Tez Brooks's Blog: TezBrooks.com, page 3

Update on the New Book

Some of you are wondering when “the book “Adult-o-Nomics is actually launching. Although the Ebook is available for pre-order now on Amazon ($.99 for a limited time), the paperback won’t be released until April 30th.

Excitement is building in the Brooks household because the shipment of the advance author copies will be arriving sometime today with one final endorsement added by best-selling author and worldwide evangelist Nicky Cruz. What a blessing!

Last week it rated as Amazon’s #7 in the Christian counseling category. I’m not sure how it’s considered “counseling” because it’s more of a self-help or Christian living book, but hey, I’ll take it.

I’ve been bathing this book in prayer. It contains a lot of scripture and Biblical truth for young adult believers who are living on their own (or about to). So, I’m praying it’s a blessing to many. If you have a podcast or blog and you’re looking for content, I would be happy to book an interview or provide an article on the topic of anxiety-free adulting.

IT’S A PARTY!

If you live in or near Colorado Springs, I’d like to invite you to the book launch on May 3rd (5:30 pm to 7:30 pm). It’s an Open House gathering so you can come and go as you like. The location is Wayfinder Coffee, 6140 Austin Bluffs Pkwy, Colorado Springs, CO 80923. Stop by and grab some cake, win a door prize, or purchase a copy of the book. TTFN.

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Published on April 10, 2024 10:32

Want to Overcome the Anxiety of Adulting? NEW BOOK COMING

Adult-O-Nomics: How to Nail it On Your Own is my newest book set for release this spring!

The book is a short gift book for graduates. Think of it as a survival guide for young adult Christians who are moving out out of their parent’s for the first time. It contains 500 modern proverbs, suggestions, and tips for adulting in today’s world (Tentative release date: April 2024).

International speaker and author of Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell says, “Preparing for adulthood can be challenging and filled with mixed ideals. Tez’s book offers help.”

Steven Douglass, former CEO for Campus Crusade for Christ says, “I am excited about how the Lord is using Tez to advance the Kingdom of God for this generation.”

Here’s a sneak peek at the content from the manuscript:

Tip #2

Chew with your mouth closed and talk with it open.

Tip #5

Explore a museum. Go to a parade. Watch the sunrise. Jump in a pool fully clothed.

Tip #8

That sexy tan you work on each summer turns into skin cancer when you’re forty. Use sunscreen now.

Tip #12

Fighting a traffic citation is risky. If the cop shows up to court, you will more than likely lose your case and end up paying all court costs.

Tip #20

Go to church faithfully. Let nothing distract you from being there each week. (See Hebrews 10:25).

Tip #21

Yikes! According to James 4:4, tight friendship with the world and its values means you are choosing to be God’s enemy.

Tip #22

Keeping an open mind all the time, means others can easily throw trash into it.

Tip #40

Where does your mind go when you’re idle? Whatever you are passionate about is what you’ll always talk or think about. How often do you talk about God?

Tip #50

Girls, be firm and clear with a guy when you need him to leave you alone. Dancing around the issue makes them think there’s still hope.

Tip #89

Sex outside of marriage includes much more than intercourse. Living close to the edge is a compromise in the name of technicalities. God commands us to save our bodies for our spouse alone.

Tip #101

Guys, be the pursuer when it comes to romantic relationships. If a girl is chasing after you, it’s time to man up.

Tip #131

Dress like an adult and people will treat you like one.

Tip #267

Save thousands of dollars, floss your teeth.

Tip #390

Never allow friends or family to sit in with you during a job interview. Employers want secure applicants.

Tip #404

Get close to the godly and wise. Watch them, imitate them. (See Prov. 13:20)

Tip #425

Our most valuable weapon against anxiety is harnessing our thoughts. (See Phil. 4:8)

Tip #455

Why get upset if your old bedroom back home doesn’t remain a shrine to your honor? It’s all part of the circle of life.

Tip #456

Never answer a text when you’re angry. Pray, then wait until the next day to respond.

Tip #479

Whoa! Malachi 3:8-10 says if you neglect giving God his portion of your income you will be financially cursed.

Tip #481

Start an emergency fund and add to it each payday. You’re gonna need it sooner than you think.

Tip #484

Sometimes, when someone pulls up your credit score, it lowers it. Be selective when giving merchants permission to check.

Tip #494

Learn how to develop a budget and stick to it.

Tip #496

Never forget who your Provider really is. (HINT: It isn’t you!)

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Published on January 26, 2024 12:33

Brooks Named Top Writing Coach

Tez has been chosen as one of the Top Writing Coaches by the Coach Foundation

Tez’s passion for coaching authors is evident. Recently, Christianity.com featured him in “50 Authors You Should Know.” As a multiple award-winning author, filmmaker, and international speaker, his work appears in Guideposts, Power for Living, The Upper Room, CBN.com, Clubhouse, Focus on the Family, and more. Tez is a member of Colorado Authors League and the president of two chapters for Word Weavers Intl. Learn more about his coaching services.

