HIM Publications

07/08/2024

We are looking for a full-time operations manager who is responsible for the efficient ex*****on of all back office functions of our book publishing company.

This includes soliciting bids for new print runs, submitting finished covers and files to printers, and managing inventory.

They will manage all print on demand, audio, and eBook vendors. They are also the in-house expert for outsourced digital tools, websites, and programs.

Additionally, they manage the accounts payable flow, annual royalty flow, tax processes, budget-keeping, and forecasting, seeking efficiency for all areas under their supervision.

This person also serves as the voice of finance in the acquisitions process, and is the main point of contact for freelancers.

himpublications.com/jobs/

30/07/2024

We're hiring an Operations Manager at HIM Publications, a book publishing company in Nashville, Tennessee! Spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested. Here's the job description (second one down):

24/05/2024

Here's my biblical theology of the beauty of the church to inspire us toward making disciples: https://himpublications.com/podcast/beauty-church/

15/05/2024

I had a great interview with Eugene Peterson's agent today, Rich Christian, about how *The Message* came together originally. It's for a new podcast I'm launching soon, *Behind the Book*: Stories of Books with Interviews of Authors, Agents, and Publishers.

15/03/2024

We're hiring a full-time Executive Assistant! Share this with anyone you know who might fit the description: https://youpublish.com/jobs

14/03/2024

Please join us to hear about Josh's posthumously published book on hope!

20/02/2024

Calling all children's ministry leaders! Here's the Easter gift that you want to give to all your families this year:

The Rhyming Bible Easter Storybook has seven stories, one story for each day of Easter Week, so children can learn about key moments in Jesus’ life.

02/02/2024

New comment on "'The Discipleship Gospel' by Ben Sobels and Bill Hull: Review by Brandon Guindon"

22/06/2022

Our authors Chad Harrington and Jim Putman had the opportunity to speak with The Bonhoeffer Project about pride, false humility, and The Revolutionary Disciple. Click the link below to watch!

Chad Harrington and Jim Putman, authors of the book The Revolutionary Disciple, talk about why pride is such a major inhibitor of discipleship and how to rev...

22/06/2022

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Have you been operating under the influence of pride? Perhaps you have allowed the disappointments of life to harden your heart, making you more defiant than desperate.

Maybe your condition is more subtle than that. Have you slowly but surely begun living a life that is increasingly less dependent on God than you were a few years ago?

If so, God’s words to Solomon will become a fountain of life for you if you humble your heart.

Or maybe the hard work that God invites you to involves cultivating a deeper hunger for God.

Is God inviting you to empty your soul and free up your calendar for consistent, unhurried time in his loving presence?

If so, don’t simply think about what God spoke to Solomon, but step into it. Begin making time for God. If you do, your life will be blessed!

Finally, is God inviting you to make the journey back to the Father’s house?

Thanks to Jesus’ victorious death and resurrection, all the impossible roadblocks obstructing our return to the Father’s house have been permanently removed once and for all!

However, the continual turning back to God sometimes still feels like hard work. Where is God inviting you to come home again?

Don’t simply think about it. Step into it.

— Dave Clayton, "A 2 Chronicles 7:14 Sermon: “Humble Your Heart”"

21/06/2022

Last Tuesday, our author Dave Clayton had the opportunity to speak with Dawn and Steve on their Moody Radio morning show, Dawn and Steve in the Morning! Click below to hear their conversation about Awaken Nashville, a movement of prayer and fasting in the Nashville area!

20/06/2022

Solomon was not only wealthy and wise, but he was also passionate about God’s people encountering God’s presence in a way that would transform their hearts. He didn’t want his generation to stay in the shallow end of a dead, ritualistic religion.

So one of Solomon’s first acts as king was to call the entire nation to seek the presence of God together.

This longing of Solomon’s heart led him to do the hard work of preparing a place for God’s people to have a life-changing encounter with the living God.

