Monday Morning Flavel

I'm reviewing the Flavel manuscript that I wrote about here, and I think it would be just selfish of me not to share this lovely paragraph with you:

"In the same day your heart opens by faith to Christ, all the treasures of Christ are unlocked and opened to you. In the same hour God turns the key of regeneration to open your soul, the key of free grace is also turned to open unto you the unsearchable riches of Christ. Then the righteousness of Christ becomes yours to justify you, the wisdom of Christ to guide you, the holiness of Christ to sanctify you; in a word, He is that day made of God unto you, “wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). All is yours, for you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s (1 Cor. 3:23)."

~John Flavel, from England's Duty under the Present Gospel Liberty: Eleven Sermons on Revelation  3:20

Good news for a Monday morning!

Samuel Rutherford,or When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You But It Turns Out to Be a Friendly Ghost

I groaned a little inside when I was handed the next Profiles in Spiritualty project to edit a couple of months ago. Each title in the Profiles in Spirituality series briefly introduces a significant theologian, like John Calvin or Jonathan Edwards, and then provides some brief excerpts from their writings in somewhat updated language to make them accessible to lay readers. This one was to be on Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish theologian who lived during the seventeenth century.

Rutherford is no stranger to me. In fact, back in the eighties when my first husband was writing his master's thesis on Samuel Rutherford, our small apartment was filled with books and notecards devoted to him. Most conversations with Jon somehow involved this Scottish Covenanter, who was invading my space, as only someone else's master's thesis subject can. I hoped that I might not hear his name again during my lifetime, but here was Mr. Rutherford again, this time for some one on one with me.

And I have to say that he and I have become friends. He lived during a time of great political and theological turmoil, when the Scottish Reformed (Covenanters) were being thrown into prison and even executed for being faithful to God's Word. Rutherford, a pastor, was banished from his congregation in Anwoth to Aberdeen for writing and speaking against Arminianism. But this brought about his most famous writings, as he left behind over three hundred letters, most of them during this time of banishment, written to provide pastoral counsel to his beloved congregation.

Rutherford wrote many sermons and treatises, and he was in attendance when the Westminster Assembly wrote its famous Confession. But he is best known for his letters. And in a day and age when most communication is electronic--often in 140 characters or fewer--Rutherford's letters show the value of well-executed, carefully written communication that remains instructive for us today. I wonder how many tweets we'll still be reading five hundred years from now.

This is one of my favorite excerpts from Rutherford's letters, written to comfort a woman who had suffered the deaths of several children:

If your Ladyship is not changed (as I hope you are not), I believe you esteem yourself to be of those whom God has tried these many years and refined as silver. But, Madam, I will show your Ladyship a privilege that others want and you have, in this case. Such as are in prosperity and are fatted with earthly joys and increased with children and friends, though the Word of God is indeed written to such for their instruction, yet to you who are in trouble (spare me, Madam, to say this), from whom the Lord hath taken many children and whom He hath exercised otherwise, there are some chapters, some particular promises in the Word of God, made in a most special manner, which should never have been yours, as they now are, if you had your portion in this life as others. And, therefore, all the comforts, promises, and mercies God offers to the afflicted are as so many love letters written to you. Take them to you, Madam, and claim your right, and do not be robbed. It is no small comfort that God has written some scriptures to you that He has not written to others. You seem in this to be envied rather than pitied; and you are indeed in this, like people of another world and those that are above the ordinary rank of mankind, whom our King and Lord, our Bridegroom Jesus, in His love letter to His well-beloved spouse, has named beside all the rest. He has written comforts and His hearty commendations in Isaiah 54:4–5 and Psalm 147:2–3 to you. Read these and the like, and think your God is like a friend that sends a letter to a whole house and family but speaks in His letter to some by name that are dearest to Him in the house. You are, then, Madam, of the dearest friends of the Bridegroom. If it were lawful, I would envy you, that God honored you so above many of His dear children. Therefore, Madam, your part is, in this case (seeing God takes nothing from you but that which He is to supply with His own presence), to desire your Lord to know His own room and take it even upon Him to come in, in the room of dead children. “Jehovah, know Thy own place and take it to Thee,” is all you have to say.


Madam, I persuade myself that this world is to you a strange inn, and you are like a traveler who has his bundle upon his back and his staff in his hand and his feet upon the door-threshold. Go forward, honorable and elect lady, in the strength of your Lord (let the world bide at home and keep the house), with your face toward Him who longs more for a sight of you than you can do for Him. Before long, He will see us. I hope to see you laugh as cheerfully after noon as you have mourned before noon. The hand of the Lord, the hand of the Lord be with you in your journey. What have you to do here? This is not your mountain of rest. Arise, then, and set your foot up the mountain; go up out of the wilderness, leaning upon the shoulder of your Beloved (Song 8:5). If you knew the welcome that waits for you when you come home, you would hasten your pace; for you shall see your Lord put up His own holy hand to your face and wipe all tears from your eyes; and I believe, then you shall have some joy of heart.

