"Christian" vs. "Christ-Follower"

A couple of months ago I posted a video from Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois which was a parody of the Mac vs. PC commercials. The video was one of a series of videos used by CCC in a series in which they compared "Christians" to "Christ-Followers."

I received some strong criticisms for posting that video even though I took no position as to the message. I just thought it was interesting.

Well now, after reading this week's edition of the Christian Standard (http://www.christianstandard.com/) I realize that CCC's series and the video were from Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson, and Eric Bramlett's new book, The BIG IDEA.

The article reads like two different articles: one on The Big Idea and one on "Christians" vs. "Christ-Followers."

I found the sections on The Big Idea both interesting and informative, but I found the sections in the rest of article "No More Christians!" somewhat troubling.

The first sentences of the article--"If you've been calling yourself a Christian, you should stop" & "If you have ever encouraged someone to become a Christian, you should never do that again"--shocked me.

I haven't read the book, yet, and I'm sure that they are using shocking statements to make a point and stimulate thought, but I hope the book includes a more balanced discussion of this issue.

I initially found the idea (Christian vs. Christ-Follower) intriguing . . .

I, too, am turned off by people who call themselves, "Christian"but who appear to be living lives inconsistent with that name.

I am disgusted by statistics that show show no real difference between Christians and non-Christians on key moral issues.

I long to be a Christ-follower and not just a person
wearing the title "Christian."

But, I love the name, "Christian."

I am the name, "Christian."

It is the name of my Savior.

It is the name used of Christ-followers in the Bible (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; I Peter 4:16).

Like you, I get their point: If we aren't going to follow Christ in every way, then we shouldn't call ourselves "Christian" because all we're doing is bringing dishonor to Jesus . . . or something to this effect.

And, I agree to a point just this side of shedding the name that identifies me as a follower of Christ.

Ryan's Solo

Ryan is a young boy from Christ's Church who has overcome a lot of medical problems. He's a living miracle.

He sang a solo at our 4:30 Christmas Eve service in front of 2,700 people!

Here's a note his mother sent to me:

We are so proud of Ryan and so thankful to God for his progress, as most of you know he has come so far developmentally. We never could have imagined that he would be able to do something like this based on his prior medical history! God proved several specialists wrong, I would love to email this to some of those doctors, they'd be amazed!


Enjoy and be prepared to feel warm and fuzzy - the power of prayer is indescribable! God is good all the time!

U2-charist--U2 Brings Rock to Religion

I've always been a U2 fan, so this story caught my attention.

The Pope may have condemned rock music as "anti-religion" but the Church of England has announced it is to use the songs of a global supergroup in an effort to boost congregations.The first "U2-charist" in England, an adapted Holy Communion service that uses the Irish rock group's best-selling songs in place of hymns, is to be staged at a Lincoln church in May.A live band will play U2 classics such as Mysterious Ways and Beautiful Day as worshippers sing along with lyrics which will appear on screen at St Swithin's parish church in the town centre.The event will focus on the Millennium Development Goals - targets set for the alleviation of world poverty - and a cause promoted by U2 singer and lyricist Bono with fellow Irish musician Bob Geldof.The atmosphere will be further enhanced by a sophisticated lighting system that will pulse with the beat, and striking visual images of poverty and drought.The Bishop of Grantham, the Rt Rev Timothy Ellis, said the service would be "completely inclusive" with anyone who wished to come along welcome.Seating will be moved in order for the 500-strong congregation to be able to dance and wave their hands.He said: "The Millennium Development Goals are extremely important for the future of the world."It is also very important that we continue to try and find ways of worshipping that are surprising, challenging and fun. Rock music can be a vehicle of immense spirituality."The idea of a "U2-charist" was first created in the US with the first such service held there in 2005.

Link to story:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/paBonoMon12U2hymnsud.html

The Jesus I Used to Know

Last Wednesday morning at the annual meeting of the Contributing Editors of the Christian Standard I encountered Jesus again.

I've known Jesus for as long as I can remember.

I first met him at home through the stories my parents told me about him. The Jesus my parents introduced me to was brave, strong, manly, kind, gentle, holy, loving, humble, and heroic. I knew he was someone I wanted to get to know better.

