Here's the official announcement

The publication date is "sometime this year"

How it started…

How it’s going…

I signed a book contract!

It’s my fifth book with the Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., and of course I’m thrilled beyond words and want to share this good news with you.

My latest project is a memoir of my 40 years as a Presbyterian pastor. It’s honest and funny (I tried) and encouraging. What it’s honest about mostly is my frequent disillusionment with the church. If you’ve read the Mitford series about Father Tim, then you’ll discover that I was no Father Tim. Happily, the story comes full circle (mostly), leaving me chastened but wiser. Which is probably how life leaves most of us.

The title is Chasing after Wind: A Pastor’s Life. If you’re familiar with the opening chapters of Ecclesiastes, then you’ll get the reference. In my 40 years as a pastor, there was a lot of “chasing after wind,” but there was plenty of good stuff too, which I describe in the memoir as “the holy bits.”

I’ll keep you posted about the publication date. “Sometime this year” is all I know.

My first book tour took me to Toledo, Fort Wayne, and Las Vegas (that last visit resulted in one of the strangest experiences of my life, which I describe in the memoir). My second book—about marriage—landed me on a little-watched cable TV show from rural Indiana, hosted by a former Miss America, who was very pretty and who did most of the talking. It was her show, after all. And my last book got me an interview on a podcast called “Tell Me Your Story,” hosted by Richard Dugan. You can listen to that interview here. As soon as it’s safe to travel, I’m hoping to re-live all of those book-tour experiences and have a few new ones.

That’s the news! Thanks for sharing my excitement. I hope you have a good week.