  

They’re Here!

I'm always very excited when books that I've edited actually become real, live books. And there are two that have just arrived that I really loved working on because they were great books to begin with, and the authors, in both cases, were a true joy to work with.

The first, Meeting Jesus at the Feast, is a publication of Reformed Fellowship, an organization very dear to me because its president is my own Henry. I fell in love with the book the first time I looked at the manuscript. The author, John Sittema, truly is a craftsman with words, and his insights about how the Old Testament feasts are fulfilled in Jesus Christ are often profound. He masterfully shows readers how the "New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed" by taking a close look at the Old Testament feasts and showing how the Passover, the Sabbath, and the firstfruits (and the other feasts as well) are fulfilled in Christ and His ministry. If you're looking for a well-written Old Testament study that will enlighten your understanding of Scripture from start to finish, consider Meeting Jesus at the Feast, which you can purchase here.

The second title that I'm privileged to have worked on is Portrait of Paul, by Jeremy Walker and Rob Ventura. Jeremy has now become my favorite UK author to work with, with his clear communication of biblical truth, his great sense of humor, his way with words, and his attention to the details. Here's the publisher's description for the book, which is cleverly written to both pastors and laypeople:

What does a true pastor look like, and what constitutes a faithful ministry? How can we identify the life and labors of one called by God to serve in the church of Jesus Christ? To address these questions, Rob Ventura and Jeremy Walker examine how the apostle Paul describes his pastoral relation to the people of God in Colossians 1:24–2:5. By discussing these essential attitudes, qualities, and characteristics of a faithful minister of Christ, A Portrait of Paul provides gospel ministers an example of what they should be, and demonstrates for churches the kind of pastors they will seek if they desire men after God's own heart.

October is pastor appreciation month, and you still have time to let your pastor know how much you appreciate him. Portrait of Paul would make an excellent gift, and you can purchase it here. And for the next forty-eight hours, you can get this book, regularly priced at $18, for $5.

Meeting Jesus at the Feasts

"The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed." This little rhyme may be familiar to you (at least the concept should be) if you grew up in a Reformed church and attended catechism. It's reminding us that all of Scripture is one; there is not a huge division between the Old and New Testaments, with the New Testament suddenly being a radical departure from what has preceded it in the Old Testament. Rather, we understand that everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus (hence, it is concealed), and with the coming of Jesus and the fulfillment of prophecies, the meaning of the Old Testament is revealed in the New.

This is the premise for a wonderful new book that will be coming later this summer/early fall from Reformed Fellowship: Meeting Jesus at the Feasts by Dr. John Sittema. I've been spending my evenings since January editing this book for Reformed Fellowship, and it's been one of those great experiences where I learn something new every time I sit down to edit.

Dr. Sittema examines each of the seven Old Testament feasts--Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles--as well as the Sabbath and the Year of Jubilee. He shows how each element of the celebration pointed the Old Testament people to Christ, revealing the gospel, and then shows how Jesus, in the New Testament, fulfills each of these celebrations, which served as types of him and the gospel. One fascinating concept I learned is that through the centuries, the Jews continued to celebrate the feasts that God had established, but they added in their own traditions and ceremonies.When Jesus comes, he condescends and observes and fulfills the feasts as they've come to be celebrated rather than as his Father originally instituted them.

That's just one of the intriguing concepts that struck me as I worked on this book. Here's an example of one of my favorites from the chapter on Passover. Sittema explains that one of the customs that developed through the centuries was the tradition of a lamb for the people. This was an actual lamb without blemish that was tied to a stake so that the people could come by and examine it, ensuring that this was, in fact, an animal without blemish. And how does this reflect Jesus' being our perfect Lamb?

That [Jesus] died, and that his death was physically, psychologically, and spiritually horrific tells only part of the story. When he died completes the tale.

          The timing of the day was rich with meaning. As noted earlier, the lamb for the people had been staked out at 9:00 a.m. At the same time that the high priest was tying off the frisky four-footed beast, Jesus was nailed to the cross on the other side of the wall before the eyes of the watching world. Later in the afternoon, at the traditional time for the slaughter of the “lamb for the people,” the high priest cut its throat, concluding the peace offering with the standard liturgical proclamation, “It is finished.” But, at the very same time, on the other side of the wall, Jesus, the priest presiding over his own sacrifice, also cried out, “It is finished!” and breathed his last (Mark 15:37; Matthew 27:45–50). Jesus did not merely keep the Feast of Passover. He took it over.

