The father-son account Growing Up Colt: A Father, a Son, a Life in Football (978-1-616-26659-2, $24.99) demonstrates the power of Christian parenting and sports success in the life of NFL Quarterback Colt McCoy. Written in alternating voices by the Cleveland Browns player and his football-coach father, Brad McCoy, with Mike Yorkey, the book releases this month from Barbour Publishing.

The pair talks about the formative events of Colt's football experiences—he won the 2008 Walter Camp Award and was the 2008 Heisman runner-up—along with the foundational principles of their family and faith, which has helped keep Colt and his siblings grounded. 

In the sports world, though Colt was a high-school and college football great, not everyone believed the young quarterback had what it took to make it in the NFL. In fact, he was considered a bit short to be a quarterback playing at that level. 

Although Cleveland drafted him, he was third string, and in his first year only got a shot at leading the team after the team's first two quarterbacks succumbed to injury. But his chance came against the Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers, and as a rookie, he proved to his coach, team and fans he could handle the pressure of the big game.

Growing Up Colt talks of lessons taught and learned by father and son, and the role that the family's faith played in Colt's personal and spiritual growth. The book details four principles that parents Brad and Debra practiced in raising Colt and his siblings: prepare your children for the path, not the path for your children; prepare your children to do their best; prepare your children to be leaders; and prepare your children for open and closed doors.

In his growing-up years, he started as the water boy for the high school team coached by his father. The McCoys also reveal the factors that went into Colt's decision to play at the University of Texas in Austin, and the inside story of what it was like for Colt to become the player many perceive to be the school's greatest-ever quarterback. 

The book examines Colt's NFL rookie season, and the preparation required to be ready to take the field in any game. The McCoys also talk of how difficult it was to lose the 2010 Rose Bowl, when the dreams of winning a national championship were dashed by a hit only three plays into the BCS Championship Game. Colt recovered quickly, though, and just days after the loss, he went on to successfully propose marriage to his girlfriend, Rachel.

Aside from football, the book also talks of Colt's first deer-hunting trip with his father and his brief stint as an amateur bull rider. Acknowledging that Colt is not perfect, the book also looks at times when his parents were forced to discipline him for his behavior. 

For more information, visit www.barbourbooks.com. To order, call 800-852-8010.

Latest project: Upside: Surprising GOOD NEWS About the State of Our World (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group, July).

Why do you think so many Christians are negative about the future? When people present the gospel and talk about Christianity, they often present it as an answer to a problem. I think that gives pastors and teachers a motivation to highlight the problems in the world. … I think that means that we spend a lot of time listening to people talking about how things are going badly with the world.

What good news do you talk about in the book? I didn't set out to find good news; I set out to find how things are doing. It turns out there's a lot of good news. … One of the areas of great news has to do with health. With just about every measure that we have, Americans and people throughout the world are getting healthier. People are living longer, babies are dying less often, there are fewer infectious diseases. Even people who get cancer are living longer.

What else did you learn? There are several places with a mixed bag. One is the economy. We're just coming out of a recession now, but I think that obscures people's perspectives, that in many ways things have gotten substantially better in the last 50 years financially. We make a lot more money. We have a lot less poverty. Worldwide, poverty rates are going down. But income and equality have increased substantially over the last several decades. 

Did any of your findings surprise you? Yes. I was surprised by how much healthier everyone's getting, even with the AIDS epidemic. It's much better now than it was 10 years ago, in terms of the rates of new cases.

Toward the end of the book, you ask, "What is getting worse?" One has to do with family relations. Compared to 50 years ago, we have a lot more people living together—not married. Divorce rates are a lot higher; premarital sex rates are higher. The number of kids being raised without both parents has increased substantially. Abortions are much more common now. These are things that, from my Christian worldview, I see as negative. Some say this is a dark cloud, but there is a silver lining. In a couple of these measures, in the last 10, 15, maybe 20 years, things have gotten a little better. So in the last decade or two, divorce rates actually have dropped a little bit. Premarital sex rates have sort of peaked—granted very high, but they're not getting higher. Also, another benefit is that the rate of abortions has decreased over the last 10 or 20 years. Overall, family relations are getting worse, or have gotten worse for the last 50 years, but in a couple areas in the last 10 or 20, they're getting marginally better.