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Published on December 05, 2023 11:42

Tez’s 2024 Speaking Engagements

Here are some Springtime writer’s conferences you won’t want to miss

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Published on November 28, 2023 09:33

Are You Failing God’s Tests Time and Again?

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope … ” Romans 5:3-4 (ESV)

Do you ever feel like you fail God’s testing time and again? I’ve been serving the Lord for over 50 years, and there are some tests I can’t seem to pass. I have to continually fight against the gnawing sense that I’m God’s problem student.

I recently heard an amazing talk that helped me in this area. The speaker began with this fact: there are two types of tests–summative and formative.

Well, this was news to me. I mean, a test is a test, right? It’s either pass or fail. It’s how you weed out the idiots.

But let’s unpack those two words.

You see, summative tests are used to determine a pass/fail grade. They are given sometimes mid-way through your learning or immediately after to see if you measure up. When you take the test, you are judged and either found to have passed (moving on to a higher level of education) or you fail with a low score (leading to a denial of privilege, rejection, held back, unable to perform, incomplete).

With summative tests, you can barely pass with a C- but at least you pass, right? Yes, but what this low grade does to us can still be humiliating. On the other hand, a higher score tends to make us prideful as we set ourselves above others.

Formative tests, however, do not use scores to determine your level of proficiency. Instead, formative tests are used to grow you. Much like an athletic coach spurs you on to improve your reaction time, muscle memory, or instruction of how the sport works.

With formative testing, you have already proven yourself to the coach because he chose you. You qualified and passed long ago. Now, it’s all about increasing your effectiveness. There is no daily evaluation to see if you still belong on the team. Formative testing is about increasing what has already gained an A+ score. Often, it’s about education, stamina, and prowess, while summative is more about evaluation and scoring–acceptance or rejection.

For most of my life, I saw tests from God as being summative. I never heard of formative testing. I encountered a test and assumed it was a pass or fail. So, I never knew my final score until I got tested in that area again and thought, I must have failed that last time–classic me! God is trying again to keep me in the game.

As a kid, when I got a failing report card, I knew my parents still loved me. So that was never a question with God, either. God is crazy about me and my failures never affect his love. Still, I walked around with the misconception that I was a D-average Christian and, therefore, a disappointment to the Kingdom. Surely, he must be tired of letting me re-take the test. But like a really hard video game, I can never seem to make it to the next level.

What an amazing revelation to hear God has no summative testing. All his tests are formative–never a pass/fail. Of course, God tests us over and over in the same areas! Not because we keep failing, but because he is helping our muscles grow bigger, our reaction time to be superior, and improve our wisdom of the game to outwit the opposition.

He’s not judging and scoring us like Mr Shudlick, my grumpy, middle-school math teacher. He is in our corner, spurring us on with a smile! Why? Because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. So let us count it all joy when we meet various trials, for we know the testing of our faith isn’t to weed out the losers but to produce reliability and dedication so that we may be perfect and lack nothing. (see James 1:2-4).

Next time we are tempted to think we are working for a passing grade in our walk with Christ, let us read Psalms 34:19 and remember the righteous person is guaranteed many tests, trials, and afflictions, but the Lord delivered us from them all. If he delivers us from all of those, then that proves it’s not a pass/fail situation. He’s not looking to weed us out; he’s investing in us and building us up!

Welcome those tests, knowing he has your best interests in mind.

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Published on November 06, 2023 22:17

Does Your Christian Distinctive Set You Up for Success These Days?

No matter the occupation, skill, or talent, what sets some apart from others these days is having a Christian distinctive.

Today, everyone is looking for something different, authentic, and refreshing. If you genuinely follow Christ, those distinctions will automatically shine through in your interaction with clients and co-workers and your creative endeavors.

As a freelance writer, I’ve noticed an increasing desire for publishers to find writers willing to provide content that boldly exhibits conservative views on almost any topic. Even secular entities are tired of the ultra-liberal views and long for refreshing content that points readers to alternative views.

One secular magazine said, “We’re looking for a back-to-basics, 1950s kind of viewpoint … something that reminds us of Mayberry and your grandma’s apple pie.”

Writers with a strong moral compass and brawny backbone are needed more than ever. And in the face of so many liberal values seeping into the church, even Christian publishers and literary agents are looking for meatier content that off-sets all the worldly, “enlightened” ideals that come across their desks. They are weary of it. Well, many of them … not all.

God has gifted each of us with a message. He has written, so I write — not to eclipse God’s words but to point to Christ as the hope of the world. I want to make the world curious with my restorative views contrasting this dark world.

