Tag Archives: larry osborne
Mega Gospel Coalition 2013 Post-Conference Sale
While I’ve been trying to for the past several years, I have yet to attend a Gospel Coalition conference—one of those things I’m planning for next year now that I’m settling into my new ministry role. Well last week a number of ministry leaders and practitioners descended on Orlando to listen to a solid line-up of speakers share thoughts and insights on the mission of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, and what that mission means for our own ministries.
Did you make it to the conference this year? If so, what’s that one insight you learned that has stuck with you?
One of the things I love about conferences are the mega deals on resources that will not only challenge me as a Christian, but “plus” my ministry— I love finding resources that will provoke thoughts and practices that will further equip me to do what God has called me to do. Well, I’m really pleased to let you know that Zondervan is discounting a set of phenomenal resources that will do all the above.
Big eBook sale on Ministry and Leadership books!
Merry Christmas! There’s a big eBook sale going on from now through January 7th. All of the ministry and leadership ebooks listed below are on sale. There are also fiction, kids, and Christian living titles on sale too. You can see the whole list of titles here.
This eBook sale is good across all eBook formats – Nook, Kindle, iPad – everything. So if you’re looking for some good reading to do over Christmas break, or if you’re anticipating having a new eBook reader after Christmas, don’t forget about this sale.
-Andrew
————————————
Deep & Wide by Andy Stanley was $12.99, now $5.99
Barefoot Church by Brandon Hatmaker was $8.99, now $3.99
It’s Personal by Brian & Amy Bloye was $6.99, now $3.99
Adventures in Churchland by Dan Kimball was $6.99, now $3.99
Humilitas by John Dickson was $10.99, now $3.99
King Jesus Gospel by Scot McKnight was $10.99, now $3.99
Gospel Coach by Scott Thomas & Tom Wood was $6.99, now $3.99
Sifted by Wayne Cordeiro, Francis Chan & Larry Osborne was $8.99, now $3.99
Are You Becoming An Accidental Pharisee? Larry Osborne Confronts the Dark Side of Passionate Faith and Ministry
Now that’s a punchy, provocative question if I’ve ever seen one! And a loaded one at that. It’s not meant to be loaded, though. It’s meant as a genuine question for us ministry leaders to consider, because Larry Osborne in his new book Accidental Pharisees is on a mission to help passionate people like you and me who, despite the best of intentions and a desire to honor God, end up pursuing an overzealous faith and ministry life that sabotages the work of the Lord we think we’re serving. (17)
Of course none of us ever start out with the desire to be a Pharisee. For those of us in the know, Pharisee is a dirty word, they’re the bad guys who Johnny and Susie never wanted to be when they grew up. As Osborne says, “I’ve never heard anyone describe himself as a Pharisee. I bet you haven’t either. The word always describes someone else.” (19)
Nope, not me. Yep, someone else. Yet I’ve been there, done that. If you’re honest you have, too.
Interview with Larry Osborne on “Accidental Pharisees”
Pastor Larry Osborne (Northcoast Church) was recently interviewed on “180 with Karl Clauson” about his book Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith. You can listen to the interview here.
“Larry Osborne combines winsome humor, brutal honesty, and keen insights about mistakes that good-hearted leaders are making. Read this book.” – Matt Chandler
“I was thankful Larry Osborne wrote this book for some Pharisees I know. After reading it, I was convicted that he wrote it for me.” – Gene Appel
“Larry Osborne has written many great books, but this is his best. As I read each chapter, I kept thinking how desperately the church needs to hear this message. Every believer should read it.” – Rick Warren
“Accidental Pharisees” by Larry Osborne
The pursuit of radical faith—high commitment, high passion Christianity—has hidden dangers. In Accidental Pharisees, Larry Osborne explores nine of the most common temptations that can ensnare us on the road to a deeper life of faith and warns against the danger of adding activities onto the teachings of Jesus that “prove” our commitment to God.
Links Worth Clicking: Larry Osborne, Sticky Faith, and a better conversation on homosexuality
Larry Osborne’s advice for innovators and ministry leaders: Larry Osborne is one of the teaching pastors at North Coast Church in southern California. He’s also a well-known serial innovator. In this post he offers ministry leaders and innovators some unlikely advice: “Slow down. You move to fast!” It’s a great post for leaders who oversee ministries that contain lots of smaller ministries. [Shameless plug: Larry's new book, Accidental Pharisees, will be out in two months! Woohoo!]
Sticky Faith at Saddleback: Kurt Johnston leads the Student Ministries Team at Saddleback Church. In this blog he talks about why and how Saddleback is making intentional steps to break down the silos between their youth ministries and adult ministries. It’s a really intriguing post, especially considering that Kurt ministers in such a unique church. What he’s proposing would seem much easier for a smaller church to do, not a big one. What’s extra cool about the post is that he mentions how much he appreciates Sticky Faith and the work of Kara Powell and the others at F.Y.I.
A Better Conversation about Homosexuality: This article from Christianity Today talks about three different authors views on how the church should address the topic of homosexuality. It’s heady-er (is that a word?) than the average CT article, but it’s a good one. Our author, Wesley Hill, is one of the three discussed.
The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach: The Gospel Coalition recently posted a new review of this book. Douglas Sean O’Donnell from New Covenant Church in Naperville, IL is the reviewer. If you’ve not seen this book and you are a preacher you’ve got to go check it out. It’s a ‘have-handy-on-my-shelf’ type of resource created by some of today’s leading preachers.
Why Virginity is not the Gospel by Carolyn Custis James: Carolyn’s article in the Huffington Post discusses the difference between the gospel and the Virginity Movment that recent interviews with Olympian Lolo Jones have brought to light. Carolyn is a thoughtful writer and gifted theologian. The distinctions she highlights here between the gospel and the Virginity Movement are important ones.
What’s a book endorsement? And how are book endorsements gathered?
Today I’d like to answer two questions about the publishing industry: What are endorsements? And how are they gathered?
What are endorsements?
The first question is easy to answer. An endorsement is a recommendation from a typically well-known or respected person for a product that is used for marketing and promotion. In regards to books, “endorsement” is the name given to the short quotes printed on book jackets and in the interior pages that describe for consumers why they should read the book.
For examples, see the Amazon page for The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission by John Dickson. All of the quotes listed under “editorial reviews” are endorsements. (For an example of how endorsements can be used in a humorous way see “editorial reviews” section for Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants. I laugh out loud every time.)
How are endorsements gathered?
This question is a bit harder to answer because there is no “one way” to get an endorsement. The way I gather almost all of the endorsements for our books is to start with the author and the content of the book. I ask him or her, “Who do you know that has a strong reputation in the field or topic you’re writing about?” We then go to those people – friends, colleagues, and aquaintances of the author – first as they are the most likely people to respond positively.
What’s a galley copy?
Last week I started an informal series of posts about the publishing process with a post about Advanced Reader Copies. This week I’d like to answer the above question, what’s a galley copy? Keep in mind that how my team at Zondervan uses the term “galley copy” might not be exactly how every publishing group does. “Galley copy,” I’ve found, is one of those sort of catch-all terms that publishers use.
When my team at Z uses the term galley copy we’re generally talking about something that looks like this:
This is a galley for the new book in our Leadership Network Innovation Series, Contagious Generosity by Chris Willard and Jim Sheppard. It’s printed on standard, 8.5 x 11 paper; the interior is in black and white, and it’s bound with hot glue band. I’ve also seen a number of galleys like this that are spiral bound. We typically use the term “galley” for anything printed on 8.5 x 11 paper, and “ARC” for anything printed and bound like an actual book.
