About the Project

The project of assembling Lincoln's writings into the book "Beyond Church" was a unique labor of love and family involvement. Over the course of his adult life, Lincoln produced an estimated 1,100 writings: articles, letters to the editor, hymns, prayers, poems, essays and commentaries of various sorts. Many of these were in the form of weekly commentaries on Scripture and daily life produced for one congregation or another. One series was called "Pearson's Parables," and another was "Linc's Thinks."

But because of his focus on the message and not on the messenger, Linc gave no thought to preserving or publishing these for a wider audience. It was enough, in his mind, to further the Kingdom and not feather the cap. It was only in the last decade of his life that Lincoln gave any thought to publishing a collection of his written work, and then only at the consistent urging of family and friends. His hope in publishing these writings was like the intent of his woodworking, that in some small way careful craftsmanship freely offered might bless a world in need of putting back together.

About the Editor

Lincoln's youngest son Joel Pearson worked for The Evangelical Covenant Church in the Covenant Communications Department as their webmaster. His programming skills enabled Lincoln to begin publishing his writings on the Internet in the late 1990s. Joel began the project of producing the book by reviewing essays already published on the Internet. Selecting, organizing, and editing content in the next phase became an ongoing effort over many months.

Lincoln's eldest son, Mark Pearson, a Covenant Pastor in Portland, Maine, wrote the Foreword and Afterword for the book, providing an introduction to the the author and his work, and a concluding essay on Finding and Following Jesus Christ.

About the Publisher

When the manuscript was ready for production, Lincoln's youngest daughter, Jocelyn 'Toolie' Garner of Tooliedotter Press, provided the interior book design, layout, and typesetting of the text, with final editing and proofing completed by her partner, McAlister Merchant of MJM Design.