Dave Larsen’s new page-turning historical novel is as gripping as today’s headlines

‘Green Street in Black and White’ asks the question:

What are our kids learning from us, right now, about the kinds of communities we want to build?

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page, where Green Street in Black and White is available in hardcover, paperback and Kindle versions. The novel also is available from Barnes & Noble, Powell’s Books, Bookshop.org, Walmart—and wherever quality books are sold.

Early readers are telling Dave Larsen that they are recognizing themselves and their families in this compelling new novel that asks the question: What are we teaching our kids right now by the decisions we are making in our communities?

Like a lot of great American literature—from Mark Twain to Harper Lee to Carson McCullers to Stephen King—Larsen immerses us in a gripping story in which adults respond to crises—but the whole drama is observed through the eyes of the kids whose lives are forever shaped by the outcome.

That’s why so many readers recognize themselves in this new book.

“First, this novel is my story—and many of the characters and scenes are based on real events from my childhood in the neighborhood where I grew up,” Larsen said in an interview this week.

“Yes, this is Dave’s story—but it’s my story, too, and it’s really the story of millions of Americans who been confronted with changes in our neighborhoods throughout our lives,” said Susan Stitt, the Marketing Director of Front Edge Publishing who was an early advocate of Dave’s manuscript. “I know lots of friends who will find themselves in this book, now that the book is launching.” And, what’s remarkable about Susan’s response is this: Unlike Dave—who grew up as a Protestant boy in a Chicago-area neighborhood—Susan grew up as a Catholic girl in a Detroit-area neighborhood. Susan said, “At first glance, it seems like we’re from different worlds, but I can tell you: I saw myself and my family and my neighborhood all the way through this novel.”

Green Street has that ring of truth, which makes it a great novel,” said Reformed Journal Books Publisher Jeffrey Munroe—the longtime Holland, Michigan, journalist who worked with Larsen as an editor on his manuscript. Then, Munroe selected Green Street as the first work of fiction among his inaugural wave of Reformed Journal Books. “I could see that lots of readers will see themselves in this novel—and it has the potential to spark nationwide conversations and lots of small-group discussions.”

Munroe is widely respected by his peers in media because he first demonstrated how to launch a best-selling book himself with his 2024 best-seller Telling Stories in the Dark, the first title from Reformed Journal Books.

So, who are these families we’ll meet in Green Street?

This week, we asked Dave Larsen to talk with our readers—via a Zoom interview—about his hopes for Green Street in Black and White as the novel launches nationally on April 29, 2025. Here is some of what Larsen said:

“The first thing I want people to know about Green Street is that I tried to give readers a good story—the kind of story they will want to keep reading. That’s why I’m pleased to hear early readers tell me they’re enjoying it. One reader told me that each chapter almost feels like it could stand on its own as a short story—but they just had to keep reading to learn what happens next to the characters. At the core of this, that’s what I hoped would happen: People will enjoy the ‘read.’

“The story is seen from the point of view of 12-year-old Erik Pedersen and his friends—the Green Street Boys—who are trying to make sense of the confusing adult world around them. The big change in their neighborhood is that the white parents decide to move away—in what readers will recognize as ‘white flight’ in that era. So, yes, it’s a timely book. We’re still wrestling with these issues right now.

“As it says on an opening page in the book: This is ‘based on a true story.’ It’s my story. These kinds of things happened to me and my friends and our family. And yet, over the years since then, I never did sit down with my parents and have a real conversation about their decision-making as they decided to move away. I regret that. When I became a parent myself, I naturally thought back on my parents’ decisions—and I wished that I had asked them more about why they did what they did.

“So, I am going back in Green Street and looking at what happened through the eyes of this boy who is a curious kid with lots of questions. Erik likes to read, loves Sherlock Holmes, and he’s an observer—including from the perch of his treehouse. He and his young friends are closely watching what happens among the adults around them. The choices those adults are making will forever shape their lives.