In 2 Chronicles 6:14–42, he prayed, and in Solomon’s prayer we catch a glimpse of how Solomon believed his hard work of building the temple would ultimately open the door for God to do the transformative work of changing the peoples’ hearts.

God’s response was beautiful:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 )

Notice what God promises to anyone willing to do the hard work:

- He will hear you.
- He will forgive you.
- He will heal your land.

What a stunning set of promises!

God said that if his people were willing to do a little bit of hard work, then his blessings would flow in them and through them in ways they couldn’t imagine.

Now it’s important you don’t miss a key reality in this beautiful exchange between God and Solomon.

Although God’s love for his people is unconditional, sometimes his blessings are contingent upon a few conditions.

I experience this truth with my three boys on a regular basis. My love for them is unshakable. However, if they want to experience life to the fullest in our family’s home, each of my sons must make good choices.

The love my wife and I have for them is unconditional, but the deeper blessings of life come with some conditions. The same is true for life with God.

God still longs to work in us, through us, and among us in ways we could never ask or imagine. But these blessings require us to do some hard work first.

— Dave Clayton, "A 2 Chronicles 7:14 Sermon: “Humble Your Heart”"

15/06/2022

The responsibility of a father is to love each child unconditionally. It makes all the difference in the world of a child to know they are loved and cared for, that they have purpose.

It’s simple.

Love every child unconditionally.

All children are different. One can be corrected with just a look, but another requires consequences.

Still, your love must be the same.

You do this in various ways—mainly, you tell them and show them.

The other part of this is loving the child’s mom unconditionally. Situations can differ with single parenting, but in a nuclear home the father must show the love of Christ in his relationship with his wife.

Why is that important? Because when your son observes a father’s love for their mother, he says to himself, “Ah, that’s how I will treat my wife when I’m married.”

When a daughter observes interactions between her mother and father that are kind and compassionate, she thinks, “Ah, when I get married, I want to marry a man who will treat me how my dad treats my mom.”

It’s not always easy to do, but it’s very important in the lives of your children.

Showing unconditional love requires humility, patience, and understanding.

It means letting go of your own desires sometimes for the sake of another.

The result of a child witnessing their father’s unconditional love for their mother sets up their hearts to receive love from God and creates an innate desire to show love to others around them.

I’ll take you back to when Jesus walked the earth and the little children wanted to come to him. Remember that in the Scriptures?

What did the disciples do? They wanted the kids out of the way. They had a schedule to keep, right?

But Jesus rebuked the disciples and said the kingdom of God consists of such little ones. And he laid his hands on them and blessed them.

We must love our children in such an unconditional way to fulfill our responsibilities of a father.

—Brian D. Molitor, "Responsibilities of a Father: 5 Key Tasks for Christian Fathers"

Uncover more of the ins and outs of mentoring your children or other young people by reading Brian D. Molitor’s book Mentoring Moments.

14/06/2022

Dave Clayton is on Moody Radio right now with Dawn and Steve in the Morning talking about Awaken Nashville!

13/06/2022

Responsibility #1: Establish a Godly Vision

Before much else can be added, a father must establish a godly vision for each child under his influence. Every child has unique strengths, tendencies, and passions that differ from every other child on the earth. Those differences mean that each child needs nuanced care and attention.

Now, as a father, if you’re not careful, you might think it doesn’t matter too much so long as they receive instruction and discipline and care.

But fathers must be careful that they don’t steer children away from God’s purpose for them. Because you might see the strengths and passions within the child immediately, or you might not.

Some of the young people under your influence might like sports, music, art, government, or nature. Who knows?

God puts strengths and passions within children, and from early on those strengths and passions must be nurtured and protected.

So designing a godly vision for your child is profound because many young people today lack vision. They have no substantive goal to work toward.

For many young people today, their frame of reference is short term. They see few options, and they see no consequences.

Why would a 17-year-old take their life because they broke up with a boyfriend or girlfriend? Isn’t that crazy?

