ.

I want to lie down and nap after I stub my toe, and this man preached about serving the church less than two weeks before he passed away.

That is strength, and that strength comes from Christ. This isn’t my statement; it’s his. Every day he spoke, he spoke about how Christ sustained him. Every day he preached, he talked about how it’s the purpose Christ has for him.

Now he’s gone. He’s gone, but I’ll never forget that example.

So I end this knowing what he would want. The last words I heard from him were for Christ, and if he had another second to live, I think he’d want to say, “Turn to Christ! Only he can save you.”

I am a sinner. I’m guilty of more sins than I can count and a number of sins I’d rather not discuss. There never was nor would be a thing I, as a man, could do to reconcile myself to God, the God of Abraham, the God of Issac, the God of Jacob. He is a perfect and holy God who can’t abide sin. So how do I approach him? There is no sacrifice I can offer. The blood of animals and the deeds of my life could never make up for the sins I’ve committed. There must be a death. So God, in his abundant mercy sent his only begotten son down to earth. He is Christ. Christ was born of a virgin, according to prophecy. He lived a perfect, sinless life in accordance to prophecy and by the testimony of those who served him and even the enemies who conspired to have him crucified. The crime he was killed for was speaking truth. They asked if he was the son of God, and Christ replied truthfully that he was. But they did not kill Christ. Christ, the son of God, the man who is God, gave up his mortal life. That was the propitiation for the sins of mankind, and his one sacrifice was sufficient for all of mankind. And those who turn to Christ, confess him as Lord and believe in him will be saved. More so, God raised him from the dead. And as such, death has been defeated, and we too can share in the eternal life our master Christ has if only we believe in him, pick up our cross, and follow him.

I don’t follow him or serve him anywhere nearly as well as Pastor Leake did on this earth. Pastor Leake has received his crown of glory in Heaven. I’m still struggling just to act like Christ is some small way.

May God rest the souls and hearts of those who truly knew Pastor Leake. If I feel such loss for a man I didn’t know personally, I can only imagine the pain and loss they feel.

God bless and receive your servant Pastor Tom.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Trying New Things! Come Watch My Online Cover Reveal For Betrayed!

Greetings all,

As is usually the case with me, I’m constantly trying new things. One thing I want to try is to get my YouTube channel off the ground. This means I’m using a lot of different tools, so I had an idea.

I’m revealing the cover for Betrayed via a Google Meet video conference that will be posted on Facebook and Youtube (at the same time if I can pull it off).

I’m hoping you’ll all decide to attend.

What will I be doing?

Well naturally I’ll be doing the reveal, but here are some other thoughts:

Conversation with Carlos, the artist. My first hope is that Carlos will be available to talk about the work and his process. I’ll reveal the cover after the conversation, and anyone interested can talk to us about our work or the cover.

If you haven’t read Caught, Book One of the Oneiros Log, now is a good time to pick up a copy so you’re ready for Betrayed!

I also want to do a Q & A. In order to do that though, I need Q’s to A, if you follow the joke. If you’d like to help an independent author out, please post any question you’d like to ask of me in the comments below or email them to me. You can ask whatever you want, but I reserve the right to choose which questions I answer.

I plan on the event lasting 20 minutes. It will be Saturday, April 10 starting at 2 p.m. I hope you all can make it! Please comment below if you plan to be there.

Right now, this is all in the idea phase. My intention is to do between 2 and 3 videos per week. One will be general “Writing Advice;” one will be general “book talk;” and the last is bringing back a favorite. My plan is to bring back my book cover of the month. This time, I’ll be looking at covers and talking about why I think they work. I’ll create polls for people to vote in and announce the winners. This is going to demand some time, and I’ll have to see how well I manage it. But it’s something I’ve been mulling over, and I want to give it a shot. It should take less time than the original format because I’ll be highlighting seven covers each week and using those to do the polls. So the time it took me to find covers is the only time I’ll need because I’ll be doing it live.

