Terry Austin – författare

The biggest compliment you can give to Terry Austin is that he looks like his father. Not so much in physical appearance, although there is some resemblance, but in the way he lives. This book, "e;My Two Fathers,"e; explores how an earthly father can shape how we live and understand God.Bill and his son Terry shared a similar life-changing experience. The father lost his right leg in the legendary battle on Iwo Jima. The son lost the use of his legs after a bout with polio as an infant. This shared situation provided a unique opportunity for this father to teach his son the basic truths about God. Terry understands that he has two fathers—one earthly and the other heavenly.Every person develops an attitude about God from those who are fathers for them. Those fortunate enough to have a father with great faith have a tremendous head start toward a healthy spiritual life. Some fathers are cruel, overly demanding, absent, violent and make it difficult for their children to develop a healthy relationship with God. Terry understands that when it comes to fathers, he won the lottery."e;My Two Fathers"e; is a powerful story of the impact one man's life has on the life of his son. As you read the pages of this book, at times you will feel a tear, and at others, you will hear a chuckle. Through it all, you will walk away with a better understanding of God.Reviews:If you want to read a pastoral perspective—testimony would be the correct word if it weren't so old-fashioned and out of vogue—of a minister sure of his voice and witness, read anything by Terry Austin. You will get the unvarnished version, before the marketing lathe has been applied to the brutal confessional plaster. Terry is the quintessential Baptist preacher—one of our very best—unadorned by contrivances of ego or popular appeal, armed not with shiny ecclesial trappings but only with the Word of God. This book is about a son and a father, inextricably bound in love one for another, but with a rawboned frontier Baptist sensibility that shirks any sentimentality. A remarkable memoir, told in a voice so true and pitch perfect that you will long for a church, and a pastor, with such purity of heart. An essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of father and family, and what that has to do with God.Charles Foster JohnsonPastor, Bread Fellowship of Fort WorthExecutive Director, Pastors for Texas Children"e;The book was a really hard read for me because the second 25 years of my life with my dad didn't go well. The book helped me dig into that and step back into working through my lost relationship with my dad. "e;My Two Fathers"e; is moving, inspiring, and challenging. As a dad, I'm reminded that I need to show up like that for my kids. I was drawn to Terry's dad and sorry that I never had the opportunity to know him. God revealed himself to Terry in a lot of ways through his father and the book helped me see a number of ways that God revealed himself to me in spite of my dad and his issues, and that was a great realization. I was touched and moved in so many ways by how Terry's dad showed up and how he modeled Jesus."e;Geoffrey BrayElder, Mosaic Church, Fort Worth, TXThis book about a father, written by his son, Terry, describes well the influence that he had on his son and the lessons learned about the Heavenly Father from his earthly father. I have had the privilege of knowing both of these men. I have seen Terry's tenacity in fighting to keep his crippling handicap from polio as a child from slowing him down in his quest to live a full and productive life. His humor, spirit of caring, and deep commitment to the Lord have made that a reality. I think this book illustrates so well the influence which fathers have on their sons as well as the responsibility of demonstrating good principles of life and faith before them. Bill did this, and with Terry, it took.Ed Rogers...

A recent survey discovered that one-tenth of the U.S. population has a sincere Christian faith and made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, but don't attend church. The number is increasing, up from 7% a decade ago. What's going on?"e;Why I Quit Going to Church"e; is one man's explanation of why he doesn't attend church. This is not a disgruntled testimony of someone who had his feelings hurt or just got tired of getting out of bed on Sunday morning. It is a well-reasoned explanation with a consistent theology and a thorough understanding of church history.As the statistic indicates, this is not a lone individual but one who represents a growing portion of our society. It's likely the number of church dropouts will continue to increase unless significant changes are made in the way people view the church.If you're one of the ten percent who have dropped out of church, you will be encouraged by this book. If you're one who has remained an active attendee of a church, you will be challenged by this book to reflect on what is happening in your church.

Every person is broken in some way. Most of us get repaired along the way and become functioning contributors to the world. Others are severely broken, and despite the best efforts of family and friends, never are entirely repaired. Erik is the only person I have ever known who was completely broken and never had anyone care enough to help him put his life back together.I met Erik when he asked me to write a book for him, a "e;tell-all"e; book about his life. He was living in hiding, using a fake identity, and facing a death sentence from people who were out to kill him and the doctor who diagnosed him. The 39 years of his life were filled with tragedies and horrors that would have broken most of us.As he told me his story, so I could write his book for him, he provided vivid details of abuse, violence, murder, drugs, and prison sentences. Beginning with a mother who cared nothing for him, a father who abandoned him, a stepfather who abused him, and a grandfather who molested him he became a hardened criminal as a young teenager. In prison, he was mentored by a leader of a hate group and international drug dealer.Out of prison, his young adult years were spent with drug trafficking and murder. He arrived at a point in his life where his only goal was survival. He became good at surviving, but along the way, he damaged many others.Although Erik doesn't sound like the kind of person you want to befriend, after spending hours listening to his story and re-listening to the recordings, we became friends. We never met in person, I have no idea what he looks like. If he were talking in the next room, I would recognize his voice, but I wouldn't know his face.His story was painful for him to tell and painful for me to hear. I have tried to tell it for him so you can understand him like I do. He is not a lovable person. But he is a person who can be and needs to be loved."e;Broken"e; is Erik's story, but it is more than that. It is my story. Telling the story meant a lot to him. Hearing the story meant a lot to me. I hope that as you read the story, Erik Daniels will impact your life like he has mine.