My latest book, "The Barefoot Eulogist: Speaking a Good Word While Standing on Holy Ground", has been published. It contains eulogies for 15 people I am blessed to remember. It also contains observations and guidelines for eulogists in the preparation of “good words” for funerals, memorial services, and graveside committal services.

The book is not a part of the Spelunking Scripture Bible study series, per se. But preparing a eulogy is spelunking of a different type. A part of the eulogy provides an overview of the person’s life, a timeline or chronology of pertinent events. But the eulogy is more than that. The eulogy also delves beneath the surface to seek to express not just what the person did, but who the person was.

As the Spelunking Scripture Bible study method moves from the “what” to the “so what” question, the eulogy seeks to move from the details of a person’s life to what those details mean for those who remember that person. I am a “barefoot eulogist” because I speak a good word while standing on holy ground. As Moses was instructed to remove his shoes when he approached the burning bush of God’s presence, so I remove my shoes (figuratively) whenever I speak about the life of a person created in the image of God.

Surviving family members of those eulogized gave me permission to include the eulogies in the book. I have been able to reconnect with many of those family members and to share again our appreciation for their loved ones.

Frankly, writing the book was an emotional experience for me. Many of the persons eulogized in the book were among my closest friends. I am honored that I was given permission to tell their stories in print so that others may come to know what remarkable people they were. The book was written both to remember them and to help others.

As I write in the Introduction to the book: “The purpose of a eulogy is at least threefold: to remember the person who has died, to give voice to our grief, and to lift up our Christian hope.”

This is the sixth book I have written since I retired in 2018. The first, "Preaching for the Long Haul: A Case Study on Long-term Pastoral Ministry", reflects upon my 33 years as pastor of Village Baptist Church in Bowie, Maryland. That was followed by four books in the Spelunking Scripture series: "Christmas", "The Letters of Paul", "Acts and the General Epistles of the New Testament", and "Easter". All four Spelunking Scripture books have the subtitle, Exploring Important Passages of the Bible.

In a similar way, "The Barefoot Eulogist" seeks to explore important passages of the lives of people. The aim of each eulogy is to go beneath the surface details of a person’s life to seek to explore the meaning of that person for those who remember her or him.

As with the previous books "The Barefoot Eulogist" is published by Nurturing Faith, an imprint of Good Faith Media.