Asking for Help
Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED substack article, the only substack newsletter that doesn’t like the slogan, "Don't use liquor as a crutch!" No one can use liquor as a crutch because a crutch helps you walk.
The subject of this article is “Asking for Help.” The subtitle is “If You Feel So Inclined.”
I have two pieces of good news today.
First, my landmark signature book INSURGENCE: RECLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM is only $1.99 for a limited time -- the digital version (Kindle, Nook, etc.), at least in the USA. (I have no idea about other countries.)
This came about because I asked the publisher (who is in control of the prices) to give my readers a discount. And they did. Thank you, Baker.
Now for the subject at hand.
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for me to complete my titanic project – the complete rewrite, revision, and expansion of my very old book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church.
(If you have the old version from almost 20 years ago, throw it out. It’s flawed and incomplete. The new version – which I’ll explain in a minute – will be FAR superior in every way and much more extensive.)
I’ve been working on the new edition daily since October 22, 2021.
Currently, it’s more than double the size of the old version and up to over 1,900 footnotes. (I want to document every conclusion. The footnotes also shed further light on the story.)
To date, I’ve written over 20 books, and this volume is BY FAR the most difficult and tedious I’ve ever put my hand to.
By the way, this is the only published book for which I was NOT given an advance. I regard the project as a labor of love to advance the kingdom and equip God’s people to understand their New Testament in an innovative, fresh, and compelling way.
When it comes out and you read it, I hope you’ll agree.
Here’s the second piece of good news.
After almost two years of working on the book daily, I can finally see some light rays at the end of the tunnel.
Over the upcoming months, the manuscript will be edited by several freelance editors and reviewed by several first-rate scholars. (This is before I hand it off to the publisher.)
After speaking with some of the scholars and editors directly, I’ve calculated the TOTAL cost to be $15,000.
Confession: I’m nervous writing the rest of this because it’s a first time for me, even though it’s akin to breathing for most of my peers.
Unfortunately, I don’t have $15,000 of chump change lying around the house, and I really don’t want to rob a bank (clears throat), so I’m enlisting those of you who have been supporting this project in your prayers and/or your hearts to make a donation, IF YOU FEEL INCLINED.
Note that this is the first time in history that I can ever recall asking for a donation, which reflects how important this project is to me.
My vision for the book is that it will be the new touchstone on the story of the primitive church, and the best guide on the New Testament that’s ever been produced.
That’s cool and all, but the important thing is that I expect it will transform thousands of Christians by giving them a brand new look at the New Testament, and in turn, a fresh look at the Lord and His inimitable and ineffable ways.
My initial goal was perfection, but since that’s impossible, the new goal is “better than any other work on the same subject.”
(If something better already existed, I could have saved two years of my life and a lot of blood spilled to write this new version.)
Again, no one is obligated to give, and I have zero expectations.
But a donation of any amount would be deeply appreciated.
For those of you who can and desire to give a larger sum, we want to bless you with gratis signed copies of the book once it’s published.
(Signed copies are guaranteed to raise the value of the book by 13 cents, and I don’t use AI – Artificial Intelligence. It’s my own handwriting, which is a cut above your doctor’s scrawl.)
Here’s the breakdown (and this may look like an infomercial to the untrained eye, but it’s not):
For those of you who can and desire to give a donation of $500 to $999, you will receive 3 signed copies mailed to you when the publisher sends me the printed copies.
For a gift of $1,000 to $4,999, you will receive 7 signed copies.
For a gift of $5,000 or more, you will receive 11 signed copies.
I don't have a release date yet because I have no idea how long it will take the editors and the scholars to go through the book before I hand it off to the publisher (and “what a day of rejoicing that will be”).
After that, it’s usually a year before it hits the market.
So I expect the book to release sometime between the end of 2024 (the very earliest) and 2026 (the latest).
I will let everyone know when I turn the book into the publisher, and they should be able to give me a release date then.
You will receive the book in softcover/paperback. (I don’t know if a hardcover is planned, but the gift copies will be soft/paperback, which I prefer myself.)
If the donations go beyond the $15,000 mark, the rest will be used to make seminaries and Bible colleges aware of the book.
Like I said, a donation of any amount is deeply appreciated.
If you make a donation on one of the amounts listed above, be sure to send us an email with the amount. Don’t include your address because it might change by the time the book comes out.
We will keep your email in our records so when the book releases, you will receive your signed copies. Just don’t change your email address, and of course, stay on the Thursday UNFILTERED email list so you know when the book releases.
TO DONATE, JUST GO TO THE “GO FUND ME” PAGE HERE.
Or put gofundme.com/f/utsntc into your browser.
If you prefer to use the Cash App, Venmo, or Paypal, reply to this email and let us know.
Gratefully,
Your brother in the advance of His kingdom,
fv