Jeff Lucas - author profile

Author, speaker and broadcaster, Jeff Lucas is the teaching pastor at Timberline Church, Fort Collins, Colorado. With a UK base in Southern England, Jeff travels and broadcasts internationally, writes for Christianity magazine and authors the Life series of guides. Leader of a 10,000 strong church, Jeff is in worldwide demand as a speaker on church planting and pastoring. Thousands more finding encouragement in his Lucas on Life Everyday daily reading notes. Also publishing on CD and DVD, the Jeff Lucas on Life and Life Journeys series provide accessible, practical guides to the ups and downs of daily life. His recent partnership with Adrian Plass with Seriously Funny led to spin-off live tours which regularly attract sell-out audiences.

Author snapshot – Jeff Lucas

Describing himself as “passionately committed to fun before death,’ author, broadcaster and church leader, Jeff Lucas has renewed and revived the spirits of UK Christians through an alliance with fellow wit and wise man, Adrian Plass.

Previously involved with Spring Harvest, former Vice President of the Evangelical Alliance and an ambassador for Compassion UK, Jeff Lucas has authored more than 20 bestselling books with sales of more than 1 million copies.

Teaching pastor at Timberline Church, Colorado, Jeff is best known in the UK for his broadcasts on Premier and UCB radio and CWR Bible daily reading notes. More recently his Life Journeys books and DVDs have proved popular with new Christians and study groups.

Jeff’s DVD, live tours with Adrian Plass under the Seriously Funny banner have entertained and enlightened UK audiences with the combined humour and honesty of two of the church’s best ambassadors of Christianity for the modern world.

Calling to ministry

It was a high school English teacher who encouraged Jeff’s love of words and his involvement in the debating society. At this time Jeff was far from being a Christian but began to realise God was at work in his life.

After only 3 weeks as a Christian the guest speaker at a youth weekend gave Jeff a clear sense of his calling to the full time Christian ministry that still engages him today.

Jeff is keen to make clear that Christian ministry isn’t restricted to church leadership. Christians engaged in ‘ordinary’ life, he insists provide a church with its widest sphere of influence.

International ministry

Daily Bible reading guides, magazine columns and new book contracts mean that most of Jeff’s time is given to his writing.

About a third of Jeff’s time is given to teaching and preaching at the Timberline Church, Colarado. Preparing radio programmes for Premier and UCB and keeping up with administration fills up the rest of his work in the UK.

A director of Equipped to Lead, Jeff Lucas, travels internationally with a specific vision to equip the church to “build” rather than simply “bless”. Formerly part of the Spring Harvest team, Jeff has worked with the church planting Pioneer Network and the Evangelical Alliance as a vice president.

Man and mission

International preacher and teacher, Jeff is always learning from the people he meets and incorporating lessons learnt into his teaching.

The greatest lesson learnt, Jeff says, is that vulnerability is liberating. Nothing more encourages than seemingly perfect Christian leaders who are willing to share not only their victories, but also their battle scars.

His most challenging project grew out of conversations with Rob Parsons and his Care for the Family team. These discussions revealed a need for churches to be not only holy but totally accepting and accessible. Facing up to the kinds of tensions this approach provokes led to the book Creating a Prodigal Friendly Church.

Meaning and message

Looking back on his time with Spring Harvest, Jeff feels that Christians may have lost some of their evangelistic clarity of the 1970s.

In those days, he suggests, maybe the church was too aggressive evangelistically. Now, perhaps, the church is much better at social engagement but less forthright in explaining the reason why.

Aware of his high profile, Jeff realises that one wrong word in a personal interaction can adversely affect the way his books and broadcasts are received. The danger there, he says, is that this could give him a sense of his own importance.

The recurring theme of honest vulnerability returns with an admission that his whole life is a flawed attempt to be a disciple and follower of Jesus. ‘This relieves some of the pressure,’ he says, ‘I do want to be an example to others, but I don't
think that this means creating a false image.’

A publishing overview

With over 20 books to his name, Jeff Lucas is a popular writer able to engage with new and experienced Christians in their real life ups and downs.

The success of his Lucas on Life Every Day series may lie in his understanding the difference between aspiration and accomplishment. ‘I do think there is something to be said for simply getting on faithfully to do what God has given us to do now,’ he says.

‘The greatest key for us discovering our calling is availability… Surely, the most important step is the step that we take today, whatever that means.’

His catalogue includes the Lucas on Life daily Bible reading guides with practical life applications and Life Journeys. Creating a Prodigal Friendly Church helps churches understand why people leave churches and how to welcome them home.

Among his books of fiction, anecdotes and humour is Helen Sloane’s Diary and the follow up to what Helen did next, Up Close and Personal. Regular searches of the Eden.co.uk new releases will keep you up to date with Jeff Lucas’ latest books, CDs, DVDs and speaking tours.