What Will It Take to Get ME to Act

I sent $50 to ACLJ the other day. I listen to Jay Sekulow on the radio from time to time, and the American Center for Law and Justice is out there fighting for Christian principles every day. They are fighting my fight right in the trenches.

I spent 2 hours on a picket line in front of the Planned Parenthood in Lawndale last week. 200 folks showed up and we got a little press. Some of the cars that passed gave us a thumbs up or honked in appreciation.

That's it! There you have the sum total of my activism for the last year.

There are so many organizations deserving my support. Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, World Vision are three that come immediately to mind.

I attend a lot of things. Church, small groups, Bible studies, mens' breakfast. I go mostly to be fed, but I do teach in one Bible study and participate in the others.

This morning I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed by how little I "Seek after righteousness for His name's sake." There doesn't seem to be a "hunger and thirst after righteousness."

I DO listen to the news and commentary programs on Fox and get all riled up. I am upset by the unrighteousness and good at shaking my fist at the TV screen. I DO share my indignation with friends, family members, and associates. I Do post some responses on Facebook to unrighteous comments.

Will I really get into the trenches and spill my precious time, energy, cash, and even my dignity if they start killing babies after they're born because they are inconvenient or the wrong sex? Will I write elected officials, help to elect sincere politicians, and write checks to organizations when the heads that are being chopped off are Christians living in Santa Monica? Will I stop shaking my fist and actually take some kind of action when an acknowledged socialist gets elected to the Presidency? What about a proven liar?

What about you?  What will it take to get you active?  Maybe you are already active. Tell us about it in the comments and motivate others into action.

One action I did take was to write a book on discipleship and how to surrender fully. That book is available on Amazon as a paperback or an Kindle book. Just go to bit.ly/GodCalled

Are You Ready to be Used by God?

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”—2 Timothy1:9(NIV).

 

“If you’re not ready to be criticized for your obedience to God, you’re not ready to be used by God.” When I shared this quote on Facebook from Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.TV, I received quite a few comments. 

 

The response I found intriguing was the following: “Interesting: The whole object of it is to be ‘used.” The statement was followed by a frowning face emoticon.

 

For those who don’t use social media, an emoticon is short for “emotion icon” and is a pictorial representation of a facial expression. In absence of seeing someone face-to-face, it lets the recipient understand the individual’s feelings or mood.

Curious about the writer of the above comment, I went to his Facebook page. Although we are not friends on this social media site, he can see my posts. I was surprised to see he describes himself as an agnostic atheist.

 Looking up the definition of an agnostic atheist, I found the following: “They are atheistic because they do not hold a belief in the existence of any deity and agnostic because they claim that the existence of a deity is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact.”

I replied to the agnostic atheist by saying, “...that is our higher purpose. That is why we have been created...for HIS purposes.” 

“Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.”

The Plight of the Christian Author in 2015

 

Like any product, marketing is the key to successful book sales

I read a lot of Christian writers, both fiction and non-fiction. Add to this, that I am a Christian writer, both in that I am a Christian who has a number of published books under my belt, and that two of them were specifically written for the Christian market. To make my authority on the subject of this post even more clear, I am a marketing consultant with over 45 years of marketing experience. Finally, most of my books have been quite successful, and those books have been published through everything from Warner Books to me.

As a marketer, I have ushered thousands of new products to market. I have seen fantastic ideas go nowhere, and I have seen average products make millions. If I could summarize the primary reason for the failure of the great products, it would be lack of marketing expertise or lack of funding to execute a good marketing plan. In other words, you can offer gold at $5 an ounce, but if nobody knows about it, there's no chance it will sell.

Up until 10 or so years ago, the only realistic way an author was going to get his book in front of large audiences was through the traditional book store model. That meant selling the book to a publisher who could then get the book onto the shelves. Even then, new authors had almost no chance of moving the product off the shelves unless there was a marketing campaign behind the book. Almost no publishers spent money then or now on new authors. It was up to the author to use publicity, advertising, reviews, radio, book signings, and speaking engagements to get books sold.

That has not changed at all!! No matter if you are self published or published by Random House, an author has to provide marketing backup to have an significant chance of success.

What has changed are the avenues open for marketing. The internet has created a form of democracy for authors. A new or relatively new author can theoretically find an audience through online efforts just as easily as the established author. What this potential has created is authors who wrongly believe that an internet only approach will result in great results for their books. There has even sprung up any number of companies that will be happy to help fledgling authors to pursue this unlikely route to success. And the money spent on these approaches is rarely recovered in book sale profits.

I self published my latest book, "God Called - He Needs Your Decision!" about one year ago. The total cost to make the book ready for sale and to buy some soft cover copies was close to $5000. That included a top-of-the line editor doing a full professional editing job.

I have now sold around 500 copies of the book, which is the second least of any book I've ever penned. I have depended on the internet, including this blog, to create sales. I have used huge amounts of Twitter and done some YouTube videos. But I have NOT done any speaking or advertising. My reviews are only those on Amazon. I have NOT worked to get any newspaper or magazine reviews. I have NOT done any radio or even tried to get radio shows.

Bottom line - there are many, many, many fine Christian books out there. To be sure, there are many so-so one's, as well. Any author today who wishes to sell their books must still get the word out through the very same channels, publicity, advertising, reviews, radio, book signings, and speaking engagements, as before. PLUS the internet.

P.S. Of course, you can sell your book to a publisher, but then you will still need to do all of the very same things to move the book, and you will make far less for each book sold. The advantage is that the publisher pays the upfront costs. The advantage is even greater if you get a substantial advance.

Perfect Christmas Gift for the Man in Your Life

 

100 page book is designed with men in mind

The subject matter is of "God Called: He Needs Your Decision" is oriented to the Christian who no longer needs to be bottle fed. The book assumes an understanding of the Bible and that the reader is serious about their choice to make Jesus Lord in their life. The goal is to help individuals who may feel stuck at some point along their growth in Christ. It is particularly suited to the Christian who wants more from their walk.


In these regards, "God Called" is for any age, male or female. In two regards the book has special appeal to men. First, it is short. At around 100 pages, even men who don't read many books will hopefully see a manageable project. Besides there are pictures.

Second, it is written in a no-nonsense style. This is not a subtle work where you need to figure out what is being said. It should challenge the reader to take new actions, and provide some of the pathway to begin those actions.

"God Called"is based on Isaiah 6:8. If we trust Jesus, then he is calling us to do some work for the Kingdom. How do we get that call? How do we hear the call? How can we be sure that the call we hear is from God? Those questions and more are at the foundation of why the book was written, and hopefully of what the book teaches.

Please consider "God Called: He Needs Your Decision," as a possible gift for anyone in your life. On Amazon, you will see a long list of reviews that can help you make your decision. Should you choose to get the ebook, the cost will be just $.99 through the end of 2014. The paperback version is a perfect Christmas gift at under $12.00. Both are available on Amazon by going here.bit.ly/GodCalled