Joe B. Hewitt

Author Joe B. Hewitt started writing as a newspaper reporter for the Lima, Ohio, News. He covered the police beat, courthouse beat, and was an investigative reporter. He went under cover for three months and published an expose of vice and crime. He served as national and international news editor and “slot” man on the city desk.

He owned and published the following Texas weekly newspapers, Throckmorton Tribune, and Springtown Review, and was a stockholder, editor and publisher of the Richardson Digest.

His newspaper career ended when he was called into the ministry. While still a seminary student he started the Richardson East Baptist Church, Richardson, Texas. By the time he graduated from seminary his new church had bought land on Main Street and built a building. During the first several years at that church he worked as public relations director for a church-supported temperance organization. In that capacity he wrote teacher in-service training manuals on drug abuse, designed catalogs, edited a monthly magazine, wrote and voiced public service radio announcements, and appeared on television interview shows regarding drug abuse education, and spoke at high school assemblies and churches. He enlisted others to voice public service announcements including Steve Allen and Dale Evans. He turned down an offer to become associate executive director of the organization and pastored the church full time.

During that time he ghost-wrote a book on Bible prophecy for a famous radio preacher. He served the Richardson church 13 years.

He resigned that pastorate to go into vocational evangelism. However, during those four years he was called by Christian leaders in many communities to lead special election campaigns. Of 13 major campaigns, he won 11. He turned down an offer to manage a US Congressman’s re-election campaign.

Feeling a need to get back into the pastorate and following a desire to move to Rockwall County, Texas, he accepted a call to Pastor First Baptist Church of Fate, Texas, where he served 13 years.

He built a home on 7.5 acres in rural Rockwall County where he has lived since 1985.

He then became founding pastor of Princeton Park Baptist Church, Rowlett, Texas, where he served 9 years and retired in 2001.

During those years in the pastorate he wrote a nonfiction book on personal experience that has sold 45,000 copies. He wrote curriculum for Bible study teachers and teachers commentaries for LifeWay, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention as well as the youth devotional guide, and Open Windows the 1.1 million-circulation adult devotional guide. For 10 years wrote columns for the Rockwall Success, and Rowlett Lakeshore Times, local newspapers. His magazine articles were published in Mature Living, The Baptist Standard, and Leadership magazine (published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas), Faith for the Family, Reproduction Methods, and the Christian Crusader. Photographs have been published by Associated Press, United Press International, Popular Mechanics, and several detective magazines (from the days when he was police reporter.).

His travel articles and pictures have been published in The Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle's Sunday Magazine. Guest editorials have been published in The Dallas Morning News and Spirit of 76, publication of Fort Worth, Texas, Mensa.

Hewitt was certified by North American Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, as expert on Cults. He conducted seminars and workshops on Cults, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism. Islam, Marriage Enrichment, Conflict Resolution, and Parenting.

Hewitt served as a temporary missionary in Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Oregon, Idaho, New York, and pastored a church in England for a month in an exchange with the pastor of the English church. He served as volunteer chaplain and coordinator of jail ministries for the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Department for 10 years. I also served two days a month as volunteer chaplain at Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett for 10 years.

On one of his three trips to Russia, Hewitt preached in Muravlenko, Siberia, a city of 40,000, built on 600 feet deep permafrost located 1650 miles east-northeast of Moscow. The nearest airport was 100 miles south at Nyabresk where the Aeroflot plane broke down and Hewitt and his wife were stranded two days.

In addition to the mission trips, Hewitt visited Cypress, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and many Caribbean islands. Hewitt has traveled extensively throughout all 50 of the United States, Mexico and Canada.

After retiring from the Pastorate in 2001, Hewitt began training as a mediator and has served Dallas and area courts as a court-appointed mediator to settle lawsuits.

He is a member of First Baptist Church, Rockwall, Texas, State Bar of Texas, ADR Section, Texas Association of Mediators, and Mensa, the high IQ society. He is rated by the Texas Mediators Credentialing Association as a Distinguished Credentialed Mediator.

Hewitt received a BD degree from Bible Baptist Seminary, and an MA degree in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University.

Books Published

I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, Non-Fiction.

This is the personal story of Joe B. Hewitt who escaped from the Watchtower Cult. The first half of the book is a narrative of how the author came to the realization that he had been lied to and had repeated lies to others, how, after he left the Jehovah’s Witnesses his mother was forced to declare him dead and to shun him.

He tells of his call into the ministry and experiences dealing with Jehovah’s Witnesses. The book refutes the peculiar doctrines of the Watchtower Society such as: denial of the deity of Jesus Christ; denial of his literal and physical resurrection; denial of the Christian’s hope of heaven; denial of the existence of hell; and many others.

Hewitt also refutes the Watchtower’s peculiar rules that Jehovah’s Witnesses are required to live by, including prohibiting them from celebrating Christmas. A section: “Why Celebrate Christmas?” gives Biblical reasons for celebrating Christmas.

1st Edition, 1979, Accent Books, Denver, sold 40,000 copies; 2nd Edition 1983, translated into Chinese, China Sunday School Association, Taiwan; 3rd Edition, Kregel Books, Grand Rapids, sales with 1st Edition totaled 45,000 copies. After the book went out of print, the 1st and 3rd Editions continued to sell as Kindle books on Amazon. The latest edition, 2013: I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness, 4th Edition, Revised and Updated 6X9 Paperback 224 Pages or ebook. ISBN-13:978-1492909156.

