Interview with Christian non-fiction writer Sheldon Newton

Today is the kick-off for the virtual book tour for Be Ye Transformed by Sheldon Newton. It's a Christian non-fiction book that released in October from Zoe Life Publishing.

Bio:

Bishop Sheldon D. Newton was born again at the age of thirteen and filled with the Holy Spirit shortly thereafter. After receiving the Call of God into the ministry, he began teaching and preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of fifteen, and has been actively involved in ministry for over thirty years. His burning desire is to see believers established in the faith, rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus, living transformed lives through the application of timeless godly principles.

This Divine Calling continues to take him throughout the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and around the world, proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.

Bishop Newton is a pastor, teacher, and seminar lecturer. He is the noted author of various life-changing books, including: Humility and the Honor of God, The Sword of the Spirit, Diligence to the Things of God, Be Ye Transformed, How to Live for Christ As A Youth, My Name is Jealous, Practical Principles of Success, and Be Ye Transformed.

Bishop Newton is the senior pastor of Jesus Christ Centered Ministries International, in Nassau, Bahamas and also serves as overseer and advisor to various churches and ministries. His ministry’s motto is: “to feed the people of God with the Word of God, raising up effective leaders, living by the standard of His Word and the Utterance of His Voice, manifesting His power, setting others free.”

Bishop Newton resides in Nassau, Bahamas with his wife, Jennifer Monique and two children.

Welcome, Sheldon. Please tell us about your current release.

Be Ye Transformed is a handbook on Effective Christian Living. It shows the reader what it means to be a Christian, and how to grow and develop in Christ. Written in a practical manner, people will understand such vital subjects as:

1. What is a Christian
2. Man is a three-fold being
3. How to renew the mind, changing the way you think
4. How to break free from bad habits and make the body obey God
5. How to hear God’s Voice
6. How to walk in Divine love
7. How to get past your past, etc.

What inspired you to write this book?

I have been a Christian from the age of fifteen. I am now in my forties. One day, a Christian lady encouraged me to write a book that would show people how to live for Christ victoriously. So I did. I wrote it to share with others principles I have learned over these thirty years concerning successful and effective Christian living. I also wanted young people, and old alike, to realize that they can live saved.

Excerpt:

From Chapter 8: The Lack of Spiritual Growth and Development

There are several reasons why many Christians do not seem to grow up spiritually.

One reason is because they are not properly taught concerning the principles of Christian development. It really does matter which church you go to. You need to be in a church that feeds you the Word of God and that rightly divides it. This means that you need to read and study your Bible as well so that you can know if it being rightly divided. Do not just join a church because it is a church. Go somewhere where you are fed, and fed with God’s Word.

It is indeed amazing that some believers stay in a dead church that just gives them traditions and opinions of men. Even if they visit somewhere else and find out that they were not being given the pure milk and meat of the Word of God, they will go back, (I gather, thinking that the old wine of traditions, formalism and in many cases, error) is better.

Some will tell you that they cannot leave where they are because of their family navel string being buried in the church yard. They are tied to a dead work and refuse to go where they can be fed God’s Word. I am not teaching that you should just jump from church to church. That’s like a sheep continually jumping the fence and finding another shepherd. This is not what I am teaching you to do. To the contrary, you need a good church home, where you can grow and develop spiritually.

Some would say that one church is just as good as another. That is not true. Some churches are bad for your spiritual health. Did you know that?

You need to find a church home which will teach you who you are in Christ Jesus, what belongs to you in Christ Jesus and principles of love, faith, and truth. You need somewhere you can learn how to walk with God and discover and fulfill His plan and purpose for your life. You need a church home where they will teach you how to live holy, righteously and godly in this present world. And when you find such a church, settle down and learn all you can.

Aim to become a part of that work. Find out where you can work in that church and give the pastor your assistance. Support the work in every way that you can with your time, talents, and abilities, and also with your finances. Become a soul winner for Christ, inviting people to your church, so that they can be saved and so that the work of God can grow, prosper and flourish.

 

Another reason many people do not grow and develop in the things of God is because they do not do the things necessary to develop spiritually. They are in good and godly churches which feed them God’s Word. They hear how to grow in the Lord and the things God expects of them. But they do nothing with the information they hear. They slow down and hinder their own spiritual development by being a hearer of the Word but not a doer. In other words, they deceive themselves.

James 1:22

“But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

This is really sad and yet, nonetheless true. So many Christians, who by now should have been powerhouses for God, working with and for the Lord and making a marked difference for Him in the earth, are very ineffectual in their Christian witness, because they simply will not do the Word of God that is taught to them line upon line and precept upon precept.

Let us just be honest about it. Many of us are simply, spiritually lazy. Some believers are spiritual sluggards, who don’t want to press into God and do His Will. They are too busy living their own lives how they want to live it, in worldly pleasure, with little or no desire for spiritual things. They are having fun. They are doing things, that may not be sin in and of itself, but which take them away from studying the Word of God and take them away from prayer and by the way, fasting is out of the question to many. (Am I speaking about you)?

What exciting story are you working on next?

I am presently working on a book, written with Biblical principles, which will show people how to reach and accomplish their goals. I believe that many people have become discouraged because they make their plans, and set their goals, but rarely reach them. I will show them how to ensure that they reach their goals and experience their dreams. I trust that the book will be out before August 2014.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I always love writing. When my wife and I were courting, I wrote her a whole discourse on my future plans and her part in it. (She still has it). I really enjoy writing. I believe it is a gift from God. At first, I did not know if anyone would want to read what I write. This kept me back from releasing the first book I wrote. (I never released it). But finally decided to bite the bullet and publish the second manuscript that I finished. And now, I have presently written nine books so far, including my two new books, My Name is Jealous, and Be Ye Transformed.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I work as a pastor. So I have to make time to write. I write when my wife is watching a movie that does not interest me. Or I write when my wife and children go to bed. I also sometimes find time to write at the church when I have finished what I had to do that day, or any other spare time that I have. I believe when something is important to you, you will make time for it. So I make the time to write.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I would say that I have a habit of writing when I sense an urgency to write and finish a book. I have started varied manuscripts, but when I really sense that a boom really needs to come out, or that it can help people and transform lives, I find myself working more to ensure that I finish it. So I would say that I love being moved by an inspiration of purpose.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a minister and teach people how to live for Christ. I gave my life to Him at the age of thirteen and that became my dream ever since.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I want to help as many people as I can realize the enormous potential God has placed in them, and that, with Christ Jesus in their lives, they can walk in their true purpose for being and really live a satisfying, enjoyable and fulfilling life, filled with real joy and tranquility.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Ezine Articles

Feel free to visit my other tour stops with Write Now Literary through January 17.

Thank you for stopping here today, Sheldon.