{"id":96668,"date":"2023-11-04T06:21:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T10:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=96668"},"modified":"2023-11-04T06:21:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T10:21:40","slug":"book-news-book-signing-and-contract-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2023\/11\/book-news-book-signing-and-contract-signing.html","title":{"rendered":"Book News: Book Signing and Contract Signing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I have just signed a contract for my next book. After wrapping up two books about John the Baptist<\/a>, it was nice to not feel any need to hurry to figure out what my next big research and writing project will be. I still haven\u2019t decided where I will focus my academic research in the coming years, although I have some ideas. But I have been eager for some time to write more for a general audience, and there was a subject that I\u2019ve long wanted to write about<\/a>. I started writing, and before I knew it I had a chapter, then another, then another, and then a finished draft of a short book.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the book? The title is\u00a0Reconstructing Your Faith: Building a Worldview and a Way of Life in the Wake of Deconstruction<\/strong>. It will be published by Eerdmans.<\/p>\n

At Theology Beer Camp<\/a> 2023, as well as in lots of places online, I\u2019ve heard many people recently express directly or indirectly that they are at a point where they have been through the process of \u201cdeconstruction,\u201d of taking a close critical look at the worldview they had previously held and which they no longer can, and are wondering \u201cwhat\u2019s next?\u201d This book doesn\u2019t offer a one-size-fits-all answer but works through the process of formulating a positive vision of your faith when you get tired of merely emphasizing what you are not (no longer a fundamentalist, no longer an Evangelical, still a Christian but not one who believes X, a Christian but not one who excludes group Z, etc.).\u00a0 Biblical scholars are often people who have pursued academic study in this area because of our faith, only to find that studying the Bible challenged our faith and caused us to reexamine and rethink our beliefs. Those of us who\u2019ve been through that process have a duty, I feel, to share our story and our insights with those who are following along on the same path.<\/p>\n

By the way, Theology Beer Camp was a wonderful example of what church can look like that both meets the needs of those losing a previous version of their faith and those building something new and positive in its place. Alan Bean wrote an article about the event for Baptist News<\/em><\/a>. If you\u2019ve never been, read the article and consider coming in 2024!<\/p>\n

On Sunday, November 5th I\u2019ll be one of three featured authors at Indy Reads<\/a> signing books, at a meet-the-author event<\/a> organized by Starbase Indy<\/a>, where I\u2019ll be presenting again this year, this time about religion and first contact. Not as in Star Trek: First Contact<\/a><\/em>, but the broader topic. Religion comes up regularly in such stories, indeed it almost always does. If you\u2019re local, come hear me talk at Starbase Indy but first come meet me in person at Indy Reads<\/a>, and also find out more about them if you\u2019re not familiar with the work of that amazing local Indianapolis organization.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I had the experience for the first time in my life of walking into a mainstream bookstore (as opposed to say a university bookstore), in this case a Barnes & Noble, and seeing my new book\u00a0 just happen to be in stock on the shelf. I know this won\u2019t be the last time, now that I\u2019m publishing books for a general audience with Eerdmans, but this first is special, in a way that you\u2019ll appreciate if you too are an author.<\/p>\n

If you have read my latest book,\u00a0The A to Z of the New Testament: Things Experts Know That Everyone Else Should Too<\/a><\/em>, please take the time to review it on Amazon and\/or other places online. You may not think that it makes a difference, but it really and truly does. It doesn\u2019t just encourage me (although it certainly does that). It tells others that someone has read this book and helps them make a decision about whether to do so. It tells Amazon or Barnes & Noble or whoever else that this book is one that deserves a boost in the algorithm. What authors do depends to an enormous extent on what readers do.<\/p>\n

And so on that note, I\u2019ll end by saying thank you for reading what I write, in whatever form you do so!<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have just signed a contract for my next book. After wrapping up two books about John the Baptist, it was nice to not feel any need to hurry to figure out what my next big research and writing project will be. I still haven\u2019t decided where I will focus my academic research in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":96671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163],"tags":[1303,2546,3329,8064,9597],"class_list":["post-96668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-progressive-christianity-religion","tag-book","tag-deconstruction","tag-faith","tag-new-testament","tag-progressive-christianity"],"yoast_head":"\nBook News: Book Signing and Contract Signing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I have just signed a contract for my next book. 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