God is speaking and if we’re listening, then we too will have something to say, write, dance, or paint. If our words of teaching, reproving, correcting, and training go mute, then we forfeit our opportunity to be salt and light to the world.

I never want to be “like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:17)

It’s time for conservative artists to give the world hope through our writing, music, artwork, and other creative activities. It’s time for staff and employees (tradesmen and white-collar) to offer Jesus by shining like a lighthouse on the dark sea of confusion and desperation.

What will you do today to offer something better than the world? What Christian distinctive will you produce–at work or leisure–that entices people to breathe deep from the well of biblical truth?

Set yourself apart from the rest. Go ahead, I dare ya!

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Published on October 24, 2023 16:55

Is Humanitarian Aid the Gospel? Know Before You Go.

A few years ago, on Thanksgiving Day, my kids helped feed the homeless at a church in town. After eating, the homeless men and women thanked the servers, then walked away–never hearing the Good News of Jesus. The adult in charge said, “We aren’t here to preach. We aren’t pastors. We just want to show the love of God through our actions. That’s the news we want to give them. God is love!”

I was disappointed and confused.

While showing kindness is a great way to show love for people, I didn’t know it was the end result of why we had given up our holiday.

A lot of words are thrown around these days describing various kinds of compassion, acts of mercy, justice, and peace. Our society has redefined some of these biblical terms but muddled the meaning in the process. Lumping words together or using them interchangeably can cause quite confusing definitions.

COMPASSION DEFINED

The Bible never mentions the word “humanitarian aid,” but it does speak of compassion. Humanitarian work is the practice of improving human life. So, let’s use the word compassion instead, which depicts more a stance of love and care rather than supplying the outward physical needs one may have.

Using the words found in scripture helps us avoid any confusing definitions attached to modern terms or slang. Zechariah 7:9-10 says, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”

I believe helping others not only shines our light as Christians in a dark world but can sometimes open doors to a gospel presentation.

Mercy ministry—much like Jesus did when showing love to the sick, weak, and oppressed—can be a powerful tool to open hearts to hear the message of Christ. I’ve seen the power of mercy ministry in:

feeding/clothing those in needhelping widows/orphansfreeing slavesrescuing human traffic victimsdisaster reliefmedical care unitsand more

A few years ago, I went on a medical mission trip to provide health/dental/vision care in Cambodia. It was clear to me how meeting the physical needs of individuals more readily prepared hearts to receive the message of the cross we presented.

But we must be careful not to take James 1:27 (like some Christians do) as a verse that explains what the gospel message is. This passage says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction….”

This verse addresses pure and undefiled practices or good works (compassion). If we keep the verse in context, it’s clear James is talking about how we should live as a believer, not how we are to share the gospel.

We deceive ourselves when we begin to apply this verse or others like it as a formula for the Great Commission. If we dig a well in Africa, play soccer with some kids, and hug a few villagers yet never share the actual gospel—it would be wrong to say we evangelized. That’s actually a compassion trip, and even non-Christians are nice to the weak and oppressed.

These trips are wonderful acts of love that Christians should participate in. And I love it when I see people go. But without a gospel presentation, I fear we reduce our time, money, and effort to mere secular kindness. We might feel great about ourselves, but while hundreds might now have a full belly, a cleft pallet repaired, or be freed from a brothel, no eternal difference was made—the souls of these people are not secured.

Let’s remind ourselves that compassion is merely a tool to open heart doors. I, too love a good evangelism tool. But if I rely on tools alone as the gospel, I miss the mark. A clear, simple gospel explanation must follow our love and generosity.

THE GOOD NEWS DEFINED

The gospel or Good News is clearly summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, where Paul gives the most basic ingredients of the message—namely Jesus’s substitutionary death on the cross for us, his burial, and resurrection. It’s easy. If we share our faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God, there’s no limit to what he can do, with or without our good deeds.

women with large hat covering her face as she digs into a box of supplies

While kindness is an effective tool, John 3:16 or Acts 10 or 13 don’t seem to mention anything about meeting people’s needs in order to present the Good News.

I’m concerned we’ve allowed the world to adopt and twist our terminology to water down the definition of Christian outreach. How often have you heard secular organizations calling their medical practices in the jungle a “mission trip?”

As we get involved with outreaches, here or overseas, let the worldwide Church be diligent not to embrace a watered-down gospel but to communicate the true message of the cross. May we remind ourselves daily that the Good News is the person and work of Jesus Christ—especially his virgin birth, righteous life, atoning death, and resurrection—with the promise that he will save anyone who turns from sin by trusting him as Lord. Let us continue to love sinners, using valuable tools like compassion to help the Holy Spirit prepare hearts. But may we never neglect to preach the gospel of grace to all nations, making disciples and teaching them to observe all Christ commanded.

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Published on October 17, 2023 14:03

Is Humanitarian Aid the Gospel Message? Know Before You Go.