Author
Tim Bishop grew up the youngest of four children in one of the best places in the world to raise a family: Houlton, Maine. Its citizens had a strong sense of community, which was on display after his father died when Tim was nine.
The family lacked no support in the small, isolated, but cultured town on the Canadian border. Periodically, anonymous Good Samaritans dropped bags of potatoes, string beans, and corn on the family’s porch. Houlton’s ample recreational programs helped Tim find friends, stretch himself, and learn about life. He looked up to several role models in town, in particular at Military Street Baptist Church, where he committed his life to Christ at age eight.
The fall potato harvest sent the town’s youth, Tim among them, into farmers’ fields during a three-week recess from school. Anyone who grew up picking potatoes in Aroostook County developed a strong work ethic. Tim worked summers as a clerk at grocery and paint stores during high school and college.
Tim’s mother is enshrined in God’s Hall of Fame for Mothers. Frannie was a sweet, wise, and diligent woman who enjoyed life despite the challenges of single motherhood. With a strong faith in God, she demonstrated that lack of money was no obstacle to a meaningful life.
A graduate of the University of Maine where he majored in Business (and unofficially in chess), Tim won a timed writing contest as a freshman. He is a CPA and a three-time Maine chess champion. To help businesses manage financial risk, he penned a book entitled Hedging Demystified.
Tim worked for the largest heating oil distributor in northern New England for twenty-six years before leaving to pursue other interests. Chief among them was Debbie, a vibrant and adventuresome schoolteacher from Massachusetts whom he married six weeks after leaving work.
Previously lifelong singles, the couple rode bicycles self-supported across America. You can learn more from their memoir, Two Are Better. The Bishops relocated to Middle Tennessee in 2015 in support of a ministry they promoted on their first three bicycle tours.
Purveyor of Hope
Tim writes to create content that can change people’s lives. As a volunteer for TheHopeLine and more recently Need Him Global, he has chatted one on one over the Internet with scores of people who are depressed, suicidal, and dealing with other life issues, meeting them there with the love of Jesus.
He has contributed articles to CBN.com and been a part of three church plants. His faith background nurtured in him the heart of an evangelist and a passion to reach people in creative ways.
Collaborator
Tim has worked cooperatively with other writers in greater Nashville, where he participates in special events such as Downtown Franklin’s Main Street Festival, Pumpkinfest, and Dickens of a Christmas. He stays connected with writers through Heartprint Writers Group, Spring Hill Area Writers, writers conferences, and online forums.
The Bishops’ publishing company, Open Road Press, has released six books.
Press Biography
After a thirty-year career in business, Tim Bishop left his corporate treasurer position, married his dream girl, and embarked with her to parts unknown—on bicycles. Ten thousand miles later, the first-time newlyweds wrote four books about their cycling adventures. Their devotional, Wheels of Wisdom, won four first-place book awards. Publishers Weekly dubbed it “a road map for life.”
In 2023, Tim Bishop released his first novel, The Persistent Road, with the endorsements of two Christy Award-winning novelists. In it, Doug Zimmer loses all he once cherished and embarks on an epic bicycling adventure to find out if life is still worth living. The Southern Christian Writers Conference selected The Persistent Road as the winner of its 2023 Notable Book Award for self-published fiction.
A Christian since age eight, Tim has volunteered as a coach for TheHopeLine and more recently Need Him Global, where he chats one on one over the Internet with people who are dealing with challenging life issues, meeting them there with the love of Jesus. He has contributed articles to CBN.com and been a part of three church plants. These faith experiences have given him an evangelist’s heart to reach people in creative ways.