You can get a head start by heading over to my (very puny and unproductive) YouTube channel now and subscribe (don’t forget the notification button). I actually plan to release my first set of videos starting next week. I’m probably biting off more than I can chew, but you’d all help me be motivated to keep at it by viewing, liking, and sharing the videos as they come out.

Once I finalize the general plan for the cover reveal on April 10, I’ll share the Google Meet link for you to join.

I’m hoping I’ll see you all there!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: Lenders The Unlicensed Consciousness by Travis Borne

Buy Stealing Freedom This cover image was taken from the book’s Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Spoiler Free Summary: Lenders: The Unlicensed Consciousness by Travis Borne is the first book in the Lenders Saga. Machines have taken over the world, and humanity is nearly eradicated. In what may be the last town (cities have been long gone for years) of civilization, people live safely behind the walls. Those walls are guarded by another set of machines, machines powered by Lenders. Amy has always been different. A rare human rescued and brought to the town, she seems to have a natural talent that might reveal the way to save everyone, but her very nature challenges a way of life some don’t want to leave behind. What will Amy do when humanity’s own selfish desires force her to choose between herself and the rest of her home?

Notes up front: I mentioned this on my Goodreads and Amazon reviews. This is, unfortunately, the worst book I’ve ever read. This review will cover my reasons. But there are some things I need to mention. According to the e-book’s buy page on Amazon, the most current edition is the fifth edition. So it’s possible I read a very early draft. Also, just because I didn’t like it, doesn’t mean you won’t. Again, I’ll list my reasons below, but I want to give Mr. Borne fair credit. This title has more reviews and a higher rating than any one of my titles, and that’s a credit to him. So take my thoughts with some salt. I’m one man with one opinion.

Character: If you are a reader or an aspiring author who wonders what a Mary Sue is, look no further than Amy. I can think of at least six times when other character marveled at Amy and what a “natural” she was from flying a space ship to acting as a Lender. Some of the plot points explain it, but the book never challenges Amy. She’s perfectly capable, perfectly sympathetic (nice), and immensely powerful. This makes her boring when she isn’t simply annoying. She never faces a challenge. She never displays a hint of anything but a unrealistic and frustrating Pollyanna view of this world full of murder and violence. It’s frankly unrealistic. Maybe she might choose to always do the right thing, but she never even appears to struggle with the decisions or express any anger or frustration. This book is oddly divided into four parts (by my estimation). Another character, Harold, has a much more interesting arc. I’m of the opinion that his story was far more worth while than Amy’s, but even that story has several issues.

Exposition: What scenes were written to show the reader what was happening rather than telling the reader what happened seemed crammed with unclear metaphor and mental soliloquies that would make even the most avid Attack on Titan fans (man they have a ton of internal angst dialogue scenes) stop watching the show. It seemed that every action required some expository sermon about the nature of humanity and how awful it is. This is made even harder to read because the draft I read was so poorly proofread. I honestly couldn’t tell what parts were just (bad) metaphors and which were flat out written incorrectly. At least seventy percent of the novel is exposition. The paragraphs are multiple pages long (That’s not an exaggeration). For every line of plot, the reader has to suffer through a full page of typo-filled exposition, and that’s not something I’m willing to do.

Worldbuilding: The arrangement of this worldbuilding is probably the cause of why it feels so off. Everything in this book happens a moment before it’s needed. Solutions that (through exposition) were set up well before the plot point is reached are only explained (through) exposition as a sort of explanation of how it was made possible as opposed to woven through the plot in a manner that leads to a satisfying realization. Consider for a moment that there are some Matrix-like connections (though I promise its not so much as a ripoff). Those interludes serve only to fill plot and don’t build character in any way. What could have been a cautionary story about what happens when evil man gains too much power or creates a power that exceeds his own, is instead just an unfortunate series of events that rarely show any hope for humanity. As with everything else in this book, a near impossible-to-believe rescue comes and goes. Then we get a five page speech about how it was made possible. So much telling. So little showing.