Well, not really, no. If your perspective is short term, you see few options and few consequences. It makes sense.

To have somebody who’s older and wiser speak into their lives and help them to see a vision that goes way beyond where they are now could change their lives.

Some kids make mistakes early in life, and when they do, the enemy screams in their ear, “It’s all done. It’s all over. There’s no hope for you. There’s no future. You might as well just give up.”

Yet if someone comes along to that same child and whispers, “God has a great plan for your life,” then the enemy no longer has a voice.

You must have a vision for your young people to fulfill your responsibilities as a father.

—Brian D. Molitor, "Responsibilities of a Father: 5 Key Tasks for Christian Fathers"

Uncover more of the ins and outs of mentoring your children or other young people by reading Brian D. Molitor’s book Mentoring Moments.

08/06/2022

Young people need to learn from role models who are positive but not perfect.

This means we can use our own failures as teaching points alongside those things that we happen to do well. Moments where I’ve lost my temper and said hurtful things have been turned into life lessons where I swallowed my pride, apologized, and then explained to my children what I did wrong.

Don’t be afraid to share your struggles and your failings with the young people around you.

Successful lifelong mentoring occurs when close relationships, combined with well-conceived lessons, are lived out in time spent together.

Life lessons learned from trusted mentors stick with our young people. Life lessons learned over time change lives.

Mentoring moments can happen at any time for the simple reason that life lessons are everywhere.

The key to success is consistent communication and strong healthy relationships between mentors and the young people under their care, regardless of which life lessons we hope to teach.

The process is always the same. The mentor watches for the appropriate teaching opportunities to arise and then shares in a manner that best communicates the truth.

A mentor should never nag or use lessons to embarrass a child in front of others—to do so would decrease the level of trust between the mentor and the young person and potentially shut down the willingness for future lessons.

Now, the onus is on the parents and other mentors to establish both the relationship and the plan for ongoing interaction with young people. Over time, the relationship will likely be overwhelmingly positive, especially if parents start young.

Today’s youth have questions about life and relationships, love, finance, nature, and a host of other subjects. They just need someone around them willing to explore the answers with them.

Always give youth the space and time they need for themselves. But watch for crucial openings and teachable moments.

— Molitor, "How to Mentor Someone for Life"

Learn at a more in-depth level how to walk alongside a young person and mentor them in Brain D. Molitor’s book Mentoring Moments.

06/06/2022

In the absence of positive adult role models, young people will find their own role models or mentors. A primary example of this occurs when boys join gangs despite knowing that their new mentors participate in illegal and dangerous activities.

The desire to be under the care of someone stronger and wiser is extremely powerful.

And you know what? It should be.

God put that desire in our very being as a means to draw us to our own fathers and mothers and other trusted mentors. For this reason, the absence of positive role models creates such a void—a void that is quickly filled by someone less qualified.

Predictably, young boys are often attracted to external and false signs of maturity: wild parties, drugs, violence, lawlessness, sexual encounters, expensive cars.

Such reckless behavior tempts boys to attach themselves to clueless leaders headed for destruction. These false mentors teach young disciples a host of concepts about life, maturity, and manhood from a twisted perspective.

Young men who grew up with these negative role models need much support to break free and move back into the light. Ideally, that support comes from a father, mother, or other trusted adult willing to take time to serve the young person as a coach, teacher, disciplinarian, loving confidant, and advocate—in short, as a mentor.

—Brian Molitor, "How to Mentor Someone for Life"

Learn at a more in-depth level how to walk alongside a young person and mentor them in Brain D. Molitor’s book Mentoring Moments.

01/06/2022

A rite of passage is a time of transition. We must have it for our young people.

If we don’t give it to them, they will drift when they hit the teenage years, which are so confusing and difficult to get through.

Also, if we don’t make it clear to young people who they are and what they are capable of, we do them a disservice. If we inadvertently communicate that they are not really a boy anymore but also not really a man either, what can we expect from them?

