The Rev. Glennon Culwell, a longtime Scotts Valley pastor, one of the founding members of Baymonte Christian School and former mayor of Scotts Valley, has penned his second book, “My Life in the Potter’s Hands.”
In the autobiographical work, Culwell, 84, traces his life from a cotton farm on the plains of West Texas to Scotts Valley.
In his self-published work, he revisits the steps that led him to where he is today, including time organizing Bell Aircraft’s Helicopter Division into a union and then leading that union.
He also recounts his half-century in Scotts Valley, including his work as pastor of the First Baptist Church, now Gateway Bible Church, which led to the founding of Baymonte.
“The concept is how God works all things together for good,” Culwell said.
Throughout the first-person narrative, Culwell describes the hazards and failures he confronted and how God helped him through them.
“People face so many different problems,” Culwell said. “They need to understand those can be worked for good, if they allow God to live in their lives.”
Culwell also describes his four years on the Scotts Valley City Council, from 1985 to 1989, including two years as mayor.
“It should be of considerable interest to people at large in Scotts Valley, the faith community and city government,” he said.
The book’s foreword is written by Dr. Brad Franklin of Next Generation Churches. He describes it as “…an autobiography, (but also) … a remarkable love story. It’s the story of how God transformed a union boss into a follower of Jesus Christ…. And it is spread generously with lessons learned through failure.”
Culwell authored “Death Goes to School,” his first book, three years ago. It was a description of problems he sees with public education. He has another manuscript in the works, but for now, he’s spreading the word about “Potter’s Hands.”
“There’s been quite a bit of response back and encouragement to maybe write a sequel,” Culwell said.
At a glance
TITLE: “My Life in the Potter’s Hands”
AUTHOR: Glennon Culwell, former Scotts Valley mayor and Baymonte Christian School
co-founder
PRICE: $11.95 at Amazon.com and other online booksellers
