Losership: The Door to a Joyful Life
A New Book by Bill Shiell – Coming Spring 2025
“The person who wants to lose his life for my sake will save it.” — Jesus
🎓 A message for graduates, parents, mentors, and leaders navigating a new chapter of life.
📘 Coming Spring 2025
What Is Losership?
Losership: The Door to a Joyful Life flips the script on traditional leadership.
Written for high school and college graduates (and the people who guide them), this book is an invitation to find lasting joy—not by chasing power, but by learning to let go.
Drawing from the teachings of Jesus, Dr. Bill Shiell explores how weakness, failure, and change aren’t detours — they’re the way forward.
Who Is This Book For?
- Students preparing for graduation or life transitions
- Parents, teachers, coaches, and youth leaders
- Pastors and small group facilitators
- Anyone looking to lead by serving and live with deeper purpose
Watch the Author’s Introduction
🎥 Bill’s video message is coming soon. Check back for a special welcome from the author.
Advance Praise for Losership
💬 “Someone once wrote, ‘God never wastes a hurt.” For those who have hurt and then have grown in grace, those words are life-giving. Bill Shiell not only understands those words, he invests his hurt in people every day. Bill’s wisdom that we can “learn from just about every failure” is a balm to the soul of one, like me, who has experienced loss. The book is life-altering for those of us who can acknowledge loss and invest our “hurt” in the lives of others. The spiritual exercises he outlines are worth the price of the book and more.
Marvin Cameron
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Kingsport, Tennessee
“Bill Shiell is a wise and compassionate life-guide, offering hard-won insights on navigating losses and change. Bill’s storytelling is both raw and insightful, making complex ideas feel accessible and deeply human. Losership weaves religious and secular ideas to challenge conventional success narratives, making it a thought-provoking read for anyone questioning their path.”
Lyndall Farley – Sabbatical Coach and Community Co-founder.
From his own personal experience and keen biblical insights, Bill Shiell distills some of the hard-won wisdom—and even joy—that can be gained from the failures, losses, and disappointments we inevitably encounter in life. I can imagine this is an invaluable book to read not only before we experience significant loss, but most especially to re-read during it.
– David Graybeal, Pastor & author of Faith in The West Wing: The Portrayal of Religion in a Primetime Presidency and Bethlehem: An Advent Journey.
In Losership, Dr. Shiell explores a disease that impacts many students in the youth ministry I work with: the need to achieve. By utilizing Scripture and its context, along with personal experiences, he shows that the joyful life they seek is not achieved by avoiding loss but rather by embracing it when it occurs. I found the discussion about how to respond to setbacks and losses in life, as well as how to walk with others through those experiences, particularly helpful. This book is both insightful and accessible, making it an excellent graduation gift or choice for a high school small group study. I highly recommend it!
Caleb Watson
Pastor of Youth Ministry| Providence Church, Avon, Ohio
“In this wise and instructive book, Bill Shiell has paired experiences from his own story with examples from the pages of scripture to give high school and college students practical tools to navigate “lifequakes” that inevitably will come their way not once but often as the years increase. A valuable resource for students and all who come alongside them in mentoring, teaching, or parental capacities. Highly recommended.”
Jeff Crosby,
author of The Language of the Soul and World of Wonders: A Spirituality of Reading
Be Notified When the Book Launches
Join the interest list to receive updates about the book release, author events, and the Losership Roundtable virtual series launching after publication.
📬 You’ll get:
- Early access to book launch updates
- Invitations to online discussions with Bill
- Exclusive bonus content for roundtable participants
Want to Go Deeper?
Bill will be hosting free Zoom-based roundtables for readers who want to explore the message of Losership in a small group setting. You’ll discuss key ideas from the book, reflect on your own leadership journey, and meet others committed to growing in grace.
💡 Sign-up details and schedule will be available soon.
Pre-Order the Book
📖 Losership: The Door to a Joyful Life will be available from:
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- Smyth & Helwys Publishing
🔗 Purchase links coming soon.
About the Author
Bill Shiell is a pastor, professor, and mentor who has led churches across the U.S. and served as President of Northern Seminary. With over 25 years of leadership in ministry, he brings a compassionate, practical voice to those seeking to live with purpose and faith.
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Join the Losership Roundtable (Free Virtual Series)
Bill is launching a series of free online Zoom roundtables to go deeper into the message of Losership: The Door to a Joyful Life.
This is your chance to engage with the content before the book is released, ask questions, and connect with others on the same journey.
🧠 Each session is designed for open conversation around joy, surrender, and purpose.
Sign Up Below to Be Invited
Registration is open soon! You’ll receive a personal email from Bill once spots open up.