“One of the things I hope this book may provoke is a discussion with questions like: What are we showing our children today? Are there any signs of hope?

“And, as I talk to groups, I am letting them know that I am hopeful. I see signs particularly of Christian communities—including some Christian schools—that are purposefully trying to bring disparate communities together so that the things that unfold in this novel won’t keep happening today.

“It’s true that some things aren’t different today—but a lot of hearts have been changed since that time I’m writing about. I do feel optimism that more and more people are reflecting on what the kingdom of God really ought to look like. I hope that this new novel may be a part of that journey for readers—and that it’s a good opportunity for people to talk about what kinds of communities we’re building.”

Just how timely is Green Street in Black and White?

The phrase “white flight” typically refers to the major population shifts post World War II through the 1960s as freeways expanded, suburbs exploded and communities migrated—often driven by racism, fears of declining property values, changes in public schooling and other related social tensions.

But the fact is: Americans continue to segregate along racial and ethnic dividing lines.

If you are buying a copy of Larsen’s book—and especially if you are considering this book for group discussions, here are some resources to help shape the conversation today:

Two of the best sets of publicly available data for general readers come from Stanford and UCLA.

First, here’s “70 years after Brown v. Board of Education, new research shows rise in school segregation” from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Second, from UCLA, here’s “New report details extensive segregation in suburban schools of largest U.S. metros amid policy vacuum

Finally, from 2022 via the U.S. Census, here’s “Metropolitan Segregation: No Breakthrough in Sight

Then, here are two powerful interactive resources to let readers zero in on their own communities nationwide.

Stanford provides The Segregation Explorer—an “interactive map to view school and neighborhood segregation between racial/ethnic and economic groups in states, counties, metropolitan areas, and school districts over the past several decades.”

Then, from the Brown University American Communities Project, here’s the Diversity & Disparities database—”information on specific metropolitan areas and their respective city and suburban portions.”

Care to Read More?

You can learn more about the current—and upcoming—Reformed Journal Books—and you can sign up for free emailed columns from the Reformed Journal online magazine by visiting the RJ website.

For immediate reading from Reformed Journal Books, we recommend:

Click these covers to visit the Amazon pages.

In the darkest corners of our lives, where sorrow, trauma, grief and pain reside, there exists a profound capacity for resilience and hope. Telling Stories in the Dark by Jeffrey Munroe is a uniquely inspiring non-fiction book that illuminates the transformative power of sharing our most profound experiences of suffering.

Travel shapes our identity, from ancient spiritual journeys to the modern movement of people across the globe. In his latest book, Douglas J. Brouwer, a pastor, scholar and lifelong traveler, invites readers to reflect on the profound, transformative power of travel in all its forms. With over 40 years of pastoral ministry in the U.S. and Europe, Doug shares personal stories from his own life, from childhood road trips to leading mission teams, study tours, and pilgrimages.

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After the death of Pope Francis, what happens? How is a new pope chosen? We have a great book for that!

Want to know more about what’s happening at the Vatican now?

Click on the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page, where this fascinating history is available in paperback, hardcover—and in a very affordable Kindle edition that is easy to search for any subject that interests you as a reader.

One of the best new books about Americans’ interest in the Vatican is the epic history of The National Catholic Reporter—Beacon of Justice, Community, and Hope.

Here’s a summary of what’s inside this fascinating look at the church’s impact around the world and across the U.S.:

Discover the 60-year history of the National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, sustaining NCR’s commitment to covering the nation, the world, the Catholic Church, and the Catholic faith. From the Second Vatican Council through the era of Pope Francis, this nonprofit has served as the leading independent Catholic news source reporting on the church’s involvement in war and peace, ecojustice, and cultural issues worldwide.

