New novel ‘Walkout’ learns from religious leaders who have fallen from grace

Book reveals how love and forgiveness can help their congregations recover

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

ATLANTIC, IA (ANS) -- Since retiring as an English teacher, Allen Stark has become an author, syndicated columnist, and newspaper reporter.

For several years he had wanted to write a Christian novel entitled, ‘Walkout’, which has now been published by Tate Publishers.

Journalist and author Allen Stark

Stark told ANS that a great deal of what he shares in the story resulted from watching, listening to, and interacting with those in several Christian communities over the period of years since rededicating his life to the Lord in 1985.

“I have now seen how things work and don’t work, depending on the individual Christian’s focus, and how they ‘walk out’ of situations rather than helping to make things better,” he said.

Stark says he wanted to make it obvious to those reading his book that there have been several religious leaders who have fallen from grace and how many of those in their congregations walked out on them, never to return.

“My intention for writing the story was not to dwell on the fall, but on the restoration process,” he said.

“I wanted to show how God used those who listened to His voice, especially after the fall. I wanted to show how God can work on hearts and minds to bring about change.”

Stark continued: “One of the most important elements I wanted to cover in the story was to try and get readers, especially the younger generation, to understand what religion should be about—helping, serving, and getting out of one’s comfort zone.”

“I have written ‘Walkout’ not as a template and format to follow, but more to present ideas and concepts to think about and hopefully to provide more hope to a hurting world.”

Stark said the bottom line as to why he wrote the story is the fact that love and forgiveness is our most important legacy.

“It’s not what you do, but how much love you put in to it that matters. I hope that those who read Walkout will see God’s love through my efforts to convert fact to fiction as part of my love for writing,” he said.

Stark explained that ‘Walkout’ is about how God uses those who listen to His voice to tell the love story of grace, mercy, redeeming love, and passion for His children.

He stated: “Those who are being called to walk in clear, uncompromising discernment and have watched the stars of religion fall, struggling with becoming critical and keeping their focus on the cross, will find the story thought-provoking.”

Cover artwork for 'Walkout'

'Walkout' contains an original plot, offering not only literary entertainment but encouragement to the reader as well. It offers some interesting views of how God relates to His people. It will not only encourage those who already know Him, but also engage those who have not yet recognized His work in their lives.

Those who have read the story have made comments such as, “What the author shares has the power to convict, draw tears and create hope for a brighter future within the Church.

Using a plot woven with characters to whom anyone can relate, he has created a book that not only entertains but truly makes a reader stop and think about their own heart and motives.”

Another reader commented, “Thank you for writing ‘Walkout.’ It really has me rethinking my walk with the Lord. For some time He has been trying to get my attention on getting back to a closer relationship with Him. It is a book that demands a second and even possibly a third reading.”

Christian author, Dan Parkins, says, “From the first moments of engaging the book ‘Walkout’, written by Allen Stark, I couldn’t help but be drawn into the eerily familiar atmosphere from which much of this book was written. I too had experienced my own ‘walkout’ of sorts, from a triumphantly wonderful pastor falling from sin to people disheartened by the political make-up and fear of man that seems to be so prevalent in church today.”

Parkins added: “Some could say I’ve lived parts of it, and from that vantage point, I couldn’t help but look in the mirror and see my own reflection in this book. I once heard it stated that a good book will not merely entertain, but force you to engage yourself and ask questions that illicit change. ‘Walkout’ does exactly that.”

He concluded: “Stark is a good writer. It seems odd to say this, but in a day and age when even the script seems to be spoon fed to us, Stark writes allegorically with ease and as you work through the story, you catch a glimpse of a man who knows the literary scope to which he is attempting to write in. Honestly, I liked it.”

Stark went on to say that he firmly and personally believes that God’s kingdom does not consist of words, but of power.

“In order for His church, His people, to go forward with the gospel to the ends of the earth, we must have His power. If we want this power in our daily lives, then we must focus on the cross daily. God’s power in us will be great only if we embrace the cross of Jesus Christ. With my writing as a tool, I want to motivate born-again Christians to not move forward alone, but to join hearts together, as did the characters who walked out of the author’s story, and continue the journey God has planned and wants written.”

He states: “I also wanted my writing of the story to bring not only me joy, but joy to others by seeing how, in dealing with spiritual matters God’s way, things work out better. My wife and I have been shown that God reveals who He is by how He works things out. I wanted to share, through my writing, how He wants us to step out in faith so that we can see Him as a miracle-working God and not be surprised by anything He does.

