An Interview with an Author: Stephen De La Vega
It’s Author Thursday on my blog! Today, please get to know my Christian “brother,” Stephen De La Vega, who I consider both a friend and a coworker in our writing ministry for Jesus.
Stephen published two Bible studies for group studies, but they're also good for solo studies. One of them was used as a Sunday school series in a church he attended many years ago. I had the opportunity to kick off the series by leading Session 1. He has a day job as an Information Systems Manager for a local county public health department, where COVID-19 is front and center. All of his writing happens during breaks, in the evenings, and on weekends.
A Christian for almost 40 years, Stephen has actively served God in some capacity every one of those years. He currently leads two Bible studies, one of them at work. He’s also a Christian blogger and has more Bible studies in the works. (Learn more at https://www.stephendelavega.com.)
There are Leader and Participant Guides for both his studies in Kindle and paperback.
Resurrecting Grace is a study of Ephesians 2 overlayed onto the Easter story (Jesus' Grave, His Resurrection, His Appearances, His Charge, and His Exaltation—that spells GRACE).
12 Answers that Rock this World is an exploration of Jesus' worldview through a look at His answers to the 12 questions His disciples asked Him in Matthew.
I hope you enjoy the interview! I know I did.
—By Jessica Brodie
JB: Tell us about yourself and your faith journey. How did you get to where you are?
Stephen: I grew up in church but I never really understood the gospel. When I was 8 years old, I stopped attending church and told myself I'd "get saved" later when I didn't have anything better to do. I finally trusted Jesus as my Savior as a junior in high school and I began serving immediately. God expects our service. I have served God in just about every capacity except for being a pastor and missionary, but God specifically wants me to teach. I've done so in many formats, but not really as a writer until recent years.
While leading Bible studies at work, I began to develop expository series, typically featuring Bible stories, but sometimes topical as well. I accumulated a number of them and felt God nudging me to publish them. So that's what I did. After I published my first study, I began blogging, too. That's when I established my writing focus (motto) of "Dig, Draw, Grow"—Dig deeper, draw nearer, grow fonder. Dig deeper into the study of God's Word. Draw nearer to God with more understanding. Grow fonder as you see His truth unfold.
JB: When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
Stephen: I was never really into English in school and I hardly ever read for pleasure, so writing was not anything I'd thought about. It just happened as a result of study and leading Bible studies. I enjoy how God unfolds His truth to me and helps me wrap it back up in digestible studies with meaningful take-home lessons each week, and then I enjoy watching it come alive on paper. And as I wrote somewhat regularly in my blog I began to recognize how God developed me throughout my life to teach in written form, something I'd never imagined doing even just a decade ago. I wrote about that in my blog here and here (posts called Why I Write).
JB: How does your faith influence your writing?
Stephen: Since my primary goal is to teach God's Word as a writer, my faith and faith journey is entirely necessary for my writing. When I'm walking with God, my writing flows very naturally. When I'm not, or when I'm distracted, I sometimes get writer's block. I write about what is most important in life: our relationship with God. I hope that my writing helps readers to dig deeper into His Word, draw nearer to Him, and grow fonder of Him. The type of writing that seems to just roll off of the keyboard is when I write about the gospel and invite unbelievers into a relationship with Jesus.
JB: When did this particular story first start stirring in your heart?
Stephen: I wrote the first draft of the Bible study that became my first book in 2012 as Easter approached. I wanted to walk through a chronology of the Easter story and, as I studied, I discovered how the chronology parallels Ephesians 2. So it became a study on the grace of salvation. I led it in our work Bible study and also led a condensed version during our family Spring Break vacation. We discussed the highlights as I drove throughout the week. Two years later, I refined and expanded it for my home Bible study group, and two years after that, I kicked it off at my former church where they used it in their adult Sunday School. The next year, it was available on Amazon.
JB: Do you have other books coming out in the future (or any you are actively writing now)?
Stephen: I wrote my second published Bible study initially for my work Bible study group as well, and later used it in my home Bible study. I am currently working on my third book, and it will have a sequel. I don't want to give any spoilers, but it will be about Jesus' experience when He was arrested, put on trial, and sentenced to death. Hmm... It sounds like a prequel to Resurrecting Grace, but it's a very different type of study so it's not a prequel. I hope to publish it during 2021.
JB: What do you hope readers take away from this book?
Stephen: From Resurrecting Grace, I hope readers will understand how God's grace is woven throughout our salvation and sanctification experience, and how we are to give our lives back to Him. God's gift of life is free, but it comes with expectations.
From 12 Answers that Rock this World, I wish readers to recognize how our natural value system and outlook in life is so unlike the way Jesus lived and taught. And I hope readers will make adjustments and sacrifices as they bring their world views in alignment with that of Jesus.
For more about Stephen, his Bible studies, and his blog, go to https://www.stephendelavega.com.