Lawrence Guillot’s history also is the story of one in five Americans who identify as Catholic, more than 50 million people whose lives have been shaped by the world’s largest Christian denomination. Starting with reporting on the dramatic changes ushered in by Vatican II that affected every Catholic parish in the world, this book tells the story of courageous journalists who banded together to report on those often-turbulent waves of modernization. The story focuses on the huge challenges, some nearly fatal to the publishing company, that they had to overcome to keep the presses rolling and, today, to keep the NCR’s extensive online and multimedia offerings rolling onto the internet.

And, in telling that story, this book offers a history of the Catholic Church as it passed through one of the most vibrant and consequential periods in its history and continues to serve its nearly 1.4-billion baptized members today.

Care to jump right to sections on papal transitions?

When you get your copy of this book, turn to:

Chapter 14. The Year of Three Popes: The John Paul II Era Begins 

Chapter 61. The New Pope: Cardinal Ratzinger Becomes Benedict XVI

Chapter 77: Enter Francis, Global Parish Priest—A Ministry of Mercy

What’s so fascinating about this book is that it recalls how many American Catholic families experienced and reflected on these major transitions in the church’s global leadership.

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‘RE formed’ by Jonathan Grimm

A Holy Week reflection from the ashes of California’s wildfires

‘How can one explain to another …?’


EDITOR’s NOTE: In the wake of the devastating California wildfires this year, we have heard from many readers nationwide about the traumas suffered by tens of thousands of families. Congregations coast to coast have prayed for these families week after week. And folks keep asking: How can anyone rebuild after such a loss? So, for Holy Week 2025, we asked author Jonathan Grimm to write the following meditation on how he and his family are grappling with the aftermath of losing their home in the fires that destroyed 16,000 structures. Jonathan is an ideal “voice” on this theme because he has devoted his life to helping people. As a long-time financial counselor in southern California, he has worked several years to produce an upcoming book that encourages families to consider helping each other through looming financial crises. You can learn more about Jonathan’s work and his new book—and you can sign up for his fascinating “news feed” called simply “Grimm News”—at his home online: The Future Poor.


RE formed

By Jonathan Grimm

Is this what it is to be RE formed?

What a terrible thing to be RE formed.

The pain.
The loss.
The struggle.
The fright.

Is this the discovery of something new that required what was to be undone?

One facing new life has but one direction to go—forward.
One facing new life has no further plans of their own.
One facing new life cannot turn around to see what is now no more.

This is what it is to bear a cross.

Is this the challenge of the rebuke to be still and to know?

To lose all that you might find all—be woken up to life from the place of already being alive?

Is this why few find this because to be RE formed is a challenge you would not wish upon your enemy?

Is this how fire refines?

To be left with nothing. To be left only with self—a new self and yet your self.

Perhaps being RE formed is not actually a choice because it is beyond us to actually make this decision.

It is never your choice. It is in the hands of another beginning anew—possessing nothing.

Giving all you have away is something beyond an act of will though it is asked of you.

No, demanded of you. You have no demand that is too great when the demand is left as your singular option.

There is a freedom from and a freedom towards. Is the freedom fire brings that of having nothing, possessing nothing and having no options?

Is this the freedom for which we have been set free?

What is it to be only days into your new self, an infant, and to look back at half a lifetime that was you?

Does it really take the suspension of all that is good and right and safe for this to be true?

Absolutely. For how can one explain to another what lives outside the realm of our understanding of what is right and good and safe.

Is this what it means to ask only for today?

Will tomorrow really take care of itself when you have just gone through the unimaginable?

Life begins and is far off on the horizon.

This is what it is to be RE formed.

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Care to share with Jonathan?

You can learn more about Jonathan’s work and his new book—and you can sign up for his fascinating “news feed” called simply “Grimm News” at his home online: The Future Poor.

Care to quote from or reproduce this meditaiton? This column has been published under a Creative Commons license to make it easy to re-share with your friends, community, congregation—or in your own website or newsletter. Simply include a credit line mentioning Jonathan’s byline and original publication in ReadTheSpirit.com online magazine.

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Bias Busters’ Joe Grimm on: What are the top things veterans want us to know?