Ask the author: Mary DeMuth

Next release: The Muir House (July).

Publisher: Zondervan.

Where did you get the idea for this book? 

It came to me on multiple fronts. I wanted to explore memory, particularly a missing memory and the stress that brings to someone. Then I wanted to throw in a Christ-figure boyfriend who represented God's steady love. The house with secrets added to the mix. I've driven by the house on the cover of the book many years, then I had the privilege of going inside and taking pictures. It seemed to scream for a story within its walls. Today it is vacant.

Why Texas for this novel?

All my novels (so far) are set in East Texas. I've lived in Rockwall, Texas, near Dallas for four years now and have fallen in love with my community. It seemed natural to me to set a book here where I live and love and parent and laugh. 

Do you usually start a new book with a story, a character or a message or some combination?

A character. Willa Muir is the kind of girl who seems strong, but she's broken inside. She believes that if she can find the truth, she can move on. The story is an exploration of the idea that whether we know the truth about our past or not, we still have to make a choice to live. We can't use our past as an excuse not to live. She has to come to this conclusion herself as she uncovers a painful memory.

Is exploring the past an important theme for you?

Yes, again I'm exploring the idea of family secrets and the dynamic of that. Why do families keep secrets, and what compels kids to keep them out of fear? How can we be set free when the truth comes out? What does freedom from the past look like in terms of how we engage in relationships today?

Do you have a fondness for a particular character in The Muir House?

I really like Hale, Willa's love interest. He's intentional, steady, patient and yet entirely human. I love his dimensions, that he's not easily predicted. 

What drives you to write fiction, and is it still fun?

My craziness, probably. Fiction erupts from me when I'm mad about something. For this book, it's secrets. For others, I got angry about sexual abuse, spousal abuse, hypocrisy and parental neglect. It's my way of working out injustice on the plane of a story. God has chosen to heal me in many ways as I write my stories—and feedback from readers has confirmed that He's used my stories to help heal others. So, yes, it's still fun. It's what I'm created to do. When I write fiction, I feel invigorated and alive. Weaving a story is difficult, but it's also excessively and beautifully creative.

Any advice for Christian retailers in promoting this book?

This is a love story. A lost story. All under one roof. It appeals to the twentysomethings who like an unconventional love story. It appeals to those who love coming-of-age stories. There's also a strong thread of decorating and house restoration in the book. And anyone who loves mysteries will enjoy the book.

ECPA Fiction Top 10

1. Leaving, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan) 

Did you know... A Facebook page by the series' main character, young actress Bailey Flanigan, is run by Kingsbury's daughter Kelsey and has more than 11,000 fans. Bailey invites readers to ask for advice or simply be a friend, and to post on the page.

2. The Judgment, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) 

Did you know... Lewis' book brings to life a little known practice among Pennsylvania's Lancaster County Amish—taking in "English" foster children. Lewis said: "I'm so touched by Amish families who have opened their hearts for the summer to children in the 'Fresh Air Program,' as well as to those who have fostered, then adopted non-Amish babies, their homes already buzzing with many biological children. So heartwarming to my adoptive-mother heart."

3. The Journey, Wanda E. Brunstetter (Barbour Publishing)

4. Vicious Cycle, Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

5. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books)

6. Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)

7. Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan)

8. Lineage of Grace, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)

9. The Thorn, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

10. A Heart for Home, Lauraine Snelling (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

New fiction releases coming in August:

Courageous, Randy Alcorn (Tyndale House Publishers)

Dancing on Glass, Pamela Binnings Ewen (B&H Books)

Out of Control, "The Kincaid Brides," Mary Connealy (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

The Faith of Ashish, "Blessings in India," Kay Marshall Strom (Abingdon Press)

The Harvest of Grace, Cindy Woodsmall (WaterBrook Press)

The Second Messiah, Glenn Meade (Howard Books)

To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn, Sandra Byrd (Howard Books)

Water's Edge, Robert Whitlow (Thomas Nelson) 

Palmer Chinchen knows that while many Christians would like to be able to tie up the loose ends left by the question of suffering in a nice neat bow, the reality is that they tend to flap loosely—and can threaten to entangle and trip.

