You bet I might

So it looks like my upcoming Sunday School will not be on the Reformation after all. My elders have decided the topic should be church history. In doing so, I will naturally be discussing early church heresies. I hope to rabbit-trail to show how they rear their ugly heads to this day. I am not sure how far I will get—maybe this will set me up for covering the Reformation next time—or maybe I’ll do more of a survey than an in-depth study, and get to the Reformation at the end of this class.

My favorite book on the early church is F. F. Bruce’s The Spreading Flame. There were several good suggestions for books on the Reformation, now I seek your suggestions on books covering the early church.

We are a small church, but we are going to try, for the first time, to have two adult Sunday Schools. The one I teach and another on basic theology—a sort of new believer’s class. There have been some complaints that my classes are too difficult.

Speaking of books, I am finally satisfied with my novel. It’s in its (at least) third rewrite. These were the basic incarnations:

1. Get the story on paper without much regard to style. Pay attention to word count.
2. Try to add some coherency. Make the dialog more believable. Strip out huge chunks of boring exposition
3. Under the mantra of (a) show, don’t tell (b) one point of view per scene and (c) resist the urge to explain, try to produce something that will actually be considered for publication.

Apologies to those who read it in one of the first two incarnations (of fellow bloggers, I am thinking specifically of Rachel.)

It is, at the moment, being considered by a small press. I am also engaged in a new round of seeking a literary agent. I actually am fairly optimistic, but who knows?