Sittema's content is compelling, and his skillful writing style, passion for his topic, and knowledge of the feasts enhance the reading experience. Meeting Jesus at the Feasts will give you a better understanding of the gospel and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. If you're looking for something that will be thought provoking and edifying for a Bible study (each chapter ends with discussion questions), you'll enjoy this book. You can read the introduction to the book here. And I'll let you know when it's available!

The Next Chapter

I've just completed the first week of the next chapter of my life--at least the next chapter in the part devoted to work and career. Tuesday was my first day as an editor at Reformation Heritage Books, here in Grand Rapids.

I honestly wasn't looking to move on to a new chapter. I was perfectly happy with the Discovery House Publishers chapter. I love the people I worked with, I was working with some amazing authors that I had come to consider friends, and I enjoyed my work. I had just celebrated my fifth anniversary there, and I was looking forward to more. There was probably no one more surprised than I was that I would be moving on.

But even though we don't know anything about it, God has decided long ago the number of pages in each chapter in our lives, and as we turn a page, we're often caught off guard to find that we're at the end of one chapter and heading for the next.

I got my first hint that I was headed for something new back in March when I attended the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology here in Grand Rapids. Henry's organization, Reformed Fellowship, had an exhibit at the conference, and he was representing the organization there. I wandered around, looking at the other publishers' tables, and found myself having a conversation with Dr. Joel Beeke, the founder and president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and Reformation Heritage Books. By the time I left his exhibit, he had my business card and had asked me to do an editing sample for him the following week. I walked back to my husband, laughed, and said, "I think he's offering me a job." But then I said quickly, "He's a busy man. He'll forget all about this by Monday."

But he didn't forget. On Monday morning, there was an unedited manuscript, with a request from him to edit the first three brief chapters. After that, I had about a month to think about leaving DHP and moving on to RHB. And every time I thought of a reason to stay put in my nice, comfortable DHP chapter, situations and people (usually Dr. Beeke) kept giving me better reasons to move on to the next one.

And so I did. And I feel a little bit like Huck Finn,who at the end of his trip down the Mississippi, decides to  strike out for the frontier. It was sad to leave behind so many dear coworkers and authors at DHP, and yet I have a calm sense of God's calling. And when God has turned the page, you just know that what's next might be crazy, unsettling, confusing, and wild--like the frontier--but it will be good.



 

But You Can't Hug an E-Book

All the buzz in the publishing world of late is e-books. E-books on the Kindle, e-books on the iPad, e-books on the Nook, e-books on the Sony Reader, e-books everywhere except on  bookshelves, which apparently will soon become obsolete pieces of furniture because the printed books that they hold now will be displayed in museums, along with ancient Greek pottery, Native American arrowheads, and bullets from the Civil War.

When writers and publishers get together, the future of the printed book becomes the topic of conversation. Will it survive?

As an editor, I'm not worried. Like wedding rings, framed college diplomas, and the family china tucked safely away in a cabinet, books represent something deeper than just the information and stories they contain.  If you're a book lover, stop right now and think about a book that you own. It has a story beyond its story, right? So that when you see that book, you think about the story inside, but you're thinking about other things too.

Two books do this for me, and one is Heidi by Johanna Spyri, particularly the edition pictured here. I probably read this book five times during my grade school years, and I loved Grandfather, Heidi, Peter, Clara--and even Heidi's aunt who meant well, but was just a little uptight. But the reason I loved this book so much was that it was a gift from my dad--one of two books that he sent to me when he had to go away for some training for his job. It was the only time he travelled for his work, and he was gone for a couple of weeks, as I recall. But he sent me Heidi and a collection of Anderson's Fairy Tales, and I read them both over and over.

A tattered copy of the Norton Critical Edition of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn holds a special place on my bookshelf and in my heart. It was required reading for freshman composition. I fell in love with it, and I wrote papers about Huck Finn whenever it was appropriate in my literature classes. For me, Huck Finn represents the joy of learning,  an English major's adventures in analyzing and writing about literature, and memories of one of the best teachers I have ever had.

True book lovers will keep the printed book alive. We need tangibles to remind us of the intangibles. That's why we wear wedding rings, save those Christmas ornaments our children made in kindergarten, and treasure our grandmother's handwritten recipe cards. These things are precious to us because they stand for something far more valuable than what they're made of--someone else's love for us and the times of joy that we have shared.

