Advancing the Kingdom by Publishing Books

Did you know that nearly all of our print books are available online in a digital format to be read for free? As a publisher (Ross House Books), that might sound like shooting yourself in the foot, but as a ministry (Chalcedon) our greater concern is that the message gets out to as many people as possible. We were willing to take the risk because we believed you would financially support such a mission. We still do.

For the serious Christian, books are an important part of their personal development in terms of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and since 1965, Chalcedon has seen innumerable lives transformed by the power of the printed word. In fact, so many devout adherents to Christian Reconstruction were first inspired by a friend or family member passing along one of Rushdoony’s books.

In the new millennium, the world is changing rapidly and nearly every communication and media medium is being forced to adapt to the digital age. This is no less true of a small ministry like Chalcedon, but our supporters are not like subscribers to The New York Times or viewers of mainstream news networks. Our readers consume information for the purpose of knowing God and conforming to His image as well as applying their faith to every area of life.

Still, the digital age has changed things dramatically, and we believe it’s important as a ministry to adopt new technologies for the sake of God’s Kingdom. In other words, if a young overseas pastor of little means can easily and freely access our massive storehouse of online resources, then we feel this is an extremely positive step forward for Christian Reconstruction.

With literally thousands of books, periodicals, position papers, audio sermons, videos, and more freely available on our powerful new website we can reach the world in a way we never thought possible with only printed materials and postage stamps. This is a remarkable opportunity for Chalcedon and Christian Reconstruction.

However, nothing compares to the traditional printed book and the devoted reader whose foremost desire is to better understand his faith and expand his capacity for godly dominion. This is still the foundation to both Christian Reconstruction as a school of thought and the Chalcedon Foundation as its foremost institution. For this reason, we remain aggressive in our publishing of printed books.

Last year, we published the handsome, three volume hardbound set An Informed Faith: The Position Papers of R. J. Rushdoony in which half the position papers were derived from the cumbersome Roots of Reconstruction and half not included in Roots. The goal was to make the large collection of Rushdoony’s position papers more accessible and searchable. That’s why we invested more time and money in creating the most extensive indexing system for An Informed Faith than any other book in our history.

We’ll do the same for the next three volume series, Faith & Action: The Collected Articles of R. J. Rushdoony from the Chalcedon Report, 1965-2001, because these articles and papers are still relevant to our changing times. Rushdoony brought his theology—as well as his social critiques—from the vantage point of God’s unchanging Word, so we feel even more confident about our aggressive publishing efforts because we know these books will continue to speak poignantly to our world.

We’ve also just received shipment of Volume 2 of Good Morning, Friends: A Collection of Weekly Radio Messages by R. J. Rushdoony. The reviews for Volume 1 blessed us as readers saw this series as one of the most pastoral writings by Rushdoony yet. These are not devotionals. They are more like practical, doctrinal readings on the application and implications of Reformed theology. You could teach classes and small groups with these, which make them a great book to purchase in bulk!

This highlights an important aspect of the early days of Christian Reconstruction when so much was accomplished by way of small reading groups. If you’re looking to help spread the message and help build others up, you might consider starting a reading group using books like Good Morning, Friends. This is a simple but effective stategy. We should be releasing Volume 3 of Good Morning, Friends later this year. That will complete the set.

We have more new titles forthcoming such as Rushdoony’s Sermons on First and Second Corinthians—now in technical edits—as well as his commentary on the minor prophets entitled Sermons in Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah.

In addition, after taking over the rights to Institutes of Biblical Law Volume 1, we are excited to announce that we’ll be releasing a newly typeset version of this classic book. As you may or may not know, Institutes Volume 1 was originally published by Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing who graciously turned the rights over to Chalcedon.

Lastly, the demand is increasing for digital versions of our books that can be read on popular reading applications like Kindle.

Our very own Jill has been diligently working on this massive project, and as of this date, there are 69 titles available in an ebook format including large volumes such as Rushdoony’s commentaries, short volumes such as his A Word in Season collection, as well as Lee Duigon’s Bell Mountain series.

It’s amazing to consider that 17 years after R. J. Rushdoony went home to be with his Lord that he is still keeping all of us quite busy!

As you can see, publishing remains a central part of this ministry whether it’s printed or digital. We took a risk by having so much of our material available online for anyone to read, but we believe that getting the message out to those who can’t afford it is too important, and we we believe that you will help support us.

Here’s what you can do. Consider donating to Chalcedon today, or take some time to shop our online store and take advantage of our latest sale. Remember, buying great books is a great way to support Chalcedon by investing in you!