Gordon Duncan is an award-winning educator, salesman, teacher, manager, writer, and pastor. He has taught in the public school system, lobbied for school's accreditation, managed eye clinics, led sales' teams, and also publishes books on theology, church, and culture. Below you will find devotionals, biographies, commentaries, and sermon notes. Hopefully, they will encourage you and inspire you.
You can find out more about Gordon's resources for the eye industry at www.optometricrescue.com and his thoughts on church and culture at www.jgordonduncan.com.
Gordon has been happily married to Amy for over 20 years and is the proud father of 3 wonderful girls. He is a graduate of East Carolina University and Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the eye industry since 1999, an elder in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) since 2000, planted Sovereign King Church in Garner, NC in 2005, and planted Evident Grace Church in Fredericksburg, VA in 2013. He joyfully pastors there now. You can learn more at about Evident Grace at their website www.evidentgrace.com.
"Bedside - A Memoir of Care" is the biography of my mother, Ann Duncan. Written a few months after her death, it is intended to celebrate and inspire.
Many titles describe Ann Duncan. She was a poet, a floral designer, a leader, an artist, a friend, a wife, and a mom. She never sought the spotlight, but her story deserves to be told.
Additionaly, this book is graced with an amazing piece of art, uniquely and purposefully designed by my friend and artist, Jonathan Grauel of Blue Studio. You can find the book in paperback and kindle by clicking below:
Written soon after my Father's death, "I am my father's son" is an attempt to understand how great my dad was and to grapple with how much I have to live up to. Truly, I am my father’s son. In the most Biblical of ways, I am proud of that fact.
What I hope to accomplish here is three fold: I hope to tell lots of folks about my father’s amazing life. I want to celebrate what he passed on to me. And I want to honor Sam and encourage others to honor their fathers.
Written nearly in one day, I didn’t wake up one morning with the plan of writing his biography. But that, as I sat and drank my coffee, it just seemed like the proper task to undertake. Thanks for undertaking it with me.
The cover is a piece of art itself. The image is my father's self-portrait, and it has been reimagined by my friend and artist, Jonathan Grauel of Blue Studio. You can find it in kindle and paperback by clicking below:
"Joy in Trials" rose out of a sermon series that I preached on the book of Ruth. Ruth covers so many topics common to the human experience: mourning, marriage, parenting, and even moving. Surprisingly to me, "Joy in Trials" is my bestselling spiritual book having charted in 6 different countries.
The Book of Ruth lets the reader observe God’s hand at work in every circumstance of life. You get to patiently see God move without you having to get your hands dirty. And because of that, this can be one of the more faith-inspiring books in the whole Bible. But just like Ruth, you have to be patient and wait to see it all come together.
The wonderful cover was designed by my friend Christy Knutson at Moxie Speak. I love it's simplicity. You can find "Joy in Trials" in both kindle and paperback by clicking below:
"The Gospel Carries Us" is my first published work - hence my first attempt at a cover design (it badly needs an update). It is a collection of articles, essays, and blog posts written between 2005 and 2012. So why call the book “The Gospel Carries Us”? Simple. The New Testament imperative from Jesus is that we go into this world. We weren’t designed to sit at home and bunker ourselves away from everyone else. We are commanded to go, and the Gospel carries us as we do. This book reflects that thought.
I hope these article are of some encouragement to you. You don’t have to read straight through, but you can. I tried to divide things up into some categories that made sense. At first, I had a dozen or so topics, but for simplicity, I’ve reduced them to three.
You’ll find thoughts on planting and growing a church.
You’ll find my musings on the holidays.
And you’ll find a bunch of articles on relationships.
Feel free to jump around or read straight through. Either way, I never take it for granted that anyone wants to read this stuff, so thank you for taking the time. You can find "The Gospel Carries Us" in paperback and kindle by clicking below:
Following my Father's passing and my Mother’s sudden and shocking car wreck, my car broke down with a flat tire. I got poison ivy so badly it was on my eyelids. My children were soon suffering from fevers of over 103 coupled with nausea and vomiting. And oh yeah, around that time I announced that I was resigning from the church I planted to move to Virginia to plant a new church.
