{"id":42,"date":"2014-03-07T20:24:30","date_gmt":"2014-03-07T20:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/?page_id=42"},"modified":"2026-03-25T16:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:24:25","slug":"42-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/?page_id=42","title":{"rendered":"Books by Chris"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Leviathan and the Lambs (2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/L-L-Cover.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/L-L-Cover-225x300.jpeg\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4299\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/L-L-Cover-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/L-L-Cover.jpeg 647w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a>Leviathan and the Lambs<\/em> is the third novel in the Arthur Stone series written under the pen name Alystair West. As the book opens, Arthur Stone has left private practice and is now Attorney General of Texas. In this position, he is faced with responding to the impact of the Great Recession of 2007ff on Texans. In the process, he becomes involved in the investigation of several murders and faces an opponent both wealthier and more powerful than he is.<\/p>\n<p>The book is available at Amazon, Barnes &amp; Noble, Book Baby, and other outlets.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/store.bookbaby.com\/book\/leviathan-and-the-lambs\">Amazon.com or at Book Baby.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Illumined By Wisdom and Love (2025)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I<em>llumined by Wisdom and Love<\/em> is a pragmaticist look at certain aspects of political philosophy and urges a pragmatic, realistic, and dialogical<a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1-194x300.jpg\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3838\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1-663x1024.jpg 663w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1-768x1187.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1-994x1536.jpg 994w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1-1325x2048.jpg 1325w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/979-8-3304-6226-1.jpg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a> commitment to political discourse.<\/p>\n<p>The book defends the importance of political wisdom and an appropriate kind of love in political life while criticizing contemporary political life&#8217;s excessive power and conflict-oriented disposition.<\/p>\n<p>The book can be found at Amazon. com or can be purchased from the publisher.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Peace at Battle Mountain (2024)<\/strong> (as Alystair West)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4-194x300.jpg\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3771\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4-663x1024.jpg 663w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4-768x1187.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4-994x1536.jpg 994w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4-1325x2048.jpg 1325w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/979-8-3303-9184-4.jpg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a>Peace at Battle Mountain, written under the pen name Alystair West, &nbsp;continues the saga of Arthur and Glynn Stone, now in middle age and confronted by another financial crime, personal problems, and murder.<\/p>\n<p>Arthur and Gwynn Stone, as well as an entire cast of characters face another series of murders set in the midst of an economic disaster.<\/p>\n<p><b>Peace at Battle Mountain <\/b>is available at several outlets, including Amazon and Barnes &amp; Noble.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marshland (2023) <\/strong>(as Alystair West)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland-194x300.jpg\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3378\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland-662x1024.jpg 662w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland-768x1187.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland-994x1536.jpg 994w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland-1325x2048.jpg 1325w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Marshland.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/>M<strong>arshland<\/strong><\/a>, written under the pen name Alystair West, follows the exploits of a young attorney and a diverse cast of characters as they become entangled in a mystery unfolding across personal, legal, moral, and spiritual levels.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Marshland<\/strong> is available at several outlets, including WestBow Press, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crisis of Discipleship: Renewing the Art of Relational Disciple-Making (2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover-223x300.jpg\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3546\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover-223x300.jpg 223w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover-761x1024.jpg 761w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover-768x1033.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover-1142x1536.jpg 1142w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover-1523x2048.jpg 1523w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CoD-Cover.jpg 1566w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/a>Crisis of Discipleship<\/em><\/strong> outlines barriers to disciple-making in our culture and a wholistic, relational strategy for disciple-making in the 21st Century. <em>Crisis of Discipleship<\/em> begins with the nature of our culture and a look at the prophetic work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his classic <em>Cost of Discipleship<\/em>. It then discusses the fundamentals of a holistic discipleship strategy and the importance of community in disciple-making before returning to Bonhoeffer&#8217;s <em>Letters and Papers from Prison<\/em> as a prophetic word to our day.