Blueprint: for the Christ Follower and the Collective of Christ Followers by J. David Peever compares building a house structure to building a church community going from the ground up. Filled with thought-provoking questions, Dave asks the reader to look beyond outward facades to what lies beneath, starting with the footer, all the way through de-cluttering and knowing whether to repair or replace. He suggests Christ followers ask themselves, why do we do what we do and why do we do it that way?

Blueprint is not a how to have a perfect life, or church, in 10 easy steps type book. Nor is it a book to rush through. It is a book filled with serious questions for each of us to ask our self.

How solid is our foundation? Are the supports sturdy? Are the walls sound? Does it all tie back to God as the footing everything else is built upon?

Through this book, Dave challenges the reader to ask themselves what their life and church are built on. The goal being to make sure we build on God’s plan, done God’s way, in God’s timing, with God’s chosen resources.

Now for more information about Dave.

Becoming a writer was never something I considered doing but rather something that just happened. My background in acting and directing and God’s call led to a need for me to create scripts. This was writing as a means to an end. I was an actor and a director who needed good quality Christian comedies and dramas to perform for live audiences. Writing a book never crossed my mind until I was asked to communicate my philosophy of ministry in written form when applying for a lead pastor position. This two page outline of how I approached ministry became my thesis for living life as a follower of Christ and a collective of Christ followers and for my book Blueprint. I was not the only one who had never considered the idea of me becoming an author of anything more than theatrical scripts. When I told my wife I had started to write a book she laughed. She said, “You don’t even like to read, why would you want to write a book?” It was great question, an appropriate question but in the end it didn’t matter. When God lays something on your heart; what you have done, what you are doing and what you are able to do all fade as He molds you into a person able to carry out His call on your life.

I love this, Dave. God prepares us for the job he calls us to. I need to remember this as I continue to struggle with trying to discern how God wants me to proceed with my writing.

I began shopping my book Blueprint around quite some time ago. I looked for an agent and I sent unsolicited proposals to publishing companies. It didn’t seem to matter; nothing seemed to work. The biggest eye-opener came when I contacted an agent to represent my book. The agent told me it didn’t matter if I created the best literary work ever, publishers would never look at a book because of the subject matter: Christian Living/ Church Life. If it wasn’t a famous pastor or worked for a well-known church organization they didn’t want to hear from me or my agent. Sadly I am neither. I looked into self-publishing companies but I did not have the money. After talking about this on my blog (I forgot to mention it wasn’t crazy enough for me to just write one book, I write a blog almost every week) I had many people suggest self-publishing on Amazon along with offers to create a book cover and edit my work. This was the route I ended up taking and boy am I glad I did!

It is so difficult, isn’t it? I am glad you found the best path for your book to be published.

My book has become part of my transitional ministry. I am a transitional pastor also called an intentional interim pastor. My job is to lead churches when they are between pastors. Although I had never considered my book Blueprint to be a transitional tool when writing it, God knew that it could become a great resource as churches and individuals reflected on God’s design for their lives and for their church. My ministry philosophy and Blueprint came from my concern that the church and by extension Christians, had become caught up in the latest how-to books from large churches and well known leaders which had led to the creation of beautiful landscapes and décor without paying attention to the structure that supports everything. Fancy programs and church services had become the main focus and sometimes the only focus of churches and Christians. Growing numbers became more important than growing faith.

That is such a sad truth. And that’s where the questions in Blueprint come in. What’s our focus?

The time between pastors is the perfect time to ask why do we do what we do and why do we do it that way? As for the individual Christ follower, every day is a great day to work through the same question. Blueprint isn’t the answer but rather a way to challenge yourself and your church to be structurally sound so there is something supporting the beautiful décor.

Thanks so much, Dave.

Folks, Dave’s contact information is listed below. His book, Blueprint: for the Christ Follower and the Collective of Christ Followers, can be found on Amazon.

Website: www.live4him.ca

Email: dave@live4him.ca

You can find my December Inspire a Fire post here. Please stop by and read it.

I wish you well.

Sandy

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