South Beach Hope Ministries, Inc.

Guiding a New Generation in a World Gone Mad

Samuel D, a young college student - "This book changed my life."

Heather K - A young woman in her twenties, and a new Christian - "This book saved my life."

The National Director of Teen Bible Quiz - Bernie Elliot - "Every teen in America needs to read this book!"

Pastor Bernie made The Art of Wisdom required reading for that program's advanced students. Two of those teens wrote this about The Art of Wisdom:

Katelyn T, NC:

The Art of Wisdom by Rick Henderson is a tremendous book on becoming wise. It includes all 31 chapters of Proverbs, along with the author's own add-ins. The book explains that the wise do not allow their desires to control them. This is illustrated with lust, primarily for women or sex, but also for food, sleep, riches, and other material things. The book also explains the importance of morals, illustrated by Solomon as the fear of Yahweh (God). It also teaches the reader how to differentiate fools from wise people by recognizing whether these traits are evident in their lives, and to end friendships with fools (or any other relationship).

Solomon and the author both agree that fools desire to be foolish and refuse to have wisdom, even when it is given to them, and the importance of us not being those fools. At the end of the book, Rick Henderson tells the reader to reread it and other books of wisdom, emphasizing the need for continuous nourishment from wisdom. After reading The Art of Wisdom, I feel more confident and prepared to make wise choices in my life, especially because I have memorized many verses of wisdom and can now apply them through this book.

Joel C:

I learned from The Art of Wisdom: Ancient Words for a New World by Rick Henderson that true wisdom comes from God and is shown through humility, obedience, and living a Christ-centered life. The book connects ancient wisdom with biblical truth, reminding readers that God’s Word is timeless and still guides believers today. It taught me that wisdom is not just about having knowledge, but about living in a way that honors God and reflects His character.

One of the most powerful lessons I took from this book is that following God’s wisdom requires humility and self-discipline. Henderson explains that wisdom is shown through the way someone lives, not just what they know. The ancient teachings shared in the book connect strongly with Scripture, especially verses that teach patience, self-control, and love for others. The book helped me understand that wisdom begins with fearing the Lord and submitting our lives to Him. It also showed me that worldly success does not always mean spiritual wisdom, and that a truly wise life is one that follows God’s guidance instead of personal desires.

The author’s purpose is to show how God’s wisdom, revealed through Scripture and Christian teachings, still applies to the modern world. The book encourages believers to seek God daily, reflect on His Word, and live intentionally as followers of Christ. This book impacted me because it strengthened my faith and challenged me to grow spiritually. After reading The Art of Wisdom: Ancient Words for a New World, I feel encouraged to seek God’s wisdom more deeply, apply biblical principles in my daily life, and live in a way that brings glory to Him.

(Our Thanks to Doug Black, a TBQ coach, for sending this to us.)

The Why

From the beginning the authors driving question was "How could one present this ancient wisdom in a way that will capture the imagination of the world today?" How do we change lives? Present the ancient words of Solomon and company in a way that people today already understand is the form of Wisdom!

See the web site to get more info, but basically it's Yoda! Seriously. Turns out George Lucas was regularly brought to the Synagogue when he was a boy, where they used a translation of the Hebrew text that was very close to the Hebrew language flow. This is what Dr. Robert Young did with his Young's Literal Translation of the Bible back when Lincoln was president.

It took way longer than expected (three years!) to update all the thee's and thou's, etc, and nearly 5 more to write all the supporting and explanatory text, and then get it into print. But it is now available in the (vegan) leather version shown here, as well as in a Study Journal (which worked great for our men's bible study group).

There's a lot more to know about this work - The free Christian Leaders' Guide for The Art of Wisdom will help. But essentially it's this - you can give this to any teen, believer or not, and trust that "all scripture is profitable" - even if they don't know it IS scripture! Order it with their name laser embossed on the back: When does someone through away a book with their name on it?!

Support our mission by giving this book to someone you know - by reading it yourself!