Grateful to everyone who took the time to read this book. I really poured myself into it, and whether it was kind comments, written reviews, or the occasional best seller tag, I was blown away by the response. Sharing anything with the world is scary, but I’m glad I was pushed to see it through.

"May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful." —Mary Oliver (Upstream)

Abandon the Orderly House is on a Kindle Countdown Deal through the end of the week! The ebook is only $0.99 instead of the usual $9.99.

“None of us is yet whole in Christ. All of us are in the process of becoming. We are not finished products. He has pruning and shaping to do in us. And he has promised that he will continue what he has begun.” —Eugene Peterson (Lights a Lovely Mile)

“We do not live in an ironclad universe of cause and effect. In the presence of the God of Jacob, there is life that is beyond prediction.” —Eugene Peterson (As Kingfishers Catch Fire)

“I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.” —Henri Nouwen (In the Name of Jesus)

A (perhaps timely) sermon preview 🧵 as we begin the story of Moses: When scared people allow themselves to be steered by leaders who do not fear the Lord, history tells us that all kinds of evil are possible.

This prayer from Thomas Merton has been stuck in my mind for months as both an encouragement and a conviction. Perhaps you need to hear it too.

“There is nothing that I may decently hope for that I cannot reach by patience as well as by anxiety.” —Wendell Berry (The World-Ending Fire)

“None of us can dialogue with others until we can calmly and confidently hold our own identity.” —Richard Rohr (Falling Upward) So many leaders operate from a deep insecurity (hidden by false confidence, antagonism & pseudo-intellectualism). Is it any wonder we’re divided?

If you have a Kindle, the ebook version of Abandon the Orderly House is 90% off for the next few days—just $0.99! www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DT...

“Prayer does not lead us to shame, guilt, or despair, but rather to the joyful discovery that we are only human and that God is truly God.” —Henri Nouwen (With Open Hands)

"No matter what others say about us, we are not so bad that we cannot experience love, and no matter how awful we feel about ourselves, God doesn't share that low opinion." —Eugene Peterson (Lights a Lovely Mile)

One thing my favorite spiritual writers have in common is a genuine lack of pretense. That's why I appreciated this note from @chuckdegroat.bsky.social in the foreword to Abandon the Orderly House. If this is the kind of writing you enjoy, I'd love for you to check out the link in my bio.

“Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.” —Mary Oliver (Mysteries, Yes)

"As we are able to discover the unique potential of our way of being in the world, we can move beyond our protest, put the cup of our life to our lips and drink it, slowly, carefully, but fully." —Henri Nouwen (Can You Drink the Cup)

"Change is part of the gospel. The Christian life is not something we are handed already complete." —Eugene Peterson (Lights a Lovely Mile)

“Mostly, I want to be kind. And nobody, of course, is kind, or mean, for a simple reason.” —Mary Oliver (Dream Work)

I'm preaching on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man and it seems overly simple to warn against striving for wealth and power. But when I consider all the places that encourage us to chase after those things, I think that simple warning might be exactly what's needed.

“Presbyterian” and “Christian Sermons” are not the broadest categories in the world, but it’s still pretty cool to reach the #1 Bestseller spot on Kindle. Thank you to everyone who’s bought the book! And if you don’t have a copy already, the Kindle version is 70% off this week!

The kindle version of “Abandon the Orderly House” is on an Amazon Countdown Deal this week— it’s only $2.99 instead of its usual $9.99! So if you’re an ebook reader make sure to grab a copy while it’s still 70% off!

The kindle version of “Abandon the Orderly House” is on an Amazon Countdown Deal this week— it’s only $2.99 instead of its usual $9.99! So if you’re an ebook reader make sure to grab a copy while it’s still 70% off!

"I should know by this time that just because I feel that everything is useless and going to pieces and badly done and futile, it is not really that way at all. Everything is all right. It is in the hands of God." —Dorothy Day (The Reckless Way of Love)

One of my parishioners loaned out her copy of the book and here's the response she received. When you release something you never know how it'll go over, but it's still worth doing. Because someone may need what you have to give. So if you're writing now, this is your encouragement to keep going!

