This book is not for me nor is it really my idea. Inviting God into the writing process is by far the most important piece in anything that I will publish.
Ultimately, there are two takeaways that I gained from the perspective of trying to get my book published. The first is that I needed to start a blog. Every publisher needs to be able to see your platform. This means that publishers need to basically know who they can count on to buy your book. A blog is the easiest way to generate a following for someone who does not hold a job that invites attention, be that a pastor of a megachurch (eg. Joel Osteen) or academic posting (eg. N.T. Wright). The second is that I am not credentialed enough to write the way I write. This means that I lack the academic credential or degree to push past the platform issue with a concept and ability to defend that concept. Basically, I had a lot more work to do than simply write a good book if I wanted anyone to read the book.
I don’t have much time in my day as a full-time dad who leads a Bible Talk. I get an hour or so in the morning before 6:30 am, an hour at about 8:30 am and an hour at 2:30 pm. Squeezing those 3 hours for writing is just possible if all I had to do was edit the book. But, what I learned from the conference was that I needed to be doing so much more. By the second day, I was feeling rather hopeless despite giving it all my oomph the first day.
So the question I asked before getting out of bed that morning was how to I find God in all this stuff I have to do? The answer God gave me was not don’t do this stuff which is what I was hoping. It was to rest in Him. God had my back, and all this stuff is something He will make successful if He wants it to be. I had to reinvite God into the writing process. This was something my intense “Type A” wasn’t willing to do the first day of the conference. I had to rest in God if I wanted to make it through not just the second day, but the whole publishing process. This idea of resting in God made the second day of the conference so much more enjoyable and low pressure. It didn’t mean that I was lazy or not paying attention (in fact I think I paid better attention). I was just doing my best to trust God. He knows where the book is going and I don’t.
Why did I leave to go to Nashville? Because I needed to learn a lot about the writing and publishing processes and I needed to reinvite God into the book. I am not enough to write this book, and that’s ok. I need to rest in God as I work through the editing process. God will take my small efforts and make them seem great. After all, if I am going to write a theology book for God, then I ought to make sure God is as involved as possible.