About Carl

So, you’d like to know more about me, eh? Well, since you asked nicely….

First of all: Why do we need yet another blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, socially networking self-promoter? (Believe me, just reading that last sentence would be enough to paralyze anyone with a degree of common sense.)

One word: Discipleship. By definition, discipleship requires that none of us stay quiet, but lay ourselves out there as God moves us, so that God can change us. Thus, it also requires that I approach this with enough humility that my words might actually have some value.

So let’s do this.

So, about me personally: I’ve been an editor and writer for more than a third of a century. Not uncoincidentally, I’ve also been a Christian for about the same amount of time—it turns out that when you pull all that stuff out of yourself in the course of the creative process, God shows up to deal with it in a way you can’t. That’s been my experience, at least.

Thus, I’m also the author of the 6-book Bible study series From Disciples to Disciplers (Group Publishing; CreateSpace), Lay It Down: A Journey into Trust (CreateSpace), and most recently Life of Paul: Rose Visual Bible Study (Rose/Hendrickson).  And I’m not done writing. That’s why you’re reading this, after all.

I’ve worked and written for a variety of publishers: local newspapers throughout northern New Jersey, AB Bookman’s Weekly (magazine for the antiquarian-book trade), U.S. Chess Federation, Lexis-Nexis/Martindale-Hubbell (law directory), and Group Publishing (Christian books and curriculum). The latter gig gave me the opportunity to develop studies and books for Tony Dungy and Bill Bright, among others. I’ve also served as Coordinator and Editor for The Christian Character Project, a K-12 curriculum for charter and Christian schools; as editor/project manager for Voyager Sopris Learning, helping to write and edit LETRS (3rd ed), a master’s-level professional development course for early-literacy educators; and most recently as Biblical and Curriculum Development Specialist for SevenStar Academy, one of the leading online Christian schools for grades K-12.

Yeah, I stay busy.

In terms of freelance, I’ve edited and/or contributed writing to books and small-group resources for New Growth Press, Kregel Publications, David C. Cook, Logan Leadership, Rose/Hendrickson Publishing,  ChurchLeaders.com,  Deep River Books, WaterBrook Multnomah, and ChurchSmart Resources, among others — which in turn, has given me the opportunity to work on the writings of Tim Keller, John MacArthur, Bob Logan, and others.

I’ve also had a hand in a few church plants, including Living Word Church in West Milford, New Jersey, which began in our living room in the fall of 1997. Today, I live on the Western Slope of Colorado, with the beauty of God’s creation readily available at every moment. That’s another reason I’m here offering my thoughts, wares and services.

So enough about me—how are YOU doing? Talk to me, baby. Let’s enjoy this journey together.

— Carl Simmons

P.S. In case you’re wondering, the photo that graces this page and header comes from a stained-glass piece by the late artist/sculptor Frederick Franck, and was taken at his private-but-open-to-the-public sculpture garden Pacem in Terris in Warwick, New York. It’s from his Stations of the Cross series (also featured in the book The Tao of the Cross), and depicts Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus. Now that’s a discipleship image.