<\/p>\n<p>Crisis of Discipleship is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as well as available from the publisher at at<a href=\"https:\/\/livingdialog.org\/product\/crisis\">https:\/\/livingdialog.org\/product\/crisis<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Letters To Leaders (Bay Village, OH: Bay Presbyterian Church, 2019)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><strong>Letters to Leader<\/strong>s<\/i> examines a servant shepherd leadership model for churches and other organizations. It focuses on helping Christian leaders lead after the example of Christ by adopting the best understanding of modern management. It was privately published. Copies can be obtained by contacting the author.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/salt-and-light_everyday-discipleship.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/salt-and-light_everyday-discipleship-300x205.jpeg\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-695\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/salt-and-light_everyday-discipleship-300x205.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/salt-and-light_everyday-discipleship.jpeg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Salt &amp; Light: Everyday Discipleship (Collierville, TN: Innovo, 2017)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss\/147-2767247-6973504?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&#038;field-keywords=Salt+%26+Light%3A+Everday+Discipleship\">Salt &amp; Light: Everyday Discipleship <\/a>is a twenty-four-week study containing 24 basic Bible studies, learning to tell Bible stories from memory and in your voice, &nbsp;preparation of simple Gospel presentations and testimonies about what God has done and is doing in their life, and the basics of evangelism and discipleship training for lay people and pastors alike. It is designed to be done in small groups with mature believers and new or non-believers.<\/p>\n<p>https: amazon.com\/Salt-Light-Discipleship-Equipping-Commission\/dp\/1613145292<\/p>\n<p><b>Path of Life: The Way of Wisdom for Christ Followers (Eugene, OR: Wipf &amp; Stock, 2014)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong><i><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Book-Cover.peg_.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Book-Cover.peg_-199x300.png\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-219\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Book-Cover.peg_-199x300.png 199w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Book-Cover.peg_.png 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a>Path of Life: The Way of Wisdom for Christ Followers <\/i><\/strong>looks at wisdom literature from the perspective of a pastor deeply concerned about the condition of contemporary society. Western culture, in general, and American culture in particular, has unwisely cut itself off from its deepest spiritual, moral, and practical roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Overcoming the deep-seated incoherence of our society will involve a recovery of sources of ethical and practical wisdom that lie at the very roots of human culture. This book is an attempt to take a look at these roots in a way that is accessible not just to experts but also to laypersons who are willing to work a bit to understand the sources of our current condition and the way forward.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wipfandstock.com\/store\/Path_of_Life_The_Way_of_Wisdom_for_Christ_Followers\">https:\/\/wipfandstock.com\/store\/Path_of_Life_The_Way_of_Wisdom_for_Christ_Followers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b><i><a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cover.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cover.jpg\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-1436\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cover.jpg 232w, https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cover-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/a>Centered Living\/Centered Leading: The Way of Light and Love (Memphis, TN, Shiloh Publishing, 2010)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><strong>Centered Living\/Centered Leading: The Way of Light<\/strong> and Love<\/i> was an original attempt to look at the wisdom of leadership as a committed Christian through the lens of the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Tao Te Ching<\/span>. Government, industry, and non-profit leaders are bombarded with advice concerning becoming better leaders. Much of this advice draws on Western, secular leadership theory. There is nothing wrong with this approach. However, Christian leaders cannot forget that their success as leaders and in forming people who walk in the way of Jesus will be more affected by their character than by techniques of leadership theory. Therefore, in Centered Living\/Centered Leading, I attempted to explore the personal, spiritual, and character basis for leadership.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&#038;field-keywords=g.christopher+Scruggs+path+of+life&#038;rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ag.christopher+Scruggs+path+of+life\">http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=g.christopher+Scruggs+path+of+life&amp;rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ag.christopher+Scruggs+path+of+life<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leviathan and the Lambs (2026) Leviathan and the Lambs is the third novel in the Arthur Stone series written under the pen name Alystair West. As the book opens, Arthur Stone has left private practice and is now Attorney General of Texas. In this position, he is faced with responding to the impact of the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/?page_id=42\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Books by Chris<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P4CzBH-G","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4356,"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions\/4356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gchristopherscruggs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}