"For years, I sat in church with hundreds of other men listening as Ed Cole taught us that identifying with Christ is the basic principle of Christianity. I’m so pleased today that Ed’s son, my friend Paul, is carrying on his ministry. In his new book, Just a Bartender, Paul takes this concept of identity and puts a new twist on it using the life of Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king. Paul explains how when this former slave gets a new identity he changes the world! My prayer is this book will help you find your true identity, so you too can change your world."
—Robert Morris
Founding Senior Pastor, Gateway Church, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Best-selling author of The Blessed Life, The God I Never Knew, Truly Free, and Frequency
"My wife, Christine, and I are passionate about rescuing trafficked girls. At the end of the day, the problem of trafficking really rests with men. I appreciate Paul Cole’s tireless efforts to reach men around the globe with the gospel, and to help men change into men of purpose and grace. Paul’s new book, Just a Bartender, is exactly what men need to start living up to the identity God has for each of us, and to stop victimizing women and children. I encourage you to get a copy and read it today."
—Nick Caine
Cofounder, A21 Network
"Years ago I read in Proverbs 18:9, 'Use every endeavor to heal yourself.' Doing exactly that, I won a battle over a life-threatening disease. Often to fulfill our earthly destiny, we have to fight. That’s why I appreciate my friend Paul Cole’s book about a man’s identity. If a man is sick on the inside, he needs to use every endeavor to heal himself. He has to fight. Digesting this book can make you a better husband, a better father, a better man."
—Casey Treat
Founding Pastor, Christian Faith Center, Seattle, WA
"Nehemiah was a slave, the cupbearer to the king. As Paul Cole puts it, he was the bartender. After hearing about the ruins of Jerusalem, Nehemiah had more than a change in direction, he had a change in connection. The ancient Hebrew word shubh in Nehemiah’s great prayer implies taking God from being a great idea to being a great friend, and surrendering to that friend’s request. Nehemiah’s life illustrates that when men try to live the Christian life without Christ, they are doomed to fail. Christ is the core of our identity, our life, our breath. In Just a Bartender, Paul speaks directly to the core of our identity as men, and gives the intended result: that unexpected people change the world."
—Leonard Sweet
Bestselling author and professor
Founder and chief contributor to preachthestory.com
Orcas Island, WA
"Paul Cole provides men help to discover true identity, and end some of the confusion
in today’s culture. Paul carries on a legacy to speak truth to men, and does so with great strength and perseverance in the face of an increasingly feminized world."
—Phil Pringle
Founder, Christian City Churches
Sydney, Australia
"If your desire is to have Christ-loving, family-first, strong men of faith in your church, then I recommend you to Paul Cole. Men are transformed by the strong word Paul delivers. Paul has a huge heart to build strong local churches by building strong men!"
—Dino Rizzo
Executive director, Association of Related Churches
Associate pastor, Church of the Highlands
Birmingham, AL
"As much as we don’t like to admit it, guys struggle. Paul Cole understands all the issues when it comes to true manhood. He speaks to our issues. He writes about our issues. When Paul speaks, listen. When Paul writes, read. Will you allow me to be candid? What Paul teaches will help you and me to grow up…to be the men that God always envisioned, that we always dreamed of, that our wives always wanted, and our children truly need. Paul wrote it. Get the book. Read it."
—Jim Garlow
Senior pastor, Skyline Church
New York Times bestselling author
"All men are imperfect, but that doesn’t mean our identity is tarnished. We are who God says we are from the minute we encounter and accept Christ. That’s what happened to Nehemiah, who Paul Cole writes about so brilliantly in his book, Just a Bartender. Once a man recognizes his identity, he can start living like the new person God created him to be. Why not start today? Just open the book and read…."
—Leon Fontaine
Senior pastor, Springs Church
CEO, Miracle Channel
"Men don’t need another lecture. Men need leadership. In Just a Bartender, Paul Cole’s leadership shines through. From the biblical character Nehemiah, to a man sitting on an airplane last week, Paul underscores his points using story after story of how ordinary men grew beyond everyday existence to live extraordinary lives that touched the world around them. You’ll be enlightened and encouraged through this book."
—Harry Jackson
Senior pastor, Hope Christian Church
Washington, DC
"When I see a book by Paul Cole, I think with appreciation of the hundreds of thousands, and probably millions, of men who have been reached and changed through the ministry of the Christian Men’s Network. Just a Bartender is about the ’cupbearer to the king,’ Nehemiah, and is full of the kind of wisdom you would expect from this ministry, leading men into becoming men of excellence, men with strong spirits, and men with defined purpose. I recommend it."
—Doug Beacham
General Superintendent, International Pentecostal Holiness Church
