Good things take time.

Maybe that’s the lesson behind The Rev. Michael Vincent’s new book, “Walking in Humility: Seeking to Live the Life God Desires” (Xulon Press).

Vincent, 42 and a Lawrence native, actually started preparing to write what would eventually become his first book more than 20 years ago, when he was 19 and an intern with a Kansas City congregation.

“I started thinking about this book when I was working at Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, and I was reading Andrew Murray’s book, ‘Humility.’ That got me thinking about the whole idea of humility and how that applies to our lives as Christians,” said Vincent, founder and pastor of Living Hope Fellowship in Lee’s Summit, Mo.

That experience sparked what would lead Vincent, a 1983 graduate of Kansas University, to follow the path toward becoming an author.

“Since that time, I began to collect quotes and stories and jot down ideas about humility, and then once I became a pastor in 1989, I was able to develop a sermon series on that subject,” he said. “From that series, I then developed the book. I’ve rewritten it probably three times, changed stories and things like that. I finished it at the end of 2002.”

Vincent then turned to Xulon Press, a Christian self-publishing house that helps first-time authors market their books to Christian book stores and online sources such as Amazon.com, where “Walking in Humility” recently became available.

Vincent, a 1979 graduate of Lawrence High School, explained the premise of his 220-page book.

“I define humility as submissive obedience to God, and so what I’ve done is take the concept of humility and apply it in a variety of ways in our lives. When we understand who God is, we’ll recognize he has better answers for our lives than we do, and so we will want to submit our lives to him,” he said.

“I tried to share much of my own struggles with humility in the book, how I seek to obey God in a variety of ways, and how I failed. When you’re thinking about humility and comparing yourself to God, you realize how much you do fail.”

Vincent maintains strong ties to Lawrence. His parents, Jim and Betty Vincent, live here, and his mother is a senior administrative assistant in KU’s printing services department. Mike Vincent’s wife, Kathy, is also a Lawrence native and a 1984 graduate of LHS. Her parents, Phil and Sharon Rankin of Lawrence, are both retired from KU.

In 1989, Mike and Kathy Vincent founded the 50-member Living Hope Fellowship, which is part of the Evangelical Free Church.

He earned his master’s of divinity in 1988, and his master’s of theology in 1989, from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill.

Vincent’s Living Hope Fellowship served as one of the mother churches of a Lawrence congregation, Christ Community Church, 1100 Kasold Drive.

“I served on the board that oversaw the (Lawrence) church during its first two years. We helped give direction to the church and helped train its leadership board,” he said.

What will set fledgling author Vincent’s new book apart in a crowded marketplace of Christian best sellers?

“I think the topic of humility is something that people are generally afraid to broach. People are afraid to say, ‘I’m growing in humility.’ But I think it’s a basic concept of the Scriptures we need to understand,” he said.

Vincent didn’t set out to write “Walking in Humility” to make money or gain recognition.

“I basically wrote this book for my kids, to leave a legacy for my children and to share my heart with them. This book is a good summary of my struggle and where my heart is in my relationship with the Lord,” he said.