FlowerDust.net

At least for a little while. Be back soon.

Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure. - Henri Nouwen

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Literally.

I had the opportunity to write a more in depth article on my three year Facebook journey — the good, the bad, the ugly, for PurposeDriven.com. And see, Rick and I are on the same page.

At least the same webpage. I really have no idea how he feels about Facebook.

So, if you want the full story behind my Facebook suicide, click here to read it over at PurposeDriven.com.

And I leave you with this very important question…

If Rick Warren and Joel Osteen got into a poke war on Facebook, who would win?

A recent New York Times article convicted the internet and its consumers for the long, painful and potentially foreseeable death of the book publishing industry.  From bookstores closing to publisher layoffs, an inevitably grim outlook faces the book industry in the next year.

Why the doom and gloom?

Reporter David Streitfeld shares his thoughts:

“Don’t blame this carnage on the recession or any of the usual suspects, including increased competition for the reader’s time or diminished attention spans. What’s undermining the book industry is not the absence of casual readers but the changing habits of devoted readers.

In other words, it’s all the fault of people like myself, who increasingly use the Internet both to buy books and later, after their value to us is gone, sell them.”

So has the internet killed the publishing industry?  As a published writer, allow me to enter in the extremely dangerous waters by taking the smoking gun and placing it in the hands of people like myself…the authors.

Millions of people have dreams of being a published author.

Should everyone write a book?

Maybe.

Should every book be published?

No.

If publishers want to dig themselves out of this black hole of losses, they’ve got to stop spending money printing mediocre books.  There are far too many as it stands.  I mean, really?  300,000 new titles a year?  That’s 821 new books releasing every day! Be strategic and brave in your future decisions.  For instance, Thomas Nelson is cutting its new releases in half next year. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that it wouldn’t be acquiring any new manuscripts.  To these publishers and others following similar suit, I say thank you.  Thank you for stewarding resources and investing in that which is truly valuable to be printed.

And to authors (the would-be, the wooed or the already published), I’d say this:  Please have a little more respect for your words (and your readers) when it comes to putting your heart into print.  Let’s talk contracts.  I’ve seen book contracts that are fair and intelligent, and I’ve seen other contracts that make me want to curl into the fetal position and cry.  The latter of these are completely unfair to both authors and consumers. For authors, they offer little advance money, little distribution, and little editorial input – thereby allowing almost anyone to darken their imprints regardless of talent or execution.   This kind of publishing overwhelms (or should I say underwhelms?) consumers and turns into nothing more than regurgitated white noise.

Eager authors sign these less-than-adequate contracts because they sincerely want their voice to be heard, and they possibly want to earn the credibility of the elusive book deal.  Yet in actuality, without the proper systems in place, time is wasted, paper is wasted, ink is wasted, advertising dollars are wasted…and further into the hole the industry goes.  Publishers can’t recoup their losses and authors aren’t fairly compensated for their time and effort.  Readers also get the short end of the stick because what could have been a great idea wasn’t properly (or clearly) presented.

As an author, please realize the investment you are offered from a publisher typically equates the amount of belief a publisher has in your work. No advance?  They’re probably not confident in estimating how many books you’ll sell.  They could be afraid to take a risk – whether it means your book is terrible or perhaps they don’t have the marketing dollars to promote it adequately.  Be warned.  Most importantly, surround yourself with honest people who know what they’re doing when it comes to writing books.  Their input is essential as you evaluate if writing a book is really something you should focus on.

If you’re going to put the work into your book and you are convinced it is worth the expense of publication and promotion, don’t sell out with a chintzy book contract…wait for the right publishing partner to come along (Thanks to my partner, Zondervan, for exceeding every expectation I have had for Mad Church Disease).  Or perhaps self-publish your book. You have the control and responsibility over how many copies you print, and can save a few trees (and headaches) in the process.  After all…you believe in it, right?