Rescuing Slaves of the Watchtower, Non-Fiction

Almost every family has a member, friend, or co-worker who is under complete control of the Watchtower Society. This book shows: how to rescue them and restore Jehovah’s Witnesses to normal society, how to protect your children from being taken in by this cult, and how to set free guilt-ridden and despondent Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses and restore them back into normal society.

The book contains endorsements from Dr. Bob Dean, Executive Director of Dallas Baptist Association; Dr. Rudy Gonzalez, Dean, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; and Dr. Jimmy Draper, President Emeritus of LifeWay publishing.

Rescuing Prisoners of the Watchtower (Hannibal Books, Garland, Texas 2011, ISBN 978-1-61315-006-1.) 6X9 Paperback, 262 Pages and ebook.

Rescatando a los Prisioneros de los Atalaya, Non-fiction

Por Joe B. Hewitt, traduccion por Glen Jolley.

Una gran mayoría de las familias en los EE.UU., Canadá, y Méjico tienen un miembro de su familia, un amigo o un colega del trabajo bajo el control de la Sociedad Watchtower. Los Testigos de Jehová están buscando convertir especialmente al hispano parlante.

Este libro demuestra

Como rescatarlos y como reestablecer al Testigo de Jehová a la sociedad normal.

Como proteger y evitar que sus niños sean engañados por esta secta, y

Como librar y reestablecer a los Testigos de Jehová que están llenos de culpa y sin esperanza a una sociedad y vida normal.

Rescatando a los Prisioneros de los Atalaya,6X9 258 Pages and e-book, ISBN 978-1-48129-686-1

Trivia for Adults, Non-fiction

This little book contains rules for playing trivia, 320 new and original questions and answers. None were copied from other sources. These questions are for adults. There are no questions that only a teenager would know. The book is to furnish educated, thinking people some brain exercise. There is no board, tokens, or dice to roll, just questions and answers. One person has to be in charge, to read the questions and help grade the teams. Players form teams, quietly discuss the question among themselves and come up with a consensus answer. 6X9, 90 Pages, and e-book, ISBN 13:978-148813419.

Murder on the Sky Ride Fiction/Mystery

This novel is full of action and good detective work. It also gives a picture of the diverse ethnic and cultural makeup of Texas. It gives a private view of two Texas families, one whose members range from dope smuggler to successful attorney-politician, and the other ranging from a hot-head Chicano activist to a Texas Ranger.

Some of the characters: Gar Garcia, Texas Ranger under special orders of the governor; Steve Pearce, 21, ex-convict, trying to stay out of trouble but not succeeding; Johnny Diaz, almost, but not quite, bad to the bone; Burke Masters, big man with big money; and Hawknose, career criminal.

The story is set in San Marcos, Texas, at an amusement park located where the San Marcos River, as a giant spring, wells up out of the ground cool and clear. San Marcos is a real city but events and characters portrayed there are fictional. Real people are mentioned, such as Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter, but are not characters.

Historical notes about the Texas Rangers are accurate. The mammalian diving reflex described in the novel is accurate, as well as the homicide exclusion in insurance policies, and oil field technicalities, but events surrounding them are fictional.

The story takes place in 1978 when detectives had to work harder than now. They had two-way radios, telephone beepers, but no cell phones or personal computers. Most police departments had no computers at all. Police reports were laboriously typed out by hand over several carbon copies, the last of which were barely legible. Police work was real work. Go along with Texas Ranger Gar Garcia as he works through clues, diversions, and deception.

Murder on the Sky Ride, 6X9, 300 Pages, ISBN 978 098 4989 706, paperback or e-book.

Mystery of the Vanished Gold, Fiction/Mystery

Three robbers wearing Alfred E. Newman rubber masks rob a Dallas bank of $20 million and several safe deposit boxes containing gold. During the robbery a killer handcuffs two men together to a barred gate and executes them with a .22 bullet to the head.he invasion robbers move with military precision and vanish with the money and gold.

A newly-commissioned Texas Ranger, Hank Garcia, chases the gold and money to Spain, South Africa, Panama. Not only is the vanished gold a mystery, but also the motive for murder.

FBI Agent Naomi Robertson works with Hank and becomes a love interest.

Some of the other characters that lend color to the story include, Emo Etto a Nigerian soldier of fortune; Wan Ol Key, a 130-pound martial arts expert using a Mongolian passport; Sheikha Eisha ben Ali, wife of a mysterious Arab of questionable existence, who can charm the gold out of men’s pockets; Handsome Jòrge Sanchez, a Panamanian lover of women and gold; Nurse Alberta Shehzad whom Hank covets; Emile Deutchmann, South African soldier of fortune; and two beautiful young women, Gayle and Katie, who are involved more than they know.

Regardless of numerous suspects and possibilities, Hank’s excellent detective work triumphs.

If you like mysteries, action, interesting characters, frequent changes of scenes, an adventure story with romance, but no gutter language, you will like this novel.

6X9, 236 Pages, ISBN 13:9781491063705, Paperback or e-book.