In 2017 the 1st edition of my book Unexpected Grace was published by Great Writing in South Carolina. Two years later in 2019, and right in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown, the second edition Lion Hudson/SPCK published the 2nd edition In the Shadow of the Shahs I feel very blessed that it’s still doing the rounds.
NO STRANGER to Iran, its People, and its Church is the memoir of Pastor Tat Stewart, about his life and work, published by Talim in 2023. Tat was born in 1946, a son of medical missionaries to Iran. He spent much of his childhood in Tabriz, and later in Mashhad, Hamadan, and Tehran where he met his future wife Patty. Tat’s entire life has been shaped by the experience of living among and working with Iranians which has enabled him to become an effective shepherd for a whole new generation of Persian Christians in Iran and among the diaspora.
Tat and Patty are both Farsi speakers, and Tat is equally fluent in the Azari dialect which he learned in growing up in Tabriz. Ordained a Presbyterian minister in the USA, he and Patty returned to Iran where Tat was appointed Pastor to the evangelical churches. Immersing himself in Iranian life, Tat’s working life was exemplary of his response to God’s calling. Although he and his family were forced to leave during the 1979 Revolution, an opportunity presented itself for them to return briefly a few months later to continue to minister to Iranians. This was a rare opportunity to witness the changes imposed by the new Islamic regime and the surprising ways in which God’s spirit was moving among Iranians within a church that was, and still is, largely underground.
Post-Revolution Tat continues to pastor Iranian Christians from the USA. He is a keen promoter of SAT-7 PARS, the Persian language Christian satellite station, chief editor of the quarterly magazine SHABAN, and a founder of TALIM Ministries—all of which provide pastoral guidance and Christian literature for Persian-speaking Christians. He continues to be sought-after as a speaker at Christian Conferences throughout the Iranian diaspora, and is a popular mentor to Iranian Christians, especially in the USA where he and his wife now live.
Pastor Tat Stewart’ memoir is an inspired comment on the rewards and challenges of cross-cultural evangelism. His deep love for Iranians and single-minded dedication in spreading the Good News among them shines through all its pages. I recommend his book to anyone interested in the growth Christianity among Persians and within a Muslim context.
“Well, isn’t this all very interesting!” said Jim Holmes, a freelance editor and publisher (www.greatwriting.org) in the USA, in response to my online query. “Have your story published – yes, why not? You definitely have the germ of a book there.” That was the beginning of the beginning.
Jim was emailing from Greenville, a town in South Carolina I had never heard of. He is a committed Christian who had spent some years in the UK and in Iraq. Given that I had come to the UK from Iran and that I am also a believer, clinched it for me. I had a light bulb moment which finally banished years of procrastination in writing anything about myself. How fortunate was I to have found the sympathetic ear of real-life publisher whose establishment was grandly called Great Writing!
As my writing and Jim’s editorial reviews progressed, I began to dream of visiting this fancy publishing house. In my mind’s eye I saw it as an imposing stone building, several storeys high, situated on the main thoroughfare, its façade graced by tall windows, its entrance glass-plated with a revolving door. Prospective authors carrying weighty manuscripts could be glimpsed coming and going and being greeted by a smart receptionist on the front desk. As the big chief, Mr Holmes’s office was the largest and airiest office on the top floor. I imagined him to be a tall gentleman with a noble brow and neatly parted silver hair.
Every writer needs an audience, and for me, a grandmother who had never written anything of note, my audience was Jim. Although all communication was online, Jim proved to be a good listener. That he also ended up becoming a hand-holder, sounding-board, editor, critic and computer pro, was something that neither of had initially envisaged. But we also recognised in each other a mutual love for Christ, a keen desire to serve the Father, and abiding interest in the written word. These things forged between us an alliance like no other.
Fast forward a couple of years: After my book was published, I finally made a trip over to Greenville to meet Jim. To my surprised amusement (and possibly his too!) Jim was neither tall nor silver-haired, though he is indeed a gentleman, and he does possess a noble brow. The grand publishing house of my imagination turned out to be a modest room over his garage. It’s the place where miracles of editing and publishing happen.
Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow’d in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.
(HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER)