Personally, I’ll confess I’m wrestling with this myself.  A second book has been dreamed about, discussed and more than likely could earn a contract for publication.  But I’m not 100% sure my ideas or my words are worthy for print just yet.  I could move forward despite my hesitation, or I could wait until I’m confident it will be timeless and valuable to readers.  Right now, I’m deciding to wait and process my next book until the right time.

The bottom line:  The publishing industry is not balanced.  That’s why it’s beginning to spiral downward.  I propose this year, as authors, we talk less and listen more. We should gain insight, wisdom, and be responsible with our words when (or if) we decide they should be printed.  Maybe then we’ll begin to see this industry have the impact and the value for which it was designed.

We have the power to help save this industry.  We can revitalize it, we can reinvent it…or we can kill it.

Only time will tell…and it’s a decision that we all need to take seriously.

even though i’m a “J” temperment (highly organized, structured), i am terrible at organizing my own goals.  heck, i am terrible at even setting goals. or boundaries. or any kind of future-planning things.

as 2008 comes to a close, the year 2009 is stalking me, hiding behind every corner, threatening to attack me with it’s scythe - the crazy schedule, book things, conferences, job stuff, and oh yes, relationships - all demanding time and energy.

after going through a large stack of brown paper bags, hyperventilating in each one until they were soggy with spit, i decided that now is the ideal time to set some boundaries and goals in place for next year before next year eats me for lunch.

and thus the five focuses of anne jackson’s 2009 were born.  i’m going to really laser in on these during the first six months, and adjust if i need to.

i hereby promise to focus on these five things, and these five things alone: (listed in no particular order, and puh-lease, do not be hatin’ saying “you left god off the list.”  god is interwoven through every fiber of my being and is too worthy to be placed on a silly list. thank you.)

1) my relationship with chris

2) my job and the people of cross point community church

3) things directly related to mad church disease and investing in church leaders

4) specific relationships i feel god leading me to nurture

5) fighting injustice and poverty by supporting compassion international

the things outside of these five focuses will get cheated.  but hopefully the things in these five focuses will become rich and valuable.

i’m learning if you don’t put some intentionality behind your actions, you really will be less effective, less healthy, and way more stressed out.

how do you process goals and your future? are you a list maker? or fly by the seat of your pants?  how have you seen your style work or not work?

why is it we think that jesus always spoke in metaphors?  sure, he used parables and stories to communicate frequently, but recently i’ve been telling myself, “maybe he really meant that.”

i’m at a point in my personal faith where i have more questions than answers.  where i know the scriptures are divinely composed, yet i question the way i’ve been taught to interpret them over the last twenty years.  in sunday school, they seldom teach you about historical cultural context or literary patterns of the hebrew language.  scripture is timeless, but for the most part, we have taken the words and filtered them through a 21st century, westernized lens.

lots. of. questions.

atop of my questions are positioned relationships i have with those who don’t believe in god the way most of us do, if they believe at all.  most of these insights have challenged me to think about the words of jesus…his obvious call…and what should be our obvious answer.

my friend kary oberbrunner has a book coming out in the next couple weeks or so called the fine line.  since he is also a zondervan author, i begged and pleaded to get a copy early.  they gave in.  and it rocks.

here’s a nifty video about the book, and a sample chapter from the book.

one of my favorite parts of the book (granted, he uses proper capitalization) says,

“i’m not afraid to admit it: the sermon on the mount contains some startling commands.  like matthew 5:40: ‘if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.’ or matthew 5:42: ‘give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.’ or matthew 5:48: ‘be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.’

no wonder we look for ways to get ourselves off the hook of following these difficult sayings.  we toss out rationalizations.  ‘maybe they’re metaphors.’ ‘maybe they’re about some future time.’ ‘maybe they’re just suggestions.’

i think it’s christians who live like they’re ‘off the hook’ who cause people like mahatma gandhi to become critical of our religion.  he saw a disconnection between the way jesus lived and the way christians live.  because of this gandhi said, ‘if it weren’t for christians, i’d be a christian.’ gandhi didn’t disagree with jesus’ teachings.  he went on record to say, ‘i like your christ, but i don’t like your christians.’ and those of us who know gandhi’s story understand the sobering reality that he embodied the ethics described by jesus on the mount better than most christians.”