God recognizes our human need to have tangibles to represent the intangibles. That's why He gave us baptism and the Lord's Supper. The water that we see and that our child feels reminds us that we are impure and need  Jesus to wash away our sins, and the bread and wine of communion remind us of Jesus' broken body and shed blood, which provide remission of our sins. Tangibles to help us remember the intangibles.

Books are more than paper, ink, and glue, but that paper, ink, and glue allow us to see, touch, and remember the significant people and moments of our lives. E-books are here to stay, and both their producers and consumers will learn how best they can be used in time. But no one will ever curl up with a good e-book by a fireplace on a cold, rainy day, and grandchildren won't snuggle up with Grandma as she reads from a Kindle. You just can't hug an e-book.

What's your book story? Share it in the comments, please.

Shameless Plugs

Here are, admittedly, a couple of shameless plugs for two very creative, entrepreneurial ladies. The first is Miss Katie Selden, my very own red-headed daughter, who has just created a new website for her photography business. Katie has had a passion for photography for several years now, and even though she's all grown up and in college now, majoring in a sensible degree like Humanities with an English emphasis, she ultimately wants to be a photographer. (You'll have to ask her to explain, and you can probably do that if you go to her website or contact her on Facebook.) She's accepting appointments for prom photographs now, and she's even come up with her own idea, a take-off on the weirdly popular trash-the-wedding-dress concept: trash the prom dress. Be the first of your friends to have a trash-the-prom-dress portrait, but don't tell your mom!

My other plug is for an author that I've enjoyed working with on two book projects, Christy Bower. Christy's second book, Best Friends with God, which I edited, will be releasing soon, and Christy is planning a pre-release book party this Friday, April 9, at her blog and on Facebook. You can interact with her, and she even has a contest going to win a signed copy of her new book. Get the details on when/how to enter her contest and join the party at her blog. Christy is a great person and an excellent author--both my experiences working with her have been a lot of fun. So pay her a visit, and win a free book!

Manuscript Review Editor, or The Crusher of People's Dreams

When I tell people that I am an editor, the comment that often follows is, "Oh, so you read all day." And I think how lovely it would be to have a job where I was paid to "read all day." It's true, though: the job requires a fair bit of reading. One of the things I spend quite a bit of time reading is manuscript proposals. The publishing house I work for is one of the few that will still accept and respond to unsolicited manuscripts, that is, manuscripts that people just send, either by regular mail or electronically.

On a regular basis, I also review proposals that writers submit to writing services like Christian Manuscript Submissions and Writers Edge. An author pays a fee, and his or her proposal is either posted to a Web site or sent to us in a monthly newsletter. These are both Christian writers' services, so publishing houses like ours, Kregel, Baker, and others subscribe to the service. It's a good way for an author to get his or her manuscript exposed to many publishers without a huge effort.

It's rare to actually find a proposal that makes it past me for further consideration. Because we're so small and publish only about twelve new books a year, we're pretty picky about what we'll consider. I keep a record of my responses to author proposals, and for the past couple of years I've probably sent out about two hundred rejection letters, which makes me the crusher of many writers' dreams.

After doing this task for a little more than four years, I have found that I can usually tell whether something is of interest for us or not within a few lines or paragraphs. There are some definite tell-tale signs that can eliminate a manuscript very quickly. Here are some of the most common:

1. Don't tell me that your manuscript was inspired by God or that you received it from the Holy Spirit.

2. Don't tell me that there are no other books in the whole world like yours or that no one else has ever written on this subject.

3. Don't tell me your book is like Purpose Driven Life, Velvet Elvis, or Blue Like Jazz . One Rick Warren, Rob Bell, or Donald Miller is definitely enough for the publishing world.

4. Don't send me a handwritten proposal on lined notebook paper.

5. Don't misspell a word in your title. (I truly got one of these today.)

While it's a thankless job--writing to people to tell them that we "decline interest in their book"--somebody has to do it. And every once in a great while, I actually discover a good author, which makes the responsibility a lot more interesting.

Christian Fiction

Before I became a book editor, I worked for about a year and a half at a local Christian bookseller. It was an interesting job, and I learned a great deal that has helped me in my current job as an editor. I had an opportunity to learn about current popular Christian authors, Christian book publishers, Christian music--and a lot about the consumers of it all who came into the bookstore.