What are veterans biggest needs?

We’ve got a book of 100 Questions—that veterans helped us to answer!

By JOE GRIMM
Founder of the MSU School of Journalism Bias Busters project

U.S. military veterans are chafing under federal layoffs, health-care reductions and cutbacks in their benefits.

Click the cover to visit Amazon.

Some have another worry: They can be deported.

How do people who have served in the U.S. military get deported?

The armed forces enlist immigrants with the understanding that this can be a path to permanent residency with a “green card” and citizenship. The Immigration and Nationality Act lays out the path. Fight for the country and you can become a citizen.

About 94,000 veterans are immigrants, according to the National Immigration Forum.

All veterans face a labyrinth to obtain health benefits. The process can worsen service-related conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and mental health challenges.

The federal Commission on Criminal Justice reports that these conditions lead veterans into the criminal justice system. More than a third of veterans report having been arrested. This is a higher arrest rate than for nonveterans, and they receive longer sentences.

A criminal record can lead to deportation. However, we are seeing people get deported for less than that, including lawful protests and traffic tickets.

How many veterans has the U.S. deported? We don’t know. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not report on the military status of the people it deports.

But individual cases are showing up in the news.

Jose Barco, a U.S. Army veteran whose father brought him to the United States from Venezuela 35 years ago as a 4-year-old, is stateless. He served in Iraq, where he received the Purple Heart for wounds and traumatic brain injuries.

Barco was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and jailed for 15 years. He was paroled on Jan. 21, the day after Inauguration Day. NPR reports he walked out of prison in Colorado, expecting to reunite in Florida with his American-born wife, 15-year-old daughter and mother. Instead, ICE immediately detained him. He was deported to Venezuela. It did not accept him. Barco waits in a Texas jail cell.

The next morning in Arizona, ICE agents in detained Marlon Parris, a six-year Iraq War veteran. The Arizona Republic reports he was near his home. In 2011, Parris, who is from the Caribbean, pleaded guilty to a nonviolent drug offense. He got out of prison in 2016. He completed his probation in 2021. He said ICE had previously written him a letter saying he would not be deported for his crime.

The path to U.S. citizenship is not a smooth one for any immigrant. But veterans’ applications are rejected at a higher rate than civilian ones, despite the Immigration and Naturalization Act. Some veterans are ruled to be ineligible. Others do not try.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has reported that “bureaucratic and logistical obstacles” hinder some. Barco’s commanding officer said his citizenship application has been lost somewhere.

Alex Murillo is one veteran who made it back to the Unted States. He writes, “After years of applications, lawyers, and waiting, I was able to return home to Arizona, and I am now receiving treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Murillo, born in Mexico, was a jet mechanic with the U.S. Navy during the Iraq War. Afterward, he was deported to Mexico for a nonviolent offense. He writes that he struggled “with the challenges many veterans face when transitioning back to civilian life.”

Murillo wrote, “Deporting those who served isn’t just un-American; it’s a stain on our national conscience.”

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Care to read more?

The Michigan State University School of Journalism’s Bias Busters series covers a wide array of cultural, racial, religious and professional groups. On this Amazon page, you can see the many opportunities we provide to learn more about our friends, neighbors and co-workers.

 

 

 

 

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Rabbi Roy Furman on Passover: The Unleavened Bread of Social Justice

The Timely Prophetic Plea of Passover—
“Let anyone who is hungry come and eat”

By RABBI ROY FURMAN
Author of Torah Wrestling

No matter where Jews are in the world, they will gather together this year, as their ancestors have for millennia, in groups large and small, for the Passover Seder, that most unusual of festive meals with its readings, songs, blessings, sacred rituals, and earnest discussions that both celebrate the historic liberation of ancient Israelites from Egyptian bondage and, at the same time, look forward to that day when all men, women and children will be liberated from oppression and injustice.

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page. The book also is available via Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org and wherever quality books are sold online.

