March 28, 2024

Newton pastor pens book

Book signing Saturday at Choices

“If God Won Our Elections” is a book that takes a look at the relationship between church and state and what the Bible has to say on the subject.

Written by Tim Morgan, a pastor from Newton, the book is available on various websites and at Choices, 101 W. Second St. N., where he will be having a book signing from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Morgan said he didn’t set out to write a book, but in the end that’s exactly what his sermons turned into.

“In the course of preaching on the subject, it gradually become obvious that it was becoming a somewhat comprehensive examination of what the Bible says of the correct relationship between church and state or God and government,” Morgan said. “I pastor Kellogg and Pleasantview parishes, two churches in eastern Jasper County. So of course I am preaching on something every week and in 2010 Independence Day and the Lord’s day were the same day, fell on a Sunday. It made sense at that time to consider the relationship between those two occasions and those two institutions.”

Morgan said we hear about the relationship between church and state all the time.

“We usually hear about it from the perspective of lawyers, academics, politicians, pendants and it seemed to me that no one had asked, at least to my knowledge, about what the work of God said about church and state,” Morgan said.

While researching the subject, Morgan found that the Bible had a lot to say about the matter.

“I found that the word of God says a great deal. It turned into being one sermon on one Sunday morning into an extended series or a sequence of series over a period of years,” Morgan said.

After a lot of thought and prayer, as well as encouragement from members of his congregation, Morgan decided to turn his series into a book.

“I wanted to find a way of publishing it by an organization that shared my values. I found the company Westbow and made arrangements with them to publish the book,” Morgan said.

He said that Westbow also takes care of Internet marketing, like getting the book on well known websites.

Morgan said he does not have any plans in the future for additional books, but said there is still a wealth of material on the subject.

Find the book at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, the book’s website ifGodwonelections.com, the Newton Library and at Choices.

Contact Staff Writer Jamee A. Pierson at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com.