This image of Borne and company was taken from his Amazon author page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Dialogue: A large portion of the dialogue here is more given for plot and exposition than actual growth or character study. I will say the voices of the characters were unique. The problem was that these original voices were buried in hundreds (if not thousands) of words where the author gets in the way of the story rather than letting the characters live the story. So this possibly redeeming quality of the story is suffocated by the rest.

Description: This book shows that lots of words to tell what happened don’t come anywhere near the quality of carefully chosen words that show what happened. Possibly well-done description of scenes and settings were covered by poorly chosen metaphors. Unfortunately, the most care was placed into the most disturbing visuals. I completely understand the need for graphic detail, especially in cautionary stories. However, when the only careful description is given to those portions of the book, it feels like violence for the sake of violence. Again, I have plenty of graphic scenes in my own work, they just aren’t the only scenes with description in them. I had to mention that because I want to be clear that I’m well aware of my own content. So I either have to acknowledge that and explain what I feel the difference is or avoid it and be called out as a hypocrite. Some may feel I’m still a hypocrite, and they have a right to their opinions. What I hope to distinguish is a story where the most of the content we see clearly is gore and a story that is complete in its description, some of which is gore.

Overall: There is a viable concept in this book. The author mentioned multiple drafts, and it’s possible the story is far better than the draft I read. Structurally, it’s segmented into two timelines that never really come together in a satisfying way. The earlier timeline is far more interesting because the characters are so very flawed. Amy isn’t interesting at all. Grammatically, it’s very demanding on the eye. I want to give credit to the author. It is very clear how much love and effort he put into this. I can see the energy he put into outlining and drafting. So while I will be honest about how hard this book was to read, I would never want to simply say rude things for the sake of cruelty. I understand that all of this might be hard to read if the author makes his way to this page. I feel just as inclined to talk about why a story didn’t work for me (like this one didn’t) as I do about why stories work for me (like The White Dragon). I actually feel very happy that there are new editions out there because, like any story, this one could really shine with the right editing team and the right amount of work, and I hope that’s happened. I’m not inclined to try and read it again, but I do hope that you don’t let my opinion sway your opinion. Again, there are several reviews where readers loved the story, so take my singular opinion for what it is.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Buy The Journals of Bob Drifter

Visits From A Man Named Nobody 22

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The car rumbled to life, and Paul put it in reverse. He set to work backing up carefully. Then he turned around. All the while his mother gave soft words of encouragement. Occasionally, Paul would stall out or cause the car to jerk around again, and his mother would offer an occasional giggle with a gentle word of correction. 

After a while, Paul realized he had a smile plastered on his face. I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.  

“Did you want to stop?” she asked.

Paul realized he’d stopped the car, thinking about what a great day it had been. The sun was quickly approaching the horizon, but there was still a few minutes of daylight.

“I suppose we can keep going a little while,” Paul said. A part of him felt weird, but he didn’t want to reveal how much he wanted this day to last longer. Can I make every day feel like this?

She’d taken to playing video games with him from time to time, and that was fun. She’d glance at his homework, but she’d never really understood half of it. She mostly just looked at it to offer praise for doing it. Those were good times, but driving around, just the two of them, he realized it was so much better somehow.

“Oh.” She chuckled again, as if she knew he was only pretending to be frustrated. “Well I guess if you can put up with me for another few minutes, I’ll try not to be too annoying.”

Yeah, she definitely knew he was having a great time. He still refused to admit it for some reason. He was afraid that admitting he was happy would cause something terrible to happen. 

That’s the way it always went before Paul’s father was arrested. Things would seem good, and he’d explode over the dumbest thing. Even after he went to jail, Paul himself would find some way to cause drama. 

This day was different. They drove until the sun finally fell behind the horizon. Paul pulled over and switched spots with his mother. 

