Five-a-side football - Andrew is third from left and Malcolm is kneeling
Malcolm Down is the publisher of the book that introduces the concept of Holy Habits. We recommend reading the book before embarking on the Holy Habits programme. Here is Malcolm’s story to how he became involved in publishing Holy Habits book:
Andrew and I first met as teenagers as we both attended Berkswich Methodist church in Stafford and were part of the thriving youth scene at the time. I even remember being in the same five-a-side football team as him when the youth group visited Spring Harvest in the very old days (1979) when it was held at Prestatyn!
We were both involved in drama outreach at the church, which is where I first encountered Andrew’s writing talents. Although we kept in touch during university years, we then went our separate ways only to find each other years later via Facebook. In 2015, shortly after I had started my own publishing company, Andrew contacted me with a book idea that he’d been working on. We met in Milton Keynes, where I was living at the time, and from that initial meeting Holy Habits was born. What I loved about the concept was its simplicity. In many ways, there is nothing new about the ten Holy Habits, as they have been part of Christian discipleship for the last 2,000 years. However, what Andrew has done is successfully explain the reason why God intended us to form these habits in order to build a strong and healthy church as a foundation for evangelism. He does this using a number of practical examples born out of his own experience as a church minister. Holy Habits is not a discipleship blueprint as such, but rather a stimulus to get the church thinking about discipleship and what it means in our everyday journey of faith - regardless of where on that journey we are. I’m thrilled and delighted the book has done so well – it's still our bestselling book! However, of far more importance is the impact it’s having in revitalising church congregations all over the world to follow the call of God, disciple each other and to become more like Jesus.