Coarse Correction

This book asks the dangerous question, why are we doing the things we do? It also asks if it's working. Is it getting us where we want to go? It bases those questions strictly on what the Bible tells us and evaluates based on what can be plainly seen in the world. It was not written to throw stones at anyone, but endeavors to gently wake the church to her full potential before it's too late; before it's so far down the wrong road that there isn't time to change course. For some people that will take more than a little nudge. It won't be like a rally to the masses but more like a shaking one reader at a time. What you read may seem like it applies to your friend or your relative or your pastor, but it was written for you; the Christian believer who wants his or her life to be fruitful for Jesus Christ. He is the One to whom you owe everything, your Lord and Savior.

This book asks the dangerous question, why are we doing the things we do? It also asks if it's working. Is it getting us where we want to go? It bases those questions strictly on what the Bible tells us and evaluates based on what can be plainly seen in the world. Humans aren't big fans of change, we like to stay on the same old road simply because we're used to it. This book will use the Bible to examine if that is a good enough reason. It will expose some paradoxical thinking that has become commonplace in the church. With regard to our Christian walk, a well-known Christian leader says that "you can be pitiful, or you can be powerful, but you can't be both." Those are potent and inspiring words with which many people can agree. Except, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." and that God's power "is made perfect in weakness." Hmm, I still believe there's some powerful truth in that leader's quote, but the Bible shows me that they are not the truth. The modern church loves powerful words, and yet the bible tells us in Proverbs that "a gentle tongue can break a bone." In fairness, most Christian leaders would shudder at the thought of people taking their words as biblical truth. It's not their intention to establish doctrine or coin a cool catchphrase, but human nature tends towards those things. Perhaps you've heard the call and response, "God is good … all the time." While that is certainly true, what the Bible actually says, in a number of ways, is that "the Lord is good," period. Adding the phrase "all the time" opens the possibility of Him not being good—as if it's conditional—when in fact "good" is His essence eternally. He cannot exist in any other state. It's like saying hot is hot all the time. Hot cannot be other than hot otherwise we would cease to call it hot. God cannot be other than good, otherwise, He would cease to be God. I didn't write this book to throw stones at anyone; I endeavor to gently wake the church to her full potential before it's too late; before it's so far down the wrong road that there isn't time to change course. For some people that will take more than a little nudge. It won't be like a rally to the masses but more like a shaking of one reader at a time. What you read may seem like it applies to your friend or your relative or your pastor, but I wrote this book for you. The main person I hope to reach is you, the Christian believer who wants his or her life to be fruitful for Jesus Christ. He is the One to whom you owe everything, your Lord and Savior. I have written this book in service to Him.

Wardell Leland Parker was born in Newark, New Jersey, but has lived in the Washington DC metropolitan area since the age of 9. His drawing talent made him a perfect candidate for The Duke Ellington School of the Visual and Performing Arts. His higher education was at Virginia Commonwealth University. An interest in writing came as he and a close friend from high school wrote out scripts and story ideas on the weekends, and they were thrilled when they had an article published in 1983. Leland would say that God was leading him into video production, which in the early 80s was becoming more accessible to consumers. Working with his friend, Mr. Parker produced an independent video where he enlisted Rosi Sandoval, a Nicaraguan-born coworker of his, with whom he fell in love and married in 1992. The two launched their graphic design business, SYZGY Media, that same year. It was while producing corporate videos at his full-time job in the 90s that his love for writing narratives began to surface. With a dozen stories in some stage of completion, Wardell felt that God was leading him to ply his skills toward something more important; Making biblical concepts and truth more accessible to an audience not likely to pick up a bible. Coarse Correction is the second book under that direction.