This year the first day of Passover, according to the Jewish lunar calendar, begins on Saturday evening, April 12th, but one week prior to Easter, a timely alliance, one might say, as Jews and Christians continue their search for peace and justice in our world.

On my way to writing this piece on Passover, I came across Howard Thurman’s book Jesus and the Disinherited, and it totally changed the direction in which I had been heading. From the perspective of a Black man in 1940s segregated America, Thurman embraces a Christianity based on the life of Jesus as a poor Mediterranean Jew whose teachings addressed those who lived their lives “with their backs against the wall,” that is, in a Roman colonial society awash with injustice, brutality, and inequality.

As we know from the Gospels, it was during the holy days of Passover when Jesus and his disciples came together in Jerusalem to reenact the biblically ordained Passover meal commemorating the liberation of Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Whether or not this supper was yet in the form that would become the Passover seder, they might well have been discussing matters of social and political oppression, whether that of ancient Egypt or their present struggle for liberation from the cruel “Pharaoh” of their own time, the Caesar in Rome and, more directly, his local agents.

At the table which would, in time, become the altar of communion, we can imagine Jesus lifting up the flat, unleavened, wafer-like matzah and intoning in the Aramaic of first century Jews “Ha lachma anya di achalu avahatanah b’ar’ah d’mitsrayim,” “This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.” He would bless the bread, proclaiming its eating a holy and divinely commanded action, then break it into pieces to be distributed among them. With its eating, they would symbolically take into themselves the pain of the dispossessed, the disempowered, and the impoverished amongst whom they lived. With its eating, they would take into themselves Jesus’ dangerous commitment to work for a society awash with justice, equality, and kindness. It is this metaphoric understanding of the language of Matthew and Luke, “Take, eat; this is my body,” that I find to be spiritually and morally compelling, especially at the time of Passover.

While I do not claim to be a religious follower of Jesus, I am challenged by this reading of the “Last Supper” to see my own participation in this year’s Passover seder in a new and transformative way. For I too will pronounce the same Aramaic words from our *Haggadah that I have placed in the mouth of Jesus. And I too will bless and break the unleavened matzah, distributing it to all at my table, with the challenge to embrace the pain of those in our society who “have their backs against the wall”: those who are at this moment dispossessed, disempowered, and vulnerable to oppression.

Then I would continue, as Jesus might have, with the Aramaic proclamation: “Kawl dichfin yatay v’yachol; kawl ditsrich yatay v’yifsach.” “Let anyone who is hungry come and eat, let anyone who is in need come and celebrate our Passover meal.” Scholars might call this a manifestation of Jesus’ teaching of “open commensality,” that all are equally welcome to share whatever food we have.

This is a radical challenge within Roman hierarchical society—but perhaps no less so in our own.

 

*Haggadah—The book of blessings and readings that guides the participants through the Passover seder.

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Larry Buxton offers a timely way to think about the true values of “Leadership”

Click the cover to visit the book’s Amazon page.

Remembering the challenges faced by King David

By LARRY BUXTON
Leadership coach, scholar and author of 30 Days with King David

Leadership.

Just that simple word in America in 2025 summons a host of daily news stories about our own struggles with what that word means right now—and what it could mean. I felt that anxiety in a group of 15 men from the suburbs of Washington D.C., many of them active or retired government workers, a vulnerable group these days.

This men’s group invited me to talk with them about my book, 30 Days with King David: On Leadership, which was published by Front Edge Publishing in 2020. We took a Friday and Saturday to explore what the ancient warrior-king might say to us today.

I’ve been a leadership coach for years and was pleased by the initial interest in my book, which draws on the life of the ancient King David to offer guidance on leadership. I had no idea that, five years later, my book would feel “ripped from the headlines,” as journalists put it. Credit the wealth of wisdom in the life of David for his perennial relevance as various facets of his checkered life seem to shine light on these chaotic days.

