The Short Story

Lucas Kitchen is an American author of Christian fiction and nonfiction. He holds a master's degree in theological studies. He has written over twenty books. Readers have reported a glitch, that his novels can’t be put down, but he has a technician looking into the issue. He writes blogs, releases podcasts, and publishes social media videos about Jesus, the faith, and AI robots. His social media content is occasionally viral, but no antivirus has yet been found. He lives in Texas with his wife, four kids, and his scratch-addicted cat.

The Novella Version

First, I love Jesus. Not in a weird way, okay. I know, starting by saying I love a Jewish carpenter from a first-century Roman province is, well, unique, but it’s the main thing. If you stop reading now, fine, but at least you know I love that dude… and he ain’t just a dude. He’s the son of God, so I’m all in on that. 

It took me about four decades to figure out exactly what I’m here for. I mean, I had a vague idea about it much earlier, but it all came into focus recently. 

I’m a missionary to the indigenous people of the internet. 

My method: I make media (including books) that points people toward Jesus. 

That’s a broad category, right? Exactly how I like it. Now here comes some story juice. 

My mom was a teacher; sometimes she taught algebra and physics, other times she taught art, so the lady has range.  My dad was more specialized. He was a college professor of advertising, graphic design, and fine art. But he moonlighted as a painter for hire. He brushed these massive murals of epic proportions for high paying clients. You can still see them all around our area, bringing the refinement value of East Texas up by at least twelve culture points.  

So creativity was the family language. As a kid, I spent a lot of time exploring the wild woods near our home in Kilgore, and tooling around on computer games like Return to Zork and the original Myst. That mix of nature and digital creativity planted seeds that still shape the way I tell stories and wrestle with spiritual questions. 

My brothers and I were in the first generation of a high school media class at my alma mater. We won first place in the state for a short film we wrote and I directed, called Janitor Wars, a spoof on Star Wars, but with mop handles for light sabers. Ha ha ha, it was awesome!

So, from early on I was already experimenting with a mix of sci-fi and humor. 

We added to our high school resume by building a music studio in Mom and Dad’s garage. We would have kept it a secret, but they found out when the walls rumbled with the bass from guitars and drums. My first professional creative work came in those years, literally getting paid to record music. Amateur, sure, but money is money. 

I also used that garage studio to host a Bible study with my high school friends. We packed it out, and I taught them what I knew about the Bible, which didn’t take very long.

Those are the basic building blocks of my early life: creativity, media, and the Bible. After establishing those building blocks, I went to college and continued the attempt to scale them up into something that looks like a career, but not a normal one. 

I got a mater's degree in theological studies from a big Seminary, and I did the academic thing for a while. I used to speak at national Bible conferences, get published in theological magazines and websites, write Bible commentaries, and contribute to syndicated Christian radio programs. I’m open to doing those things still, but I don’t pursue them that much anymore. Through that time, I continued to work in music, visual arts, and video production. Along the way, a few of my films won awards at some film festivals, but I don’t remember which ones, and even if I did, you haven’t heard of them. 

A lot of the time, I’m only talking to a small(ish) audience, but occasionally, something I make goes viral online. So a few million folks have heard my voice, seen my face, absorbed my writing, and watched my media. Still, they’d be unlikely to recognize my name since I usually forget to introduce myself, and sometimes hide behind animation and B-roll. I love all of it, but for whatever reason, my favorite art form is Novels. Fiction. Especially sci-fi and fantasy. Especially in the audiobook format. Some of my favorite solo moments in my life have been when I was listening to brilliant audiobooks. So that’s what I love making. Books!

Living inside me is a writer, teacher, digital content creator, and a pastor. It’s crowded, but the tenants pay rent on time. Each of these inhabitants contributes almost equally to the work. Over the years, I’ve written more than twenty books. My fiction is usually sci-fi or fantasy, with a few exceptions. My non-fiction is usually about grace, faith, assurance, and the everyday challenges of the Christian walk. My stories typically have a few notes of innocent humor juxtaposed with the cosmically serious. 

I’m passionate about helping people understand grace clearly and entertaining them as I do it. I’ve seen how easy it is to get tangled in confusion or legalism, and I want to be a voice that reminds others of the joy and confidence that comes from knowing we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone.

At home in Longview, Texas, I’m blessed to share life with my wife and our four energetic kids—plus a coop of chickens and a cat who is oddly addicted to backward scratches up the length of his spine fur. Whether I’m writing, speaking, or just chatting with someone about life and faith, I want to help people find assurance, joy, and purpose in their walk with God.

Some books that seem to resonate most with readers include Naked Grace, which shares my journey to understanding the faith. It was one of Amazon’s category best sellers a few years ago. There’s Salvation and Discipleship: Is There a Difference? It’s been popular for my Bible study book readers. Eternal Rewards: It Will Pay To Obey; and Eternal Life: Believe To Be Alive. All of those have connected with people trying to make sense of the Bible and life with God. Some of my fiction titles include For The Sake Of The King, also a category best seller, and the first novel in my Everking Chronicles series. Probably my most widely read book is Missionary to Mars, which explores a futuristic sci-fi solar system. It’s a blast. My latest is Isolation. It was only released recently, and it’s still building steam, but I think it’s going to really connect with readers trying to navigate this new digital world. 

I guess that’s it, then. If you want to buy a book, well that would be grand. If you don’t want to buy a book then just go bite a bug… Just kidding. That’s okay too. I’d love to hear from. Feel free to leave me a message in the comment section of this site. Thanks for reading.