it is here where i wrestle.  why do people who understand, yet officially don’t associate with christianity live more transformed lives than we do?  why do those of us who say we believe fail to live like we are transformed by what we believe?

my weekend is friday and saturday. and i cherish these days. especially when i am not traveling to speak or having to work on authory kinds of things.

this weekend is just that: two down days. no real plans (except sharing some meals with friends)…and that is it. it has been a weekend of sleeping in, eating cookies for breakfast, indulging in a law and order marathon, and reading.

the book of the season is the fine line by my new friend kary oberbrunner.

now, at this point, i am guessing several of you are familiar with “the blog tour” that surrounds pretty much every new release. some have written saying this is an unfair pimping of new books - using blogs as a cheap and easy marketing tool, thus disengaging the true community aspect these blogs hold.

in some cases, i couldn’t agree more.

so i wanted to clear something up with you before i participate in blog tours, because sometimes, i think blog tours are a very fair way of sharing new books that are seriously life changing.

(raises up right hand in vowlike manner)

i promise you i am not going to do a “blog tour” just because somebody asks. the blog tours i do are for books and for people who i personally know and personally believe in.

i met kary at catalyst and got to hang out with him a little bit on wednesday. he’s one of those people i wish lived closer to nashville because i know i would be picking his brain all the time. his book has already captured me.

so, there you have it. my promise to you. i won’t pimp books i don’t believe in or for people i don’t know. i know there is an element of trust you and i share and i don’t want to violate it.

i’ll be writing a more thorough post on kary’s book after i finish it…but wanted to turn you on to it (and get this blog tour idea discussed a little).

you can see the full list of blogs kary will be stopping by here. and you can read more about his book here. and get to know kary here.

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what do you think about book blog tours? useful information about upcoming books? shameless pimping? turn you on? turn you off? i’d love to hear your feedback.

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craig groeschel is probably one of my favorite people in the world. over the last year or so, i’ve had the honor of getting to know him as a fellow zondervan author, and while i was on staff at lifechurch.tv where he is the senior pastor.

people always wonder if the pastors they see with influence are the same on stage as they are in real life…and i can say with confidence that craig’s heart, passion, and love for people is consistent.  craig was also was kind enough to write the foreword to mad church disease, to which i am uberly grateful.

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craig’s new book is called “it,” and he’s been making the rounds on several blogs (listed at the bottom of this post) answering our questions about “it.”

here’s mine:

Anne: What are some ways churches with IT can truly make a global impact on poverty?

Craig: Thanks for the thoughtful question.

Churches and ministries with IT can and should be making a global impact on poverty over time. Here’s why:

Churches with IT—that special something that only God can do—reach people. When people are excited about kingdom vision, they generally become generous with their time and resources.
Ministries that have IT tend to give IT away. And when they give, God often seems to give them more.

We’ve found that one of the best ways to disciple people is to help them serve in missions. Once they taste the presence of Christ among the poor, they are forever changed.

It seems that we are almost handicapped in experiencing all of God in a prosperous country. We never have to pray, “Give us today our daily bread…” because we already have a cabinet full of bread. As our people are exposed to the way God works in the lives of people in the rest of the world, our hearts and faith tend to grow. Serving people generously with the love of Christ is like Christian cocaine—once you try it, you’re hooked.

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see what other bloggers have asked craig about “it” here:

Swerve (Craig Groeschel & Bobby Gruenewald)
Scott Hodge
The Catalyst Blog and On the Journey (Brad Lomenick)
Velocity (Dave Ferguson)
Zondervan blog
Monday Morning Insight (Todd Rhoades)
Innovative Ministry Leader (Sean Lewis)
Tony Morgan Live
Leading Smart (Tim Stevens)

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you can buy IT here!

so you know when you used to get an “A” on your spelling test, your parents would put it up on your family’s fridge, right?

this is kind of the grown-up-i-love-marketing equivalent of that. mom, my name’s in business week! and i’m printing it off and putting it up on my fridge. along with seth’s head.