Out of 14 lenses through which I view David’s life in the book, the three that truly lit up this group’s discussion were: Courage, Gratitude and Legacy. Our primary concerns were personal more than political, but the two seem to intertwine more and more these days. With the group’s permission, I invite you to eavesdrop on some of our conversations. (The participants’ written comments are in italics.)

I’ll quote one participant’s summary as an introduction: In the process of examining these various character traits of David, we were able to have a lively discussion of our own lives and circumstances that we have had to deal with, and whether we should have handled [situations] differently. Bringing these traits down to a personal level and sharing them made for some stimulating and thought-provoking discussions!

Let’s Start with Courage

I use the virtue of Courage to look at David’s decision to lead the sacred Ark of the Covenant into the new capital city of Jerusalem by stripping himself to his bare essentials and dancing ecstatically. His uninhibited twirling and swaying inspired as many people as it offended.
We men discussed the courage David showed doing such a shocking deed by considering it on a continuum of risk-inclined leadership, on one end, and risk-averse leadership on the other. David’s dancing was clearly an example of risk-inclined leadership.

Risk-inclined leadership is when an individual disrupts the status quo, confronts inertia, and pushes an alternate vision of the future. While these actions can be beneficial, they can also sow chaos, reduce trust, and foster a climate of anxiety and fear. At the other end of the continuum is risk-averse leadership. Here an individual works to preserve stability, reduce anxiety and foster cohesion and community. But this also has its downsides, namely, stifling creativity, avoiding innovation and inhibiting clear communication.

We acknowledged that we ourselves choose along this continuum in every one of our relationships. We all both venture and suppress risky conversations in our marriages, our families, our friends and our workplaces. It takes courage to temper our natural inclinations and consider adopting a different set of behaviors. Being quiet when we want to speak out—or speaking out when we’d rather keep quiet—often requires courage.

Courage says less about the behavior itself and more about what it costs us to act in a way that’s difficult but better.

Most of us readily identified David’s risk-inclined behavior with that of our new President, acknowledging that some find him inspiring and others dangerous. His behavior seems to require no particular courage, since it’s been a lifelong description of who he is. But participants quoted a passage from the book that warns of the inherent dangers of risk-inclined leadership. Their comments included:

  • Engaging in impulsive behavior with no regard to the harm that will be caused to others that are powerless.
  • Responding defensively to feedback rather than using it to improve the lives of citizens.
  • Disparaging others to elevate oneself.
  • Lacking accountability to encourage doing the right thing.

We see too much of this today.

It requires courage for a risk-inclined person to practice restraint, encourage cohesion, and value the wisdom of the past. We long to see that courage today. It also requires courage to step forward and be decisive if that’s not our nature. Men at the retreat owned that for themselves too. Among their thoughts:

  • David’s life was a roadmap for how to lead a moral and effective and righteous life. He was not perfect, and neither am I. But I too can strive to be “a man after God’s own heart.”
  • People who approach things differently than I do aren’t necessarily my enemies. I need to listen better (even though it’s sometimes hard!) to look for the wisdom in their suggestions.

Our conversations about being “not perfect” lent little support to the popular “King David defense” of the President’s actions. Many supporters will say, “God used flawed men like David in the past to lead a nation. God can still elevate a flawed leader today.” We noted the humility and repentance that David continually showed. He confessed and repented for his risky behavior with Uriah and Bathsheba. He sought out moral guidance.

Our group would welcome similar signs of humility from the nation’s capital, today.

What about Gratitude?

We moved to discuss the important role Gratitude needs to play in our spirits, being inspired by David’s prayer of thanksgiving in 2 Samuel 7. We read there and in Part 9 of 30 Days that David wants to thank God by building a Temple—doing something for God—where God wants for David simply to receive.

Saying Yes and Thank You to God’s outpouring of grace without trying to earn it or pay God back is difficult work.