“I think you’re just about ready to drive on some quiet streets. You got the basics down, so now it’s just practice.” His mother smiled and ran a few nimble fingers through his hair.

“Can we play some video games when we get home?” Paul asked. 

She shook her head. “I’m actually planning to meet Bill tonight.”

Paul frowned. Bill. Paul hadn’t gotten to do much more than meet the guy, but his mother had been spending quite a few nights with Bill, and it annoyed Paul.

“How late are you going to be?” Paul asked.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t think it’s your job to ask me when I get home.”

Well, it wasn’t, but he still wanted to know. “I just want to know if you’re going to be all night.”

Her cheeks flushed, and Paul realized he’d implied a very different question than the one he meant to ask.

“Gross! No! I don’t want to know if you’re doing that,” Paul said. “I’m just wondering if you’ll be there in the morning.”

Paul realized it was, in a way, the same question. Why else would a woman stay with a man through the night.

“I won’t be out past eleven,” she said. “I trust you to have some food and get to bed on time, but I’m not leaving my sixteen-year-old son home alone overnight.”

“I can take care of myself.” Paul hardly made the comment before he realized he didn’t exactly want his mother thinking he wouldn’t care if she stayed overnight with Bill. Because…Bill. 

“You can take care of yourself, but I have no intention of staying out that late,” his mother said. 

To Paul, it sounded more like she said, “Don’t worry, I’m not sleeping with him.” 

Paul thought about it. Should he care? Didn’t he want her to be happy? Did what made her happy have to be Bill? Why was he so annoyed by his name? His name was just about the only thing Paul knew about him. 

“Does it bother you that I’m dating?” The question came from his mother as little more than a whisper, and Paul realized her concern. Would she really stop seeing Bill if he said, “Yes”? 

Paul took a breath. He opened his mouth to say he liked Bill. 

“Don’t lie to me!” She added a finger point to the shout just to give it a bit more sting. How did she know?

He let out a breath of air. “I like it how it is now,” Paul said. “We spend time together. We talk.”

She gently cupped his face with her hands. “No matter what I do, you will always be my son, and I will always love you.”

“I know.” Paul pulled away as if she made him uncomfortable. “Look, I want you to be happy, and that’s the truth. I’m not sure about Bill.”

“Why’d you say his name like that?” she asked.

“Like what?” Paul asked back.

“You just said his name like it was an insult.” Her tone wasn’t angry, but she did make it clear to Paul that he needed a good explanation.

“I don’t know him.” Avoiding the name might be best. “And that’s the problem, and no, I’m not asking to hang out with him. You’re dating, and that means you’ll have less time.”

Paul let a few moments pass before finally admitting, “I was just getting used to how much time we were spending together.”

His mother nodded. “I don’t honestly know what will happen with Bill. I won’t lie, I want to spend more time with him, and I want him to start spending time with us. But I promise to try and make sure we always have time for just us. It might not be as much as you want, but we’ll make time to hang out. Who knows. Maybe after a while you’ll start wanting to spend more time with him.”

The hope practically dripped from her tone, but Paul doubted he’d ever want to spend any time with Bill. 

… to be continued …

As COVID-19 Passes, What Residual Impact Does It Have On This Self-Published Author

Greetings all,

As I type this, I’ve received one of my two Moderna vaccinations. We’re all excited to see the hope of a world returned to normal. We’re even seeing conventions spinning up, which led to this particular post.

Before COVID, we were poised to try a year filled with twelve conventions. We managed to do a few before COVID came on strong, but things shut down pretty quickly.

Once lockdown happened, I was forced (in a good way) to work on my marketing game. So I focused on AMS, trying to generate more sales. As you can see from my Marketing Journal series, I am selling more books. The problem is I’m spending way more than I make. Now I’m working that problem, trying to weed out useless keywords that only cost money, but that money spent takes away from money I can save for editing, cover art, chapter art and, in this case, conventions.

