Eating Problems For Lunch

Recently a Facebook mate of mine by the name of Jay Raines published on his blog a great e-book called,  ‘Eating Problems For Lunch‘  Given how cool the book is (and free, yes here is the free lunch) I decided to get behind the scenes and find out a bit about the book and the man they call ‘Mighty Jayboy.’  (Ok so I made that name up…) So here is the Raines interview:

Who are you? :  First of all, I am a believer. I came to know Christ as my Savior when I was about 11 years old. I am a husband and father of two young children. We live in Cameron, Missouri where I have pastored a baptist church since 1999. I love the blog platform for sharing thoughts, pictures and ideas and I started my first blog in August of 2005.

What is ‘Eating Problems For Lunch‘ about? This book is about decision-making. As I studied the first chapter of Matthew, I began to see that Joseph’s dilemma about how to handle his fiance’s extra-marital pregnancy led him through a decision process. It became more clear to me that Joseph didn’t make just one decision, but a series of decisions about the larger dilemma. Every problem that we face today forces us to make decisions and many of us do not have a clear plan about personal decision-making. The Bible calls Joseph a righteous man. I believe this book helps to uncover why God might consider him righteous.

What inspired you to write it?  I was inspired to write this book on several levels. One, I wanted to have something to give away that would be helpful to others. Our church desires to reach our community and I wanted to be able to offer something of value to them. My goal was to create a very small book that could be easily reproducible - even viral - so that it could be shared with others. I realized that the internet generation has a very short attention span, so I also planned for it to be a quick read. Second, I was inspired by Joseph’s struggle and saw how my congregation connected with him in a sermon series about him. Third, Mark, you challenged me through your writing to find new ways to reach out to our generation through the internet. I offer it as a sacrifice and pray that God uses it and others as they are produced.

How have you practiced the principles in your book?  I have used these principles of making righteous, compassionate, obedient decisions. Many times, however, I can see that there were decisions where one of those pieces was missing. Often, believers will make right decisions in a dispassionate way or make a compassionate choice that steps outside of God’s Word. Ultimately, obedience is the final part to a decision that we all fail to fulfill at some point. I desire to be an obedient follower. I believe that Joseph’s obedience was built upon his desire to be righteous and his drive to be compassionate.

To check out this cool read head to:  ‘Eating Problems For Lunch‘

Go here for more on:  Pastor Jay Raines

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