Revealing One Chapter’s Unique History in God Moments in My Publishing Life

What will readers get when they turn to the last five chapters focusing on communicating for life change in God Moments in My Publishing Life? Let me provide the truly remarkable journey of one chapter: “Earning the Right to be Published.”

The story begins in a plane enroute from Chicago to Minneapolis. I opened my Bible to the Gospel of Luke and started reading. Like scales dropping from my eyes, I saw five reasons why Luke earned the right to be published. After addressing students at Bethel College, I flew home, determined to flesh out the five reasons with a detailed analysis of the Book of Luke. I was amazed at how Luke as journalist/historian filled out his five reasons for writing his friend Theophilus. I presented my findings in workshops at writers conferences all over America and overseas, always delighted at how I could present not merely the reasons for Luke’s communication but also the content of his historical overview of Jesus’ life.

Fast forward to a dinner with a client, Dr. William Spencer and his wife, Aida, both book authors and seminary professors — and founders of the academic journal, Africanus. Since Aida was professor of New Testament theology at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, I introduced my approach to the Gospel of Luke and why it earned him the right to be published. To my amazement, Aida asked for the manuscript. I provided that and was shocked when she asked for permission to publish it in their seminary’s academic journal, Africanus. A few months later I opened the newest issue of Africanus, only to see my discussion of Luke’s approach to writing for Theophilus as the first chapter.

Several years passed, when I was made aware that the editors of Africanus were going to celebrate the tenth anniversary of it as their seminary’s academic journal with a contest. Amazingly, “Earning the Right to Be Published” was rated the best article to appear in the journal over the past ten years. That made it the lead article in the anniversary edition of Africanus. Now you will want to buy the full book God Moments in My Publishing Life for “the rest of the story,” what made a God Moment on an airplane in the skies over Middle America a favorite with pastors and academicians — in addition to hundreds who participated in my workshops featuring “Earning the Right to Be Published.”

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