I don’t want to simply cut off all my AMS campaigns and save the money our family budgets for Weech because these campaigns are indeed getting me more sales. I feel the right thing to do is to keep working on those campaigns to make them profitable. Then they pay for themselves and help contribute to those other funds. However, that’s going to take time.

The wife and I have a few thoughts. Because some of the tables we purchased for 2020 were pushed down the line (meaning we still have the tables), we might actually be at a few shows this year. We’re just not honestly sure which (if any). We don’t really plan on doing any shows unless the tables are already arranged.

But we have hope for 2022. I’d love to be back in full swing (meaning 12 shows) that year, but that all depends on the budget and how long it takes me to figure out marketing.

COVID forced me to work on marketing, and I am (in a way) more successful because of it. COVID also effectively destroyed my efforts to improve my point of sales (books sold at tables). I might try some bookstores or libraries if I can pull those off. My hope is that we can get back to conventions in 2022, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Even though I’ve been at this for six years, I’m still learning more and more every year. I have a few other plans brewing in my head, but they all cost precious time, so I’m very careful deciding what to pursue and what to leave alone for now.

I’m curious to see what other authors out there are doing. If you have a system that works, please fill me in. Maybe you have a blog that really helped others (or yourself). Please, share the link. For now, I just wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and show you just one of the impacts COVID had on my life as an author entrepreneur. My hope is it will give those considering this path things to think about (and solve before they are problems). Another goal is to share ideas and see maybe where others have been able to succeed.

Regardless, I always appreciate the support you show me through following this blog and commenting.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Book Review: How to Read the Bible by Charles Spurgeon

The cover image for this title was taken from its Audible buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

In this case, I need to provide some context. Spurgeon is an often quoted pastor in my church. I’d been meaning ot read some of his work, so I scanned Audible until I found something by him I was especially interested in. Then I got in the car the next day and hit play, only to find out it was a transcript of a 40-minute sermon.

I’m not in any way against sermons. I actually love them. The issue is I was looking for a deep-dive, Biblically driven book, and I inattentively found this instead. So I’d advise anyone considering works by Spurgeon to pay close attention to what they find just to be sure it’s what they’re looking for in the moment.

The other thing that saddened me a bit was where I wanted more of a how, Spurgeon invested most of his sermon to the question of, “What mindset should one have while reading.”

This image was taken from the Christian Hall of Fame of Canton Baptist Temple website in an attempt to represent Spurgeon. This caption is a credit to where the image came from but does not necessarily endorse the site or its teaching as I haven’t studied their site much.

That’s a very important question to address. While I believe that even scanning the words of the page the way one reads a newspaper is of value, if one wishes to study the Bible, that individual must come to it with a desire to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

This sermon is a powerful motivating tool for those who either may need some guidance as to the mindset one should have while reading the Bible and the value that mindset gives a reader. I think I (vaguely) remember one tidbit, but I struggle to recall it specifically because it was already on my list of things to try.

I’ve since picked up another (actual) book by Spurgeon to study his perspective more deeply, and I’m enjoying it thus far.

What I did appreciate was the chance to listen to a sermon and hear a perspective from a man my church (as well as others) deeply respects (an inference I make by how often he’s quoted in my own pastor’s sermons). As nice as that was, I’m much more excited to dig a little more deeply into his theology and teaching than a single sermon can possibly account for.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Visits From A Man Named Nobody 21

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Six
March 17, 2027, 6:12 p.m.
19 Years Ago

Paul’s mother laughed as the car sputtered to a stop and died in the middle of a vacant lot. 

Paul glared at the steeling wheel. “I don’t even know why you want me to learn how to drive like this.”

Electric cars first became commonly available and affordable about five years ago, and Paul’s mother just had to be the only person on the planet who still owned a manual transmission, gas-powered vehicle. It was like driving a museum. 