Instead, we go along expecting young people to be rebellious because that’s what we’ve learned to anticipate. But rebellion doesn’t have to happen.

And it won’t happen if we receive these young men in their early teenage years and walk with them. If we run with them, their lives will go differently.

Because you know what? Then they won’t want to rebel. What is there to rebel against?

When we’ve told them that they are capable and affirmed their status and responsibility for pursuing maturity, why would they rebel against that?

The rebellion of young people is generally against authority because they have not been released to become men.
When we receive them as young men, there’s nothing to push against. They just can’t wait to grab you and come along with you.

What young men in your life need a rite of passage? Share this gift with those who need your guidance.

—Brian Molitor, "Rites of Passage: We Must Release Boys to Become Men"

30/05/2022

Keep in mind that there’s an important difference between manhood and maturity. One comes over time and with wisdom, and one can happen in a moment.

Understand that a rite of passage won’t make a young male instantly mature. But a rite of passage will make a young male instantly a man.

You might think, “Why does that matter? You’re just playing with words. Isn’t that just semantics?” No, I’m not just playing with words, and it isn’t semantics.

If you take a young male who is around fourteen or fifteen and a little unsure of his manhood—because he’s never been affirmed by his elders—if he is confronted with the opportunity to sleep with women, join a gang, do something exciting or crazy, drive really fast, etc., what is he going to do?

If that young male is trying to prove his own manhood, what is likely to be his answer to those things? Yes or no?

It will likely be yes.

Yet if you take the same young male and let him experience a rite of passage with men who affirm his manhood and give him the charge of pursuing maturity for the rest of his life, and then he’s presented those same opportunities, what will he choose?

He will likely choose the maturer, wiser option. He will likely say to himself, “No, those are not the acts of mature men.”

How will he know that? He will know that because mature men have mentored him and because his mentors have affirmed that he is a young man now who must pursue maturity.

The pursuit of a young man must become maturity, not manhood.

No longer does he do acts to prove his manhood, but he knows what he is and pursues it further.

You see the difference? It’s a huge one in the mind of a young person.

Young males often wonder, “Am I a man? How do I become a man? What is ‘being a man’ all about? What should I do?”

Their hormones are raging, and their bodies are changing, and somebody must affirm what’s happening within.

Someone needs to come alongside and say, “Those changes in your body, in your mind, in your hormones, and the sexuality stuff that’s going on, let me explain it to you so you’re not freaked out or make rash decisions.”

Every young person needs a group of older, wiser people to come alongside them, to explain life to them—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

A young person will benefit so much from a special time of transition that communicates, “Now you’re one of us. We’re with you.”

—Brian Molitor, "Rites of Passage: We Must Release Boys to Become Men"

25/05/2022

The qualities of a good friend involve laying down your life in some fashion. You must make willing sacrifices for your friends that involve your mind, emotions, and will. In this way, you exhibit laying down your “psyche” for others.

At times you’ve got to set aside what you want in order to see someone else accomplish something they want. That is what friends do.

A lot of the time, this simply looks like taking the time to be present for others—to be involved, to be invested, and to care.

Sacrificing our desires is not always easy. In fact, it’s not ever easy.

But building up one another in love is always worth it. Look at what Jesus did for his friends, for us.

Friendship involves loving and listening and giving and receiving. It involves honesty and laughter. It involves laying down your life for your friends.

Don’t be afraid to enter into friendship. But know that being the kind of friend you need to be requires work and time.

— Brian Molitor, "Five Qualities of a Good Friend"

To learn more about caring for others, check out Mentoring Moments by Brian D. Molitor—a 52-week guide for parents or guardians to guide young people closer to God.

23/05/2022

We tend to get goofy when we hear the word “love” because we’re not sure what it means.

Is it romantic love, as in “I love you”? Is it merely a strong like for something, as in “I love nature”?

