Books

I’ve had several books published, edited a few, and contributed to others. (Church music books are on the hymns and resources page.) Here is the list.

You’ll notice a similar title (below) but the key difference is in the subtitle: Shouts at Sunrise: The Struggle Against Evil for the Life of Don Cox (Storian Press, 2017, 978-1-9404-0207-9, Amazon). This book is a major expansion of the story, especially the moral dilemma faced by the negotiators who had to violate deeply held moral convictions about always telling the truth in order to save the life of their friend.

I set up my brother to record stories of living in Haiti, Kenya, and Uganda and used software to transcribe the stories. My task was to craft the arc in telling the stories in Go as a Way Opens: A Memoir (Storian Press, 2015, ‎ 978-1-9404-0206-2, Amazon). Swanee worked on about 250 churches, hospitals, clinics, and schools in eleven countries

After developing to book outline, I asked Libby Tedder Hugus and Jason Veach to join me in writing Marks of the Missional Church: Ecclesial Practices for the Sake of the World (Storian Press, 2014, 978-1-9404-0202-4, Amazon). This book was the winner of the 2015 Illumination Book Award in the ministry-mission category.

I conceived and edited One in Christ: Reconciliation, Justice, and Mutuality (Storian Press, 2013, 978-1-9404-0200-0, Amazon) and invited twelve friends to each draft one chapter. The book is based on Galatians 3:28 with four chapters in each section: reconciliation—to settle differences; justice—to treat fairly; mutuality—to share equally. I also wrote Chapter 4, “One Family at One Table, Galatians 2:11–20.”

I served as editor and project manager for Missio Dei: A Wesleyan Understanding (Beacon Hill Press, 2011, 978-0-8341-2717-3, Amazon). This was a collaborative project by the faculty at Nazarene Theological Seminary. I also wrote the Preface and Chapter 14, “Worship: The Heartbeat of Missional Living.”

The editors invited me to write a chapter for Postmodern and Wesleyan: Exploring the Boundaries and Possibilities (Beacon Hill Press, 2009, 978-0-8341-2458-5, Amazon). You’ll find my work in Chapter 18, “The Sensory Side of Being Spiritual.” I used my experience of celebrating the Easter Vigil with an Anglican congregation to explore how what we see and hear and smell and touch informs the spiritual life.

I had an exhilarating journey as I wrote Shouts at Sunrise: The Abduction and Rescue of Don Cox (Nazarene Publishing House, 2006, 083-412-2375). Don was a missionary in Ecuador when he was kidnapped and held for two weeks before being rescued by special forces. Quite the adventure! Don’s wife, Cheryl, translated the book for publication in Spanish. The artwork on the Spanish edition doesn’t reflect what really happened, but it looks quite dramatic. This is out of print, but you might find a used copy available from an online bookseller.

My editor gave me quite a bit of creative room for Meeting Jesus (Nazarene Publishing House, 2007, 978-0-8341-2294-9). I had scores of short stories about the Jesus Film (JF) that I needed to tie together in some way. Since the JF is based on the gospel of Luke, I wrote the book in a similar style and borrowed transitions to link the vignettes. One person announced that it was the best book in the missionary book series. This, too, was translated into Spanish and is out of print.

For the 100th anniversary of the Church of the Nazarene, I wrote The Caribbean: Legacy of Love (Nazarene Publishing House, 2008, 798-0-8341-2346-5). I found it quite a burden to leave frigid Kansas City in the winter to do research on the islands. O well, someone had to suffer. Yep, out of print.

Since we live in a graphic world, I explored the importance of words in Words of Life & Love: World Mission Literature Ministries (Nazarene Publishing House, 2004, 083-412-0828). I especially liked doing the research on chapter four since it had to do with hymnals. OOP.