My first official encounter with Jesus outside of my home was in Sunday School. Jesus was on flannelgraph and in the hands of the teacher of my pre-school Sunday School class. He looked kind, tall, poised, important, and stiff. I was so eager to know more about him, but I could see he was busy teaching some adults, so I decided I'd just talk to him later.

Later I saw Jesus in the hallway of a church building. I remember the picture looked brown and Jesus wasn't smiling. He looked liked he was contemplating something. He looked very serious . . . and backlit . . .and wimpy. He didn't look like the man my parents told me about. I wasn't sure I wanted to get to know this Jesus. He didn't seem very approachable.

In High School Jesus and I got to be really close. He became a great friend who walked with me to class, sat next to me in the cafeteria, and read his book in my room while I went out with my friends from school on Friday night. We had a pretty comfortable arrangement: He agreed to be there when I wanted, or needed him, and I agreed that I would hang out with him on Sundays and on Thursdays at FCA and that during the rest of the week I'd try not to do anything to embarrass him.

In College I got to know Jesus a whole lot better. The Jesus I met in Bible College was the same Jesus my parents introduced me to. He was inspirational, powerful, and amazing . . . just like I remembered him. I loved getting to know Jesus again. During this time he changed my life forever, so I decided that I would spend the rest of my life introducing people to him.

Jesus and I have spent a lot of time together in the 15 years since I graduated from Bible College, but I recently realized that I had been taking him for granted and kind of forgotten who he really is. I love him . . . more than I ever have and I still tell people about him almost every day. I wake up each day thinking about him and spend each moment trying to know him more and trying to help others to do the same. I'm really comfortable around him . . . at least I was until last Wednesday morning.

In his morning devotions Paul Williams (Editor-at-Large for the Christian Standard) reminded us of the time when a storm came up on the Sea of Galilee while Jesus and his disciples were in a boat (Matthew 8:23-27). The disciples were frightened, but Jesus was sound asleep, so they went and woke him up crying out, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He spoke to the storm and it stopped immediately. The disciples responded by asking, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him?"

I thought they knew him.

I thought I knew him.

If we did, we'd know that he has the power to stop a furious storm with a whispered word.

Paul followed this story--and ended his devotion--by quoting a poem by Mary Oliver entitled, "Maybe."

Sweet Jesus, talking his melancholy madness,
stood up in the boat
and the sea lay down,

silky and sorry.
So everybody was saved that night.
But you know how it is

when something different crosses
the threshold -- the uncles
mutter together,

the women walk away, the young brother begins
to sharpen his knife.
Nobody knows what the soul is.

It comes and goes like the wind over the water --
sometimes, for days,
you don't think of it.

Maybe, after the sermon, after the multitude was fed,
one or two of them felt
the soul slip forth

like a tremor of pure sunlight before exhaustion,
that wants to swallow everything,
gripped their bones and left them

miserable and sleepy, as they are now, forgetting
how the wind tore at the sails
before he rose and talked to it --

tender and luminous and demanding as he always was --
a thousand times more frightening
than the killer storm.

There he was again . . . the Jesus I first met . . . the Jesus I used to know . . . the Jesus I want to spend my life serving, loving, worshipping, and introducing other people to: tender, luminous, demanding, a thousand times more frightening than the killer storm.

He is my friend, but he's also God.

He is my helper, but he's also my Judge.

He is loving, but he is also frightening.

And, although he is knowable, we must never forget who he really is.

So you want to write a book? Part 3 & Final Entry

7. Get An Agent--Once your proposal is finished I'd recommend doing a Google search for "Christian Literary Agents" and then email your proposal to as many as you can. Prepare for rejection . . . a lot of it. I think we sent out 300 query letters (a one page email/memo promoting your book and asking the publisher or agency if they are interested in receiving a copy of your proposal) and at least 100 copies of my first proposal to publishers and literary agents. Out of that we got about 12 responses and of those only 2 were positive. One was from a publisher who wanted to make my book into a Sunday School lesson series and the other response was from an agent who wanted to work with me. I signed with the agent (I paid her no money, but signed a contract so she would receive 15% of all of my book advances and royalties) and she immediately began sending my proposals to publishers who only accept proposals from authors who have agents. Within a couple of months (and after some more rejection) we had a book deal. You can get a book picked up by a publisher without an agent, but it's more difficult. A good agent negotiates your contracts, seeks out future opportunities, nurtures your writing ministry, and--in my opinion--is essential to a successful and long-term writing career.