Among the group’s comments:

  • I believe America is a great country, despite numerous imperfections and much room for improvement. I do not believe that, as Hillary Clinton once said, “America is great because America is good.” I believe America is great despite its shortcomings, … by God’s grace, rather than somehow [by our having] earned God’s blessings.
  • When I think about gratitude in terms of our country, what I think of is the rate at which my social network offers up information and analysis about politicians and public personalities. The last thing that they said or did is available on my social network, all day every day. It would be helpful for me to think that I should not make decisions about people, based on one story or one piece of information. Even if a news story is factual and unbiased, that story is not the final answer.

On a more personal level, we revealed gratitude for the ways our lives have been blessed by casual incidents: chance encounters, random occurrences and “miraculous” details. We are thankful for the small things that have had surprisingly big impacts on our lives.

Several men in the group even gave thanks for their “rock-bottom” moments and failures—divorce, alcoholism, financial failings, for example. Many men had come to embrace those humiliations as necessary steps to their valued and blessed lives today. Naming the specific things for which we were thankful led to a powerful awareness that Gratitude resides squarely at the heart of a sacred life.

Then, what will be our Legacy?

Our third exploration was into the matter of our Legacies. I titled the final section of the book “Justice,” as David speaks his final words and sorts out what to say about his life and leadership. The opening section of 2 Samuel 23 is David articulating his Legacy. In those first 5 verses, David is on his deathbed reflecting on his identity, his work and his legacy. We similarly shared among ourselves how we saw those same three things—our core identities, the positive impact of our work, and what we hope might be said about us at our funerals.

One man wrote eloquently about humility. He noted the humility in David’s final words, especially, The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue. … He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.

As a citizen he admired the humility in President Carter’s inaugural speech, when he quoted the prophet Micah: “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”

He contrasted that with a quote from President Trump’s recent inaugural speech: Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life just a few months ago. But I felt then and believe, even more so now, that my life was saved … by God to make America great again.

The contrast between the two, and the conversations within his group, made him begin to think making humility more of a core value in his life.

Another participant, a government worker, reviewing David’s comments about identity, work and legacy, realized he’d spent too much energy on “the work” and not enough on his “identity and legacy.” He’d always taken pride in his long office hours and consistent job focus, but he began to consider how to bring more balance to his life. He decided to begin creating a better Legacy for himself and those he loves.

King David’s last words had this impact on one man:

David’s use of “prosper” in verse 5 reminds me of the first Psalm, which I’ve been mindful of over the years. Maybe 13 or so years ago, I heard a pastor on the radio say, “God doesn’t want our performance; he wants our proximity.” While the first Psalm’s translations include “meditating on God’s law both day and night,” I think proximity accompanies being mindful of God during my waking hours.

That led to him re-examining how he spent his Sunday morning and his evening and early morning hours.

David’s example and words can resonate across the centuries to change hearts and minds.

And there’s so much more—

Courage, Gratitude and Legacy are simply three of 14 different lenses I use in 30 Days With King David to examine his life. I was deeply moved on multiple occasions to hear and read how words that came from the life of David were taken to heart by men wanting to live God’s will today. Another comment was:

I’m struck mostly by [David’s gratitude for] “an everlasting covenant,” which is perhaps redundant, as I don’t believe God ever breaks his promises. I’m a participant in those promises through Jesus, and mindful that Jesus is one of David’s descendants. It’s a powerful connection.

In looking to David for wisdom for America in 2025, our group’s fears were tempered by courage.

Their opinions were tempered by humility.

Their worries were tempered by gratitude.

And their determinations were bolstered by faithfulness.

We departed from each other believing that perhaps the best hope for our nation and for ourselves, from our Christian perspective, is that, like King David, we all might live as people “after God’s own heart.”

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The Rev. Dr. Larry Buxton has been an ordained United Methodist minister since 1975. He served full-time in the Virginia Conference of that denomination for 41 years and has held part-time ministerial positions since 2016. He taught in various part-time positions at Wesley Theological Seminary for 13 years. Larry began Larry Buxton Coaching in 2012 and has earned several coaching credentials. His written and video posts have encouraged hearers and readers since 2020. Originally titled “Leading With Spirit,” it is now known as “Character Study.”

