Author Spotlight: John G. Hutchinson
By John G. Hutchinson

February is the month of love, and this month’s author spotlight is a well-respected writer on the greatest love of all: God’s love for us. This month, read John G. Hutchinson’s trilogy on father-love and deepen your relationship with God.

John G. Hutchinson has been called one of the true spiritual grandfathers of the twenty-first century church, having served as a pastor, missionary, youth evangelist, Bible school teacher, and interdenominational leader for over sixty years. He has a passionate love for God and people, a comprehension of Scripture, and insights that uniquely qualify him to communicate biblical truths.

At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, John has written three books, which together form a trilogy about the Trinity of God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

• Astounding Love: Experience God’s Immeasurable Father-Love for You reveals God’s great love, salvation, and goodness for us, His precious children.
• Astounding Sacrifice: The Most Crucial Event in All of Human History weaves into one harmonious narrative every detail of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension found in the four Gospels, showing the immense price Jesus paid to give us salvation.
• Astounding Promise: God Restores to Us the Fullness of His Spirit reveals how God gives us the presence and power of His great Holy Spirit, in real-life experience and practical ways.

John is a native of Calgary, Alberta and enjoys hiking, mountain-climbing, fishing, and hunting in the beautiful Canadian Rockies. John was a principal actor in the Corbin Bernsen movie Rust, playing the role of spiritual advisor to a minister who had lost his faith. He also played the unofficial role of pastor to the film crew while making the movie. (See the trailer here).

Interview with John G. Hutchinson

WAP: You call your three books a trilogy. Is there one common message in all three?
JGH: The common message in all of my books is the great love God has for each one of us. That love is shown through the Father-heart of God, as described in Astounding Love; the salvation God provided us through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, as described in Astounding Sacrifice; and the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as described in Astounding Promise.

WAP: Why did you include the word “astounding” in the title of each of your books?
JGH: Many years ago, God gave me a revelation of the great love and goodness He intended for all of us and, in contrast, what sin and satan have done to the human race. I have described this revelation in both Astounding Love and Astounding Promise. Although this occurred many years ago, the revelation has stayed with me to this day. The magnitude of God’s love and the gifts He desires to give us out of His love are beyond my power to express. I used the word “astounding” to try to capture the greatness of God’s love and goodness toward us.

WAP: What do you hope readers will take away from reading your books?
JGH: The awesome depth of God’s love and salvation, and our tremendous worth in His sight.

WAP: How would you describe your publishing experience?
JGH: I chose Word Alive Press to publish my first book after considering a number of other options, based on Word Alive’s Christian character and Canadian presence. I continued with Word Alive for my next two books, based on the service provided and because they were familiar with me, and I with them. The staff and editors at Word Alive have been accommodating of my preferences, sensitive to my concerns, and consistently supportive.

WAP: Why did you decide to become a writer?
JGH: I always said that I was not a writer, even when people were urging me to put my teaching on the Father-heart of God into a book. Over many years, God prompted me to take up this task. I repeatedly objected that I was not a book-type. However, God persisted and insisted. When I finally relented, through His great provision He made the task as easy as possible.

WAP: What prompted you to write each of your books?
JGH: My first book, Astounding Love, is based on a teaching series I developed over a number of years. I first gave the teaching to Bible school students, who were profoundly touched—moved to tears, in fact. Some even told me that it changed their lives. I developed the teaching into seminar materials, and found that those who heard the seminar were similarly impacted. People began to encourage me to put the teaching into a book, which I ultimately did.

My second book, Astounding Sacrifice, came out of my own personal study of the Bible. In reading the Gospel accounts of the passion of Jesus, I found that not all details were included in all four Gospels. In addition, I wanted to understand the chronology of this most crucial event in human history, so I organized all the details into chronological order. Some fifty years later, after my first book was published, I was prompted by God to publish this chronology as well, together with notes explaining the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.

Astounding Promise, my third book, also came from a specific prompting by God. It wasn’t until I was working on this book that I realized it would be the third book of a trilogy. This must have been the Lord’s plan all along!

WAP: How would you characterize your writing style?
JGH: My heart has always been to make my writing readable and understandable, especially to young people, young Christians, and even those who are not Christians. My writing is not directed at seminary professors. Rather, my primary goal is to make my writing very understandable to the ordinary person.

WAP: Do you have any advice to other writers?
JGH: Ask and keep asking God to open your thoughts and words to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Do not try to write on your own. This principle of reliance on the Spirit is so scriptural, but our old natures are averse to it. You must continually work to rely on the Holy Spirit for your inspiration.

Also, immerse yourself in Scripture—all of it. Over a number of years, I read the Bible through each year. This gave me both a good overview and a detailed knowledge of Scripture, and helped me to understand the heart of God and His plan for the world as described in Scripture. I believe that this helped me greatly in writing my books.

About this Contributor:

John G. Hutchinson is a passionate lover of God and people, and a writer only reluctantly, after much encouragement from God. John has been called “one of the true spiritual grandfathers of the 21st century church”, having served as a pastor, missionary, youth evangelist, Bible school teacher, and interdenominational leader for over 60 years. John eagerly looks forward to joining his wife, Reta, in heaven.

Learn more about him and his books here