For sophomore A.J. Hawks all the pieces fell into place at the right time. With the support of an encouraging friend and the convenience of Google Hawks recently published a book about theology and its application to our modern world.
Set to hit bookstore shelves April 6 Hawks finished his book “Living in a Grey World: Rediscovering the Black and White Truth of the Word at age 19.
Hawks, a religion and political science double major, has extensive experience in ministry. He has taught a nine-week series on Apologetics, preached more than 20 sermons and given multiple seminars on evolution and intelligent design at his home church, Evergreen Christian Fellowship in Sammamish, Wash.
His book addresses 15 issues many Christians struggle with in a grey” society that condones moral relativity. Hawks supports each point with a passage from Scripture clarifying each point for the reader with his characteristically forthright delivery.
“I think that in our postmodern era where everyone can be right and truth is relative there is a logical backlash— our sense of justice doesn’t mesh with the modern world he said.
If you get punched you want to hit back— you want justice— and this recaptures the true sense of the Gospels. They’re in your face they’re convicting they’re unpleasant at times.”
But Hawks never intended to write a book confronting ambivalent Christians. Hawks simply planned on writing a letter of encouragement and caution to the youth at Black Lake Bible Camp in Sammamish.
By the camp’s end the single-spaced letter took up 16-typed pages.
For the remainder of the summer he wrote and researched extensively managing to flesh out a three-part skeleton by the time he started his freshman year at Pepperdine in fall 2008.
During his first semester Hawks conducted scriptural research and word studies in their original languages. By Thanksgiving break his manuscript was 65 pages.
Ceri Fox a youth program leader at Evergreen saw the letter and encouraged a reluctant Hawks to send it to a publisher if only to get feedback on how to improve it.
“I thought it was a silly idea Hawks said. To pridefully prove her wrong I Googled ‘Christian publishers’ and sent it to the first one that would allow you to submit an online PDF which was Tate Publishing. Ceri had more vision than I did.”
Hawks did not expect a response from Tate which he said only accepts 5 percent of the manuscripts they receive per year.
He did not work on it during Christmas break but received an e-mail and contract from Tate Publishing saying the group liked his openly abrasive sarcastic and confrontational writing style.
“People are tired of being told that their sense of justice is wrong in the name of tolerance Hawks said. For our message to get across it has to make people angry and whether they admit it or not they’re listening; it hits a soft spot and people respond.”
Hawks is well aware that his book may not garner a positive response. His no-nonsense approach to right and wrong could offend those sympathetic to the “grey areas” he seeks to clarify but Hawkes says this doesn’t worry him.
“Do you have an option?” Hawkes said. “When you know the truth can you really say nothing because you’re afraid of getting an angry e-mail from George in San Antonio? The apostles said shocking things to get the point across … Jesus didn’t make friends; he got crucified.”
Hawks added that he is not comparing himself to these figures but said that if people aspire to live like Jesus they should not run away from their ministry.
After an extensive process of editing and sifting through options for titles and cover art he received advance copies of his book on Christmas Eve.
While abroad in London for the year Hawks has been working with Tate to arrange publicity create a Web site and schedule speaking engagements for the summer. Coming from an unassuming background in his early life Hawks appreciates and acknowledges the improbability of his current path especially for his age.
“Statistically I shouldn’t be at college let alone at Pepperdine publishing a book about theology before the age of 55 or 60 and living in London all the while Hawks said.
I think God likes to take people from humble beginnings because it turns our conventions on their heads. It is by grace alone that he chooses to use any of us let alone a guy from the least-churched city in America.”