Stark also explained that one of the things that keeps the ink flowing is facilitating of the Southwest Iowa Writers Guild, which he started in 2007.

“We have also published a weekly column called ‘The Write Stuff’. E-newsletters that publish my work include ASSIST News Service, International Press Association, Good News Daily, and Southwest Kansas Faith and Family.

He concluded: “When I am not writing, I keep busy with work in my community, especially with a group known as Circles4Success, a program begun in Ames, Iowa that works with marginalized people in our society, and which my wife facilitates.”

‘Walkout’ can be purchased through either the publisher’s bookstore at www.tatepublishing.com ,www.amazon.com , or www.BarnesandNobel.com  and other sources.

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** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter

A Top Christian Writer Goes Through the Fire

Best-selling author Cec Murphey describes the day that a fire tragedy hit his home and family

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


PHILADELPHIA, PA (ANS) -- New York Times' bestselling author and international speaker Cecil (Cec) Murphey has written or co-written more than 120 books, including the runaway bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven (with Don Piper), Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (with Dr. Ben Carson), Rebel With a Cause (Franklin Graham), and singer B.J. Thomas's In Tune.

A house fire similar to the one at the home of Cec Murphey

His books have sold millions of copies, have been translated into more than 40 languages, and have brought hope and encouragement to countless people around the world.

But during an interview at the recent Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference, Murphey described the day that his world almost fell apart, when a devastating fire destroyed his home and his son-in-law died in the flames.

The life-changing drama began on the morning of February 27th, 2007, when the Atlanta-area home of Cec Murphey, who is known to many as The Man Behind the Words, burned to the ground. While Murphey, his wife, Shirley, and daughter C-C (Cecile) escaped, Cecile's husband, Alan Hege, was trapped inside and died in the flames.

"I was working in the office in my home when the fire broke out," he began. "I'm an early riser and I always start work between 7 and 8 AM and then I heard a noise coming from the basement where my daughter and her husband were living. I went down to investigate what was happening and I found my daughter climbing up the steps towards me and there was smoke all around her. She called out, 'It's on fire' and I quickly tried to call 911.

Cec Murphey

"I then wanted to try and rescue my son-in-law, but I couldn't get down the steps there because it was just so bad so I ran around to the back door to try and get in and it was worse. We could not get him out and we found out later that he actually died of a heart attack trying to escape from the fire. We didn't know at the time that he had heart troubles. He knew but he had not told us.

"For a long time, I sat by myself and watched the fire fighters try to put out the fire and I knew my son in-law would not come out of the fire. In the midst of that, the words of Job 2:10 came to me. Job's wife saw all the chaos and loss and told her husband to curse God and die. He replied, 'We have received good from the hand of the Lord. Shall we not also receive evil?' As that verse filled my mind, I heard myself say out loud, 'Who am I to feel I should be exempt?'

"In that moment, God gave me just this wonderful sense of peace. Don't misunderstand me. I grieved for my son in-law. My wife Shirley was fifty feet away with my daughter comforting her and as we watched our house, which was just over 2,000 square feet in size, burn to the ground, and yet we just had this sense that God was with us."

With tears in his eyes, Murphey went on to say, "The real loss, of course, was Alan. He and C-C were high school sweethearts and married after their first year of college. They had been married almost 30 years."

Now homeless, Cec Murphey says that he and his family received a real blessing of God.

Book cover

"In 1984, I ghosted No Mountain Too High, the autobiography of ultra-marathon runner, Stan Cottrell," he said. "We liked each other and had stayed in touch through the years. Stan lived 1.5 miles from our house and he and his wife, Carol, insisted that we stay with them. My agent, Deidre Knight, and my marketing director, Jan Coates, took over getting out information and notifying friends. That left us free to pull ourselves together emotionally.

"My office was the least damaged part of the house, but my computer was fried. Two of my neighbors rescued the hard drive. I bought a new laptop and was able to set it up. We were able to download everything except Quicken (that I used to keep our bank records). My library of reference books were totally gone, along with copies of the books I've written. To my surprise, our passports and most of our 2007 files were smoke-filled but readable. We were able to get new drivers' licenses.

"On the Sunday morning, we went to church, and it was communion Sunday -- perfect for us. The Reformers of the 16th century formulated the doctrine of the means of grace. By that, they believed that God provided grace through prayer, reading the Bible, hearing the Bible preached, the celebration of the sacraments, and the communion of saints. So on that Sunday morning, we were with our church family and felt their loving embraces!"