several months ago, business week interviewed me for an article on seth godin, and how his principles and brilliance have been absorbed in many channels — from corporations, to artists, and even to little girl bible bloggers (yours truly).

anyway, the article arrived today and you can read it here!

what’s one thing that seth has said that has stuck with you?

the knock on the classroom door took nobody by surprise. in between defining the X and the Y axis, ms. gibson strolled over to let the visitor in. it was shirley, the school’s office assistant. at least, it looked like shirley. curly ribbons covered her arms like thin, plastic bracelets and balloons floated up and down, hiding her face. but it was shirley alright. her blue-gray hair peeked out just enough to identify her.

after she handed ms. gibson the balloons, she closed the large metal door as quietly as one could. even with her extra effort, the slam echoed down the empty hall, vibrating off lockers and the shiny tile floor.

ms. gibson looked down at the card sticking out of the vase where the balloons and a few flowers had been planted.

“it’s for you, jannelle. for your birthday. from your dad.”

blushing, yet secretly proud, jannelle walked to the front of the class to retrieve her gift. she didn’t like knowing every kid in her fourth grade class was watching her, but she couldn’t help but feel the swelling in her heart, knowing her dad remembered her birthday. he may not have been around much, but this yearly tradition always was a perfect reminder that she was loved.

while the rest of the class continued on to geometry, jannelle stared at the vase. it was short…more like a pot, really, than a vase. there were glittery moons and stars painted on the dark, midnight blue ceramic. it was just like the sky she would look out at every night from her front yard.

eventually, the balloons deflated and the flowers died a few days later, but jannelle held on to that pot like it was her most valued possession. she placed it prominently on her dresser back in her bedroom, using it as a container for jewelry or candles or other knick knacks that she picked up along the way.

and then jannelle grew up like most fourth graders do. she found her own two feet and started out on her own. the starry clay pot went along the journey with her.

from her first apartment to her first condo, through various rooomates and even different cities, the starry clay pot was like a quiet whisper of affirmation from her past. she got married, and as she unpacked her belongings in her new home, she carefully unwrapped the pot and placed it on the ledge above her kitchen sink.

she took a step back and stared at it. twenty years later, it was still in perfect shape. yet her heart grieved, knowing her relationship with her father and her family hadn’t traveled as well as this clay pot had. in fact, they hadn’t spoken to each other in quite some time.

one quiet, sunday afternoon, jannelle walked through the front door. casually, her husband said,

“you know that blue pot with the stars on it? i hope that wasn’t very important or anything.”

she could barely catch her breath.

“why?”

“it got bumped off the ledge. it shattered.”

the grief she felt earlier traveled from her heart into her stomach and then back in her throat again. there was a sad irony about the pot breaking. maybe it was time. time to embrace the fact that life and love looked different now than they did in the fourth grade. that family doesn’t always mean flesh and blood, but those who surround you and care about you and support you during all the seasons of your life.

no doubt there was something sentimental about a starry clay pot. and even though what’s left is now thrown out with empty cereal boxes and soda cans, jannelle can take a deep breath and let go. because she knows that outside, a real midnight blue sky with swirls of stars and a sparkly moon are waiting for her. and under that moon and those stars are people that love her.

there is a real estate agent who owns annejackson.com and won’t sell it, even though i offered her everything i own. which isn’t much. which is probably why she won’t sell it.

so…

i need to get a main “author” site up and running soon and already have a fab designer working on it. i just have no idea what to do about the domain.

should i stick with a version of my name? (i already own annejackson.org) or should i use something writer-ish and clever?

shaun is going through this identity crisis too. i am glad i am not alone.

so…you creative and wonderful people…please help…

i thought i’d share a few little blurbs with you from my article for the catalyst groupzine.  as soon as i know when you can order them, and when they’ll be available, i’ll let you know.

my article is called “the lonely leader and the power of truth” and here are a couple of thoughts from it:

Fear and loneliness are two inseparable lovers with a tragic common denominator: they seek to destroy the Kingdom within.

and

Sadly, we’ve often become so structured there’s no time to experience real life together.  We’re obligated to schedules and appearances but not to each other.  The business of community satisfies our addiction to productivity, but does nothing to nourish the anemia that is afflicting us.

as a leader…do you struggle with loneliness?  do you find that fear isolates you?