So in place of a simplistic answer to an age-old problem, the Chandler, Ariz., pastor and former college ministry leader offers a multilayered perspective on how to find faith and hope in the midst of troubled unknowing, in God Can't Sleep (978-1-434-70057-5, $12.99, David C. Cook), released this month.

Subtitled "Waiting for Daylight on Life's Dark Nights," the 240-page book is no academic exercise. Chinchen draws on a wide range of personal experiences, from growing up as a fearful missionary kid in Africa to serving as pastor of a growing church.

He tells of the young African girl who died when a Christmas Eve candlelight service went wrong and a group of children were enveloped in flames, a young mom parishioner who committed suicide and having to flee war-torn Liberia with his heavily pregnant wife. He also writes of the tragedies he has witnessed in places like Haiti.

Though not all suffering is on the scale that makes world headlines, its personal impact is equally felt by those facing disease, divorce or other domestic trials, he notes. But Western Christians may be less equipped to deal with catastrophe because "the messiness of pain simply doesn't fit with polished shopping malls, granite countertops and cushioned pews," he observes.

While he has no single answer to suffering, Chinchen does have suggested approaches—including being honest about how sin impacts the world and being involved in issues of justice. "Like a smoggy day in Los Angeles, injustice is the dark cloud that turns God's beautiful creation gray," he writes.

Chinchen also cautions against the lure of narcissism and encourages reducing the busyness of life to allow more room for God, while looking for "snapshots of heaven" in everyday life, from children and friends to music. Above all, he says, don't quit because there is always hope.

In addition to pulling from his personal files, Chinchen references thoughts by other Christian writers, the likes of C.S. Lewis, Brennan Manning and Dr. Paul Brand. In the Bible, he looks at lessons from Obadiah, King Saul and the Psalms. 

He observes how Jesus "always gave the same brief speech at funerals"—the two-word exhortation, "get up," spoken to Talitha, the boy in Nain and Lazarus. "Life is not meant to be lived in dark places," Chinchen adds. "The days God gives you on earth are not meant to be covered with gray clouds, so get up and live. Really, really live."

By sharing cliffhanger personal stories, telling the rest of them later in the book, Chinchen illustrates how what may seem to be hopeless can yet be turned around. He encourages readers that "God uses the dark and difficult days to mature us spiritually in a way that won't happen on the days when the sun shines and the flowers bloom."

Though he urges people to look up when life casts them down, Chinchen acknowledges it can be tough to respond well at times—admitting to wishing one man dead who abused, terrorized and tried to kill his girlfriend and offering to help beat up a man who was having an affair with a friend.

To order, call 800-323-7543, or visit bookstores.cookministries.com.

Easter Sunday fan-to-follower sermon urges 'honest' reevaluation

What began as a personal journey for author and pastor Kyle Idleman became a widespread movement. Born of Idleman's own need to get serious with God, Not a Fan. Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus confronts readers with Jesus's call to a life of obedience.

The teaching pastor at the fifth largest church in America—Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.—Idleman found himself at a loss for what to preach to his congregation and all the visitors who were coming to Easter Sunday services three years ago. 

"I opened up the Bible and I started looking at some of the passages of Scripture where Jesus would have his Easter-type crowds and the most popular times in His ministry when the large crowds gathered," he said. "What I discovered was very much convicting for me and changed, in large part, my approach to preaching and teaching and ministry."

What he discovered was that when Jesus taught the masses, He often didn't deliver a message that was comfortable. "It was very challenging and motivated the people not necessarily to come back, but oftentimes to leave—to go home," he said. 

Looking at his own life through that lens, the pastor began to consider the possibility that he was more of a fan of Jesus than a true follower. 

"A fan is this idea of an enthusiastic admirer—someone who cheers for Jesus when the season is going well, and when things are good, they root for Him, but when things are rough or when life is hard, they grow more distant," Idleman said. "I started writing down, as I studied through the Gospels, the different descriptions of a follower of Christ.

"I had to be honest enough with myself to say, 'I'm not sacrificing a lot. I say I'm a follower of Jesus, but there's a lot of things Jesus did that I don't do, a lot of people He talked to that are not the types of people that I talk to.' I wanted to reexamine, as honestly as I could, my relationship with Jesus based on how He describes a follower in the Gospels." 

Having grown up the son of a pastor, Idleman walked forward one day after hearing his father offer an invitation to surrender all to Christ. 

