I’ve recently had the opportunity to check out an interesting book called Skinny Dipping with the Savior by Eric B. Blackwell. In his book Eric talks about the importance of getting ourselves honest and vulnerable before God. It is a good read that will challenge you to think about where you stand with God and what you need to do in order to come into a closer, more intimate relationship with Him. I had the opportunity to chat with Blackwell recently and discuss these idea. Here are the results of that interview…

BibleDude:  Who is ‘Eric B. Blackwell’? Tell me a little about yourself. 

Blackwell:  I have been preaching the Gospel since 2000 and I have been a licensed Minister of Christ since October of 2002.  I was raised in the church and have a wonderful family that supports me.  I have been married to my beautiful wife for 5 years and we recently had our first son who is 7-months-old.

BibleDude:  The title of your book is “Skinny Dipping with the Savior”. Why “skinny dipping”?

Blackwell:  I get this question a lot.  In the book of Genesis,  Adam was before the Lord and he was naked and unashamed, therefore it is important to view this relationship and speak on a spiritual nakedness.  There are too many times, that we hide ourselves from God, like he doesn’t know about our issues.  In doing this, we are hiding our issues from the very God that can help us. After we deal with nakedness, we must be led by the Holy Spirit.  Since the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as living water, we must be Spiritually Naked in Living Water…thus Skinny Dipping.

BibleDude:  What are the major themes of the book?

Blackwell:  The major theme of the book is that we should invest time into our relationship with God.  There is no need to hide things from Him.  I have heard this same excuse so many time; “I am trying to get my life right before I come to God”.  But in reality you cannot get your life right without God so everyone should come as they are.

BibleDude:  What are the biggest things that you hope that readers walk away with after reading the book?

Blackwell:  One of the biggest things I hope readers get is a better understanding of the love Christ has for them. He desires for us to come as we are and build a relationship with Him from there.

BibleDude:  How has “skinny dipping with the Savior” changed your life?

Blackwell:  There was a point in my life that I felt knowing God was all about how much I knew about Him.  So I gathered as much information that I could.  I read Bibles and commentaries.  I was gathering a lot of information and one day I realized that I was focused on information and not a relationship.  This caused me to refocus and because of that I now experience another level of worship and a greater relationship with Him.

BibleDude:  What is God teaching you lately?

Blackwell:  Lately I have been studying the importance of repentance and the crucifixion. I believe that Christians sometimes get into a mode of thinking they know all about basic  teachings such as these.  Sometimes it is our confidence in ourselves that shuts the door of revelation about scripture.  God constantly displays that he is amazing, even when you go back to the basics.