Why I Wrote a Book on Singleness & What it's About

If you've been reading the blog for the past several months, you saw the posts (numerous ones) on singleness. Those were from a book I wrote entitled, God, Singleness, & Marriage: How the Bible gives purpose and direction to singles. Well, it wasn't actually a book, but now it is.  You can order copies at amazon.com.

Why I wrote this book

The Bible has such a grand perspective on singleness, but it has often been overlooked, and I wanted to lay out what the Bible said in order to:

1. Encourage single men and women who were content in singleness, 
2. Provide a vision of God-glorifying singleness, and
3. Encourage married men and women to appreciate, love and serve singles as full members of the body of Christ.

I didn't start out planning to write on the subject. I began by looking for a book that I could use to encourage single men and women. As I read books on the topic, I found a bunch of really good ones but none that covered all of what I thought was important. Some focused on the practical (how to) type stuff and others were a bit academic. I wanted to see something that started with theology (it is rich on this topic) and dealt with the practical issues.  Also, I noticed that almost every book I could find on singleness was directed towards women, and I wanted one that would apply equally well to men and women. So I started writing, and, before I knew it, it was the length of a short book.

What the Book is about

It is about singleness and marriage, under the rule of God, and in service of his purposes. And, as the subtitle states, it is about how the Bible gives hope and direction to single Christians.

Its content is divided into three parts:

First, Singleness Redeemed- How the Bible gives purpose and hope to singles.

In this section, I trace Singleness through the Biblical storyline to see how singleness is redeemed; made useful for the Kingdom of God. Then, I give a Biblical vision for God-glorifying singleness in order to show how singleness serves the Kingdom now that it has been redeemed. The section closes with a look at how a right view of God gives hope to us all (single and married)

Second, Dangers of the Single Season- Keeping watch on your soul

This section contains 3 chapters that discuss some common dangers or temptations for single men and women (discontentment, fear, etc.).

Third, Living in the Single Season- Honoring God as a single person

The first chapter here is for all singles regardless of desire to get married or not. It discusses maturing as a Christian man or woman. The next two chapters are more specifically for singles desiring marriage: Honoring God as You Look for a Spouse and Biblical Principles for Finding a Spouse .                                   

I then conclude with a look at where marriage and singleness are ultimately going and how that gives us direction now - namely to glorify God through Jesus Christ.

I hope you can read it, benefit from it, and pass it on to others.