8. Be Patient--The publishing industry is very slow. From what I've experienced, read, and heard from other authors it takes about 1 1/2 years for a book to go from the initial contract to the shelf of your local bookstore. Pace yourself and be patient.

9. Consider Self-Publishing--If you believe that you have something to say and that there is someone who will want to read it, but you can't convince any agent or publisher of that "fact" you may want to consider self-publishing. There are some respected publishing companies who will take your book and print it with an attractive cover. It will probably cost you a lot, but it will give you an opportunity to get your book into readers' hands and you never know where that will lead. I know of a successful Christian artist who self-published his first album. The right person heard it and he ended up with a record deal.

10. Network With Other Authors--I've found that . . . and I know this sounds so petty . . . in the publishing business it's not necessarily what you know but who you know. Get to know as many authors as you can. Ask them questions. Seek advice. Be nice to them. These professional contacts are an enormous blessing when you're seeking wisdom, insight on a publisher/agent/marketing plan, or an endorsement from one of them for the back cover of your latest book (I was surprised to discover that most publishers require the author to get his/her own endorsements.)


Well, that's that.

Be blessed and write like there's no tomorrow.

Vacation Bible School

Does your church use VBS as an outreach tool? Apparently a lot of churches do.

According to a study (http://www.ellisonresearch.com/releases/20070103.htm) that was just released, "The most common is Vacation Bible School, or VBS, which has been used by seven out of 10 churches for evangelism in the last year."

The Buzz section of The Christian Standard recently ran these articles about churches in the Restoration Movement who used VBS as effective outreach tools:

8-27-06 -- Reaching Families . . . With VBS!

http://www.christianstandard.com/buzz.asp?id=277
One VBS Idea . . .Magazine articles reassure busy parents with the cliché that kids need "quality" time, not "quantity" time. Even if that’s true, how can the church help overscheduled families plan quality time with a spiritual focus?
Karen Lynch, children’s minister at White Oak Christian Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), recognized the trend in many churches toward family weekend worship services, but wondered how to involve families in other church activities. While speaking about the paradigm shift in a Ministry to Families class at Cincinnati Christian University, an idea hit her. "It was a God thing!" she says. "I stopped midsentence while I was lecturing and said, ‘VBS!’"
White Oak began the new family VBS this summer, scheduling it from 6:30-9:30 pm, Monday through Friday, during the second week of the church’s regular daytime VBS programming.
Lynch and her team designed every aspect of each evening to encourage communication, interaction, and fun for parents and children. After an opening praise time with up-tempo music (during which families sat and worshiped together), everyone moved downstairs for a picnic-style dinner provided by the church. While the group enjoyed the boxed meals, volunteers presented the missions emphasis for the week, then dismissed the families to rotate among a craft center, games area, Bible Adventure (presenting the Bible story for the day), and Casa de Familia (where each family worked together to create its own scrapbook of the week).
Grandparents led three to five families as a group, shepherding them from area to area, enjoying the meal with them, and building relationships. "Often these were older people who didn’t have kids or grandkids in the program," says Lynch. "It was a great way to get them involved, and it provided an informal structure that allowed parents to concentrate on participating in the activities with their children." (As a side benefit, the White Oak team required fewer volunteers for family VBS because parents and often grandparents accompanied each child.)
Lynch hoped this new program would reach adults as well as children with the love of Christ, and she estimates 30 percent of the parents attending the family VBS were non-Christians. She also planned the program to coach Christian parents. "Many people want to be spiritual leaders for their children, but aren’t sure how," she says. At Friday’s closing session, the church gave each family a 30-day devotional book to use at home, and White Oak kicked off a new family worship service for elementary-age children and their parents the next Sunday.
www.wocc.cc