One of the perks of working in the store is that we were able to borrow books to read so that we could familiarize ourselves with the product. I had never developed a favorable impression of Christian fiction--being an English major who studied Shakespeare, Milton, Hawthorne, and Twain--but since I had access to shelf after shelf of Christian fiction material, I made it my goal to find a well written Christian novel during my time there. One reason was that fiction was the overwhelming favorite of many of the customers, and they often asked for a recommendation. I always steered them to C. S. Lewis but had a feeling they'd be disappointed when they got home. Why take days to read a Lewis novel when you could whip through a Karen Kingsbury series in a week?

Frequently ladies would tell me that there was one novel that I just had to read--Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Those who loved the book just couldn't say enough good things about it. Many said that it was one of the best books they had ever read. Finally, I broke down and read it. To that point in my life, I could honestly say I had never read a Harlequin romance. But with Francine I discovered a new genre: Christian Harlequin romance fiction. And I was shocked. And it takes quite a lot to shock me.

The well-written jacket copy tells the reader that this is a "powerful retelling of the book of Hosea . . . a life-changing story of God's unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love." The story is set in California's gold country in 1850, and the main characters are Michael Hosea (get it?) and Angel, a bitter young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child. God tells Michael to marry Angel and love her unconditionally. Being a handsome, godly, near-perfect man with the patience and sensitivity of a Christian fiction main male character, Michael does just that. Angel, following in Gomer's footsteps, puts up a barrier to deflect Michael's love and runs away several times during the course of the novel. Michael always goes after her and brings her back.

It all sounds very Christian and very spiritual, and yet as I read the novel I sensed that there was something driving the plot that wasn't quite appealing to the "whatever is pure" part of my thought processes. Rivers makes it very clear from the beginning of the story that Michael--despite his handsome, manly appearance and character--is a virgin. Angel--beautiful, mystifying, distant, and a prostitute--is not. Although the couple marry, Michael--again with the patience of an uber-Job, waits for Angel to put her guard down, to love and be loved--before consummating the marriage.

There are many wistful glances, lips brushing, longing gazes, suggestive conversations, and skin brushing against skin incidents that occur long before Michael and Angel physically become man and wife. In fact, I finally discovered why all those ladies were so in love with this novel. I have to confess that I've watched R rated movies with their nudity, groping, clothes flying, clutching, and panting, but I don't think I've ever encountered much in any media form that compares with page 156 of Redeeming Love, the page where Michael finally meets Angel on the "marriage bed." It finally dawned on me why all those ladies were so excited about this novel. And it also reminded me that words can be more powerful than visual images in stirring the imagination.

And so I have more questions than answers as recent life events force me to once again consider this genre of Christian fiction. What makes a Karen Kingsbury or Amish fiction novel or Francine Rivers story Christian? A plot line that leads to the unregenerate main character "getting saved" in the final paragraphs in the book? The fact that there are no "bad words" in the text? Is a writer writing Christianly when she describes sexual activity (between a man and wife, of course) in a sensual way that could potentially arouse emotions in readers in a less than pure way? Does basing a story on a biblical account like Hosea necessarily make it Christian?

I've long had a concern for readers who fill their minds with Christian fiction to the exclusion of anything else. I'm not convinced it's much healthier than a constant diet of soap operas or chick lit. And while I admittedly found some enjoyable reads in the Christian fiction section, my craving for quality craftsmanship would not be met there. The question we must ask of Christian fiction, just like any other media/art form we encounter, is does it stir thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy? Or does it just present worldly notions in a seemingly more acceptable package?

The Lost Art of Praying Together

This week's great stuff comes from a book I'm currently editing called The Lost Art of Praying Together by James Banks. Pastor Banks, of Durham, North Carolina, makes the case that the church is missing out today--in many ways--because we no longer pray together. He gives many examples throughout the Old and New Testaments and in church history of the powerful things that happen when God's people pray. I think this anecdote from his own life is one of my favorite passages in the book, which will be available in early fall. Dr. Banks is a first-time author, but I expect this won't be his last book. One of my favorite things about working with him has been that every time he e-mails me, he tells me he is praying for me.

His name was Floyd King, but we called him “The Wizard of Ahs.”

It wasn’t a nice name, and he didn’t deserve it.

Pastor King had come out of retirement to shepherd the Nazarene church in the sleepy desert town of Holtville, California. I was thirteen when I met him. My older brothers and I would sit in the fourth pew from the front, counting the number of times Pastor King would hesitate and say “ah” between points in his sermon. Like Joseph’s brothers, we meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

It made us pay attention. And as we watched and listened, we were able to observe a true believer in the twilight of his life. Little did I know that his impact on my life would last well beyond his years.

Not long after Pastor King’s arrival, my father was hospitalized for major surgery. Pastor King would travel over twenty-five miles every day to call on Dad and to pray for him. He even took the time to give Dad a shave each morning. After that, my brothers and I dared not breathe a word about “The Wizard of Ahs.” Dad wouldn’t have it.

