Why are so many of my books bathroom readers?

Because life doesn't slow down anymore.

People don't read the way they once did. They scroll.

Most of us steal five minutes here and there—over a coffee, while waiting for an appointment, before bed... or, yes, in the bathroom.

So instead of asking you to carve out hours at a time, many of my books are intentionally written as what I jokingly call bathroom readers.

One lesson per day for two or three months (most are over 300 pages long).

One revelation (aligned with a theme).

One difficult question (when answered brings revelation).

One idea worth chewing on (because we all want to be more free).

Most begin as years of notes, questions, and wrestling with ideas that grow out of my own relationship with God. From there, they're refined through an unusual collaborative editing process that helps pare each lesson down to its simplest, clearest form without losing the revelation that inspired it. My goal has never been to sound impressive. My goal is to make difficult ideas understandable.

If one of those ideas follows you back into the rest of your day, then those five minutes were well spent.

Not every book I write fits that format. Some ideas need a novel. Others need traditional nonfiction. A couple tell their story through pictures as much as words. Different ideas require different tools, but they all share the same purpose:

Freedom begins where truth tears open the heart.

Bathroom readers: The Get Our Sh!t Together Series: 1. Time To Get Our Sh!t Together, 2. How To Get Our Sh!t Together, 3. When The Th!rd Thing Is Revealed, 4. When Sh!t Don’t Matter No More. Die And Live Free. When Augustine And Three Hot Girls Meet Jesus. Sexxx Reinterpreted (coming soon).

Novels: The Knowledge Tree. Deep State Rules.

Nonfiction: Love And Do What You Want, F Bombs From Heaven.

So what is Freedomshock?

Freedomshock exists to help people gladly embrace the counterintuitive nature of Jesus.

The longer I study Him, the more convinced I become that He rarely does what our institutions, traditions, or instincts expect Him to do.

I don't write because I think I have everything figured out.

I write because I'm captivated by revelation.

There are few things I enjoy more than watching a difficult idea suddenly become simple—when Scripture, the laws of nature, and plain old common sense all point in the same direction.

At heart, I'm a teacher.

For more than three decades I’ve been teaching in one way or another, including homeschooling, and that experience shaped the way I write. I enjoy taking complicated ideas apart until we all can understand them well enough to make up our own minds. I have no interest in creating followers. I would much rather help people become independent thinkers who are willing to ask honest questions and follow those questions wherever they lead.

Why I write the way I do

I've become deeply suspicious of conflicts of interest.

Money.

Power.

Status.

Influence.

They have a way of quietly shaping what people say and what they're willing to question.

That's true in politics.

It's true in academia.

It's true in business.

And yes... it's also true in religion.

I've lost confidence in many institutions.

I've never lost confidence in Jesus.

To me, Jesus consistently challenged the systems that rewarded appearance over authenticity, entitlement over gratitude, and reputation over truth. He seemed remarkably comfortable around people who knew they needed grace, and remarkably uncomfortable around people convinced they had earned it.

One of the greatest lies I believe we've embraced is that God exists to bestow entitlements on those who have learned to play the religious game well.

The gift of Jesus points in the opposite direction.

Real faith produces humility.

Gratitude.

Stewardship.

Not the belief that God owes us something.

That's why I enjoy thoughtful disagreement.

If someone exposes a weakness in my logic or my understanding of Scripture, I'm genuinely grateful. Some of my best insights have come from having my own thinking challenged. What disappoints me isn't disagreement—it's when people stop thinking because an institution, an expert, or a tribe has already decided what they're allowed to believe.

Truth doesn't fear questions.

About the books

You'll notice something unusual if you browse this website.

Every one of my nonfiction books is available here for free.

That's intentional.

Not because I think writers shouldn't be paid.

But because I don't want anyone wondering whether I'm profiting from what I believe God has freely revealed.

If someone chooses to buy one of those books anyway, every dollar goes back into printing more copies to give away.

My novels are different. They're works of fiction, and I happily earn my living from those stories.

Keeping those two worlds separate matters to me.

It's one small way I try to remove a conflict of interest from my own life before pointing one out in someone else's.

A little about me

My wife and I live off-grid in the country, where we try to raise much of our own food.

I prefer physical work to screen time, building things to curating an image, and sharing meals with neighbors to almost any formal event.

Some of those neighbors resonate with Jesus.

Some haven’t clicked with Him just yet.

On some occasions some eat too much. On others, some may drink too much.

It doesn't matter.

Trust is built around ordinary tables long before it's built in extraordinary moments.

If I had to choose between speaking from a stage and sharing a beer around a campfire with friends, I'd take the campfire every time.

I care far less about appearing spiritual than I do about being real, doing real things.

One of the things I admire most about the people Jesus surrounded Himself with is that they generally knew exactly who they were. They were far from perfect. They weren't impressive. They didn't pretend to have life all figured out. They knew they needed a Redeemer, and they were willing to spend the rest of their lives becoming the people God was patiently shaping them into.

That's the kind of company I enjoy.

Before you read...

You don't have to agree with me.

In fact, I hope you won't.

Challenge what you read.

Test it.

Follow every idea to its natural conclusion.

I don't ask anyone to believe something because I wrote it.

I ask them to think.

If my books accomplish anything, I hope they help reveal what I've been pursuing for years:

Jesus is the real deal.

But the real deal is often very different from the version we've inherited from our institutions.

If, somewhere along the way, one of these books leaves you saying,

"I get it now! I’m free!”

then we've accomplished exactly what I hoped.

So pull up a chair.

Start with whichever book catches your eye.

Take five minutes.

Then decide for yourself.

SAMPLE YOUR FIRST “BATHROOM READER” HERE: