Our Publication Ethos

Our Structure

We have several different imprints, which are focused on different types of books. All of these are Christian based books, though not exclusively written by Christians. Our imprints are:

Wise Path Books - this is where you are. Here we focus on printing explicitly Christian books in many different genres: various types of fiction, devotional books, inspirational books, theological material, and Christian living. One of our long-term goals is to produce a beautiful Bible version. So, stay tuned for that!

Western Front Books - this imprint is publishing books that are foundationally Christian, but with a focus on cultural topics, engaging in the public square of political and cultural ideas. These books are almost always written to men on the political Right. Read more about the WFB publication ethos here.

Stepping Stones Stories - this imprint is publishing books that are for children. Our newest effort, it is still getting off the ground. The goal is to provide strong books with a conservative Christian message for the upcoming generation. Read more about the SSS publication ethos here.

We also intend to start an imprint with books specifically for women, currently working with several authors on the first of these books. We have unfortunately not come up with a good name for it yet!

At least one more imprint is also in the works...

Our Goals

Our overall goal is to publish books that will speak God's truth to today's world. We seek to publish new books from two different sources:

First, authors who have a message for today's readers. We are publishing in virtually any genre, as long as it is relevant to today's audience, we think we can do a good job with it, and it is aligned to our overall goal. The type of book will determine which imprint we would use to bring it to life.

Second, we seek to publish books from past ages (out of copyright) which are still relevant, or perhaps newly relevant, to today's world. This means re-publishing books exactly as they were, or sometimes editing for clarity. Again, the type of book will determine which imprint we would go with.

The books we want to publish are explicitly right-wing in the most general terms, rejecting the two core principles of what is called "the Enlightenment" - total freedom from any bond we don't choose (family, hierarchy, etc.), and total egalitarianism (everyone is equal). We seek to publish books that harken back to a traditional, ordered society along biblical principles.

A word about AI: our authors are not allowed to use generative AI in order to produce any of their books' textual content. That means that tools which point out grammatical or other problems with their writing are allowed, but tools that do writing (or re-writing) for them are strictly not. Nothing one of our readers engages with should be written by artificial sources. We want to use as little generative AI art as possible, and hope to use actual artists and illustrators when budget is available. If we use AI art, we will note it in the copyright page.

If you are such an author, or if you know of an older book that you think needs to be brought back into availability, please contact us.

Our Christian Standards

As a Christian publishing company, we seek to abide by the truth of Scripture. We are a cross-denominational effort, believing in robust debates and respectful arguments. Our unity with all partners and current published authors can be summarized with what might be the oldest Christian statement of beliefs, the Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

Short List of Non-negotiables

As believers, we understand that there will be many opinions and ways of looking at things. Each should be persuaded, as the apostle says, in his own mind. However, there are a few topics so relevant to today's battle-lines, that we will be very careful not to print anything that would negate, or call into question these ideas:

Inerrancy of the Bible - not any one particular version
Biblical 6-Day Creation - no form of evolution
Traditional heterosexual (male-female) marriage
Covenant Marriage - unbroken by elective divorce
Real biological sex/gender - not alterable
Real biological race - not merely a social construct
Monogamous sexuality in Marriage only
Human life starting at conception

We understand that some Christians will have differences of opinions on some of these matters, and that is fine. Even our authors will perhaps have different ideas or perspectives on some of these, and other, matters. But regardless of personal thoughts or feelings, we will not be publishing anything opposing the above ideas.

Our Focus

We will publish all types of Christian books as long as they meet the criteria outlined above. But what we really seek to do is to publish books in the vein of the spiritual insight of George MacDonald, which Michael Phillips has built on in the past few decades. These areas of focus are:

the divine Fatherhood of God,
growth into Christlikeness, and
obedience to the commands of Jesus.

Beginning with the writings of Michael Phillips and George MacDonald, both fiction and non-fiction, and the challenging ideas raised in their books⎯along with the writings of other like-minded authors⎯we seek to encourage readers to think judiciously, prayerfully, intelligently, and practically about the foundational tenets of their faith. Our hope is to expand understanding of the infinite goodness of God’s Fatherhood, turning the practicality of that knowledge into daily-life growth in the Lord’s followers.

We believe that among God’s primary objectives for his people are reconciliation and unity, both of which He will bring to fulfilled completion in eternity. We, therefore, seek to publish books that inspire bold-thinking faith, and fiction that examples characters who are growing toward reconciliation and wholeness in their own lives and relationships, who believe in the high truth of unity, and who are engaged in the lifelong quest toward an ever-expanding personalization of the goodness of God, their Father.

Taken together, we view the commands of Jesus as the doorway and mechanism by which God matures Christlikeness of character in his sons and daughters. With this in mind, we pray that God’s Spirit, and what Paul calls “the mind of Christ,” will illuminate, clarify, and deepen the understanding of the commands in God's people through our efforts, and help us together to orient our life-compass to live by those commands.

Please allow us to clarify any of these points, or get in contact with us if you wish to be a part of our publishing efforts in some capacity at our contact us form.