always wanted “I’ve to bring some of
Another of AJ’s valued instructors, Dr. Dean Smith, served as a pastor for 19 years, and was then the Chair of Geneva’s Bible department for 23 years until retiring this spring.
“He’s really been wonderful in my life, as far as understanding ministry. He’s got a real gentle spirit, and a great kingdom-mindedness about himself,” AJ says. He benefits from his relationship with Dr. Smith both as a pastor and as a friend, receiving help “not only in the area of education, but in the area of my personal ministry.” Writing books was one unexpected avenue AJ found to channel his enthusiasm for instruction. After being inspired by a topic familiar to all Geneva students and alma mater— the discussion of calling—AJ wrote You Are Called by God. “It was just a little book—60 or 70 pages—but I wanted to try to articulate what I learned from Geneva, and what that means. It really resonated with me personally,” AJ says. AJ wrote the book for his church, as he writes all his books, and it was while he was still completing his undergraduate work at Geneva that Dean Smith became interested in You Are Called by God. “I had a voice message on my phone,” AJ remembers. “He called me ‘Doctor Platt’ and said, ‘We’d like 500 copies of your book to hand out to freshmen here.’ And I remember being so nervous when I got to class that night, thinking he would find out I was a student and not even want it.” Since Dr. Smith was filling in for a teacher that evening, AJ greeted him afterward to explain that he was just a student. Dr. Smith laughed, but was still interested and used the book for freshman for several years. “The instance of them using that book,” muses AJ, “is probably what inspired me to want to write other books.”
Three of the works in his seven-book theological bibliography are more akin to “glorified pamphlets,” he readily explains. The longer ones can be 300 pages in length, comprising titles like Christ-Centered Youth Ministry, Doctrines of Grace—a defense of the doctrines of the five points of Calvinism—and an introduction to post millennialism, You, Armageddon and the Kingdom of God.
the concepts that I was learning about in school in an easy-tounderstand
way to people.
“
Never at rest, AJ has another idea for a book. He’d love to make a case for the optimism of the Gospel’s advancement in the world. “It’s really important that Christians have a view of the world that makes people want to see other Christians as their brothers and sisters,” he says. Whether AJ’s words come from the pulpit or the pages of his books, the driving force behind his work is simple: instructing others about the grace of God. “I’ve always wanted to bring some of the concepts that I was learning about in school in an easy-to-understand way to people. It’s hard to have a Bible study every time someone wants to understand the five points of Calvinism,” he says with a chuckle. G
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