I have got to focus the little part of my brain that is the creative writing part on a very cool article for the Catalyst Groupzine. For some reason, it’s been tougher to write than my book!

In the mean time, I thought I’d copy the ideas of many others and have a “You Ask…I’ll Answer” post. You ask questions and I’ll respond to them (in the comments as well).

Nothing is off topic…have fun!

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote for the Catalyst monthly online magazine thingy…

Evidently, this little freestanding building was the place Nashville’s best comfort food called home. Tucked away in a residential area with limited and awkward parking, my husband Chris and I decided, after several recommendations from friends, to explore what this cozy little café had to offer. We moved to Nashville at the end of June, and finding delectable hole-in-the-wall restaurants is one of our favorite hobbies.

A waitress with frizzy blonde hair appeared. She seemed older than her fifty years, with deep wrinkles and a posture of a woman who has spent most of her life carrying food to hungry customers. Her southern accent was thick as she took our order. When she returned with our rolls and butter, she grinned as she asked us a question that caught us completely off guard.

[read the rest of the article here...i hope you enjoy it!]

i had a great phone call with my agent yesterday and we are discussing what book comes after mad church disease.

obviously you guys are the smartest people i know, so go ahead.

what book needs to be written? what book is missing?

needed a little break from writing and got to thinking about you guys…GOTTA LOVE THE YOUTUBE FREEZE FRAME…goo. They all looked like this. ::sigh::

by the way, if anyone has any secrets as far as making their internal mic on mac book pros work a little better, please share. i know i’m kind of quiet naturally, but i was talking pretty loudly here! my input settings are maxed out in system prefs and i put the volume at 150% in iMovie…you’ll still have to turn it up to hear me….so, help a sista out?

my book deadline is february 28 march 14.

i sent this letter to my agent a few moments ago.

Oh, my dear Beth.

Sincerely yours,
Anne-Going-To-Hide-Under-My-Bed-Jackson

your role in this, bloggyfriends? pray…hard…for me! being sick/asleep twenty-one hours a day lately isn’t really helping my schedule.

“christians like info porn”

one of my friends, who’s been working in research and statistics for the last decade or so, wrote that in an email to me.

what led us to that conversation were some statistics many of us have seen before. i know i have, and i was hoping to use them in my book. but having been recently influenced by my brilliant stats-minded friend, i knew i had to track down the source and make sure it was indeed scientific and unbiased before claiming it gospel truth.

the stats i was looking up:

1500 ministers leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, burnout, or contention
50% of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce
80% feel unqualified and discouraged
50% would leave ministry but fear they couldn’t make a living
70% constantly fight depression
40% have had an extramarital affair while in ministry
70% say their only time reading the Bible is when they prepare sermons

i looked around and was able to track most of them down to an informal survey focus on the family did. sounds legit, right?

not so.

the survey was conducted at seminars for pastors/marriages. something i’ve learned in the course of writing mad church disease is just because you have a group of people answer questions, well, that doesn’t make it real research.

unfortunately, these stats cannot be considered accurate for a couple of reasons:

-it’s not a representative sample. the group is pastors who went to a FOF event. totally idiosyncratic.
-the wording of the questions are biased. and grouped. you can’t ask if they feel something AND something.

it would be like getting a group of 20 and 30 year old pastors together and then saying a majority of pastors are young. that’s just not the way statistics are done.

