Monthly Archives: October 2010
Leading and Reading: Leadership Network event and interview
On November 11, Leadership Network is hosting a live, online event on the topic of Leaders & Readers. Six authors will share their thoughts on the role that reading has played in their leadership experiences, drawing content from their latest books. On that day, the audience will be able to participate in the conversation through live Q&A.
I was invited to share my thoughts on the following three questions…
1. Complete this sentence: “I feel that reading is valuable to leadership because…”
Ethnic Blends: Social Justice is Who We Are
A couple of weeks ago we posted the blog tour sign up for Ethnic Blends. Just a reminder for those of you who signed up that the tour is only two weeks away – November 1-5!
In chapter 3, “Overcoming Theological Obstacles” DeYmaz and Li make some salient points about social justice in regards to the multi-ethnic church:
First, we have found that in a healthy multi-ethnic church, social justice is not so much a program to pursure; rather, it is who we are. In other words, a missional mindset quite naturally flows from the diversity of the body itself. In this sense, then, Mosaic [their church] is not som much focused on becoming missional; rather we are the mission! We are not so much focused on building bridges tot he community; we are the community! [emphasis mine] (p.93)
On Book Marketing
On Engaging Church we almost always blog on ministry related topics and/or about Zondervan’s church and ministry resources. Today I’m taking a short rabbit trail to talk about marketing – specifically book marketing.
For the sake of this blog post I’m going to assume that some of the bloggers who follow Engaging Church hope to someday publish their own books. With that assumption in mind I will also assume that some of you read books on writing, publishing, and book marketing.
This weekend I’ll be giving a short workshop on social media and book marketing at the 2010 Breathe Conference. (I’m humbled they have asked me to present this year. Here’s hoping I can do a bang-up job!)
In preparation for this workshop, and as continuing education for my job, I read a number of books on marketing and publishing. Here are the top 5 that I’ve found most helpful:
This week: “Fatherless Generation Blog Tour”
The Fatherless Generation Blog Tour begins this week! For the next five days bloggers will be reviewing and wrestling with the work of John Sowers in his new book, Fatherless Generation: Redeeming the Story.
This week, Oct. 11-15 only, you can order a copy of Fatherless Generation for 50% OFF and Free shipping at Zondervan.com Use this code: 370033
What does it mean for a generation to grow up without Dad? What happens when Dad walks out the door of your life, never to return? What happens when our givers of life give us a lifetime of tears?
I’ll be keeping a running list of the discussions here. Join the conversation about fatherlessness in America this week and discover what the church can do amidst this crisis. (read sample)
BibleGeekGoneWild and also on CrossFocusedReviews
TheoQuest
Searching for Meaning and Purpose
Your Daily Strength
Ponderings by Andrea
The Christian Watchman
Step Up to the Call
Theology for the Road
JamaCreative
Interview with David Beach: One Way to Pray the Psalms
How often do you pray the Psalms? I try to pray something from scripture (often a Psalm) on a daily basis. When you are encouraging or counseling others, do you encourage them to pray the Psalms?
In the interview below David Beach talks about one method for doing this, particularly as it relates to counseling others.
Will you encourage others to try a “copy change” method? It seems like that is an easy way to make scripture intensely personal, and a way to engage with God that’s very (even painfully) honest.
Winners for the Psalms Giveaway
Giveaway question:
What is the most common genre of poetry in the Psalms?
A) Praise
B) Lament
C) Zion Songs
D) Liturgy Psalms
Answer: B) Lament
Winners: David Smith, Debbie, Craig Hurst, Kim Vander Helm, and Richard Wilson! (I’ll email you for your shipping address – congrats!)
We had almost complete agreement on this answer. That’s encouraging! That says to me that lots of us know at least a little bit about genres in the Psalms. I confess, up until about a week ago I would not have been able to answer this question correctly. I would’ve answered (A) Praise. Here’s what Dave and Brian have to say about lament in The Essential Bible Companion to the Psalms:
Zondervan extends publishing partnership with WORDSearch
I’ve copied a press release for you below. Exciting news for us here at the Z! Also, fans of the EBC should be excited too. – Andrew
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., October 11, 2010 — Zondervan announced that it has entered into an electronic publishing partnership with the software company WORDsearch. The complete 12-volume Expositor’s Bible Commentary (EBC) set is now available as well as the two-volume abridged set. This commentary set, written by a world-class panel of 78 editors and evangelical scholars, covers each book of the Old and New Testaments. It uses the NIV but also refers freely to other translations and to the original languages.