Larry’s most recent book, 30 Days with King David: On Leadership, is a character-focused study of the historical King of Israel. He utilizes insights and examples from David’s life to inspire and guide leaders today.

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Love to travel? Share inspiring stories with Douglas J. Brouwer along ‘The Traveler’s Path’

Hit the road with Doug this week
in the national release of
‘The Traveler’s Path’

(Still undecided? We’ve got a link below to read a sample chapter.)

Click on the book’s cover to order your copy from Amazon. This book soon is available online wherever good books are sold, including Barnes & Noble.

By DAVID CRUMM
Editor of ReadTheSpirit magazine

Even before this week’s national release of The Traveler’s Path—Finding Spiritual Growth and Inspiration through Travel—Douglas J. Brower has been hearing loud and clear from readers who are eager to get a copy of his book.

“And I’m learning something important: The main reason people want to read this book is because they already enjoy travel and they want to see how the stories in this book connect with their own stories,” Doug said in an interview this week. “When I go to events to talk about the book—people are eager to tell me about their own travel experiences. There’s a real interactive connection in this book—no question. I’m learning that part of the value of this book is the way it connects people with each other.”

And new this week: To spark interest in the book (which is published by Reformed Journal Books), Doug and Reformed Journal Editor Jeffrey Munroe decided to publish this online excerpt from a chapter about the wonders that travelers can discover in exploring different languages around the world.

“The book includes lots of ideas about deepening our experiences with travel—from how we look at art to how we look at the stones in the street in front of us,” Doug said. “And one way to  believe that one way to make travel more enriching is to seriously consider language training. So, the chapter we’re sharing this week through The Reformed Journal is about what happens when we try to speak to people in their own language.”

“I like this chapter, because it’s got a wonderful final scene,” Jeffrey Munroe said. “We’re hoping lots of people will read the book—and will discuss it in their congregations—and in whatever small reading groups they’ve got. That’s why we also will be offering a free discussion guide to the book that readers can download from our website.”

Of course, there’s a whole lot of Doug’s ongoing speaking and writing that is free to anyone who wants to join this traveler’s path. For example, although he is distributing his regular columns through the Substack service, he has “set the paywall” so that anyone who signs up—even if they opt not to make a payment to Substack—will get all of the columns.

“I used to write through a WordPress website and I’ve been doing that for a long time—but two years ago I decided it was easier to move everything over to a Substack newsletter,” Doug explained. “I write about the intersection of faith and life and I’ve had more than 800 people sign up to receive these columns—so they seem to be popular.

“But I want everyone to get all the columns, whether they want to pay a Substack fee or not. So, there’s a valuable tip I can share: Save your money to buy a copy of the new book—because you don’t have to pay for my columns on Substack. Those online columns are free.”

Doug enjoys talking with people—which you’ll learn if you get to know more about him. He’s open to invitations for public appearances.

“And, right now as the book launches, I’m going to be all over the podcast universe. So far, I’ve already got 20 scheduled podcasts.”


Q: Where can I order this book?

Answer: This book is available March 25, 2025, wherever good books are sold online across North America and around the world, including:

Amazon,

Barnes & Noble,

Walmart

and Powell’s.


Q: How can I get in touch with Douglas Brouwer?

Answer: Visit him via his Substack site, where you can send him a message and consider joining his more than 800 other subscribers.

TO VISIT HIS SUBSTACK SITE, use the text link above—or click on this snapshot from his opening page. 


Q: And where is that free excerpt, again?

As we reported above—To spark interest in the book (which is published by Reformed Journal Books), Doug and Reformed Journal Editor Jeffrey Munroe decided to publish an online excerpt from a chapter about the wonders that travelers can discover in exploring different languages around the world.

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