Hello and welcome to my site!
My name is Les Bridgeman.
I grew up in Niagara Falls, New York with a love for different cultures, books, and especially the Bible. My grandmother was an immigrant from Lebanon so I heard many stories about the “old” country. I also saw a diversity of cultures when visiting the Falls and traversing the bridge to Canada.
My love for the Bible, and, ultimately, Jesus began at the age of 5 but took a more personal turn at the age of 14 when I was hit by a car while crossing the road to go to baseball practice. I was not seriously injured and believed God had protected me.
After graduating from Niagara Falls High School, I went to a small Bible college in Rhode Island then to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where I met my wife.
We began our married life in Pittsburgh, where I worked as a youth pastor and campus minister at a local community college. We then moved far away, to Singapore, where I served as a high school Bible teacher and middle school principal. Since I didn’t have curriculum, I started writing my own lessons, which led to my first book, The Life of Christ: Curriculum for High School Bible Teachers, available on Gumroad, and Teachers Pay Teachers.
In total, we spent 15 years in Asia, including Seoul, South Korea, and two cities in China—Tianjin and Qingdao. During that time, I taught Bible, philosophy, AP Psychology, and technology. And I had the privilege of serving in different roles—teacher, principal, and high school counselor. We enjoyed living overseas and the blessings and challenges it brought.
While I like reading academic books, my goal in writing is not to sound like a scholar. I want to make academic ideas accessible to a general audience. I also attempt to focus on the heart of the issues so a devotional perspective is important to me.
In addition to writing self-study Bible courses, I have written three devotional books:
The Heart of Scripture: God with Us
Seeing the Invisible God: 52 Reflections on Divine Anatomy
Meditating on the Gospel of Luke
I have also written three historical/theological books:
Surprised by Hell: Unexpected Discoveries in the Bible and Church History
Making Tents: Why the Apostle Paul Worked a Day Job
The Wonder of the Trinity
I had a writing agent at one point but publishers always wanted to know the size of my platform and how I was going to market my books. Since I didn’t have a big platform, I decided to self-publish. It’s not easy being an independent author so I am grateful for every bit of support I receive. If you are looking for Bible curriculum or devotional and theological material, you can find my books on Amazon, Gumroad, and Teachers Pay Teachers.
Thanks for reading!
Life Story
If you are interested in reading more of my life story, start here.
If you want to reach me, send an email to biblebridge@gmail.com.