The Honest Christian: Learning to See Ourselves Through God’s Truth Challenges Readers to Confront the Gap Between Who They Are and Who God Calls Them to Be
BAY CITY, MI — Parker Publishers announces the release of The Honest Christian: Learning to See Ourselves Through God’s Truth by Rev. Russell Zimmerman, a retired Lutheran pastor whose life story is proof that the message he preaches is not theory. Zimmerman was asked to resign from his congregation, lost his marriage, and spent years without a pastoral call — yet never stopped ministering. His debut book invites readers into the same unflinching self-examination that reshaped his own faith.
Organized around twelve action-oriented “con-” words — Contribute, Confront, Convicted, Condemn, Convince, Convert, Confess, Conform, Contentment, Connect, Conquer, Continue — the book traces the full arc of the Christian life, from creation and the fall to redemption, sanctification, and eternal hope. Each chapter draws on Scripture to ask the question modern Christianity too often avoids: Are we being honest with God about who we actually are?
“If we don’t talk about sin, there is no need for the cross.” — Rev. Russell Zimmerman, The Honest Christian
Zimmerman writes not as a theologian at a safe distance but as someone acquainted with personal failure. Blind since birth and the first totally blind student to complete ministerial training in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, he has navigated pastoral dismissal, divorce, years of unemployment, and the quiet work of ministry without a congregation. His “Sight and Sound Ministry” — a fellowship group for people with low vision and hearing loss that has met monthly for over a decade — continues today at a Bay City homeless shelter.
“I am a product of divorce. This shows that we are all sinners,” Zimmerman writes in his author note — a candor that sets the tone for everything that follows. The book does not paper over the hard passages of Scripture or offer easy comfort. Instead, it walks readers through biblical confrontation (Nathan and David, Paul and Peter), the three kinds of death the Bible describes, the meaning of confession beyond church ritual, and what it looks like to keep going when contentment is hard-won rather than given.
The book will resonate with readers across Protestant traditions — particularly those who feel the church has grown reluctant to name sin plainly, those who have experienced failure and wondered whether God still has a purpose for them, and anyone seeking a devotional guide that combines biblical depth with personal transparency.
BOOK DETAILS
Title: The Honest Christian: Learning to See Ourselves Through God’s Truth
Author: Rev. Russell Zimmerman
Publisher: Parker Publishers
Publication Date: 2026
Format: Print / eBook
Genre: Christian Living / Spiritual Growth / Devotional
Audience: Adult Christians seeking honest spiritual self-examination; readers across Protestant traditions
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. Russell Zimmerman is a retired pastor in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod who served St. John’s Lutheran Church in Taylor, Michigan from 1979 to 1994. Blind since birth, he was among the first totally blind individuals to complete ministerial training in his denomination. Since returning to Bay City, Michigan, he has hosted the long-running internet radio program “Peace in the Midst of Pieces” and co-leads Sight and Sound Ministry, a monthly fellowship for people with visual and hearing impairments. Together, Russell and his wife Zoe are the proud parents of five children and grandparents to four grandchildren. The Honest Christian is his first book.
MEDIA CONTACT
Parker Publishers
Contact: Parker Publishers
Email: [email protected]
Website: Parker Publishers
