Kevin Johnson Books

Pray the Scriptures: A 40-Day Prayer Experience

Pray the Scriptures: A 40-Day Prayer Experience is my first follow-up to Pray the Scriptures Bible. It energizes prayer by showing how to take familiar Bible passages and pray them back to God. Prayer-starter phrases help you apply the text to your own life and circumstances. Each day's entry includes an introductory thought, a section of Scripture to pray, and concluding questions for reflection, group discussion, and further prayer. Coming in June 2013 from Bethany House Publishers.

 

 

 

Once-A-Day Devotional for Teens

The Once-A-Day Devotional for Teens cuts straight to the the heart and meaning of Scripture. As part of Zondervan's popular Once-A-Day line, the book provides a plan to read the complete Bible in a year, with each day offering right-sized chunks from the Old Testament, New Testament, and either Psalms or Proverbs.

My goal in this book was to take one of those daily readings and dig in. Instead of extended stories, hooks, and illustrations--I've written plenty of those in earlier books like Total Devotion--I go straight for what a passage means and how it applies to real life.

I just received preview copies, so look for the book to release in early October 2012. Here's a sample of what you can expect.

The devotional can be used alongside The Once-A-Day Bible for Teens, which arranges the plan's Scripture readings in easy day-by-day order. I worked on that project as well, writing short recaps that explain the gist of the day's readings. Expect that in early October too.

READ it. PRAY it. LIVE it. REPEAT.

 

Crazy | A Range of Writing

I remember agonizing on the couch about a dozen years ago. Right after seminary I had pastored a group of several hundred middle schoolers, a rare and amazing privilege. I started writing books during that time. After five years I left to oversee the adult nonfiction line at a major publishing house, another stretching opportunity. By day I signed, developed, and edited überserious adult books, and by night I continued to write thoughtful and occasionally funny books for youth. After five years as senior editor of adult nonfiction I so badly missed working with youth that I took a position as an executive at a non-profit serving at-risk teens.

A few months later when that job didn't unfold so well I sat wondering what I was supposed to do with my life. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to expend myself working with adults... or students... and I hated being torn between the two. In the end I decided I was done trying to make that decision. I was crafted to work with both adults and youth, and I was going to keep living in both worlds as long as I could.

My work includes projects for adults, students, and kids. After twenty years of writing and more than fifty books published I've done contemplative prayer Bibles and practical books aimed at adults... youth books that gently jab at minds, hearts, and hormones... children's products splashed with color, cartoons, and computer generated art... and multimedia intergenerational projects mixed in too. I work hard at all of it. I love all of it. Whatever the target audience, I don't take any chance to write for granted. And I hope to never stop doing any of it, even if the crazy assortment doesn't make sense to anyone else.

 

Deeper and Higher | Youth Discipleship Bible Studies

A few years back I got a rare chance to rework a series into several new books. I grabbed my Early Teen Discipleship (ETD) books from Bethany House and thoroughly rewrote, reformated, and republished them with Youth Specialties. I split eight original titles into the Deeper series for junior highers (Trust, Stick, Pray, and Choose) and the Higher series for high schoolers (Follow, Thrive, Think, and Soar).

I liked these books the first time around, but do-overs are sweet. My writing is cleaner, my punchiness recast for a new generation of youth, and the formatting makes the 20 studies in each book easy to complete. Both Deeper and Higher lead youth through the Bible's most relevant passages to help them discover how to meet and follow Jesus for themselves.

 

Just Out | The Amazing Bible Adventure for Kids

 

A few years back I wrote a couple children’s books for Josh McDowell, a guy who has spoken in 118 countries and has 51 million books distributed worldwide. The two books now have a fresh look from Harvest House Publishers—new titles, covers, and illustrations. Very nicely done and I'm grateful for the partnership. The Awesome Book of Bible Answers came out in April 2011, and The Amazing Bible Adventure for Kids: Finding the Awesome Truth in God’s Word started to ship just days ago. There’s a heap of amazing awesomeness in these books that aim to ground children ages 7-11 in the basics of faith. Originally published as The Great Treasure Quest, this second book focuses on Scripture. In grown-up terms, it covers the Bible’s reliability and relevance—why we can trust God’s book and how it teaches us to know him.

 

Catching Up | Aliens in the Jury Pool

For the first time ever I have been summoned for jury duty. As I wait in the local county courthouse with a couple hundred other potential jurors, I’m perusing the latest issue of Astronomy magazine. It’s always packed with dazzling space photos and news of the latest telescope gizmos. But this month the cover asks “What Happens When We Detect Alien Life?” I wonder if I look too crazy to get picked for a jury, or maybe too crazy not to.

A year has passed since I last posted. Busy time—and here’s everything new.

