If you are a pastor, you need to write a book, and here is why:

#1—You learned the most in preparing the sermon, but statistics show that almost everyone will forget what

you preach within 30 days.

Your book is a permanent text that can be studied, underlined, and applied by those in your church

and beyond.

#2—You have an audience that is hungry and wants to grow and mature.

Your book is "meat" that they can read, study, and digest for many years to come.

#3—You spread the truth through your writing.

The words you write have a way of finding the mark and helping others. I helped write a book

(Forgiveness—the Ultimate Miracle) that ended up, years later, in the hands of a married couple considering divorce. They read the

book, forgave each other, and saved their marriage!

#4—You can tell your story and share your message, over and over, through the power of multiplication.

It is impossible to tell your story and share your message, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, like

a book can. A book is passed around and recommended, and it consistently

gives the same accurate information. What more, others can teach others

when they have your book in hand.

#5—You have already done the hard part by studying and preaching the sermon(s).

I tell authors-to-be that the secret to getting the book out of them is to do what works for them.

If you like to speak, then speak the text out, record it, and there is the basic text of your book. I helped one pastor create his book

(Discover the Joy) from a sermon series he preached. The process was simple and smooth.

#6—You have an evangelism tool or outreach tool waiting to be put to use.

One book that is going to press as I write this is costing the author a mere $0.76 each! He

is buying 5,000 copies of his 128-page book (Achievement—A Proven System for Next-Level Growth), but if that were your book, you could

give your church the chance to "buy a book for a buck" and then your youth group could give out 1,000 or 2,000 copies as an evangelism

tool. You could do this with short-term and summer mission trips, over and over. The opportunities are limitless at these prices.

#7—You can speak in other languages without being bilingual.

Just the other week, five of my authors’ books were picked up by an Indonesian publisher, which

means that thousands of lives in Indonesia will be impacted by these

US authors. The advances and royalties aren’t huge from these foreign

publishers; it’s more the exciting and humbling realization that your

book is traveling the world for you.

You’ll notice that I didn’t say anything about making a million dollars as an author. Odds are,

it’s not going to happen, but it will never happen if you don’t write that first book!

No more excuses of "I don’t have time" or "I don’t know how." Let the book(s) in you come

out so the rest of the world can benefit!