Trials? I knew them well. Enduring them well? That was yet to be determined.
So I returned to this little document on James 1 trying to see if I knew anything about suffering when I originally wrote it. I couldn’t have imagined when preaching that series that I would experience such trials, but as I reread these words, I could see that at least God had prepared me well.
This is the second edition of this book and features yet another striking cover by my friend and artist, Jonathan Grauel. The cover art is from his work "Entry to the Territory of Resolution" and this edition includes a new chapter about that work's inclusion. You can find "The Gospel Protects Us" in both paperback and kindle by clicking below:
"Is a Good Man Hard to Find?" is a book that hopes to walk through the biblical qualifications for church leadership. Why another book about men, the church, training Godly officers, marriage, and all of that stuff? The simple answer is that we need to keep looking at the scriptures, looking at what we’ve done (and not done), ask good questions, and then we need to look at the scriptures again. This is the only hope for all the confusion that exists in our culture today.
And hopefully, in the process, we will see the church grow with Godly officers and fathers and husbands.
The cover art was designed by the ridiculously talented Jay Holmes, and any errors within are mine. You can find "Is a Good Man Hard to Find?" in both paperback and kindle by clicking below:
Samson is often reduced to a comic book character. He is either a hero to emulate or fallen hero whose actions should be avoided. But is there another option? Can Samson be more than just a moral green or red light? This small book thinks so and hopes to walk that path of exploration with you. You can find it in both kindle and paperback by clicking below:
"Come on Back - A Study of Joel" is a collection of small, kindle books that walk you through the entire book of Joel. It examines the people of Israel as they struggle through issues of lament and even judgment. Their struggles give us so many areas in which we can relate.
Each release covers a portion of the book and is centered around a central question for each section of scripture. Taken from my sermon notes, you might find a typo or two, but the singles are easy, quick reads intended to inspire. You can find them all by clicking below:
"Ephesians - God's Letter to Your Church " is a collection of small, kindle books that walk you through the entire book of Ephesians. Ephesians is a joyous, practical book full of theology, encouragement, and exhortation. It covers areas as diverse as the church and marriage.
Each kindle release covers a portion of the book and is centered around a central question for each section of scripture. Taken from my sermon notes, you might find a typo or two, but these singles are easy, quick reads intended to inspire. You can find them all by clicking below:
"Ezra - a Journey to Worship" is a collection of small, kindle books that walk you through the entire book of Ezra. Ezra is about the people of God returning home many years after their capture. Despite their joy, there is still so much conflict. We can find a lot to relate to in the book of Ezra.
Each single covers a portion of the book and is centered around a central question for each section of scripture. Taken from my sermon notes, you might find a typo or two, but these books are easy, quick reads intended to inspire. You can find them all by clicking below:
Psalm 32 is a sweet Psalm that teaches that God is not only the creator of joy but also the giver of joy. "God Creates Joy" offers the true hope of the finished work of Jesus that creates joy in the life of the believer. You can find it in paperback and kindle by clicking below:
Family Philippians is designed to enable families to walk through an entire book of the Bible in ten minutes or less per night. Each time your family gets together, just read a portion of scripture, read a brief explanation, answer a few questions, and then pray together.
I hope this is a great joy for your family and encourages you and your children to enjoy and study the Bible more. You can find it in both kindle and paperback by clicking below:
"More than Gifts" is a series of devotionals focusing on how the birth of Jesus enables us to celebrate and contemplate. You can find them in kindle by clicking below:
"Partners and Partakers - a Study of the Book of Philippians " is a collection of small, kindle books that walk you through the entire book of Philippians. Each covers a portion of the book and is centered around a central question for each section of scripture. Taken from my sermon notes, you might find a typo or two, but the singles are easy, quick reads intended to inspire. You can find them all by clicking below: