A New Chapter: A Special Announcement from Pastor Nic

What if the journey to freedom is intertwined with your greatest challenges?" Join me on this very special episode of Beyond Sunday as I reveal the deeply personal and transformative journey behind my upcoming book, "Be Free," set to release on January 20th, 2025. Sharing a story almost a decade in the making, I recount the rollercoaster of life changes, the unexpected twists at South Shore Community Church, and the relentless drive to put pen to paper once more. Discover the heartfelt moments that shaped this labor of love and how they inspired a book that invites you on a profound journey of liberation and discovery.

This episode isn't just about a book release; it's about the empowering message of freedom that I am passionate about sharing. Drawing from invaluable lessons from our church's recovery ministry, I've learned more from real-life struggles and triumphs than any formal training could offer. Many are trapped by their pasts, yearning for freedom that seems elusive, but the truth is, it's within reach. Let’s explore together the truth that can set us free and spread this message to those who need it most. Your support means the world to me, and I can't wait to embark on this exciting chapter with you.

https://www.nic-williams.com/team

Transcript

Speaker 0: 0:37

Hey podcast world. Today is a special episode of Beyond Sunday where I wanna share something very personal. A little over eight years ago, I started a journey to write a book. The book got released in 2016, in the middle, honestly, of one of the craziest seasons of my life. If you know that story, the short version is I was on staff at a local church in Sarasota and their theology changed overnight. By the end of that week, I had resigned and just didn't know what I would do. I had some incredible friends in a band I was in called Reverend Barry and the Funk. At the time, I was having a great time with that. Chris Shadow, one of those friends, gave me a job immediately, just so I could continue to take care of my family. Other churches in our community wrapped around us and we were more loved than we ever felt from strangers beyond the people that we actually knew, and so it was an incredible season of learning. In the midst of all that, I became the lead pastor of South Shore Community Church in Sarasota, florida, and released my first book about four months after taking that position. The book is called when Fear and Faith Collide. If you've not read that, you can jump on Amazon and buy that, and I would be honored if you did that and left a five-star review. Those are always helpful for local authors. But that was a journey. That book probably needs to be rewritten. I've come a long way in my writing style and what I think, and so I probably should re-up that book. But we'll save that project for another day.

Speaker 0: 2:06

When I released that book, I thought in the next year I would release a second book. I knew exactly what I was going to write on. I always had an idea of two or three books in my head and so I thought, man, I will start writing. Life just got in the way. Our church started to grow, my responsibilities of lead pastor became overwhelming and I entered an interesting season of ministry. Church growth, plus COVID, plus a construction project, plus some staffing issues just overwhelmed me to a point where writing wasn't fun and writing wasn't something that I was going to do. Fast forward probably seven years from that point and I realized, man, I still had a desire to write at least one book the book that I had originally started out to write after my first release, and I began to dive into what that looked like, began to research, began to take notes and, all of a sudden, a book began to form. So I'm thrilled to share some incredible, exciting news with you today. After years of heartfelt effort, reflection and overcoming numerous challenges, the time has finally come. So today, to my podcast listeners, I'm announcing this first, so if you're listening to the podcast, you're hearing this before anybody else, minus the about 10 people in my life that know this is happening. But I'm letting you know, I'll let social know and my church know in the next couple of weeks but podcast people I'm releasing my new book, which is called Be Free, and it'll be available on January 20th 2025.

Speaker 0: 3:38

This book has been a labor of love for me, shaped by experiences and insights gathered over a journey that's been both challenging and deeply rewarding. Be Free, though, is more than just a title. It's an invitation. An invitation to explore the depths of freedom that comes from understanding, accepting and acting on the truth that can truly set us free. The back cover of the book says it all, inviting readers into a journey of liberation and discovery. This book is my heart poured out in words, a culmination of years of learning and living At South Shore. We have a recovery ministry on Sunday nights. We have about 200 people that come to that, and I have learned more, maybe, from that group of people than I have from years of seminary and doctoral training.

Speaker 0: 4:26

My life has been turned upside down as I've looked at so many people searching for what it really means to be free. Yet they're letting their past, their baggage, the things of their life hold them back from truly experiencing that freedom, and that freedom all of a sudden becomes just a carrot out in the distance that we hope one day to attain. But the truth is, the gospel says that Jesus came to set you free. It is for freedom that he has set you free, right, and so here's the thing. I need your help. I can't do this alone.

Speaker 0: 5:00

The truth is, releasing a book into the world is a daunting task. It's like sending a part of your soul out into the open, hoping it'll find a place to call home in the hearts of readers. That's why I'm reaching out to you, my listeners and the community that has supported me throughout these years. I need your help to launch this book successfully. If you've ever found value in our time together on this podcast, in our church, in our relationship, if you've ever been moved or challenged by what you've heard. I want to invite you to join my book launch team. As a member of the team, you'll receive a pre-release electronic copy of Be Free. I'll ask you to read it. Share your honest review as soon as the book goes live.

Speaker 0: 5:43

But it doesn't stop there. I hope you'll love the book enough to want to own a copy yourself and help spread the word through your social networks, by word of mouth, to your friends. Plus, as a special bonus, you'll get a sneak peek at my next project, slated for late 2025, and even have a chance to influence its development. Yes, along with announcing my second book release, I'm also announcing that I am already working on a third book that hopefully will come out later this year. I can't tell you how life-giving it has been to sit and just read the Word of God and allow what God places on my heart to be penned into a book. Now, if you're thinking, man, I want to join that launch team and hopefully everybody is thinking that To join the launch team, just visit my website nick-williamscom slash team Again, nic-williamscom backslash T-E-A-M. There'll be a link to it below the podcast as well. Fill out the form and you'll be all set to start this exciting journey with me. After this form gets going for a week or so, I'll start contacting you and let you know where we're at in this journey.

Speaker 0: 7:01

Now, along with the book, I've got some other surprises that will be released along this journey. I don't want to talk about those just yet. One, because I can't give you everything today. And two, what if they don't happen? I am running a marathon right now to try to wrap up and button up all the things that I've been dreaming about with this book.

Speaker 0: 7:19

This book Be Free has the potential to change lives and, with your help, we can make sure it reaches those who need it most. I believe in the power of this work, not just because I wrote it, but because of the transformation I've witnessed in those that I've shared this message with to date. Together, you and I can turn a ripple into a wave, so thank you for considering this opportunity to be a part of something bigger. Your support not only means the world to me, but can also make a world of difference to someone else. Let's make this launch a resounding success. Thank you so much for joining me today. I can't wait to give you more information about what God's doing through this book and through my life, hope you have an incredible week. God bless.