. . . And a Second One!Standard Publishing designs its VBS curriculum (http://www.vacationbibleschool.com/) to be user-friendly, but also leaves room for each church to adapt the material in creative ways. Plainfield (Indiana) Christian Church used this year’s "Trading Places" curriculum and added unique elements to enhance the experience.
"The material included a daily Bible story as well as a second story about a specific country and its people," says Wendy Wagoner, director of early childhood. "We wanted the kids to easily understand the different stories, and also wanted them to visualize what it means to really trade places with those in other cultures."
To achieve these goals, the team created an "airline terminal" from a garage on the church property. They created signs to designate each of the building’s doors as entryways to different countries, hung a huge map of the world, and added other simple decorations to aid the transformation from a plain building to a place of imagination.
Each day the kids gathered in the terminal to hear a "flight attendant" share facts about the country of the day and an introduction to the character telling the story. After the story, leaders coached children to think of ways they could make a difference in that part of the world through praying, giving money, sending missionaries, and more. The experience ended with each child receiving a sticker representing that day’s country. "We designed name tags to look like passports," Wagoner says. "They wore their name tag each day, and after every ‘trip’ they added a sticker to their passport."
www.pcc1829.org

This study on evangelism also found, "Other relatively popular evangelistic efforts include “invite a friend to church” days (42 percent), revivals or crusades (40 percent), evangelism training classes or groups (38 percent), door-to-door visitation within the community (37 percent), community service such as cleanup days (31 percent), online efforts such as blogs or web sites (27 percent), audio or visual products such as tapes or DVDs (26 percent), and booths at community events such as the county fair (20 percent)."

We want your input

I was just reading Jennifer Taylor's blog (http://christianstandard.com/WriteAboutNow.asp) and noticed that she's soliciting feedback for our Christian Standard Contributing Editors' meeting next week in Orlando.

What a great idea!

About our team of Contributing Editors she wrote:
The team really cares about the independent Christian churches, and about creating a journal to serve them. We want the magazine to be readable, relevant, and helpful to you. We'd love for it to be "can't miss" reading. But as committed as our team may be, we don't have all the answers. So tell us what you like--and what you think could be improved. How could the Standard jump to the top of your reading list? What's helpful, and what's missing? What one thing could we do differently in the next year to contribute in a big way to your ministry?

I'd like to have answers to the same questions.

If you post an idea here, I promise I'll bring it to the attention of our team at our meeting next Monday-Wednesday.

If you'd like to make a suggestion, but you'd like it to be private (i.e. not posted on this blog) then submit your comment as normal and write "please do not post these comments." Our Comment Options allow me to filter all Blog comments before posting. I'll take note of your comments and then continue without posting them in the comments section of this blog.

I'm eager to hear your suggestions.

So you want to write a book? Part 2

I've already received some positive feedback on this topic. Very cool. I love to read your comments and get the chance to interact with you.

Let's continue . . .

4. Prepare a Proposal--A proposal is a marketing plan for your book which includes your biographical information, a market analysis, target audience, detailed table of contents, and at least one sample chapter. I write non-fiction and--from what I've experienced and been told--with non-fiction books the publishers don't want to see the entire book. They most likely won't read it. What they want to see is that you have something to say, that you can say it well, that it hasn't already been said, and that there is a market (either intrinsic based on your profession or one that exists already) for your book.

Publishers don't want to spend a lot of money marketing books; they want to produce books and collect money. They have limited resources and a lot of books to market so publishers have to spend marketing money carefully. Like throwing spaghetti at a wall . . . if a book finds a market then they will invest more money into marketing that book. If a book finds no market then they must move on to the next project. My first publisher puts out over 150 books a year. I was told that they spend $5,000-$10,000 on each book with a basic marketing plan, but only books that find an audience (i.e. sell) get more funds.

A well-written proposal by an author who has an existing (or potentially large) audience is what acquisitions editors are looking for.

Your proposal is your best--and probably only--shot to get the attention of an acquisitions editor. The following links will take you to examples of proposals. You'd be safe using these as templates for your proposal.

From Alive Communications--http://alivecom.com/queryguidelines.asp
This webpage has sample Fiction and Non-Fiction proposals.
For almost 20 years, Alive Communications has served a select group of authors who represent the best of the best.

