Open Source Book Proposal

Let’s write a book!

First of all, I am grateful to you, Dear Reader, simply because you are reading this. While I would be content muttering to myself, the mere existence of other people reading my mutterings indicates a possibility of interaction. So much as a simple “Like” now and then is helpful. It means a lot to me, indicating I’m not alone, not entirely out here in space mentally. So allow me to waste a bit more of your precious time today.

Some of you even have an interest, and comment from time to time. It blesses me. Even when people offer objections and complaints, it blesses me. So far, I’ve not faced anything for which I don’t have a ready answer. “C’mon, people! I don’t even have to think to answer you.” Okay, maybe not so provocatively, but it’s been pretty lightweight so far. It doesn’t mean they understand my answers, but there isn’t much I can do about that in most cases. People tend to believe what they believe, and we are never quite sure where it comes from, since every individual is different.

Sometimes that difference is really important. With just one other person’s input, I can better gauge whether any part of my blathering is actually being processed. With the input of many, we might struggle to say anything at all, but with just a few, we can usually do a lot of good work in terms of getting a message across. I want collaborators; I want your help. I’m not worried too much about the kinds of contribution. Sure, I could do it all by myself, but that almost guarantees my reach is more limited than with your help. Whatever part you want to play is fine with me. God uses anyone willing, and I can’t argue with His choices.

“Get to the point, man.”

I claim to be a prophet of Jehovah. I have a message that burns like fire. Some of you have already tasted the burnt remains and found it palatable. So help me make some more of these burnt offerings. There is no limit to the subject matter I’ll touch, but there is an obvious reference point for how it is addressed. Ingredients aren’t really the issue; it’s the fire. Nothing cooks like the fire of God. Obviously we have to agree on certain working concepts about God, but this isn’t really about theology.

The reason for wanting to write a book is to challenge that very thing, in part. As I say often enough, I won’t pretend to know what your response ought to be to the calling of God in your life, which includes how you organize your own thinking. However, having tasted enough spiritual failure in mainstream Christian organizations, I discovered there has to be a way to meet the needs of folks like me who get pushed out the door. We still need Christ and we need to taste Him in the lives of other people, but the current structures offered don’t meet our needs. Indeed, having examined the matter, I’ve found the failure reaches far, far back in time and culture and to the very foundation of thinking itself. For me, the failure starts with the assumptions people make about reality itself.

So far, a thin scattering of folks around the world have tasted my work and have come back for more. Hey, I even have over 70 subscribers on this blog! WOOHOO! And on Facebook, I’ve got a few dozen friends, but almost all of them are family and established friends. I’m not interested in building a cult, a new religion, or even a fan base. I’m hoping to spill my fire into the lives of a lot of folks who happen to be looking for it, and don’t know where to find it. Since eschewing traditional religious structures means eschewing their methods, that doesn’t leave us much. Do you suppose if we published a e-book, we might reach a bigger audience? I’m willing to try, but I’d rather not do it alone.

Working Title: The Mind of Christ

Concept: With all the various parabolic approaches we might offer, perhaps the idea we can gain a piece of our Savior’s intellectual point of view would be effective. My hope is the title is evocative without being too provocative. I tend to shy away from the idea of something with heavy footnotes and aimed at scholars only. Indeed, part of the message itself is the whole business of footnoting is an obsession which gets in the way. There is an element in which, if it doesn’t seem self-evident, if it doesn’t grab you, it may be a waste of your time anyway. There’s no pretense this is for everyone. It’s for people who can’t get what they need from the standard outlets. Sure, we’ll challenge the Establishment, but that’s not really the point.

The point is the Truth. Christ claimed, in so many words, He was as close to God as any human could be. Get to know Him and you’ll know as much of God as anyone can. From our distance in time and space, our options for knowing Him are limited. Let’s make sure what we do with this is faithful to the original, as much as possible. Too many people assume they have that already, and that’s what I found to be so badly broken. The whole mess is in some ways proof the question hasn’t really been answered to everyone’s satisfaction. I won’t presume too much on how we can identify those left out in cold, but I believe it’s worth trying to find folks like us who aren’t likely to wander around to this or other blogs, etc.

I don’t want to charge, but places like Amazon won’t place a Kindle book without a minimal charge. So we’ll offer it for the minimum at Amazon, and for free other places. What happens if people actually buy this thing? If you are involved, you get to have a say in that. I don’t need money in that sense, but like anyone else, I’ll find a use for it. The money isn’t the point, so I surrender control up front. Get involved and you can decide. At any rate, I hope to offer it in as many formats as possible.

Over the next few days and weeks, I’m going to put up an outline and some writing toward the project. We can chat here, or you can arrange private communication any way you like — email me using my eddie account on my domain, soulkiln.org (domain is gone). If/when email becomes impractical, there are other ways to do this. Meanwhile, if all you want is to watch, that’s fine.

Interested? Future posts on this topic will include the abbreviation TMOC (The Mind of Christ).