To my son, Everett. You are the kindest soul I have ever met. You love so freely. I want you to know that your kindness is your strength, not your weakness. Courage isn’t about being fearless, it’s about trusting who stands with you. Just as Jesus stood for Stephen, I will always be standing right there with you, no matter what. I love you and You are the fortunate one with a mother who loves you too.
We often have a sanitized view of what it means to be a hero for God. We picture someone with a microphone, a large following, or a position of power. But the Bible introduces us to the very first martyr of the Christian faith, and he wasn't an apostle. He wasn't a general. He was a waiter. Stephen was chosen to solve a food distribution problem. The early church was growing so fast that widows were falling through the cracks, and the apostles needed someone with integrity to manage the logistics of charity. They picked Stephen. I wrote Stephen: The First to Stand because I want our children to understand that the path to greatness in the Kingdom of God almost always begins with a towel, not a title. Stephen didn't think he was too good to serve tables, and because he was faithful in the humble work, God trusted him with the heavy work.
The story of Stephen is one of the most intense dramas in the New Testament. He is described as a man full of God's grace and power. Notice the combination. He wasn't just powerful; he was gracious. He did great wonders among the people, but his success made him a target. The religious elite, the members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, began to argue with him. But they couldn't stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him. This is a crucial lesson for us today. When you walk in the Spirit, you have a wisdom that the world cannot debunk, so they have to resort to lies. They stirred up the people, produced false witnesses, and dragged him before the Sanhedrin. This was a kangaroo court, a terrifying place where the most powerful men in the nation held the power of life and death.
I love the detail Scripture gives us about this moment. As these men were lying about him, shouting accusations and grinding their teeth in rage, they looked at Stephen's face. The Bible says his face was like the face of an angel. I wanted to capture this supernatural peace in the book. Imagine the contrast. On one side, you have religious leaders red-faced with anger, screaming, chaotic, and violent. On the other side, you have Stephen, calm, radiant, and unintimidated. This teaches our kids that your environment does not have to dictate your internal reality. You can be in the middle of a storm and still have the peace of Jesus. Stephen’s peace was not an absence of trouble; it was the presence of God.
Stephen then delivers one of the most blistering history lessons in the Bible. He walks them through their own story, from Abraham to Moses to Solomon, showing them how they have always rejected God's messengers. He doesn't try to save his own life by apologizing. He tells the truth. He calls them stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts. He knew this would likely get him killed, but he cared more about their souls than his safety. The reaction was immediate. They were furious. They dragged him out of the city to stone him. This is a brutal, violent way to die. But in that moment of absolute horror, Stephen looks up. He doesn't look at the rocks; he looks at the sky. And the sky rips open.
This is the climax of the book and the theological anchor of the story. Stephen says, Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. Every other time in the New Testament, Jesus is described as sitting at the right hand of the Father. Sitting is the posture of a King who has finished His work. But for Stephen, Jesus stands. Why. I believe He stood to honor the first believer who was willing to die for His name. He stood to welcome him home. He stood to show Stephen, I see you. You are not alone. I wrote this to tell every child that when they take a stand for Jesus, heaven is paying attention. Jesus is not indifferent to our sacrifices. He takes them personally.
To bring this high-stakes martyrdom into the world of a modern child, I wrote the story of Everett. Everett is a boy who is naturally kind. He doesn't like conflict. But he goes to a school where the culture is toxic. There is a group of cool kids who build their status by tearing others down. Everett faces a choice when they target a vulnerable classmate. The pressure to join in, or at least to stay silent, is overwhelming. This is the martyrdom of the playground. It isn't stones that are being thrown; it is words, social exclusion, and mockery. Everett feels the heat of the spotlight. He knows that if he speaks up, he will be the next target.
Everett’s journey mirrors Stephen’s because he realizes that his silence is a form of agreement with the bullies. He decides to intervene. He stands up for the kid being bullied. And just as he feared, the mob turns on him. They mock him. They isolate him. But in that moment of isolation, Everett feels a strange, warm peace. He realizes that he would rather be an outcast with a clear conscience than a popular kid with a dirty one. The modern parable shows that kindness is a form of rebellion. In a cruel world, being kind is the most dangerous and brave thing you can do. Everett learns that he has a Friend who sticks closer than a brother, a Friend who stands with him when the rest of the school turns away.
The Action Plan in this book focuses on The Look Up. When life gets hard, when people are mean, when you feel overwhelmed, the natural human reaction is to look down in shame or look around in fear. We teach kids to practice the Stephen reflex, look up. We give them practical ways to shift their focus from the problem to the Provider. We also tackle the hardest part of Stephen's story, his final words. As he was dying, he prayed, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. He forgave his killers while they were killing him. We challenge kids to pray for the people who are mean to them. This is advanced Christianity. It is the kind of radical love that changes the world. It breaks the cycle of hate.
I included the Bible Hero Badge on this book because Stephen redefines what a winner looks like. By the world's standards, Stephen lost. He was killed. He didn't start a megachurch; he didn't write a book; he didn't grow old. But by heaven's standards, he was a champion. He was the first to cross the finish line. He sparked a movement that spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Saul of Tarsus was standing there watching Stephen die, and I believe the image of Stephen's angel-face haunted Saul until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Stephen’s death was the seed of Paul’s ministry. This teaches our kids that we never know the impact of our obedience. We might lose the battle in the eyes of men but win the war in the eyes of God.
Why does this story matter today. Because we live in a cancel culture. We live in a world that loves to stone people with words, tweets, and judgment. Our kids are terrified of being canceled. They are terrified of saying the wrong thing and being cast out. Stephen shows them how to face a mob with grace. He shows them that the truth is worth dying for, and if it is worth dying for, it is certainly worth living for. He models a courage that is devoid of hate. He didn't scream back. He didn't curse them. He loved them to the end. That is the kind of character we need to build in the next generation.
Writing the scene of the heavens opening was emotional for me. I wanted to paint a picture of the glory of God that would make the rocks feel light. When you see Jesus, the pain of this world loses its sting. I want families to read this and feel the reality of heaven. I want them to know that this life is a vapor, but the Kingdom is eternal. Stephen knew that. He traded a few minutes of pain for an eternity of joy.
Ultimately, Stephen: The First to Stand is a love letter to the kind-hearted warriors. It is for the kid like Everett who loves freely and hurts deeply when that love is rejected. It is for the child who wonders if it pays to be good when the bad kids seem to have all the fun. I want you to read this book and know that your kindness is not weakness. It is the very power of God. You are standing in a long line of heroes who looked at the rage of the world and chose to show the face of an angel. Keep standing. Keep looking up. The King is standing with you.