Gospel Bios

Letting life stories be lost to history is like throwing your family jewels down the toilet.  You have no idea how future generations (or even this one!) might be helped by them.  

You have 8 great-grandparents.  Do you even know all 8 names?  How much less do you know about their life stories and their interactions with God!

Probably not as expensive as your loved one’s casket.  The more writing you can do – the less I have to do, and the less you’ll pay. 

If you can, go for it!  But you might want to hire me if:  

• You find it hard to produce writing that is both clear and beautiful.

• You don’t know how to weave the gospel into your loved one’s life story.

• You know that if you try to do it alone, you’ll never get it done because you need the motivation/accountability of having me as a co-author. 

Perhaps.  But God's works are always worth telling.  And whether they knew Him or not, He was involved in their life.  

This is the most important question you could ask!  By 'gospel' I mean the message of how sinful people like us can be reconciled to a holy and just God.  

The Bible explains that God's Son, Jesus came to earth, lived a life of complete obedience to His Father, but died on the cross like a criminal.  On the cross, Jesus took the punishment that people like us deserve for our rebellion against God.    If Jesus were still dead, it would show that He was still paying the debt we owe to God.  But, He rose from the dead on the third day!  Then a few weeks later He returned to heaven to sit in the place of authority, and sent the Holy Spirit to come and live inside His people.  

If you cling to your sin - or to your own 'righteousness' (which in God's eyes is quite filthy), you will experience God's judgment forever in hell.  But you can be declared righteous by God, become a child of God, receive the Holy Spirit, and have confidence that you will be with God forever.  You receive all these blessings simply by turning from your sin - and from your own attempts to repay God for your sins - and trusting only in Jesus for access to God.    

No problem, we can just say that in the biography!

This can vary from person to person, but here are a few common ways:

• Showing Christ’s patience, giving the person opportunity and time to come to him.

• Showing Christ’s generosity, giving the person many good gifts and blessings even though they did not follow Him.

• Showing Christ’s grace, using the person to do good and help other people.

Of course, it’s not necessary or helpful to talk about every sin, or to give gossipy details.  God did not tell us all the sins of David or Abraham.  There is a time to cover the shame of our family members, like Shem and Japheth did for their father Noah.  But on the other hand, a biography that portrays only their virtues will be untrue and unhelpful.   If knowing about your sins could help someone else avoid repeating them, wouldn’t you want that? 

How long it takes you to collect the stories and photos you want to share is up to you.  Once you send everything to me, the final product should be ready within a week.

The free guide that I will email you will explain in more detail.  But basically, you collect the most important stories and photos, arrange them into a timeline, and send them to me.  You can send me the stories in writing, audio recording, or video - whatever's easiest and most natural for you.  I'll polish them into a unified whole and weave the gospel in.  

You’ll receive your loved one’s life story, with photographs, in both Word and PDF formats.  It will be ready for printing either on your own printer, or by a commercial printer.  You will own the copyrights, so you are free to change it at any time in the future. 

Be creative!  Here are a few ideas:

• Of course, share copies with all your family members and friends.

• Print copies and keep a few in the car to share with people you meet. 

• Make sure each of your descendants have a few copies stored with other family heirlooms. 

• Share on your blog or social media page.

• Store a copy in your online DropBox/OneDrive/Google Drive. 

Sure!  Everyone loves a love story, and marriage was designed by God to point to the gospel.  Check out the example below of how your courtship story can be turned into a gospel witness.