“Well,” she said while still trying to get over her latest round of chuckling, “the first reason is the fact that if you can drive stick, there isn’t a car out there in the world you can’t drive. But that’s not the most important reason.”

“So what is?” Paul used his left foot to press in the clutch and his right hand to put the car into neutral. Then he turned the car on.

“This is the only car we have.” She smiled at him, clearly still trying to hold in more laughter. 

Really, it wasn’t all that funny. Every time he tried to put the car into the next gear, it shook like some sort of giant’s favorite toy. Either that happened, or the car would just lurch once and die. 

“Just focus on what I taught you, Paul,” His mother put a hand on his shoulder. 

She kept encouraging him softly even as he followed the steps she’d given him. 

He put the car into first. He kept his left foot, and therefore the clutch, planted firmly into the floorboard as he slowly used his right foot to press the gas. The engine started to grumble; then it began to hum.

“That’s the sound!” His mother said, confirming what Paul already thought. “Now don’t move that right foot. Just slowly let your left foot up.”

Paul followed the directions. The car started to move. 

“Don’t let go!” She squeezed his shoulder. “Just ease in the gas as you ease up the clutch.” She emphasized the word “ease” each time she said it.

Like his mother had taught him, Paul imagined his feet were sort of connected to a lever. If one went up, the other had to go down. He slowly shifted his feet and the car came to life. He’d actually gotten this part down pretty well. It was the next part that usually made the car act like they were trying to drive through an earthquake.

The car had only moved a few dozen feet before the engine started to roar. Paul’s mother had told him the engine should growl to start, hum to move, but never roar. The trick was all about how he moved his feet. 

He forced himself to lift his foot off the gas completely. The car slowed, but it didn’t jerk. Paul used his left foot to push in the clutch. His right hand grabbed the stick and brought it down, activating second gear. 

“Release clutch, press gas.” His mother’s voice had an excitement in it. 

Paul raised his left foot. He even went so far as to plant it on the floorboard away from the clutch pedal. Then he pressed the gas. The whole process might have taken a second, and the car just kept on moving. He didn’t even feel a single jolt. 

“Keep going!” 

The lot they were in once belonged to a large department store. The empty building sat at the far end of the lot, but no one ever came here, which is what made it safe for Paul to drive around in. 

Paul listened to the engine. It really did sound like an animal in a strange sort of way. Each time the car started to roar, Paul let go of the gas, pressed in the clutch, shifted the gears, let go of the clutch, and pressed in the gas. 

Paul made it to fourth gear. 

“Clutch and break!” Paul obeyed, but the strange yelp his mother used caused him to look up. The building, which only moments ago was on the other end of a huge parking lot, had somehow appeared right in front of Paul. He went from pressing the break to slamming it. 

The car skittered, sputtered, and then died just before they hit the massive building’s red-bricked wall. 

His mother chuckled. 

“What’s so funny about that?!” Paul asked. He was so frighted he couldn’t rip his eyes off his hands, which strangled the steering wheel. “We could have died.”

His mother laughed harder. “When you live through a scare like that, I think a little joy is appropriate. Good job.”

She wrapped her arms around him, still laughing. Maybe she was just scared witless. “Nothing to do but take this chance to learn how to back up. Come on.” She let him go and sat back in her seat. 

He’d nearly killed them both, and she just laughed about it. No, she not only laughed about it, but she also wanted him to start the car again.

“This is child endangerment!” Paul said.

“You’re sixteen,” his mother replied. “And the only endangered children would be the ones on the street if I let you drive without teaching you how a car really works.”

“This is the only car that works this way.”

His mother shook her head. “Every car has a transmission. Even these new fancy electric ones still operate on the same principle. You’re taking all those additional science classes, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So think of this like a science class.” Her face scrunched up in confusion. “There has to be some sort of applied physics or engineering here.”

“None of my classrooms are likely to plow into something if I make a mistake,” Paul muttered even as he set up the car to start it again. 

