Hi, I’m Randal Gilmore, Executive Editor of Exalt Publications. My co-worker, Alan Wilson and I value your trust, so we want to share with you some of the backstory of Exalt Publications. By the way, Alan serves as Exalt’s Director of Marketing.
Alan and I met more than 30 years ago during board meetings of an international missions agency. We struck up a friendship right away and stayed in touch after the meetings. At the time, I was the lead pastor of a mid-sized Baptist church in southwest Michigan. As the Lord would have it, I invited Alan to serve with me as an associate pastor. Back then, pastors often took Mondays off. So it wasn’t unusual to find Alan and me hacking away on the front nine at the Lake Michigan Hills Golf Course. Through many conversations as we played, or afterwards whenever we got our families together for a meal, we talked about all the ministry values and priorities we share. We both have a passion for the Word of God and for Sunday school and other small group discipleship ministries. We both also love evangelism and missions; pastoring and godly leadership; and prayer.
Eventually, our ministries took us in different directions. I became the pastor of a church in Indiana and ended up serving there for 20 years. Alan also moved on to begin pastoring a church in Wisconsin. But it wasn't long until we agreed to work together again; only this time our focus was on publishing.
At different times in the past, Alan and I both worked for Regular Baptist Press (RBP), located in the suburbs of Chicago. Prior to the church in Michigan, I served one year as the Editor of the Take-home Papers, which had a weekly combined circulation of more than 350,000. After pastoring for 15 years, Alan went on to serve with RBP for 22 years. Among his many responsibilities there, he traveled throughout the US conducting Christian education workshops in local churches. When he retired this past January, he was the National Sales Manager.
While continuing in our separate ministries, our first project back in the day was a book called “Did I Say the Right Thing?” by Mitch Schultz. It’s a book about what to say and not say to people who are grieving. Soon after that, we published the first edition of “Exalted Lord: A Study of Jesus Christ’s Exaltation from the Book of Acts.” Of course, the publishing ministry has change a lot since both of these came out.
In 2013, I accepted a call to begin serving as the Regional Director of the Indo-Pacific Rim of Word of Life International, which led to my wife and I traveling extensively throughout Asia and the South Pacific, while living part-time in Japan. It was in that ministry that we launched The Gospel Story-arc Project (GSA).
We created the GSA in response to the great need we saw through Asia. So few people there have even the slightest idea about who Jesus is and the larger story told in Scripture about him. At the same time, we began learning about the power of story structure and how to use it to share more effectively. Nowadays we say that we use the science of story to (1) better tell who Jesus is and foster appreciative love for him; (2) connect the dots of Jesus’ story and communicate the connections; (3) practice and teach a Jesus-centered worldview; and (4) prepare ourselves and others for Jesus’ return.
Alan and I reunited recently for the second time and began envisioning the possibility of publishing once again, this time with GSA goals in mind. As pastors, we know by experience the need pastors and churches have for affordable and doctrinally sound discipleship materials. According to the latest statistics, less than 4% of Gen Z hold to a biblical worldview. This means the spiritual climate in the West is becoming a lot like what it is in Asia. We are determined to do something about it.
At first, Alan and I thought we might pursue these goals through an existing Christian publisher. When that wasn’t to be, we decided to officially re-activate the Exalt Publications name.
Now that we’ve begun, we’re seeking to get the word out and let everyone know what sets us apart. One of our distinctives is our desire to prioritize ministry over business. This doesn’t mean we ignore sound business principles as we serve. It just means we see Exalt Publications as ministry over business, and not the other way around.
Another distinctive is our desire to minister directly to pastors and others who teach the Word. At times, this will mean offering a resource of value at no charge. That’s why we’re offering you the “Six Pitfalls to Avoid…” report. This report about passing a biblical worldview to the next generation offers practical solutions and insights from our combined 82 years of pastoral experience. We hope you accept this gift and find it useful in your life and ministry.
Since we are new, we also need to build relationships with pastors and churches, and with writers and other content producers. We are calling to you and all others who share a passion for who Jesus is and for the worldview based on his story in Scripture. By downloading the report today, you will answer that call and help us to start making a difference with Gen Z and everyone else.
For a limited time, everyone who downloads the “Six Pitfalls to Avoid…” report will become honorary Founders of Exalt Publications and our mission to turn Gen Z and all others back to a worldview centered on who Jesus is and his story in Scripture.
It's time to make a difference!
Randal Gilmore and Alan Wilson
Exalt Publications
“Set Your Mind on Things Above”