The Journey of Only Ten

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One question I often receive from friends is, “Tell me about the book.” While there is an interest in what the book is about, I find many want to know the journey the book took to go from idea to an actual book. So here is my answer to anyone wondering. The book actually took 7 years to write and get published. Partly because it began with a single word from God as I spent time in prayer one morning. I was asking Him if I should write a book and if so, what should I write about. I had a dream as a teenager to write a book. But that dream didn’t go anywhere until a few years ago. So as I was talking with God, I was discussing different ideas. As a businessman, I thought maybe it would be something around being a Christian in the marketplace. Instead, God said, “Lot”.

It took awhile to unpack why He sent me to the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. No, the book has nothing to do with homosexuality or anything around God pouring out His wrath on unbelievers. Instead the story is about the love that Jesus has for everyone. He is not about destruction or punishment. Jesus is about giving grace to everyone! We are meant to be a reflection of His love and give the same grace He gave us to a hurting world. We are to be His influencers in our cities. God told Abraham for the sake of only ten, He would not destroy the city. He didn’t find ten and we (my co-author and I) gain great insights on why that was.

After four years of playing around with different directions to take the story, I met my co-author and we began to focus in on the story God wanted told. Even then, it took two publishers (our first publisher went out of business a month before the book was to be published – – which was a gift from God because our second publisher did such a great job with the book!), a half of dozen radical re-writes, and endless editing sessions with the publisher. It was all worth it, because God was with us every step of the way and we only long to bring Him glory through the offering of the book.

To anyone thinking about writing a book or in the middle, stick with it. As long as God is in the process, the outcome will be fantastic!

If you are interested in more details, check out our website: http://www.only-ten.com

PS…for any of my readers, I would love your help getting the word out about the book. Here is how you can help:

I want to thank you for your willingness to help us get the word out for this book. If you have an opportunity to read Only Ten, I pray it blesses and encourage you.