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Publishing Philosophy

WordPoints is a small religious publishing company organized in 2002. Soley owned by Gary Henry in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, it delivers content via web sites, e-books, and other electronic media. It also publishes a series of daily devotional books sold by retail booksellers.

Challenging Every Person to Take God More Seriously

The question of God is life's most important issue. No other question comes close to being as important. The mission of WordPoints is to honor God by encouraging greater reverence. There are important steps that all of us, even the most religious, can take to relate ourselves more properly to God's glory, and the materials published by WordPoints are intended to move readers to take those steps.

While our mission is to "encourage" greater reverence, we believe that the importance of the subject requires a strong form of encouragement. Thus, we try to challenge every person to take God more seriously. Books published by WordPoints are meant to be provocative. We feel that if we do no more than pat our readers on the back and leave them exactly as they were, we will have failed to serve them as we should. Our purpose is to promote real spiritual growth by moving readers out of their comfort zones.

Our publishing philosophy is guided by three principles:

Reverence. Nothing else matters in religious publishing if this priority is not maintained. Whatever else may be true of WordPoints publications, it is our primary concern that they contain nothing but truth concerning God communicated in a way that honors Him.
Careful thinking. If there is any subject about which we need to be careful in our thinking, surely that subject is God. We believe in the ability of the human mind to reason accurately and to apprehend objective truth concerning God. Because of that belief, we try to publish only that which has been carefully considered.
A comfortable communication style. Not only does the subject of God require careful thinking, it deserves an appropriate style of writing. We strive to speak of God in words that are not only congenial and gracious but also dignified and respectful.

The daily devotional books published by WordPoints are written with a lofty goal: we seek nothing less than to define a new standard for daily devotionals.

A more God-centered approach to spirituality. In a self-centered age, devotional writing can easily end up being more about ourselves than about God. Many people seem to be interested in God only for what He can do to make their lifestyles more enjoyable, as if He existed merely for their benefit. Yet God is to be honored and loved for His own sake. Religion is primarily about God, not about us, and the WordPoints publishing program tries to keep this focus clear.
A better balance between gratitude and reverence. While it is true that our basic attitude toward God must combine both of these qualities (Rom. 1:21), it is probably also true that our age tends to emphasize gratitude more than reverence. We need to be reminded that gratitude for God's grace without reverence for His holiness is just empty sentimentality. Without diminishing love, WordPoints devotionals consistently emphasize the priority of respect.
A more serious approach to devotional meditation. In recent years, the trend in devotional literature has been toward the mass marketing of "fluff." Best-selling devotional books often consist of little more than feel-good formulas -- intended to make the reader feel good regardless of his or her real orientation toward God.
At WordPoints, we believe in feeling good, but we believe that feeling good comes from removing the causes (and not merely the symptoms) of spiritual discomfort. More often than not, a "surgery" is required that will make us feel worse before there's any chance of our feeling better. The prophet Jeremiah warned about the damage that comes from crying "'Peace, peace!' when there is no peace" (Jer. 6:14). When our attitude toward God is not reverently submissive to His will, we do not need to feel better. What we need is to think seriously about our failure to treat God with the respect that He deserves!
At WordPoints, we try to engage the reader is serious thought, delving into the real reasons why we struggle and suffer as we do. We try to heed the advice of the apostle Peter to "gird up the loins of our minds" (1 Pt. 1:13), preparing our minds for work that is worthy of the God who gave our minds to us. The resulting books, we hope, are characterized by substance and significance.
A better balance between candor and courtesy. While granting the difficulty of the goal, we believe it's possible for a religious writer to tell the truth that needs to be told and still tell it in a gracious, considerate manner. At WordPoints, we strive to communicate with an encouraging blend of candor and courtesy. Believing that many writers sacrifice truth in an effort to be loving, we try to speak the truth very straightforwardly. But we also try to "speak the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15). We hope to be thought-provoking without being rude.

WordPoints is independently owned and operated by Gary Henry and is not affiliated, either directly or indirectly, with any local congregation, denominational organization, or religious institution.

We welcome questions, comments, and suggestions from readers, as well as from reviewers and dealers.