"Ministry is witness. It's nothing else but saying, 'I've seen something, I've experienced something, and I'm not afraid to share it with you if you ask me to.'" —Henri Nouwen (Parting Words)

“God does not wait for perfection before he begins to work in us. And if God is not waiting for perfection, you had better not wait for it either.” —Eugene Peterson (Lights a Lovely Mile)

"It seems to me inescapable that before a man can usefully promote an idea, the idea must be implemented in his own life. If he is for peace he must have a life in which peace is possible." —Wendell Berry (The World-Ending Fire)

My goal for month 2 was to get my book in the hands of 200 people and to get 20 of those readers to give honest reviews… and we just made it for both goals! If you haven’t read it yet, but you’re interested, here’s the link to read a sample/buy a copy today: www.amazon.com/Abandon-Orde...

"This sounds very simple and maybe even trite, but very few people know that they are loved without any conditions or limits." —Henri Nouwen (In the Name of Jesus)

I’m not sure how many of you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, but the book is now available through KU as well. So if you have a subscription check it out! www.amazon.com/Abandon-Orde...

I'm so grateful for the response to the book (thank you so much to everyone who took the time to write a review). If you haven't already read it but you're interested in seeing what it's like, the first chapter is now available as a preview on my website. Check it out: awregets.com/2025/02/17/b...

Since it’s Valentine’s Day: One of my most treasured possessions is a framed entry from wife’s sixth grade diary. That year we briefly dated (whatever that means for 12 year olds), and after about a week Amanda decided to break up with me.

It’s always fun to see who shows up on the “also bought” list for my book. Seems like good company to keep.

It’s finally here! My first book is out in the world and I can’t wait for you to read it. It’s a collection of sermons from my first 10 years of ministry that are good news for skeptics & stubborn believers (something in the vein of Buechner’s “The Hungering Dark”). www.amazon.com/Abandon-Orde...

The sermons that are received the best are always the ones I’m preaching to myself.

"I no longer want to have anything to do with love that forgets to be grateful." —Thomas Merton (A Book of Hours)

Sat with a parishioner as life support was removed (always a holy moment). And a granddaughter asked if we could pray over him the same prayer he taught her as a child. “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

Good news! The book is back in stock on Amazon! And thank you so much to everyone who’s already left a review. I meant to celebrate with a screenshot when it reached 10 reviews but it jumped from 9 to 14 pretty quick! www.amazon.com/Abandon-Orde...

There's been some issues with availability for the paperback in the US that I'm hoping will be solved soon. But for anyone that was waiting to get the book until there was an e-reader option, the Kindle version of Abandon the Orderly House is available now! www.amazon.com/Abandon-Orde...

Looking for PCUSA Presbyterians on this site? Here we are! go.bsky.app/5DHoHC3

“The prayer of our souls this night is a petition for persistence; not for the one good deed, or single thought, but deed on deed, and thought on thought, until day calling unto day shall make a life worth living.” —W.E.B. Du Bois

“What if bigger isn’t always better? What if winning is not the only measure of your worth? And what if we are sometimes called to fail, because success will require the contamination of our witness, while death will provide a path toward resurrection?” —A.W Regets (Abandon the Orderly House)

“Growth is a slow, secret, unspectacular affair.” —Lesslie Newbigin

Had my first book interview today and I was not ready for this compliment from the former director of the Buechner Institute.

"I also had a sense... that 'not knowing what I am doing' is more or less what it feels like when I am 'trusting in God' and 'following Jesus'." ―Eugene Peterson (The Pastor)

The voices that are widely shared from the church are often leaders from especially large congregations. And I understand why, publishers want the certainty of a book that will sell, and oftentimes those authors have thoughts worth sharing.

You never know how your work will be received, but this is pretty much exactly what I hoped for.

“But in the midst of my sorrow, I didn't need to understand. I needed to know that I was understood.” Abandon the Orderly House, pg. 23 @alexregets.bsky.social

This is my first book, and I don’t have a major platform, so I decided from the start that I was going to celebrate every small accomplishment along the way. So here’s to the first 100 copies sold!! If you didn’t already get one, here’s the link: www.amazon.com/Abandon-Orde...

“Set me free from the laziness that goes about disguised as activity when activity is not required of me.” —Thomas Merton (A Book of Hours)