The Replacement blog post

We all need a Plan B

This isn’t the post I was intending to write. I’ve been trying for over a month. When I start, I get angry and frustrated, so I stop. Then I avoid picking it up again. Angry because these issues deserve anger and frustration because I don’t know what to do about them. Even if I did know, I’ve always tried to leave room for people to agree or disagree, either about the issue itself or the best way to approach it. So today, I’m going to try to avoid triggering myself.

First, an update about my book. Thanks so much to all those who have already purchased and read it. If that’s you, please leave a review and rating on Amazon or Goodreads. That’s part of how undiscovered authors get discovered. I’ve recently updated the cover since it appears that many people actually judge a book by its cover. The first one was a boring green. The new one has an atomic explosion. It’s early, but I think it does make a difference. Those of you with Kindle Unlimited can read it for free.

I was asked to preach at our church on July 30^th. You can see a version of that sermon on YouTube.

I say a version because the audio was not up to standard, and I re-recorded it a few days later. I suspect the audio problem is with me. You see, I’m not used to holding a microphone. Every other time I’ve preached, the mike was on a stand of some sort. It wasn’t available that Sunday, so I was left holding it. As the minutes went on, my arm would drop. After a while, I’d notice. When I brought the mike up to the right spot, it would sound too loud. Hence, the re-recording. It’s a mercifully short sermon, so it wasn’t that hard to do.

I’ve included audiobooks in my consumption of books. It still feels wrong to say I’m reading an audiobook. Listening to a book seems wrong, too. Consuming is the word I’ve tentatively settled on. Let me know what you think.

My current audiobook is End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration by Peter Turchin. According to his publisher’s website,

Peter Turchin is Project Leader at the Complexity Science Hub in Vienna, Research Associate at University of Oxford, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Connecticut. Trained as a theoretical biologist, he is now working in the field of historical social science that he and his colleagues call Cliodynamics. Currently his main research effort is directed at coordinating CrisisDB, a massive historical database of societies sliding into a crisis—and then emerging from it. His books include Ultrasociety and Ages of Discord.

Despite the title, it isn’t a theological work. Turchin writes about the end of political systems and structures through history, analyzing our current turmoil through that lens.

One of the books I’m currently reading is The Atonement by Leon Morris. It’s a thoughtful book which reminds us that atonement isn’t just a Christian idea by starting in its Old Testament context.

What are you reading? Is there anything that has captured you lately that you think I might enjoy? Leave a note in the comments section.

I’m making progress in my next novel, 75 Zulu. The title may change at some time. I hope to finish the first draft in the first half of next year.

Let me know if things are going on in the world that you want me to write about.

Thanks for hanging around. I’m sorry that I’ve slowed down on my substack posts. I’m aiming to have one every Monday.