By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — Trussville evangelist Pat Schatzline was at the track at Jack Wood Stadium, walking and training to combat the writer’s block.
He was close to a deadline, and he couldn’t seem to break through.
Then, it hit him.
“On that walk I heard the voice of the Lord say, ‘Son, I have a message for you to deliver. Write down what I am about to share with you,’” Schatzline writes in the introduction to his new book, “I Am Remnant,” officially releases Tuesday.
Schatzline pulled out his phone, pressed open the yellow “Notes” app and began to type. The result was a 34-point manifesto, a solid foundation on which to build his book. He has also authored “Why Is God So Mad At Me?”
“What made this book so special is I walked through different areas of the Bible where God raised up key voices,” said Schatzline, who co-founded Mercy Seat Ministries in Trussville with his wife, Karen.
Schatzline will sign copies of the new book on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Books-A-Million on U.S. Highway 11 in Trussville. The book is written as an open letter, about those who will stand up, about what it means to be remnant.
“It really is a journey into what it means to make a stand for Christ,” Schatzline said.
The first section of the book explains what being remnant means and how the remnant must rise. The second section is about getting real with God. The final section is about the remnant being marked by His presence.
Schatzline said he will likely have some “arrows shot at him” because he attacks celebrity culture in the book. He said heroes or people to look up to are not celebrities such as Katy Perry or Miley Cyrus. It’s not even the world that speaks the truth.
“The truth is God’s word,” he said. “The only real hero is ‘the nobody,’ the one that will make a stand.”
He said Rosa Parks made a stand. A student praying over his or her lunch at school makes a stand.
“God loves you, now do something about it,” Schatzline said. “God loves you, now stand up and be seen for Him. Anybody can do what the world is doing, but it takes a remnant to do what God has called us to do.”
Schatzline said he’s OK with being attacked for writing “the truth” because Jesus got attacked for speaking the truth.
“God’s word doesn’t change,” he said.
The book is largely based on Romans 11:5, which states, “So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.”
The book is “pretty intense,” Schatzline said, since some of it addresses sexuality, drugs and abortion. A culture telling you who to celebrate is not right, Schatzline said.
“My heartbeat for this whole message is, simply, it doesn’t matter where you’re coming from, it doesn’t matter what you do, God knows He has a plan for you,” Schatzline said. “He just wants you to make a stand for Him. That’s the conscience of the remnant. The remnant stands out and declares the truth about God.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.