When I began to question my faith a year later, Pastor King was there again, patiently listening to my doubts (I had a lot of them). He and his wife quietly made themselves available, answering my questions when they could and praying for me when they couldn’t. That summer I wore a path to their door and found it open, even if I hadn’t called to ask if it was okay if I came by. After each visit, I somehow always found us praying together.

It was one summer evening as I sat on my old Schwinn ten-speed bike outside their home saying goodbye that Pastor King remarked, “We think God may be calling you to be a pastor someday.” At age fourteen, being a pastor was the farthest thing from my mind. It would take me more than six years to catch up to what the Kings came to realize in the quiet moments we spent together in prayer. God, in His kindness and humor, had given “The Wizard of Ahs” a special place in my life. It wasn’t courage or a brain or a heart that I found. It was a calling.

Comfort in Tough Times

One of the interesting things about working for a creative organization that publishes both books and music is that I and the other members of our team are often asked to contribute our ideas toward projects that we're not directly involved in. Last week, we were told that Discovery House Music is creating a new music project with the purpose of ministering to people who are going through difficult times. The music team is selecting music and Scripture that have ministered specifically to people in various situations. The interesting question that came to us was if we would share the hymns and Scripture passages that have ministered to us during difficult times in our lives.

So I thought for a while and came up with the following hymns and Scriptures that I have found comforting.

1. One of my favorite hymns that I have found particularly comforting is "Rock of Ages," set to this tune. It's hard to do better than lyrics like these: "Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die."

2. A second favorite: "Comfort, Comfort Ye My People." How beautiful is this thought: "Speak ye to Jerusalem Of the peace that waits for them; Tell her that her sins I cover, And her warfare now is over."

3. "In Thine arms I rest me; Foes who would molest me Cannot reach me here. Though the earth be shaking, Every heart be quaking, Jesus calms my fear. Fires may flash and thunder crash, Yea, and sin and hell assail me, Jesus will not fail me." "Jesus, Priceless Treasure," Psalter Hymnal, #441.

4. through 6. Contemporary artist Steven Curtis Chapman will never know how blessed I've been by his entire album, Speechless, but three songs from that CD are standouts to me: "Speechless" (the title song), "With Hope," and "Be Still and Know." It is difficult for me not to become teary when he bursts out with the chorus of "Speechless":

And I am speechless I'm astonished and amazed
I am silenced by your wondrous grace
You have saved me
You have raised me from the grave
And I am speechless in your presence now
I'm astounded as I consider how
You have shown us
A love that leaves us speechless


You can hear these songs at Steven's Web site.

It is actually difficult to choose only a few favorite Scripture passages. I'm always reminded of the funeral of the death of a college friend when people talk about the comfort of Scripture. One of our professors, who officiated at the funeral, got up to deliver his address. He looked out at the mourners and calmly said, "Some Scripture for our comfort." For about five minutes he recited--from memory--passage after passage offering comfort and hope. I was amazed then at the power of the Word, and I've never forgotten it.

Here are some of my favorites:

7. Psalm 121: "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from?" And it just gets better.

8. Psalm 46: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble . . . The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

9. Romans 8:37-38: "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us . . ."

10. Revelation 21:1-7: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . . He will wipe every tear from their eyes."

So what are some of your favorite songs/hymns/Scripture passages? Leave them in the comments and I'll pass them on to our music department. Maybe you'll be contributing to a CD!

A Better Country: Preparing for Heaven

Editors who work for small publishers often get to do other kinds of publishing duties! This week, I find myself "hosting" a blog tour for one of our awesome DHP authors, Dan Schaeffer. We just released his wonderful book, A Better Country: Preparing for Heaven. So, dear readers, you are the beneficiaries of my inexperience: I'm trying the whole blog tour thing out on you before I send this out to the blogosphere at large! (Whoever said that being an editor is boring? And that all we do is read all day?)

BLOG TOUR!
Dan Schaeffer, author of A Better Country: Preparing for Heaven, will be visiting my blog on July 31, 2008. Please help me out by posting any questions or comments you may have on heaven. Let's have an interesting blogosphere conversation--ask the questions about heaven that you have always wanted to ask! I will randomly choose two of you commenters to receive a free copy of this excellent new release from Discovery House Publishers. Employees of Discovery House Publishers may not enter (but you can post your questions). Please submit any question you may have on heaven, and Dan will be responding to your comments on July 31, 2008. Remember: two of you will win free copies of this book--and it's a really good one!