97% of christians get 80% of their stats from unreliable sources, and 73% of them will pass it on as truth. and yes, that whole sentence was a bunch of bull. christians like info porn!

moral of the story? take a stand against info porn. don’t spread bad stats!

on another note, i do have some scientific research that was conducted legitimately. and because i want you to wait a year and buy the book, i won’t put it up just yet… :)

but please let me say…things are not as bad as they may seem.

what do you think are some things that cause burnout in ministry - or in general?

thank you all for sharing your thoughts on yesterday’s question! did you know that by responding, you all were helping me research some stuff for mad church disease? you were! so thank you again, so so much!

i’d like to take a moment to give you all an exclusive peek at chapter 2 as a token of my appreciation. enjoy! i’d love to get your thoughts…

yep. that’s it…sorry… i know. i suck. :)

since i am still in my brain funk, i thought i’d share some good news with you guys before the holidays!

as you know, the book i am working on, mad church disease, will be released in february 2009.

i haven’t publicly (via blog) announced WHO the publisher is…

but why not today?

i am officially a zondervan author! woot!

the team there is amazing and they ooze creativity. they truly see this book as something that is needed in the church today! their excitement about the project keeps refueling my excitement about the project. i am so pumped to have such a strong partner for this adventure.

i am also VERY grateful for my agent beth jusino from alive communications. without beth’s knowledge of the industry, her passion for young writers and fresh ideas, and her willingness to hand-hold a rookie author, i would probably be neck-deep in things i don’t understand.

so those are a few things for which i am very thankful!!

what are you thankful for?

i’ve gotten a lot of email lately asking me advice on how to write a book and get it published. well, here is a post dedicated just to that topic.

the answer?

i don’t know.

but i’ll let you know as soon as i have it figured out :)

it seems as most of my adult life, i’ve had a laptop, usually work-provided. the same was true with my current job, except i was extremely spoiled. i had an iMac desktop AND an HP laptop. but, as part of the focus of my position changed, the laptop was put to use in a more effective way (meaning its owner as of a few months ago was no longer yours truly.)

first, i went through a freaking out period. i had no other computer at home except the laptop. my phone (which is back in working order, yay!) has microsoft word and email on it, but could i really write a book using those little letters on the keyboard?

fortunately, a friend saw my need and let me borrow a mac mini (and another friend lent all the peripherals) so at least i had something at home until i got my big fat (realistic and very modest) book advance (which one must have a publisher in order to get) and with that advance (from currently up in the air publisher) and my husband’s approval, a new laptop would be purchased.

as fortunate as i am to have such generous friends, my mind is not being so generous with sharing its creativity with me. i realize how spoiled rotten i have become with mobility and technology…the fact i am confined to my little ikea chair (which after sitting on for any extended amount of time will lower slowly…slowly…until one is awkwardly low to the ground)…and the gentle whirring and humming of my borrowed CRT monitor has somehow convinced me that i need the mobility in order to be productive. that i cannot be in one spot all the time and be productive.

which is a lie.

but is still very hard for my personality to sit in one place…especially when the cats jump up on the keyboard and what was an intelligible sentence turns into someiopdufthing lik3897e thcjjlskis.

all of this nonsensical rambling (which should have been put towards book-use) to ask for your prayers…i have a deadline in less than two weeks…i am struggling on a part of the proposal…my brain is fried…and as i type this, my husband is snoring on the couch and i just might go steal his laptop and run away for a few days.

hmmm….

especially books written by my friend eric bryant. i’ve known eric for the last few years - back in the xanga days of 2004 even - but have never met him in person.

anyway, this summer he released a phenomenal book titled, “peppermint-filled piñatas: breaking through tolerance and embracing love“ which if you have ever stepped one foot in mosaic LA, where he serves as a navigator, you are immediately embraced by such a sense of acceptance and love. then you get to know more and more people there, and see what they’re doing in the community, and in mexico, and in the world and you know this isn’t just some attempt to write a book - eric is living this.

fortunately, they are shipping eric all the way down to the lone star state on monday (as well as some other places) and i will be taking off as soon as i can from my little third-floor office to trek to fort worth to finally meet eric. check out the dates below and if he’s going to be near you (fort worth’s a couple hours away with traffic so no excuses! if i can drive a little, so can you), go meet him, support him, and bring him some chocolate chip cookies.

i don’t even know if he likes them, but it’d be a nice gesture. and if he didn’t, you could always eat them instead.

