I want you in the front of this book.
Fifteen spots. No famous names.
Tell Me Your Story
If you open almost any Christian book the first thing you’ll find is a page of endorsements from famous people. Pastors of big churches. Authors you’ve heard of. It’s how publishing works.
It’s the wrong choice for this book.
The whole premise of this series of devotionals called Ordinary Everyday Obedience is that the Spirit of God has always moved through people nobody has ever heard of. Fishermen. Tentmakers. A woman who sold fabric. A man who ran a jail. Luke gives us twenty-eight chapters about God building his church out of ordinary people doing the next faithful thing.
So the front of this book is going to you.
If you’ve been walking through Acts with me on the podcast, on YouTube, in the Bible app, and something in it moved you to activate your faith in some way, I want to hear about it. Tell me the actual thing that happened. The day, the moment, what you did next.
What I’m asking for
Ten minutes and one honest story.
Maybe there was a day that hit you, what did you do differently because of it? It doesn’t have to be cleaned up, just a quick raw account of what happened. And then, what might you say to a friend who is thinking about picking up the book.
If you’d rather talk than type, record a voice memo on your phone and upload it. That works too.
A few details to be aware of
- I’ll be editing for length. A printed endorsement runs about twenty-five words, so I’ll pull one piece out of what you send if it fits the bill. Please be assured that nothing gets printed without your approval.
- You choose how your name appears. Full name, first name and last initial, or first name and city. If your story needs to stay anonymous, that’s covered too.
- Submissions close September 20, 2026. The book goes to the publisher shortly after.
- Nothing is lost if you’re not one of the fifteen. Your story will go on the Cloud of Witnesses page here on the site, and I’ll let you know where to find it.
Spots · Two pages
There are two pages in the front of this book. Fifteen is what fits. If more than fifteen come in, and I hope they do, that’s a good problem and everyone’s story will still be heard on the Cloud of Witnesses web page.
Tell me your story.
Ten or fifteen minutes. Write it the way you’d say it out loud.
Submissions closed on September 20, 2026. Thank you to everyone who sent a story. I'm reading all of them and choosing the fifteen that go in the front of the book. Every story, whether it's one of the fifteen or not, will appear on the Cloud of Witnesses page here on the site, and I'll write to tell you where to find yours.
Nothing is being offered in exchange for this. No discount, no gift, no trade.
If you’ve had my voice in your ear for the last few months, this is what I look like. I would love to have your name appear in the front of my book next to a story of God’s goodness.
Thank you for listening along.
Derek