I’m eager to see the Rock Solid Faith Study Bible for Teens in September 2012, a project I concepted for Zondervan during the worst of the Great Recession and wrapped up early last year. My notes get at issues that will forever mark this generation of youth.

Last summer I completed a couple other significant projects for Zondervan, the NIV Once-A-Day Bible for Teens and the Once-A-Day Devotional for Teens, due out in October 2012.

And in late fall I finalized the last material for the full Pray the Scriptures Bible, which Bethany House Publishers will bring out in November 2012.

There’s more. Harvest House just released The Amazing Bible Adventure for Kids: Finding the Awesome Truth in God’s Word. I wrote the book for Josh McDowell in 2006 as The Great Treasure Quest. Its new publisher has it looking sweet with a new title, new cover, new design, and new illustrations.

If all that content sounds like a massive braindump, it was. But other than the refreshed book for children, these books encompass about three years of work that coincidentally will hit the press all at once. Hanging out in the jury pool finally let me pause and post about it all.

 

Sprouts! Four New Book Releases

For the past couple years I've been putting seed in the ground, doing the hard work before anyone can spot any growth. But my new books are popping up all over this month:

The Awesome Book of Bible Answers is just out and even better than I dreamed. Harvest House did an amazing job with this rework of a book I co-wrote with Josh McDowell.

Nathan Dungan of Share Save Spend has launched his multimedia project Money Sanity Solutions: Linking Money + Meaning. It's a phenomenal way to get families talking about money. I helped concept and draft the book for this interactive project. Check Nathan's web site for free add-on studies ("Bible POV") and a group facilitator guide I also wrote for the sessions.

I'm expecting to see a copy of Resolving Everyday Conflict from Baker Books in the next day or two. I worked with Ken Sande and his team at Peacemaker Ministries to adapt this practical guide from Ken's classic The Peacemaker. If you have conflict in your life--and who doesn't--you need this book.

And tomorrow Lyn and Elise and I actually get to catch a book as it comes off the press. Pray the Scriptures Bible Psalms and Proverbs is a sneak-peek portion of my new experiential Bible from Bethany House Publishers. Simple concept, profound impact. The project combines the highly-readable God's Word Translation with a stream of responsive prayers. The whole Bible launches in May 2012. In case you're wondering, yes, I'm done with Leviticus. It works.

More on all these later. Time to bolt to my real job, pastoring the lovable people at Emmaus Road Church in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. If you're in the area, come see us some time. We worship Sundays at 10 a.m at 6719 Cedar Lake Road.

 

Book Refresh | The Awesome Book of Bible Answers for Kids!

 

Harvest House Publishers has announced they will release The Awesome Book of Bible Answers for Kids! in April 2011. It's a book I co-authored with Josh McDowell, a guy who has spoken in 118 countries and has 51 million books distributed worldwide. This is an awesome refresh of the book originally titled Children Demand a Verdict (Tyndale 2003). The book has fun new art and will get a broad relaunch in the marketplace. Concise, friendly faith answers for kids 8-12.

Upcoming Book | Resolving Everyday Conflict

A couple years back I worked with Ken Sande of Peacemaker Ministries to create a student edition of his bestselling book The Peacemaker (Baker Books, third edition 2004). This past spring I partnered again with Ken and his team to develop a brief adult version of his classic text on biblical conflict resolution. Eight easy-access chapters in this new book introduce the slippery slope of peacefaking, peacebreaking, and peacemaking—along with God’s power and practical steps for solving conflict. Look for Resolving Everyday Conflict from Baker Books in spring 2011. Learn more about Peacemaker Ministries’ full range of training and resources at peacemaker.net.

 

The Bermuda Triangle of Shopping

The Wall Street Journal reports that across the United States a hundred enclosed malls are failing, rapidly becoming dead ghost towns. Fifteen years ago I wrote a piece called "The Belching Llamgod" ("mall" spelled backwards) about the evils of consumerism. The reading lives on in my book Total Devotion (2004). Today I wouldn't be as tough on malls, which I now appreciate as senior citizen running tracks and one of the few public spaces in northern suburbias to stay warm and connected in the winter. We live equidistant from three iconic malls. Minutes to the north is Southdale, which opened in 1956 as the first enclosed mall in the US. To the west is Eden Prairie Center, best known as the set for the 1995 movie Mallrats. Back then the mall was emptying and its corridors could be plastered with made-up store names, but the revamped center is alive and looks to be fairly well. To the east of us is the Mall of America, "the nation's largest retail and entertainment complex," known to locals simply as "The Mall." The Nickelodean Universe park at the mall's center attempts to make up for Camp Snoopy, a name lost in royalty squabbles. Collectively this area should be known as the Bermuda Triangle of Shopping, because a lot of money disappears there.