THE BOOK
What picture comes to mind when you think about heaven? Most of us have heard that heaven is a wonderful place and everyone wants to go there, but we don’t know much else about it. Maybe you’ve decided, like author Dan Schaeffer once did, that there is little that can be known about heaven in this life, so there really isn’t much point speculating.

He observes: “I think if the truth were known, many Christians are at best ambivalent, or at worst afraid, of heaven—or at least of the vision they have in their minds . . . We’re far more attached to earth than we think. This may partly explain why it can be so hard to get Christians to think beyond this earthly life to greater spiritual realities.”

And yet, Schaeffer reminds us, there is a restless yearning in our hearts that moments of pleasure cannot long quench and sorrow only intensifies. And that desire has been planted by God Himself—a universal “longing for a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16). In these pages you will discover the thing you’ve always wanted; the world you’ve longed for; the life you were meant to live; the goal you were meant to pursue—in a word, heaven.

Based on biblical evidence, Schaeffer’s insights about our heavenly desire, the heavenly location, the heavenly life, and heavenly preparation, show us that God wants that “better country” to be the passion and purpose of our present life. As we understand what heaven will truly be like, our priorities will shift and we will no longer live for this life alone.

THE AUTHOR
Dan Schaeffer pastors Shoreline Community Church in Santa Barbara, California. He is an award-winning writer whose articles have appeared in Reader's Digest and A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul. His books include In Search of the Real Spirit of Christmas, When Faith and Decisions Collide, and Defining Moments.

Publishing House News

Exciting news for Discovery House Publishers and one of our authors, Shelly Beach, this week! We learned that Shelly's book, Precious Lord, Take My Hand, is a finalist in the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) book awards. Shelly's book is a collection of devotions/meditations for caregivers based on her own experiences caring first for her ill father-in-law for several years before his death and then for her own parents. Her mother has Alzheimer's and her father has a variety of medical issues that make him unable to care for Shelly's mom.

It's one of my favorite DHP titles--Shelly has great insights and a gift for expressing them--and I'm so glad this book will get the attention it so deserves. While Shelly writes out of her experiences of caring for elderly parents, the book is a great read for anyone, especially anyone who finds themselves in the position of caring for a loved one who is chronically ill. You can order the book from the DHP website listed above or probably can get it from a local Christian bookseller.

This is Shelly's first publication with DHP, but she also published a novel with Kregel this past year, Hallie's Heart, which has also been nominated for a Christy Award, the prestigious award for Christian fiction. It's been quite a year for Shelly! Shelly lives in Sparta, and the story is set in West Michigan, a place she knows quite well. You can read more about Shelly at her website.

The following is a press release that explains it all:

One of DHP's 2007 publications, Precious Lord, Take My Hand by Shelly Beach, has been nominated as a finalist in the "Inspiration and Gift" category for the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Christian Book Awards competition. The press release from ECPA states, "Presented annually to the finest in Christian publishing, the Christian Book Awards honor titles in six categories – Bibles, Bible Reference & Study, Christian Life, Fiction, Children & Youth, and Inspiration & Gift.

"The Christian Book Awards, established in 1978 as the Gold Medallion Book Awards by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, recognize the absolute highest quality in Christian books. Based on excellence in content, literary quality, design, and significance of contribution, the Christian Book Awards are the oldest and among the most prestigious in the religious publishing industry.

"The winner in each category will be announced at the CBA & ECPA Awards Celebration to be held opening night, Sunday, July 13th during the International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, FL. "

Do Your Modifiers Dangle?

I think that in the year and a half that I've been blogging, I've avoided one of the subjects most dear to my English-major, editorial heart. But just recently, I've been seeing too many subjects violated--yes, violated--by what is commonly called a dangling, or misplaced, modifier. I can no longer remain silent! If I can help just one of you not to commit this subtle, yet devastating, error of grammar, I will have done my part, and this blog will have served a mighty purpose.

So what, you are asking, is a dangling modifier? Perhaps the best way to explain is to illustrate. So I will pick up my figurative chalk and move to my blogospheric chalkboard and demonstrate:

Driving down the street, Taco Bell looked like a good place to go for dinner.

Besides the obvious issues many of you will probably have with the notion that Taco Bell looks like a good place to go for dinner, there is something much more basic wrong here. So let's back up a bit. Those of you who did briefly pay attention during Mrs. Johnson's eighth-grade English class probably remember that a modifier is something that describes, or qualifies, a noun or pronoun. Modifiers can be a word or a phrase. Usually, in the case of a dangling modifier, a phrase has been badly placed, so that it's not modifying the word it is intended to modify. But a single-word modifier can be misplaced as well.