Well, love in terms of friendship is a brotherly love, an agape love. It is a love that does so unconditionally and wants the best for others.

Being a good friend means learning to listen.

Now, that may seem strange, but many people have a lot to say, and they’re either afraid to say it or they don’t have the opportunity to share it.

So that means people walk around like ticking time bombs. So much inside of them is important to them.

They have questions, concerns, insights, feelings, and thoughts—all of which need to come out somehow. Too often people have no good outlet for all of it.

If you’re married you share a lot with your spouse, and that’s great. But there are some things that a man needs to talk about with other men and a woman needs to talk about with other women.

A spouse may not understand everything a person feels or experiences or desires. So we must take the time, if we’re going to strive for the qualities of a good friend, to mend our friends in, so to speak.

We must listen to what’s going on in our friends’ lives and be there when they need us.
Now, there’s a flip side to that as well. A good friend is someone who shares their thoughts and feelings. If you only listen all the time, you’re holding back.

We must reach a place where we are able to share what’s happening inside of us with other people. That is truly being a good friend.

— Brian Molitor, "Five Qualities of a Good Friend"

To learn more about caring for others, check out Mentoring Moments by Brian D. Molitor—a 52-week guide for parents or guardians to guide young people closer to God.

18/05/2022

As leaders, we must strive to create environments where people feel safe enough to be honest about what’s going on in their lives without the fear of shame and judgment.

A culture of accountability is not going to grow unless it’s healthy enough to hold real and authentic relationships.

All of us have experienced being shamed before. In those moments, the devil tries to drive us to cover ourselves because he knows we can be deceived into hiding from the light.

The devil wants to create the need to keep certain things in darkness in your life and culture, and if you’re a disciple maker, if you’re mature in Christ, you aim to change the culture around you for the better.

God calls you, and those around you, to come out of the darkness and into the light of Christ.

You’re responsible for building a culture of honesty and transparency. Whether a leader or a newcomer, you can change a culture.

You get to be the light. You get to be honest and life-giving. Because you have the Holy Spirit, you can be life-giving, helping people find peace, conquer the devil’s lies, and see the light of Christ.

— Jim Putman, "What Is Accountability? Creating a Culture of Transparency and Honesty"

16/05/2022

Creating a culture of accountability isn’t always easy, but it comes naturally with being in spiritual relationships with others. It is a huge part of what we gain, and what others gain, through genuine relationships.

You may have heard others say, “I only need to be accountable to God.” You may have even thought that yourself at times.

Because if God knows everything already, why should you share the difficulties and challenges going on in your life?

Yet Scripture says, “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7).

Fellowship means deep, abiding relationship—or to know and be known. So if we’re really in relationship and fellowship with people, they will know because of our love for them.

Loving relationships with God and others characterize a believer.

You may think, “I’m a good person. I’m doing the best I can to walk in the light. I’m reading my Bible and doing the stuff that good people do.”

But the point is not simply about walking in the light. Rather, you should consider:

- Do you get down to the ugly with people?
- How often do you share about your struggles with those whom you are in spiritual relationship?
- Do you encourage and empower others toward accountability?

— Jim Putman , "What Is Accountability? Creating a Culture of Transparency and Honesty"

13/05/2022

Jesus went to incredible lengths to reveal the truth about eternity, God, judgment day, and heaven and hell. He also clearly commanded all Christians to be disciple makers.

Your calling is to be the light of the world, a disciple who make disciples. Your job is to share your life and faith with those around you. Some people won’t like it, and that’s okay.

So the solution to sharing the gospel without being a jerk? Truth and love.

You also need correct expectations for what that looks like. You’re not going to teach one principle to someone and be done.

Teaching one principle and expecting them to change their life isn’t going to happen.

Most people don’t believe making disciples is their job, so they don’t work at it. But if you don’t want to get better at making disciples, then you don’t really want to make disciples.