Then, he said, another "miracle' occurred. "We did have insurance and I taught a Sunday school class for fourteen years and a man in my class was a carpenter -- though actually he hadn't built a house before. He came to me and said, 'I'd like to rebuild your house for you and it's not negotiable. I will do this for you and I will give you exactly the house you want and it will cost you nothing -- except what the insurance pays.'

"I started to argue with him and he said, 'Did you not hear me? This is not negotiable.'"
So the kind friend was able to build them a brand new house and it turned out to be twice the size of the previous one.

Wrtier Kathi Macias visting Cec and Shirley Murphey at their re-built home

"And here's the thing that was so wonderful Dan," Murphey said. "I give help and scholarships to people and I do this because God's has given me so much financially. But here I was now with nothing. Well my literary agent sent the word out about the fire and people started sending in money and gifts and so I called her and said, 'I didn't authorize this. If I had known you were going to do this, I would have stopped you.' She replied, 'I know that, that is why we didn't tell you.'

"It was so hard for me to take from others, but I will tell you that I cried at some of these gifts that came from people who said that they had been blessed by something I had said some ten or fifteen years earlier.

One woman sent a gift of five dollars and said, 'I want to give you so much more, but it's all I have.' Many of the gifts came from strangers; it was absolutely amazing.

"And my neighbors, some of whom I'd never talked to about Jesus Christ, came to me and one of them said, 'I haven't been to the church for a long time, but just watching you here, and the way God has worked in your life makes, me know that I need to get back to church and he has."

After almost a year, the Murphey family was able to move into their "new" home.

What was the biggest lesson he learned from this?

Cec paused for a moment and then said, "Here it is: I serve a God of presence not a God of protection. What I have learned most of all is that God never promised to protect us, He just promised to be with us when we go through difficult places. 'When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death thou art with me.' All through the scriptures we seem to neglect that. So I learned that it doesn't matter what happens because God is always with us."

For more information on this talented writer, please go to: http://themanbehindthewords.com/
Note: I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.

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Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available this link.

Author with Seven Million Books Sold Presents at Online Conference for Christian Writers this week

By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service


HOLMAN, WI (ANS) -- Christian writers from around the globe are being invited to attend an online writing conference organized by Athanatos Christian Ministries.

Athanatos Christian Ministries is an apologetics ministry with a mission: defend the faith in the culture by cultivating Christian authors, artists, and musicians.

On top of their annual Christian writing contests, they have now added a free online writing conference. The conference will be held on August 18th, 2011. The conference website is http://www.christianwritingconference.com .

ACM is not new to virtual conferencing. It has hosted two online apologetics conferences in the last two years.
This spring, Dr. Gene Edward Veith was the keynote. The 'keynote' to ACM's writing conference is also connected to Dr. Veith. John Erickson, author of the 'Hank the Cowdog' series, which has sold 7.5 million copies, has more recently written a book speaking specifically to Christian writers and Dr. Veith writes the introduction. (Nancy Pearcey writes the foreword.)

Cover artwork for John Erickson's book Story Craft.

"Story Craft: Reflections on Faith, Culture & Writing" shares Mr. Erickson's experiences and perspectives with the Christian author in mind.

Since the conference is free and takes place online, Christian writers from across the globe can participate from the comfort and convenience of their laptop or desktop computer.
Other presenters include the conference's host, ACM's Executive Director, Anthony Horvath. Author Dr. Holly Ordway will present on the 'art of wordsmithing.'

The winners of ACM's first annual Christian novel contest will also be presenting: Shirley Tucker, author of the upcoming release "Diamonds in the Dust" and Robert Abernathy, whose title "The Walk to Walden Hill" is officially available September 1st. Other presenters include published short story author Pastor Jamie Greening and screenwriter Robert Kramer.

ACM has been actively reaching out to Christian authors and spurring them on to excellence for three years.

Its second annual Christian novel contest is taking submissions through September 1st. $2,500 awaits the winners, plus possibly an offer to publish.

ACM's fourth annual Christian short story and poetry contests begin taking submissions on September 2nd. A scholarship is available for eligible high school entrants and the winner of the adult category is invited to present at one of ACM's conferences.

Last year's winner of the 19 and up category, Robert Cely, is presenting at ACM's August 18th conference.
To learn more about ACM's contests and to submit an entry visit http://www.christianwritingcontest.com. 

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** Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of th e National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter