Kevin Boozer
Staff Writer
WINNSBORO — Winnsboro Pastor Jeffrey Williams is self publishing his first book, The Final Call, this spring and it’s a book that actually started as a sermon.
A pastor since 1980 in Winnsboro, he ministers at Jesus Christ’s Church, a Pentecostal house of worship found at 87 Robinson Ave. One day as he pondered scripture he asked himself why so many people failed in their walk with God and in daily life.
“As I studied scripture and addressed the question Biblically, I realized it was repentance that was missing. Countless millions accept Christ as Lord and Savior without being introduced to repentance. That is a stumbling block,” Williams said.
According to Williams that stumbling block can hinder believers on their spiritual journeys. He believes that in one’s spiritual journey, this time of repentance leads to recovery.
“The book shows the grace you find in repentance and how God’s forgiveness and grace are expressed to a repentant sinner, of which I consider myself one,” he said.
He believes that generational curses, such as racism and distorted life views, can be addressed spiritually and people should revisit that area of their life, recount it and repent the wrong.
That is one point of his writing this short book, which is written on a reading level accessible to most readers.
It is not deep theological renderings, but more like a sermon, it is plain talk about and on behalf of the Gospel of Christ. This book, according to Williams, calls people, himself included, to look at areas of the past and explore unforgiven and unconfessed sins.
In so doing, he says the reader will learn tools to liberate himself or herself from the past, with God’s help.
“This book is about sowing seeds, so I want some of its proceeds to go back into helping people,” he said.
Williams said he would tithe his earnings from the book for his own church, so he wanted to use to tool to reach out further to a church different from his own. Ten percent of the overall book sale proceeds will go to supporting a church in Winnsboro that is in need, a church other than his.
A full-time pastor with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration, this is not his first attempt at writing a book but it is his first published work. He plans to write a few books in a series that center around these themes of repentance. He touches on prophecy and links his interpretations of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation.
“God gives us a choice and a right to make decisions,” he said. “True love involves a choice.”
As his thoughts flow from paragraph to paragraph, the message that all people must in their own way and time get right with God comes up again and again in the book.
At age 22 he said he gave his life to the Lord while at Benedict College. After a year of walking with the Lord, he began an internship of ministry. His goal until then was to attend Benedict and then USC law school but in his heart he felt a burning desire to preach.
“My heart was in ministry, so I felt called to preach,” he said.
The dreams of being a lawyer faded and he eventually branched out to having his own church in the area. He said the Holy Spirit told him to call it Jesus Christ’s Church. Prior to this book, he said he started many books but never completed the manuscripts.
This time he stuck with it and said the Lord gave him the inspiration and strength to complete it.
“I gave the people what God gave to me. As they read the book, I hope they will be inspired to give their situations over to God,” he said. “My goal is to help them release whatever in their pasts has them bound and instead to show them how Jesus, the Advocate, walks with them and helps them.”
He will hold a book signing from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 18 at Abba’s Sweet Treats and Gifts Boutique on Congress Street. Visit amazon.com or www.alibrisbooks.com or www.getgospelbooks.com to buy his book. For more information, contact him by email at jwwinnsboro@aol.com or by phone at 718-2754.
Contact Kevin Boozer at 635-4016 ext. 14 or kboozer@civitasmedia.com and follow him on Twitter at @kevinboozer.
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