Mike Baker’s ‘Wilderness Living’ targets men’s hearts

Mike Baker has worn many hats — music minister, IMB worker, director of missions — but no hat is more comfortable than the one he wears when he’s outdoors, reveling in the beauty and bounty of God’s creation.

An avid hunter, fisherman and storyteller, Baker has gathered up a lifetime’s worth of tall tales, boyhood adventures and spiritual insights in a new book, “Wilderness Living: A Collection of Devotional Stories Aimed at the Humor, Hunter and Heart in Men” (Courier Publishing, 190 pages, $15).

“We all live in a wilderness,” Baker writes in the book’s prologue, “and we need a bit of help at times. I hope [readers] will hunt and fish with me, laugh and cry with me, travel the world with me and see Jesus in it all.”

Keith Shorter, pastor of Mt. Airy Baptist Church in Easley, said “Wilderness Living” is “like sitting around a campfire with your buddies … relaxing, reflecting and laughing.” The reader will “feel like the storyteller is an old friend,” said Shorter.

Richard Harris, interim executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said the stories in Baker’s book connect with readers on a spiritual level.

Baker, who operates a hunting preserve and is a frequent speaker at wild game dinners, hopes his essays will draw men closer to the Lord. “God needs us to be His men in a world where there are fewer Christian role models for those coming along behind,” he said.

“Wilderness Living” can be purchased by contacting the author at birdwing@bellsouth.net or by calling 864-979-3796. A portion of each purchase goes toward missions.

This entry was posted in State.