Saturday, January 23, 2010
Drawing inspiration from RuthGrace Covenant Church
A Roanoke pastor presents a collection of essays in his self-published book.Send us your religion news Your Community, P.O. Box 2491 Roanoke, VA 24010 or e-mail yourcommunity@roanoke.com
STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS The Roanoke Times
Jeff Ell, pastor of Grace Covenant Church in Roanoke, published "Ruth Uncensored," about lessons he has learned from the book of Ruth.
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He can't really explain why, but when Jeff Ell became the pastor of Roanoke's Grace Covenant Church in 2002, he began pulling many sermons out of the book of Ruth.
In October, he accomplished what many pastors would consider a crowning achievement: He collected his messages -- about the story centering on Ruth, the Moabite foremother of David -- and wrote them into a book.
"Ruth Uncensored," self-published through the small Christian boutique Furrow Press, is a collection of introspective essays about man's imperfection, told in chatty anecdotes from Ell's own life.
Ell, 49, likes to camp and hunt, and to take walks with his wife, Deneen. Ell took time to discuss his book and other subjects with The Roanoke Times recently:
Are there any Christian writers who influenced your writing?
I like authors like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and C.S. Lewis, but I don't read a lot of Christian books. A lot of them leave me feeling like I've been yelled at, or scolded, or telling me I'm doing things wrong.
Were you looking to avoid that condescending tone in your book?
I was cognitive of the fact that I don't have all the answers. The book of Ruth has helped me for myself. I hope it helps people feel closer to Jesus, but I'm not here to fix Christendom.
How did feedback from friends and your editor help?
Bob Misiak [pastor of Lords Valley Community Church in Greentown, Pa.] read one chapter and said he liked it. I said, "You're my friend, and you're lying to me." I was like, "I've got to keep working on it." Then I contacted [editor] Edie Mourey and asked her if it was anything worth doing. The book was 50 percent finished. She read it and said yes.
Why were you so apprehensive?
It has to do with all of these normal insecurities that most of us face. You bare your soul. Preaching, speaking I feel OK. Writing? It's like toothpaste out of a tube. You can't take it back.
Describe your thought process when you went on a sabbatical to Costa Rica in 2007 and began writing.
It was like downloading a file. There was something out there and I began to get phrases in my brain. That was, I believe, something God gave me. I went to Costa Rica to just to take time out. Then all of the sudden, I started getting all of these ideas, and thoughts started coming to me.
What was the satisfaction in committing something to a book after years of preaching messages from the book of Ruth?
There's always a satisfaction in finishing something, whether it's a crossword puzzle or cleaning your house. There's a sense of accomplishment and being able to say we did it.
"Ruth Uncensored" is available at Ram's Head Book Shop, Family Christian Bookstore, local Barnes & Noble outlets and Amazon.com.
