Sixty years ago, a young folk singer wrote and recorded a song that has just come to my attention. His name is Tom Paxton, and the song is “The Last Thing on My Mind.” I stumbled across a homemade video of Dolly Parton and Doc Watson singing this song back in 2001. I was captivated.
The song is wonderful and who better than Parton and Watson? But it is the title that grabbed me and gave me just the phrase I needed to gather up things I had been thinking and feeling.
For almost 60 years, I have been confessing, reading, thinking, singing, writing, and speaking about the faith and practice of Christianity. In fact, I made a career out of it, one that has brought me much joy and contentment. Now, I am mulling over where I am now on the spiritual journey, what it is I believe and what I have put aside, and what I think is important and what not so much.
I am nearer the end of my work as a gospel minister, and “the last thing on my mind” gathers up this mood: what I am thinking, confessing, and preaching now. In fact, I outlined these “last things” and organized them into 21 sermons for my small congregation in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Three down and 19 to go!
Now, I want to write a book. Surprise, Surprise!
I wrote about this two months ago here in my Meetinghouse newsletter and even published a early version of my idea. It was titled “Help Me Write a Book.” This essay picks up that theme and takes it further.
I have in mind a book that looks more like a cookbook than a commentary. I want short texts, lists, links, and pictures. I want each section to have a study guide, useful to both individuals and groups, and I want each section to have a list of recommended books to read and even websites to explore.
Now, I am ready to take the next steps!
I plan to use my Meetinghouse broadcast on YouTube to focus on this project, reporting on my progress and inviting listeners to contribute ideas and content.
I will recruit a cadre of scholars, drawn from Orthodox, Evangelical, Catholic, Pentecostal, and Protestant traditions to review my ideas, correct my texts, and push my imagination as far as it will go.
I want to work with photographers who can supply (from their archives or through their current work) a wide spectrum of images: people and places, artifacts and events, things that illustrate the realities the book seeks to illuminate.
I need a publisher, of course, and I plan to write my proposal and shop it around. If any of you have connections to publishers, editors, or agents, I would welcome a referral.
I need a graphic artist to help me design the pages, and I need a media technician to advise me on how to do the videos I want to do.
I will need a benefactor, of course, maybe many benefactors. I am not sure yet of expenses, but I know I will need some equipment (to do the broadcasts as I envision); I know I will need to compensate the photographers and advisors and consultants of all kinds; I know also that some of the content I will need to purchase. Who knows what other expenses will emerge?
And I am already thinking about including this book project –The Last Thing on My Mind—in my still-in-the-planning-stages Tangle Tour of ’24. And that tour will also cost some money—last year, I spent $36,732 donor dollars on The Tangle Tour of ’23.
How does this sound to you?
Do you want to travel this road with me?
Do you have expertise or imagination or other things to invest in this project?
Before I close this short essay, let me address the very first question that donors, publishers, and critics will ask: who wants this book or who will buy this book or how will this book be used?
These are fair questions, and my answers are these: I don’t know who might want this book, but I write for people with some interest in following Jesus as Savior and Lord. I want it to function as content for group and individual study and as an attractive resource for those wanting information or inspiration. I want it to help people who are in love with Jesus and also those who are deciding whether to stay in the Christian Community or drift away.
Can one book do all this? Maybe not, but perhaps some of it, and that would make it worthwhile, don’t you think? I’m ready to give it a try. Want to help?
Sixty years ago, a young folk singer wrote and recorded a song that has just come to my attention. His name is Tom Paxton, and the song is “The Last Thing on My Mind.” I stumbled across a homemade video of Dolly Parton and Doc Watson singing this song back in 2001. I was captivated.
The song is wonderful and who better than Parton and Watson? But it is the title that grabbed me and gave me just the phrase I needed to gather up things I had been thinking and feeling.
For almost 60 years, I have been confessing, reading, thinking, singing, writing, and speaking about the faith and practice of Christianity. In fact, I made a career out of it, one that has brought me much joy and contentment. Now, I am mulling over where I am now on the spiritual journey, what it is I believe and what I have put aside, and what I think is important and what not so much.
I am nearer the end of my work as a gospel minister, and “the last thing on my mind” gathers up this mood: what I am thinking, confessing, and preaching now. In fact, I outlined these “last things” and organized them into 21 sermons for my small congregation in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Three down and 19 to go!
Now, I want to write a book. Surprise, Surprise!
I wrote about this two months ago here in my Meetinghouse newsletter and even published a early version of my idea. It was titled “Help Me Write a Book.” This essay picks up that theme and takes it further.
I have in mind a book that looks more like a cookbook than a commentary. I want short texts, lists, links, and pictures. I want each section to have a study guide, useful to both individuals and groups, and I want each section to have a list of recommended books to read and even websites to explore.
Now, I am ready to take the next steps!
I plan to use my Meetinghouse broadcast on YouTube to focus on this project, reporting on my progress and inviting listeners to contribute ideas and content.
I will recruit a cadre of scholars, drawn from Orthodox, Evangelical, Catholic, Pentecostal, and Protestant traditions to review my ideas, correct my texts, and push my imagination as far as it will go.
I want to work with photographers who can supply (from their archives or through their current work) a wide spectrum of images: people and places, artifacts and events, things that illustrate the realities the book seeks to illuminate.
I need a publisher, of course, and I plan to write my proposal and shop it around. If any of you have connections to publishers, editors, or agents, I would welcome a referral.
I need a graphic artist to help me design the pages, and I need a media technician to advise me on how to do the videos I want to do.
I will need a benefactor, of course, maybe many benefactors. I am not sure yet of expenses, but I know I will need some equipment (to do the broadcasts as I envision); I know I will need to compensate the photographers and advisors and consultants of all kinds; I know also that some of the content I will need to purchase. Who knows what other expenses will emerge?
And I am already thinking about including this book project –The Last Thing on My Mind—in my still-in-the-planning-stages Tangle Tour of ’24. And that tour will also cost some money—last year, I spent $36,732 donor dollars on The Tangle Tour of ’23.
How does this sound to you?
Do you want to travel this road with me?
Do you have expertise or imagination or other things to invest in this project?
Before I close this short essay, let me address the very first question that donors, publishers, and critics will ask: who wants this book or who will buy this book or how will this book be used?
These are fair questions, and my answers are these: I don’t know who might want this book, but I write for people with some interest in following Jesus as Savior and Lord. I want it to function as content for group and individual study and as an attractive resource for those wanting information or inspiration. I want it to help people who are in love with Jesus and also those who are deciding whether to stay in the Christian Community or drift away.
Can one book do all this? Maybe not, but perhaps some of it, and that would make it worthwhile, don’t you think? I’m ready to give it a try. Want to help?
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