Bradley Booth is an author, pastor and professor. With his wife Maribel, he operates a ministry called “The Storytellers,” running workshops that aim to engage kids and their families in reading, writing and sharing their love for Jesus through literature, video, radio and podcast ministries. He spoke recently about writing and some of his new books.
How did you get started as a writer?
As a teenage boy, I knew I wanted to be a writer, but how to begin was the question. I submitted several manuscripts as book proposals but always seemed to miss the necessary heartbeat of Christian storytelling themes. Then someone at Review and Herald suggested I write a book about Jesus—and the rest is history. That first book? They Call Him the Miracle Man.
You’ve written a lot of books! Can you tell us how you make writing a priority in your life and why it is important to you?
I love writing as much as I like playing basketball, so there’s no lack of incentive. It does take a lot of time and energy to complete a book, but I always think of the finished project and that inspires me to stay on task. Then too, I am now writing for a second generation of Seventh-day Adventist Christians. Many parents tell me they grew up reading my books and want their children to have that same experience with good character-building, faith-enabling stories. Adventure books about missions and stories from the Bible became the focus of my first books. However, I noticed that fewer and fewer Bible-based books are being published for boys, so that became my special task for Jesus—to inspire families, and especially boys, with all the great stories about God’s people down through the ages. More importantly, these stories challenge us to live for Jesus and make good decisions that will prepare us for His soon coming. That has always been my prayer and my motivation for writing.
In Last Call, you imagine what it might be like to live in the time just before Jesus comes. What do you hope people take away from the story?
It’s true that many Christians, and even Adventists, are worried about what the future holds for us near the end of time. Fortunately, we have a treasure trove of inspiration in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy about how to prepare for what’s coming. Last Call is an effort to capture the details we read about in the book of Revelation and the final few chapters of Ellen White’s The Great Controversy. Last Call is not meant to frighten readers but to inspire them to lean on Jesus as they prepare for this closing chapter in earth’s final crisis. The sequel—Heaven Can’t Wait—is on my schedule of books soon to be published.
Can you tell us how the God Said It series came about?
Pacific Press approached me with the idea for the God Said It series. They said people in churches everywhere are looking for little books that kids can give away as literature gifts, much like adults do with Steps to Christ or the GLOW tracts. The publisher made an outline of the stories they wanted to include in the series, and I made some recommendations that included the greatest stories from the Old and New Testaments. Originally, they thought we would do 13 books, but I encouraged them to expand the series to 16.
Have you heard about the series being used in any creative ways?
Churches use the God Said It series as activity booklets for kids in children’s church, and encourage them to colour the pictures, then give them away to guests or family members in church on Sabbath. Children are also giving these books out when they conduct events like food drives, and at county fairs or ministry expos. One church recently gave away 400 God Said It books at a family ministry day on Easter weekend.
The God Said It series, Last Call and other books by Bradley Booth are available from Adventist bookshops in Australia and New Zealand, or online.