From O'Reilly Media--http://oreilly.com/oreilly/author/ch02.html
O'Reilly Media was originally a technical writing consulting company named O'Reilly & Associates. In 1984, we started retaining rights to manuals we created for Unix vendors. Our books were grounded in our hands-on experience with the technology, and we wrote them in a straightforward, conversational voice. We weren't afraid to say in print that a vendor's technology didn't work as advertised. While our publishing program has expanded to include everything from digital photography to desktop applications to software engineering, those early principles still guide our editorial approach.

Most reputable publishers rarely receive or read unsolicited proposals and most legitimate publishers will only receive proposals from literary agents.

This excerpt is from Thomas Nelson's Website (note that it directs authors to a great marketing book):
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/dept.asp?dept_id=1117930#3
Q: How do I submit my manuscript?
A: Thomas Nelson, Inc. and its publishing groups no longer accept or review any unsolicited queries, proposals, or manuscripts. If you are interested in having your stories published by another Christian publisher, we recommend a book called The Christian Writer's Market Guide by Sally E. Stuart. This book includes writer's guidelines and submission procedures for all Christian publishing houses that do accept unsolicited manuscripts. You may be interested in having someone read and review your work. The Editorial Services section of Literary Market Place (LMP), published by R.R. Bowker, New Providence, New Jersey, lists over 500 entries, many of which provide some kind of critique service.
The Ministry Services division of Thomas Nelson Publishers offers aspiring Christian authors publishing services including editorial support, cover and interior page design, packaging, and manufacturing. Retail distribution may also be offered. To learn more, please contact Randy Elliott, Vice President of Ministry Services.

5. Read Books on Writing and Marketing Books--The book that Thomas Nelson mentions (The Christian Writer's Market Guide) is a must-read for any Christian writer who is serious about getting published.
This is a great resource: How to Write a Winning Book Proposal
(http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/Downloads/WritingABookProposal.pdf)
By Michael S. Hyatt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Michael S. Hyatt was installed as the new chief executive officer of Thomas Nelson in August 2005. He began his publishing career at Word Publishing while a student at Baylor University. He started his own publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt, with his partner Robert Wolgemuth in 1986. The company was eventually acquired by Word in 1992. Hyatt was a successful literary agent from 1992 until early 1998. He is also the author of four books, one of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list where it stayed for seven months.

6. Don't work with a publisher or an agent who expects to be paid in advance of a signed book contract--
I did a Google search for "We'll publish your book." Here was one of the first websites that came up: Want to Publish a Book? Publish for $395 in 4 - 6 weeks!

Don't pay a single $1 until all of your other options are gone and then only spend your money with a legitimate company who will help you self-publish your book. Self-publishing is a great option for first-time authors who are "unknowns."

I've written three books and I've not paid a dime out of my pockets to get those books published. I have an agent (I'll discuss that in Part 3) and she gets paid when I get paid (actually before I get paid). My publisher sends my checks to my agent, the agency takes its percentage (for representing me), and the agency pays me the rest.

I've heard countless horror stories of authors who paid hundreds of dollars to some internet company who promised to post their book ideas so that acquisitions editors could find them and read them. Trust me . . .acquisitions editors at reputable publishers are not surfing the net looking for book proposals. They throw away--or delete without reading--hundreds of unsolicited book proposals each week.

The rule of thumb is: If you have to pay for it (getting published)--and you're not self-publishing with a reputable company--then it's not the real deal.

I'll have one more entry before the end of the week.

Be blessed!

So you want to write a book? Part 1

This post is different from what I usually write, but it's a new year and I've already had a couple of discussions with friends who would like to publish a book in the next year and I thought there might be a few others who are interested.

(btw--If you have any questions about anything I suggest please feel free to post a comment. I promise to respond on the public board.)

I've had one book published (Running on Empty--Cook Communications, 2005) with two more to be released in the next year (Scripture to Live By--Adams Media, March 2007 and Remember Who You Are--Standard Publishing, July 2007).

I feel so blessed to have been given the opportunity to have these books published. I am so grateful that God opened up this avenue of ministry for me and I'm always eager to help other writers who long to be published. I've learned so much in the past three years of this journey.

That's why the following statistics from Dan Poynter on www.parapub.com caught my attention. Here are some cold hard facts:

• 81% of the population feels they have a book inside them.
• 27% would write fiction
• 28% would write on personal development
• 27% would write history, biography, etc.
• 20% would do a picture book, cookbook, etc.
• 6 million have written a manuscript
• 6 million manuscripts are making the rounds
• Out of every 10,000 children's books, 3 get published.

