Convinced that “life is tough and arduous” even in the “best of times,” a South Carolina pastor has written a book aimed at overcoming discouragement. “A Hope and A Future” is the title of a new release by the Broadman and Holman Publishing Group in Nashville and authored by Don Wilton, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg.
“It has become painfully apparent,” Wilton writes, “that even the best need encouragement.”
Wilton, whose Sunday services are carried by WSPA-TV in Spartanburg and who established The Encouraging Word Broadcast Ministry, believes there is hope for overcoming discouragement – “Yes, a thousand times yes” – especially by those who, for a variety of reasons, have begun to view life as “either the rat race or the rut race.”
“There is a great plague of discouragement today,” he says, “and if it has not engulfed you already, it most likely will at some time in your life. No one wants to be overwhelmed by this plague. But it’s there.”
In the book, the former seminary professor, veteran pastor and popular conference speaker says to fellow ministers, “Perhaps what we need to do is realize there are some real hurting people out there who do not need another sermon or lecture, but, rather, a fresh word of hope and encouragement from God.”
Wilton writes in the volume’s opening pages that he hopes readers will hear just that – “a fresh word from God, a fresh word of hope and encouragement.”
The 242-page book, subtitled “Overcoming Discouragement,” takes the view that real love, forgiveness, respect, hope and a future are available from God, who is “exactly who He says He is, and He offers all of us His hope and His future.”
Information on the book and other writings of Wilton are available at www.TheEncouragingWord.org or by writing to The Encouraging Word, Inc., P.O. Box 2110, Spartanburg, S.C. 29304. The book also will be available at LifeWay stores throughout the state.