July 20 - Alburquerque, NM - City on a Hill Church - 7pm Discussion and Book Signing | http://CityOnAHillabq.org/

July 22 - Houston, TX - Ecclesia Church, 10:30am and 5:30pm - www.EcclesiaHouston.org

July 23 - Fort Worth, TX - Barnes & Noble Bookstore Discussion and Book Signing at 7pm (1612 S. University Dr. #401, Fort Worth, TX 76107)

July 25 - Waco, TX - Mardel’s Bookstore Discussion & Signing at 4pm (4324 West Waco Drive, Waco, TX 76710 PH: 254-399-9237)

July 26 - Austin, TX - Mosaic Austin, 7:30pm Discussion and Book Signing + Music from Rob Lowe of Balmorhea | http://www.MosaicAustin.org/

July 28 - San Antonio, TX - Wayside Chapel, 6pm | http://WaysideChapel.org/

July 29 - San Antonio, TX - Wayside Chapel, 9:15am and 11am | http://WaysideChapel.org/

July 31 - Phoenix, AZ - North Phoenix Baptist Church (event details & registration here)

August 2 - Cleveland, OH - Cuyahoga Valley Church, 7-8:30pm | www.CuyahogaValleyChurch.com | event sponsored by Church of the Hills

First of all, thank you to everyone who has helped promote Mad Church Disease. I think we will cross the 1000 survey mark before tomorrow and it has only been a week since the site launched. This could NOT have been done without you.

Anyway, I just finished my first outline for the book as part of the proposal going to some publishers. Before I finalize it, I want to make sure I’m not leaving out anything…as I’ve mentioned before - this isn’t just a book that I’m writing about what I think…I want to make sure that it is meeting as many needs…that I am searching for as many answers…as possible.

So, if you have any thoughts on what you’d like to see in the book, now is your time!

Let me know in the comments on the Mad Church Disease blog.

Also…this would be a great opportunity to solicit feedback from YOUR readers. Many of them have completed surveys but I don’t want their participation to end there. If you feel so inclined, please take this time to email them, or to blog about this, and point them to the MCD blog as I’d love for them to continue contributing to the content of the book as well.

I’m closing comments on this particular post in order to keep all the feedback on this topic over at the Mad Church Disease blog. I’ll see you over there — and remember — there are no stupid ideas!!

If you are really thinking about something, ask!

Thank you all for your hard work yesterday blitzing the internet! I think technorati picked up most of the blog reactions: ALMOST 200! That is amazing. That is mindblowing. Almost 200 reactions in 24 hours. Wow. I cannot thank you enough! I could not possibly mention every single person/organization who shared the cure by blogging or emailing but I thought I’d post a couple of things I weren’t expecting!

Check out the Technorati blog reactions here & click on a few of them to get to know some other awesome bloggers!

1) At 6:30 yesterday morning, I noticed in my Google Reader that FriendlyAtheist.com had posted it. At first, I was honestly a little freaked out. I love Hemant’s candor & honesty and there have been many, many times he has made me think about the way I think. Anyway, knowing he is as honest as he is…I opened up the link and was floored by his graciousness to help. I guess they don’t call him friendly for nothing! Thanks, Hemant!

Read Hemant’s post about the survey here.

2) ChurchMarketingSucks.com posted an interview. It’s not that I wasn’t expecting it, but I appreciate the fact they were concerned about the affect Mad Church Disease would have on potlucks.

Read the CMS interview here.

3) I got an IM from RagamuffinSoul asking me for a hi-res copy of my cover. Interspersed with “hahaha” and “Muahahahah” and “Just trust me” I sent him the cover. What was produced was nothing short of a work of art. You can watch it below.

At this point, I have about 500 survey responses…so…give or take 10%. If you haven’t posted or emailed or taken a survey…please help spread the love. 5000 is looking like a pretty big number…but 500 responses in one day is AWESOME and couldn’t have been done without you!