Current Wheaton Students Publish Book

Sophomore Tate Fritz and freshman Ally Witt are the co-authors of the book entitled “White Flag: Surrender the Wall.”

The authors explore subjects and issues that sometimes act as a wall, blocking the relationship between Christians and Christ, by using three key verses: Genesis 3, John 10:10 and Matthew 20.

Fritz explained that the “wall” in the title references anything in life that keeps an individual from Christ.

“The wall is a big theme in the book,” Fritz said. “All that we’re referencing when we’re talking about the wall of legalism or contentment or whatever it is, (are) these fears and these doubts building up in your life that aren’t allowing you to pursue Christ.”

Fritz continued, “It’s important to us and to the book to understand that this really is prohibiting you. It’s not like a detour that you can get back around: It’s blocking you from Christ.”

Witt summarized the idea of the book: “Ultimately, it’s just about what we can do to surrender our lives, to get over our fears, to get over our doubts, so that we can live that life to the full.”

In Fritz’s senior year and Witt’s junior year of high school, writing about the idea of pursuing Christ without hindrance was not the first thing the pair had imagined.

Fritz said, “Writing was not my first choice — it was the last choice — but I really felt convicted to write, and I wanted to have a teammate. I thought it would be really valuable to have Ally’s perspective.”

By the end of Fritz’s senior year of high school, the team had completed the writing process and continued to spend the next year and a half fine-tuning the work while looking into publishing, which ultimately ended in the decision to publish the book themselves.

Throughout the process, the authors pursued theological grounding, seeking help from fellow authors, peers and family.

The book has been endorsed by College Church’s senior pastor Josh Moody as well as President Philip Ryken.

When asked why members of the Wheaton community should read the book, the authors stated that it can serve as a reminder that everyone has doubts and struggles, even when they think they’re doing fine.

“I know when I was writing (the book), a lot was revealed to me, like ‘I didn’t even realize I was doubting this,’ or ‘I didn’t even realize I feared this,’ and so I think … this book is just food for thought to get you thinking about that,” Witt said.

Senior Eric Albaugh, a former high school classmate of Fritz and Witt, wrote the foreword for the book.

“This book has so much to say about freedom,” Albaugh said in an email. “How strange it is that the only way to experience true freedom is to raise the white flag of surrender to Christ. This wild, almost dichotomous notion is the message of ‘White Flag: Surrender the Wall.’”

When asked about a favorite moment in the process, Fritz reminisced on a time in January when the authors went to Grace Church of DuPage to talk to the youth group and pastor as well as to hand out books.

“For me, that moment was really significant, just to see everything that we had been through and worked through come out and come to fruition,” Fritz said. “Sharing the message of what we’re about, who we are, where we’ve come from, where we’re going, was really meaningful.”

“White Flag: Surrender the Wall” is available at the Wheaton College bookstore and on Amazon for Kindle users.