Since the moment I did my first book-signing I've met countless people who dream of one day writing a book and having it published. I always try to be as encouraging and helpful as possible. I wouldn't be a published author if not for the help and encouragement of a couple of my friends who were already published authors. But the reality is (based on how few books actually get published each year) that very few of those people I speak with will actually write a book and even fewer will have a book published, which I think is an absolute shame because so many of the people with whom I've spoken over the past few years have great book ideas.

So, I thought I'd devote the next few blogs this week to some random thoughts, ideas, advice, guidance, and wisdom that I think is important to consider if you are considering publishing a book.

1. Write . . . like the wind! Practice makes perfect. If you want to be a good writer then you have to practice writing. Start a blog, submit articles to magazines, journals, newspapers, Reader's Digest, or your church newsletter. Max Lucado's first book, On the Anvil, was a collection of articles he wrote for his church newsletter. Seek out opportunities to get published, start writing a book proposal (I'll give you more advice on this in the coming days), start writing a manuscript--it may not be any good, but that's o.k. At least you're writing. I couldn't hit the rim the first time I picked up a basketball, but now I can shoot pretty well.
2. Get Used to Rejection. Just because you want to write (and practice) does not guarantee that you're a good writer and even if you're a good writer . . . you will be rejected many times in your career. Every author I've ever met, or read about, has been rejected many, many times. One of my best friends was rejected for 18 years, but he refused to quit and he is now on his 5th or 6th book with a major publisher, which leads me to my last bit of advice for today . . .
3. Don't quit. If you are serious about writing, if you have something to say, and if you have even basic writing talent . . . don't quit until you get something published somewhere. Even if you have to self-publish (I'll cover this, too.) don't quit until you've done all you can do to fulfill your writing goals. You may not ever write a best-seller, but, if you refuse to quit, you may write a book, a story, or even an article for your church newsletter that blesses someone somewhere.

To be continued . . .

To Save A Stranger

An amazing thing happened today: Wesley Autrey saved a stranger.

Here's a picture of Wesley . . .







Wesley was preparing to board the subway with his two daughters when an 18-year-old stranger who was having a seizure fell onto the tracks in front of them.

A train was barreling towards the man so, without hesitation, Wesley jumped onto the tracks and threw himself on top of the young man.

Autrey said the man was still moving violently from the seizure, so he pulled him into the center of the tracks and laid on top of him. The train literally passed over the two men, and Autrey said there was "maybe" about two inches between their bodies and the speeding subway.

Here's a quote from one of the witnesses to this heroic event . . .

"We're looking and we can see the train coming -- there's no way the train can stop before this gentleman can get him off the tracks," said Patricia Brown, a social worker who Autrey had handed his daughters over to before he dove onto the tracks. "So he covered him with his body and pushed him down to a point where the train wouldn't hit his head and held him under the tracks while the train came and rolled right over the top of them."

(T0 read the rest of the article: http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_002141609.html)

Both men escaped with only minor injuries.

There are a lot of people in this world who are trapped in harms way and are in need of rescuing,but the danger of which I'm speaking is not of a physical nature, but spiritual and is even more deadly than being hit by a speeding subway train. People who die without Christ--people who are trapped by the power of sin--will not escape the final judgment with only minor injuries.

There is a coming day of judgment. Those who are covered by Christ will spend eternity with Christ in Heaven and those who lie unprotected before his wrath will spend eternity separated from Christ in Hell.

I'm so convicted by this truth.

I've resolved to do more in 2007 to reach lost people for Christ.

I'm embarrassed and ashamed by how many strangers I've knowingly allowed to lie in the path of God's wrath while I stood by doing little, or nothing, to rescue them from their hopeless state.

Yes, I must . . . we must do more to reach lost people for Christ.

If we Christians will just open our eyes we will notice trapped strangers all around us and--upon this realization--we will find ourselves at a point of choice: stand and watch, or act and save.

I want to be like Wesley.

I hope an amazing thing happens tomorrow. Like Wesley, I hope you and I will do whatever it takes to save a stranger.