I love this recent, fun interview about my life and writing so much, I’m providing this link up front: https://atmospherepress.com/interview-with-r-christian-bohlen/
Below, I provide my formal background, plus a more colorful, “hard knocks of life” version, followed by my testimony of Christ and some thoughts on why I write.
The Formal Version
R. Christian Bohlen is a critically-acclaimed, best-selling author and an award-winning consultant to Fortune 500 companies, providing instructional design services and developing human performance improvement programs. He has been involved in ministry and church leadership for more than 30 years and worked for over a decade with juvenile offenders as an educator. He’s enjoyed a successful career in corporate training, resulting in prestigious personal and team awards including the 2023 Brandon Hall Gold award for blended learning design and the 2015 ISPI Outstanding Human Performance Improvement award. He holds a Master of Science degree in Communications.
Christian has been active in his faith throughout most of his life, serving in his church family and witnessing Christ to many. He speaks regularly at congregations in central FL.
His interest in writing Christian learning materials developed thirty years ago as he looked for simple resources to help youth understand the Bible and find Christ. Unable to find brief, plain English materials about the life of Jesus, he decided to begin writing and ultimately blogging.
The More Complete and Colorful Version
Like me, your life probably wasn’t a straight line toward God. You have burdens and complexities that nobody else sees. I’ll share some of mine here.
I’ve been around many people with severe mental and emotional health conditions—including a bit of my own—but a lot of it in my closest family and friends. (You can read more here, What You Didn’t Know about My AMAZING Wife)
My parents were immigrants from the Netherlands. To my friends, my parents talked funny; they were quiet and introverted, not socially skilled, and very religious. We weren’t like the people surrounding us in Western PA who loved shotguns, hunting, four-wheel-drive trucks, and American football. Growing up, I often felt disoriented and conspicuous. Ultimately, this led to a deep desire to understand others and communicate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs.
I have a great deal of experience with drug addiction—including an intense period of my own. My twelve years working at a drug and alcohol rehab for juveniles were full of life-changing experiences. And I saw this Hindu proverb fulfilled in my own life: “Help your brother’s boat across, and see! Your own has reached the shore.”
My Testimony of Christ
As a child, I tasted the goodness of Christ. It was real and satisfying and precious. Over time, however, I lost touch with Christ—despite my activity in a church—and ended up in a confused, crisis of faith.
The way I found Christ again was unforgettable, which you can read about here: My Story: God Never Gave Up On Me.
I now love Jesus Christ, once named Yeshua, of the ancient village of Nazareth. He lives today! He is the center of my life. I praise and thank God the Father that He revealed His Son to me, for I have a clarity of comprehension and a near-constant sense of His presence that is priceless. The driving desire of my life is to facilitate that kind of vision and joyous experience for others. Because such testimony and understanding can only come from the Holy Spirit, my passion is to create simple reading experiences that invite the Spirit and point to the humble, simple light of the Son through the pure Word of God and allow His Spirit to do the rest.
Why I Write
My ambition in writing about Christ is to be bold and clear. In today’s post-Christian world, readers appreciate simple, relevant explanations of the basics. What’s old is new again. And in our culture of doubt and denial, many seekers crave an unpretentious, unapologetic testimony of truth.
I see myself as a filter, in a sense—a communicator for modern needs and changing times, with unblinking devotion to the core of gospel doctrine. I know the importance of high-quality, credible source materials. I am studious by nature and have read extensively. I credit the research and inspired insights of so many who have blessed my life.
My writings are non-denominational and suitable for all Christians.
The Christian world is full of wise and true teachings but also subtle falsehoods. I focus on the core of Jesus’s teachings which nearly all Christians acknowledge as truth. Namely, that we must believe in His name, love Him as our Savior and God, and obey Him so that “when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (See 1 John 3:2)
I know what the scriptures mean when they speak of joy, peace, power, and light flowing into our lives. I finally experienced it when I learned to focus first and foremost on those three basics of the gospel: believe in Jesus, love Jesus, and obey Jesus. For most of my adult life, God has kindly but firmly driven me to help others experience those same blessings in their lives through a single-minded focus on Jesus.
My Family
I also have a wonderful wife, who became my co-author (see further below). We were unable to have children, which was a torturous hardship for her. (You can read more about our challenges in Happy After All: Our Harrowing Story of Hope and Healing.) Without her great sense of humor and loving ways, I wouldn’t be who I am today. She is a light to me and others. And what would our lives be without the warmth of wagging tails and doggie smiles?
May God bless you and those around you because of your faith and your devotion to learning all that God has done and can do in your lives.
Our Most Popular Posts
These posts are discovered and read daily throughout the world by thousands of our website visitors. May you be inspired as well!
A Surprisingly Liberating Truth: Servant vs. Slave of Christ
How to Follow Jesus Christ (9 Straightforward Ways to Honor Him)
How to Set and Enforce Boundaries in Marriage (Jesus’s Way)
What Does Spiritual Light Look Like?
How to Live with a Mentally Ill or Addicted Spouse or Family Member (Christian Perspectives)
Books by R. Christian and Helen M. Bohlen
In this new, NYC Big Book Award-winning release (2024), visit the small town of Angels Bend to experience the deepest thoughts, struggles, and coming-to-faith experiences of a group of everyday people with extraordinarily difficult life challenges. See how their encounter with the life and teachings of Jesus through a mysterious book profoundly shapes their hearts and lives. Discover why BookLife Reviews awarded it straight As, calling it “A gripping tale of suspense and redemption . . . offering fresh insights and perspectives, especially about how the [Jesus] narratives intersect with the messy, complex realities of life.”
A Book to Make the Life of Jesus Understandable and Applicable for Today
Deepen your foundation of faith in Jesus Christ with this easy-to-read, practical, #1 Amazon bestseller, “Jesus Christ, His Life and Mine,” which immerses the reader in the life of Jesus as if watching Him in a movie, while making His light and teachings understandable, non-judgmental, and applicable to modern life.
When Mental Health or Addiction Challenges in Marriage are Overwhelming
Discover the uplifting, comforting power of the book that blends faith and psychology to support spouses who are drained and confused by the behavior of their addicted or mentally ill partners. By learning practical techniques such as setting boundaries in the light of the gospel, spouses can find the strength to hold on while learning how to unravel the web of confusion with the help of world-renowned marriage and mental health professionals. Much of our own thirty-five-year marriage experiences are interwoven. Click the image below to learn more about Healing the Stormy Marriage.
What about you?
You’ve had a hard road too, I’m sure. I want you to know that I pray to understand you, dear reader, and what I can do to write worthwhile materials. That’s why I love to interview people and share their experiences.
We’re all in the midst of God’s personalized tutoring plan. Our hard lives can become great lives. God sees to that if we’ll simply respond to his loving tugs.
Please contact me to set up a brief conversation or write your story!
Learn more
Learn more about the purpose of this site and the book that started it all.
Feel free to visit my author page on Amazon.
I’m also actively connected to the publishing community and am a member of the following organizations:
