I do guest speaking these days. Usually, but not always, in
churches. I will often be introduced as a retired pastor and an author. The
follow-up question is “What kind of books do you write?” My short answer is “religious”
or “spiritual.” But I have found that those short answers do not answer the
question adequately. Those words can mean almost anything these days.
In this blog post I will attempt to answer that question
more fully. What do I write? My books fall into three categories. One is
Biblical. I have written books on the Biblical books of Esther, the Song of
Solomon, and Revelation. I wrote a book exploring the resurrection of Jesus in
the New Testament, entitled The Evolution
of Easter. I also authored my own paraphrase of the Parables of Jesus.
A second category of books is Ministry, with a smattering of
Church History thrown in. These are The
Baptist Church Covenant, A People Called Baptist, and my first book, More Than a Purpose, which is an
analysis of the megachurch movement.
A third category is Spirituality. These books are dearest to
my heart. My best-selling book is a modern translation of Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God. The
second most popular is The Tao of Christ,
which is a Christian version of the Chinese classic The Tao Te Ching.
Third is my modern retelling of John Bunyan’s
classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, entitled
The Seeker’s Journey. I also have
books on my personal spiritual practice: Experiencing
God Directly and Living Presence.
A couple of books do not fit these three categories, so I
will put them into a third uncategorized category. There is my exploration of the
New Atheism entitled Thank God for
Atheists. I also published a children’s book, which is my sole attempt at
writing fiction. I wrote it decades ago, chapter by chapter, to read to my young
daughter at bedtime. It is entitled The
Hidden Ones.
I have a new book coming out this fall which encompasses multiple
categories. It is entitled What Your
Pastor Won’t Tell You (But I Can Because I’m Retired). It includes chapters
on ministry, science, the Bible, church history, theology, and ethics. I get
personal about the difficulties of being a pastor. I also deal with some
controversial issues that most pastors avoid. Topics like abuse, LGBTQ issues,
evolution, climate change, and many more. I speak uncomfortable truths to
comfortable Christians.
That is my writing career in 500 words or less. So what will
I reply next time I am asked what type of books I write? Probably “religious”
or “spiritual.”
If you are interested in any of these books you can read
more about them on my Amazon author page. Just click HERE
or do a Google search for “Marshall Davis books.”
Posts
