when i get nervous, my feet sweat.

your turn…share your grossest quirk!

Shawn Wood, the Experiences Pastor at Seacoast Church, has started a blog tour to support his new book, 200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One which releases September 2008 and is available for pre-order now at Amazon.com.

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Anne: Well it looks like everyone who has done the blog tour so far has made some type of joke in their first question so far about Pomegranates, so I will spare you any humor there. But what’s the book about and why would I want to read it?

Shawn: Well, first of all Anne, I am so excited to be able to stop by THE flowerdust.net…wow. We met through the blogosphere and then were able to hang just a bit at MinistryCOM this past year - which I am excited to see you are speaking at this year - and it’s been great to learn from you and see your journey develop with your book Mad Church Disease.

Mechanics are artists. No longer is art limited to painters and musicians. Each one of us is an artist, endowed by our Creator with skills and talents that can make our world a more beautiful place. Every good mom is an artist, molding her children as a creation of God. Every teacher makes a mark on the young people in his classroom. Every ethical businessperson leaves a legacy of people seeing God through his or her careful and honest work.

Anne: Well, you were nice enough to let me read your manuscript in its early stages and it captivated me. Your gift of storytelling, when combined with your passion for artistry, makes for an inspiring read. I know this is hard to decide as an author, but what was your favorite part of the book?

Shawn: The stories. The book is simply me telling areas I have blown it. Areas I have learned from people older than me. Areas that I have figured it out with God’s help and some of the dumb stuff I have done while trying to live the life of a Christ follower. The book highlights the life of a Dentist, a working Mom of an Autistic child, a wonderful wife and home keeper, a Pastor, and a Welder to show that God can use the life of ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Everyone who has read the books has said, “man this book will be great for a _______________” and filled in the blank with a different noun. That was the book I was trying to write.

Anne: So what do you hope readers will do after reading it?

Shawn: At the end of the book I have a prayer that I would hope would be the heart-beat of someone who had read, experienced and responded to the stories and scripture presented in this book:

God, I pray that you would remind me that you created me for a life of meaning and influence, ultimately to bring you fame. I pray that you would continue this work in me in me and hone my skills, talents and spiritual gifts in such a way that you would be honored by my greatness. As I walk in this journey, God, I pray that you would show me what to do, teaching me what the passion of my life should be. Along that journey, I pray that you would allow me to have the courage and the integrity to do something meaningful with my life. Lord, teach me to see the needs of others as you see them, and to invest in your other people your prized possessions. When I do this, I pray that it would be a beacon that shines on you. God, as I do these things I pray that you would be my audience. That my love and adoration would be for you and that you alone would get my praise. And lastly, God, allow me the grace to finish the race well. I look forward to seeing you and hearing you say, “well done.” Lord, give me your strength to finish strong in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Anne: When will people be able to pick it up and how can they help spread the word?

Shawn: The book will be available in September of 2008. In fact I am so excited to be releasing the book at Granger Church’s Innovate conference. It will be available through Abingdon press through Amazon, Barnes and Noble or as they say in the biz, wherever fine books are sold.

Thanks so much for letting me have a few hundred words of your time! Carve Pomegranates!

You can also download a sample of Shawn’s book right here, right now!

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Any other books you are looking forward to reading?

pete “the waxyone” wilson (who will be my new boss, so, treat him nicely) asked me to write a guest blog for him while he and his family are on vacation…you can read that here

and the catalyst crew put a little guest diddy up for me yesterday on the catablog…which can read here

in other news, my phone has not buzzed since 9:41 am. it is taking some getting used to!

shaun reminded me why i rarely show my legs in public

mike hyatt shares some great email tips

seth makes me think twice (he does fairly often)

and jarrod asks if jesus would have a beer with him

anything cool you’ve come across lately?

mike wrote an interesting post yesterday about how much gas is used to get people to and from church gatherings.

now, i am not a mathematician by any means so i didn’t double check the numbers, but he has made some very fascinating calculations (which only take into consideration one trip to church per week):

he says,

*Say 3000 people attend your church.

*Average family of four equals 750 vehicles.

* Average fuel economy: 26mpg…but we’ll assume 20mpg for in-town driving, SUV’s, idling, etc.

*Average miles to place of worship? We’ll assume 15 round trip. Conservative.

That’s 750 vehicles traveling 15 miles, divided by 20 mpg: 562.5 total gallons for fuel burned.

At 4 dollars per gallon, that’s $2,250 dollars per week. or $117,000 per year for the congregation.

puts a whole new spin on the “consumerist” mindset, huh?

based on those numbers, it seems like it would cost the average american church-going family $3/week or $156/year to drive to church.

i realize megachurches are the minority, so you here’s the math…(and yes, my head hurts from trying to figure this all out!)

church of 100: $3,900

church of 250: $9,750

church of 500: $19,500

church of 1000: $39,000

and for kicks, i thought i’d do lakewood church…since i have been on a joel osteen kick and all.

church of 40,000: $1,560,000

just to drive to church…

gas prices were something chris and i took into consideration for our move to nashville. we feel very fortunate we found a home that is within walking distance from my office (also the church family we will be a part of). that alone will save us at least $200/month in gas (and i drive a rather fuel-efficient compact car).

has the price of gas impacted your daily decisions? do you think it will shape the way we “do” church in america? is this being culturally responsible? for those of you in other countries where it has been high for a while, how does it affect your work/leisure/living?

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian man was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from a pub, taking her home and forcing her to iron his clothes and wash the dishes, police said Monday.

The 43-year-old man dragged the woman out of a pub in the port city of Genoa, shoved her into a car and took her to his home where he made her iron and wash dishes after threatening her, they said.

Police arrived at his house after being tipped off by a friend of the woman who watched the scene at the pub.

The man, who was apparently furious at his ex-girlfriend for leaving him, was arrested on charges of kidnapping, police said.

if chris ever left me, i’d kidnap him and make him do the dishes and take out the trash.

what chores do you hate to do?

don, who is the senior advisor for pastor osteen, sent me this email this morning:

Anne: What a pleasure it was to read the kind words you posted on your blog. Joel does not use email or surf the net (he’s a bit old fashioned in that respect), but I will print and give your comments to him. He is the sweetest man you’ll ever meet, and I know he will greatly appreciate your words. I also know that he and Victoria would enjoy meeting you and hopefully one day that will happen. God bless. –Don

okay. joel osteen doesn’t use email? that is just amazing.

i replied to don, asking if it was okay to share our conversation with you (considering my previous post) and he said:

Anne: You’ll love this… He only began to use text messaging a few months ago. I think it’s because his kids started sending him text messages and he had to adapt. Now he thinks texting is the coolest thing. Anyway, feel free to blog about it if you wish. Blessings –Don

now that is just too sweet…i don’t care who you are!

so…all this, plus your comments, put the nail in the coffin.

I DID IT!!!!! i no longer have email or internet on my phone. it’s done. that’s it. finito!

please pray for my withdrawals!

maybe it’s time for you to leap, too?