"I loved Jesus with all of my heart, but what I discovered as I grew older is that although I loved Christ, I began to hold certain things back," he admitted. "There were certain areas of my life that I had not surrendered to Him, or as they came up, I shared them with Him, but I was still the one clearly in control and calling the shots."

In the process of renewal, he was reminded that Jesus called His followers to die to themselves—the ultimate surrender. "I began to pray a daily prayer that reflected the decision I had made as a child that I never really understood," he said. "I would pray daily and still do, 'Today, God, I surrender all that I have to you. Everything I have, all that I am is yours. Today I want to die to myself.' "

Along with a revival his church experienced in hearing the "Not a Fan" message, more than 20,000 people from 16 countries have declared on Facebook: "I don't just want to be a fan of Jesus anymore." 

Idleman acknowledged that the call to follow Jesus is not new, but said: "I really believe there's something about this language—something about packaging it in this way—that opens the eyes of today's culture to understand not just what it means to really follow Jesus, but understand what so many of us who call ourselves Christians have settled for. Then we compare what we've settled for to what Jesus really wants, and change comes about." 

With the online movement growing, the book was recently featured on Rick Warren's Pastors.com Web site and has been endorsed by leaders such as Max Lucado and Mike Huckabee. The message has also spawned a small group discipleship study on DVD from City on a Hill Productions.

To order, call Zondervan at 800-727-1309, or visit zondervan.com.

Latest project:

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir…of Sorts (Thomas Nelson, June).

Why is your book "A memoir…of sorts"? In the preface I really go out of my way to explain to people that the story dances on this hyphen between the genre of straight memoir and autobiographical fiction, and the reason it does is because first I had to change a lot of names. The preface outlines the types of things that I had to do in order to make the story really flow correctly, which includes things like compressing timelines, conflating stories, things that memoirs often do, but I wanted to really spell out and like an author such as Dave Eggers or others there are pieces of the story that are what I would call lightly fictionalized for the purpose of protecting people, identities, but also for the sake of keeping flow in the story.

What was it like for you and your three siblings growing up with your father working for the Central Intelligence Agency? We didn't know really anything about it, at least for me, until I was in high school with any certainty. You also have to remember my father was a terrible alcoholic and so it was also very difficult knowing what was the line between truth and fiction.

You sometimes blamed yourself for your father's drinking, didn't you? The whole CIA thing is an interesting metaphor for the secret that my father was to me, the fact that I didn't know him really. The story really is about my relationship with my father, about the wound that a boy, and I would also add a woman, can suffer when their father doesn't see them with the eyes of his heart and how you find forgiveness. 

You had your own battle with addiction. How did you tackle alcoholism? We all have attachments, which are displaced longings for God. … To make things worse, we're actually all the seething cauldrons of them—I don't just have one, I got a bunch. The trick is learning how to allow Jesus to remain at the center of our persons and to continue to turn away from those things which are counterfeits of that relationship, which eventually become addictions.

There was a time you said you felt there was no God. How did get over that? I prayed for so long for my dad to get better because every child of an alcoholic or an addict feels that somehow or another it's their fault that their parent chooses to love their substance more than them. At least on the outside, that's what it looks like and feels like. How many times can you pray and not have it answered before you start to believe that God either hates you or has deserted you or that there is no God? It's hard not to arrive at that conclusion for a lot of us and yet I think that little seed never departed me.

Today you are an Episcopal priest. How did you come to faith and then sense the church was to be your life's work? I actually really believe I came to faith in Christ as a little boy in the Catholic church. The experience of church itself to me was just so beautiful, the mystery of it, the prayers I didn't even understand, the atmospherics of church itself … and I could really sense God's presence in that place. It's one of those things where I think I became a follower of Jesus at such a heart level as a little boy. I was just completely convinced and in love with God … then in high school I got involved in Young Life and I had a second kind of encounter with God, and that one involved a more intellectual understanding of the gospel and being given a language with which to talk about God that I didn't have. And so I would say for me there were two pivotal moments for me.

What would you like to tell Christian retailers about this book? In the midst of the debris, I can find grace and even laughter in it. I think that's what we all want, to know that our suffering means something, that it's not arbitrary, so I think the book will inspire people to face their lives squarely, knowing that if they do, they can find that thread of redemption.