Author Spotlight: Luciano Lombardi
We are pleased to introduce author Luciano Lombardi. Luciano recently published A Free Humanity, which is now available through the Word Alive Press Bookstore, and everywhere fine Christian books are sold. We asked Luciano to share a little bit about his writing and his new book. But first, a little bit about him.
About
Luciano has had a passion for writing from the moment he entered college. Studying to become a pastor, he immediately gained a love for the Bible and a passion for learning how to interpret its meaning and apply it to everyday life. Moving on to graduate work, the skills of handling the biblical text began to solidify and he took both his passion and skill and brought them into pastoral ministry.
In his first pastorate, he faithfully delivered message after message each week from his careful and prayerful exegetical work. The fruit of his communication bore evidence in his congregation, as many were discipled through his teaching.
After having pastored for nearly a decade in the Greater Toronto Area, Luciano was invited to join Master’s College and Seminary (MCS) both as an instructor and an administrator. For the next twenty years, he passionately shared the scriptures with his students, especially the letters of Paul.
In the last eight years, God has put on his heart the desire to write and leave behind what he has shared in the classroom for others to read. In 2014, he released his first book, A New Humanity: A Walk Through the Letter of Ephesians. Inspired to write it by his theologian friend Baxter Kruger, Luciano took the book on the road and shared it with many pastors and congregations. His students use the book as a resource in his class at MCS and many have communicated with him about how the book impacted their preaching, teaching, and small group ministry.
During this time, Luciano laid out a plan to write several more books on the theme of humanity from the letters of Paul which he teaches in his college course. Over the last three years, during the summer months, he worked on his second volume, A Free Humanity: A Walk Through the Letter of Galatians. He is excited to be releasing it this month of May and he will start travelling to speaking engagements in churches.
His first stop will be in Leamington, Ontario in the middle of May, where he will kick off a preaching series on Galatians at Lakepoint Church. On June 28, he will record an interview on 700 Club Canada regarding his new book and in August he will share in a sermon series on Galatians in St. Catharines at Central Community Church.
Luciano’s passion as a writer is to help readers learn about their faith and their Christian walk. His goal is to help others see the beauty of being in relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit and the joy of being part of God’s community. The aim is for everyone who engages with his writing to capture the wonder of loving God and others in their life.
Q&A
Q: What inspired you to write this book?
A: The message of Galatians is about freedom. I pictured in my mind what it would look like if the followers of Jesus lived in the freedom that has come through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. By taking our hands off making ourselves good enough for Christ and letting Christ do his work in us, we can live in true freedom and share the love of Father, Son, and Spirit in our world. I wanted to share this with others, and writing this book is one of those ways. I pray that the Lord uses it to bring freedom to many!
Q: What is this book about?
A: It’s about getting off the treadmill of working for our salvation, working to get Jesus to love us! The reality is that God has already shown us the extent of his love, even before we knew of it. With a love so great in our lives, we don’t need to climb the ladder of achievement to gain the Lord’s approval. We are released from such dead-end living. He freed us from the viciousness of evil taking advantage of our desire to gain God’s approval and has given us his love whereby we can live in loving relationship with Him and others. The freedom is to be able to live our faith by expressing it in love.
Q: What did you learn while writing this book?
A: I learned that writing books take patience. Life is busy. Carving out the time you need and devoting it to writing is important, but don’t beat yourself up if you don’t reach your timelines. Simply set new timelines and keep going. This is exactly what I did and eventually I got to the finish line!
Q: What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
A: I hope that when they read the last page, they breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Jesus loves them as they are, and that our aim is to cultivate relationship with him and enjoy the freedom that comes by being loved by the Father, Son, and Spirit. I want readers to feel the peace that comes when they know they are loved, and that the desire of the Trinity is for us to continually live in that love. I hope they feel that they’re off the hook for earning any part of the relationship that is now ours in Christ. I pray that they walk in the freedom to love others as Christ loves us.
Q: What is your next step as an author?
A: I’m going to keep writing. I already have the next project in mind. I want to keep leaving behind what God has entrusted to me. I feel a burden to get what is inside me onto paper so that others may see what God has done and what he desires for all of us.
Q: Do you have any quick tips for new writers?
A: Take a risk! Engage in the writing process and see where it goes. Follow your gut and learn everything you can about writing and producing a book. Settle on what’s possible and follow it to the end.
When the book is out, leverage all your relationships to get the word out. Do not hesitate. Start with those closest to you and then expand from there. You won’t regret the time and effort.
If you have a burden to write, then you should write. What you will contribute has the potential to impact others. God gave you the burden for a reason and those reasons will multiply as you work through the writing process.
When I wrote my first book, my thought was that I would be happy if just my students read it. I went on to sell close to 1,500 copies both in paperback and ebook form. The book is available in Logos Bible Software and users can purchase it in its digitized form. The book has been translated into Chinese to target first-generation young adult believers. I didn’t expect any of this. I just stayed faithful to the process and did exactly what I mentioned above. God will open doors for what he has put on your heart to accomplish in your writing.
Connecting Points
Find and follow Luciano, here:
Facebook: Luc Lombardi
Twitter: @coachllombardi