His mother let the comment go with just a teasing smile. The joke would be on her if the car leapt out of its spot and hit the building. Maybe then she’d finally buy a real car. The clunker they were in had 162,927 miles on it. Then again, it still ran. The only time it died was when Paul failed to operate it correctly. 

Paul still wouldn’t be caught dead driving the car alone. He’d borrow Jordan’s car. His family had bought him one for his birthday. It was electric. It had an engine that wouldn’t try to kick someone like a bull in a rodeo. 

Of course, Paul couldn’t drive anything until he got a license, which meant he had to drive his mother’s car.

… to be continued …

I’m Working One The Final Draft of Betrayed!

That’s right folks! I got the edits back from Sara, and I’m hard at work on the Final Draft of Betrayed! As I type this, I’m about twenty percent through the fast-edits (where I’m simply scanning Sara’s edits and making my decisions). That goes very quickly.

Then the work comes. I start reading a chapter. Every time I find a typo, I make the fix and start all over. I do that until I can read the entire chapter out loud. That part can take a bit. I can officially say April 1 is not going to happen (and I’m sorry). But I can say with certainty that Betrayed will be live May 1.

Sara’s feedback was very positive. She said she liked all the changes she saw, and we both think this saga is moving in the right direction.

I’ll keep you all updated on my progress and, if the budgeting works out over the next month, I hope to have a cover to show off in the next few weeks.

Again, I’m so sorry this book isn’t coming out sooner. I’m thrilled some of you are excited about it, and I hope this book exceeds all your expectations.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Book Review: Finding The Right Hills To Die On by Gavin Ortlund

The cover image for this book was taken from its Amazon buy page for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

Finding The Right Hills To Die On by Gavin Ortlund is a book that makes a case for Theological Triage, a concept in which Christians should establish a hierarchy of issues ranging from those which can not be disputed, to those that are less important and, therefore, should never lead to separation or doubt of salvation.

A Note: This book came up because I’d listened to Gentle and Lowly, by Dane Ortlund, who turns out to be Gavin’s brother. I was a tad confused for a moment, and wanted to be up front with this information.

This book is for Christians who are either searching or a church home or find themselves at a potential crossroads with a brother or sister in Christ. This is actually a very important issue to me. When I was younger, I was quite frustrated by the division I saw in the Church. I’d heard some churches say others “aren’t true churches,” and the argument simply still hurts my heart. I’m not ignorant to the possibility that some institutions that claim Christianity may not be. False teachers can be in a lot of places. But the struggle for me was truly identifying the line. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis was a source of help.

Gavin (using his first name to distinguish from my previous review of his brother’s work) doesn’t so much as try and affirm which doctrines are truly worth fighting for (1st rank) and doctrines that remain important, but should’t divide a the body of Christ.

While I won’t go too far into Gavin’s book, I will say that the thing I appreciated most is the standard on which Theological Triage should be based: The Gospel. The more directly and critical something is to The Gospel, the more one should defend it. I feel this is an indisputable point on which I can agree.

This image of Gavin was taken from his WordPress Blog for review purposes under Fair Use doctrine.

I will say I don’t necessarily agree with his arrangement or even some of his stances with regard to certain doctrines, but what I can say with joy is that I agree, these different perspectives do not conflict with Gospel Essential Doctrines, nor should the be a point of division. That is the value the idea of this book brings. I’m also happy that Gavin did a fantastic job of explaining his views on various doctrine without being confrontational or overly emphatic. They were simple examples of his views as a point from which to evaluate issues.

I appreciated the reasoned approach. I also appreciate the manner the author provides to establish one doctrine above, alongside, or below another.

This is a book I’d recommend for churches not necessarily to use as a doctrinal stance, but as a way to study how such a doctrinal stance might be established without making some things (as important as they might be) more important than they should be.

Thanks for reading,

Matt