Virtually every book has a brief biographical statement about the author, citing the author’s academic and/or professional background and achievements, all with the intention of enhancing credibility of the book’s contents.
Typically, there is a picture of the author. If the author is male, and he endures the “curse” of what is euphemistically labeled “male pattern baldness,” quite often the photograph of that author is cropped off right at mid-forehead. A respected friend of mine and an outstanding writer and speaker, Brian D. McLaren, possessed audacity to have a large picture of his head on the cover of one of his books (A Generous Orthodoxy) with the picture cropped off right above his eyebrows. I have done these authors “one better”: I am using a recent picture of myself wearing a cap and standing with my wife Glenda just outside of our back patio, and only regretting that this natural pose is not printed in color.
As readers take a quick glance at these typical author biographical statements, the impression is left that the publisher or some third party wrote the statement. Truth is, the vast majority of these biographical statements are written by the actual author of the book as well as any promotional “teaser” on the back cover. Thereby, the author has the opportunity to make oneself sound as important or qualified as possible, also with opportunity to engage in self-importance and self-congratulation. I do not recall humility ever being expressed in one of these “About the Author” paragraphs, though, admittedly, some could be quite brief while others quite lengthy.
I am blessed to have written 25 to 30 books that got published in one way or another. That count might vary and depend on whether one considers a Master’s thesis and a doctoral dissertation as “published books” (indeed, there are a few photocopies of each available and they required as much or more research and writing as any other book).
I have enjoyed the privilege of having published books in a variety of fields: U. S. history, Tennessee state history, Rhetoric and Communication, Biblical ethics, Social Ethics, Philosophy and Worldviews, Business and Professional ethics, Biblical doctrine on worship, Politics and Christianity, and three individual congregational histories. With this book I intended to “try my hand,” maybe better described as “try my mind,” at writing theology.
Despite having the good fortune and blessing of having a number of books published, I have had a number of manuscript rejections—in fact, I have had manuscripts rejected by some of the most prestigious publishers in the nation. In my church office at Franklin’s Fourth Avenue Church of Christ, I had a small “stand-alone” shelf where some of my published books were stacked one on top of the other. My ministry colleague Tom Riley would sometimes enter my office, point to that stack of my books and chuckle in referencing it as “Perry’s Tower of Babble!” Tom and I still joke about that little pun! I have accused him of being envious.
Nonetheless, the books of which I am most proud to claim authorship would include: Politics, Americanism, and Christianity, (Baker Books, 1976), which was cited by the national periodical Christianity Today as one of the most outstanding religious books of 1976; Toil, Turmoil, and Triumph: A Portrait of the Tennessee Labor Movement (Hillsboro Press, 1995), which was awarded “Best Book of the Year” by the Tennessee Historical Society and the Tennessee Library Association; American Rhetorical Excellence: 101 Public Addresses That Shaped the Nation’s History and Culture (Archway, 2017), which received favorable reviews in professional journals; and One World/Many Neighbors: A Christian Perspective on Worldviews (ACU Press, 2008).
I have also enjoyed the opportunity of being published in a number of religious periodicals, including Christian Chronicle, Firm Foundation (when edited by Reuel Lemmons), Wineskins, Image, Integrity, and I felt especially honored to have twice been bestowed an “Excellence in Christian journalism” award from Mission Journal. That journal was virtually a spiritual and emotional “life saver” for me back in the late 60s and early 70s. In recent years I have been fortunate to have several editorials published in the Tennessean in a column called “Tennessee Voices.” I always appreciated that vehicle of communication as it potentially reaches thousands of readers.
I have had the privilege and blessing of serving several congregations as full-time pulpit minister as well as working in other ministry capacities. There have been a variety of ministry positions with churches located in large urban areas, small towns, and rural areas. Each of these positions gave opportunity for making life-time friends.
I have been blessed with a wonderful family that, besides Glenda, includes children Teresa Lynn, Laura Michelle, and Prentice Anthony, and their mates and children (adding up to nine wonderful grandchildren and, at this point, seven wonderful great grandchildren, surely with more to come). Happy to include a picture with only some of these family members, all the while acknowledging it is challenging to find an occasion for bringing all of them together).
While not under an illusion that my family members and best of friends will read many (if any) pages of this book, I am hoping those who read a little of it will find a challenge to think and to grow spiritually and intellectually.
—Perry C. Cotham
Brentwood, Tennessee
December 2022
