A friend said, “Preachers who write books are on ego trips.” He had my undivided attention.

“The smartest pastor I ever knew,” he said, “never wrote a book. When someone asked why, he said, ‘There’s no need. Everything I have to say has already been said by people smarter than me.’”

I knew the preacher he was referencing and told him I disagreed. I mentioned several reasons.

I’m not saying ego is not a factor in writing a book, as it is in almost everything we do. I admit it gives me a good feeling to hold the completed book in my hand.

But I wish that pastor (who had refused to write a book) had given us his unique slant on the ministry, on scripture, on biblical stories, and on the churches he pastored. I knew him fairly well and treasured his service to our Lord.

Two of the churches this good brother served mistreated him. I’d love to have his account, as only he could have told it.

The next generation of church leaders benefit from knowing how God’s preachers dealt with issues they faced. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians is exactly that. If no problems had existed in the church at Corinth, no epistle would have been written to deal with them. Think how much poorer we would be.

I try to write the occasional book. Having been in the Lord’s work for over six decades, I have seen a few things during those years, carry scars from several encounters with church people, and have learned some lessons along the way. If nothing else, the scars qualify me to record my story. As Second Corinthians 11 records Paul’s account of his scars, wounds, hardships, among other things these enhanced his authority in addressing God’s churches.