Now, sometimes God drops an opportunity in your lap—take advantage of it. Reach out and minister; help someone become a disciple of Jesus.

If it happens that way sometimes, great. But that’s not the typical path of disciple making.

— Jim Putman, "How to Share the Gospel—Without Being a Jerk"

10/05/2022

When you share your faith, you will have two different kinds of interactions:

1. Interactions with strangers
2. Interactions with those with whom you’re in relationship

You will have interactions with people you don’t know. Whether at the grocery store or on an airplane, you have opportunities to interact with others and engage in conversations of faith with them.

Sometimes a person will be open to conversation about Christ, and sometimes they won’t be interested at all. Don’t lose heart when someone isn’t interested.

Conversion doesn’t have to happen in one shot; your role is to plant seeds. You can pray for those you encounter and share resources or next steps with them.

The best evangelism experiences come from people with whom you’re in relationship, those for whom you’ve been praying.

These are the situations where you have invested in the person by doing prep work. Doing prep work means you care about them, and you show them you care through your actions.

What’s an example of this? Say they’re moving, and you show up and help them move. If they’re struggling, you call them and ask how they are doing.

These are those whom you’ve prayed for and yearned to make into disciples. You show that you care long before explaining the gospel to them.

— Jim Putman, "How to Share the Gospel—Without Being a Jerk"

04/05/2022

Just as there are different stages of a person’s life, different stages also illustrate spiritual growth in a Christian:

1. Born Again Stage

When someone first commits to Christ, they are born again and enter the Christian world just as a newborn enters the world. An exciting new life of endless possibilities await this newly born again individual.

2. Infant Stage

During the infant stage, young Christians are totally dependent on mature Christians and the Word for guidance just as infants depend on their parents. The apostle Peter captured this sentiment: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

3. Child Stage

After a while, these infants grow into the child stage. Just as a young child will start to recognize the difference between right and wrong, so will a Christian with a childlike faith begin recognizing better decisions to make. But they will still be susceptible to bad influences and will need a spiritual parent to guide them.

4. Young Adult Stage

Next comes the young adult stage. Think of the young adult who begins driving and choosing which college to attend. Their parent trusts them to make bigger decisions and show wisdom. Similarly, the young adult Christian will make wiser decisions and remain plugged into a Christian community and begin taking on more responsibilities.

5. Parent Stage

Finally, the parent stage represents the Christian who parents other believers who are less spiritually mature. They are the ones who offer guidance and wisdom as they disciple newer members of the faith.

All Christians will find themselves somewhere on this scale, which illustrates the importance of discipleship as Christians rely on other Christians to mature in their faith.

Sometimes Christians might stumble and fall into spiritual immaturity at different stages on their spiritual journey. As a heavenly Father who loves his children, God must discipline Christians to teach them the right path forward. He does this because he wants all his children to reach spiritual maturity.

—Jim Putman, "What Is Spiritual Maturity?"

02/05/2022

How does one who is spiritually mature live? Here are some guidelines for living as a spiritually mature Christian:

- Walking with Jesus.
- Abiding in Christ.
- Growing in your understanding of the Word.
- Surrendering to God daily.
- Becoming more like Christ continually.
- Remaining committed to the mission of Christ.
- Devoting yourself to the mission God has given you.
- Spiritual maturity is an ongoing, daily relationship with the Lord.

It means being a part of a greater spiritual family. In other words, not being proud of your own work but wanting to minister to people and be honest about your own failings so you can build genuine relationships.

Spiritual maturity is not perfect maturity; rather, it’s an honest and humble striving to grow in one’s faith in God. When others interact with you, they sense a humble spirit that is motivated by love.

Ultimately, when you are spiritually mature, you strive to shape your time, energy, and efforts around the mission that God has given you, even as you come to know and love God more. You take that love and share it with others to accomplish his mission of creating more disciples.

— Jim Putman "What Is Spiritual Maturity?"