In our sample sentence above, the modifying phrase is, "Driving down the street." The writer intended to modify, or describe, someone or thing, but the way he or she has written this seems to be suggesting that Taco Bell is driving down the street. Taco Bell is the noun nearest the phrase, and whether we intend it or not, modifiers modify the noun they come closest to. I think that what the writer really intended to communicate was that as a group of people were driving down the street, they saw a Taco Bell, and they determined it would be a good place to go for dinner.

So how do we fix this? One possibility is this: As we drove down the street, we decided that Taco Bell looked like a good place to go for dinner. The phrase has been turned into an adverb phrase that modifies, answering the question "when." If we want to keep the phrase a phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun, we could write it like this: Driving down the street, we decided that Taco Bell would be a great place to go for dinner. Probably the first option is better stylistically, but at least this is grammatically correct.

Here are some humorous examples of what can happen when writers carelessly dangle their modifiers.

Having finished my dinner, the waitress offered to bring out the dessert tray. (That's service! Not only does she bring the meal, she eats it too!)

Removing each other's fleas, the zoo workers watched the monkeys intently. (Kind of makes you wonder what the monkeys were doing.)

After rotting in the cellar for weeks, my brother brought up some oranges. (Either it's a miracle that brother brought oranges up, or he badly needs a shower.)

Finally, what does the picture of the house have to do with Taco Bell or modifiers--placed or misplaced--or rotting brothers? Nothing at all. And yet one more correctly written sentence will explain: Having considered several houses, Henry and Annette decided that this lovely colonial style would be the best for their family.

And who said grammar is boring? Not me, or I, or . . . I didn't!

A Strange Habit

Area Eccentric Reads Entire Book

GREENWOOD,IN—"Instead of spending hours on YouTube every night, Mr. Meyer, unlike most healthy males, looks to books for gratification," said one psychologist.

I'm always the last to know about the best Websites. This week I was reading an industry magazine, and it quoted this article from The Onion, a paradise of satire and sarcasm for those who enjoy that kind of thing.

One of the questions that frequently arises in the publishing industry is whether print material, as we know it, will continue to be in demand. With technology such as Amazon's Kindle and newspapers dying away because of online news sources, it's a real concern. This article addresses, in a humorous way, the phenomenon of a young person actually reading a book. Enjoy!

If I Were a Font, or What's My Type?

I took an e-seminar on blogging today with blog expert Joe Wikert. This is probably the most enjoyable piece of information I took away from it. What kind of font are you?

Cool Free Stuff!

I just wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't let my reader-friends know about some very cool free stuff my own Discovery House Publishers is offering. Every week between now and Christmas, on the DHP Web site (www.dhp.org), you can have a free Christmas song download.

The other really great thing is tied into a book that has just released: A Blossom in the Desert. The book would make a great Christmas present for the art lover in your circle of friends and family. It's a beautiful hardcover coffee table gift book, and I'm not just saying it's beautiful because it's a DHP book. The artist, Lilias Trotter, lived during the Victorian era and studied under English artist John Ruskin. Although she showed great promise and probably could have become quite famous, Lilias instead left her comfortable, plush English life and became a missionary to the Arabs of Algeria. During the years she served as a missionary, Lilias kept art journals, filled with exquisite, delicate watercolors of the people, animals, landscape, and flowers that she observed. She also recorded her thoughts, and her writings are as poetic and as lovely as her paintings. Lilias is a fascinating woman, and her biography, A Passion for the Impossible, is also available from DHP. What a role model for young women! Anyway, you can learn more about Lilias and choose from several of her pieces of art to download as wallpaper at www.dhp.org/passion And if you should happen to want the book as a Christmas gift, and you live somewhere near me, I would be happy to pick the book up for you so you can avoid shipping charges. You can also purchase it at the RBC bookstore at RBC Ministries. Have fun checking out Lilias's site!

Speaking Christianese

I've had a lot of time to think about the issues raised at Publishing University but very little time to write until now. As an editor, obviously I'm interested in how we use language to communicate effectively, and as an editor in a Christian publishing company, I'm especially interested in how we can communicate the truths of God's Word with clarity and integrity. It's not surprising that one of the recurrent issues that comes up for editors at Publishing University is how to communicate in such a way that we reach audiences that are typically difficult to reach. Three audiences tend to be the focus: Generation X, the emergent church, and those outside of the church.

I find in all of this conversation some trends that concern me, some underlying assumptions that would tend to drive us away from the source of truth, Scripture, as we devise "fresh, new ways" of communicating the gospel to each of these groups.

Assumption 1: We should avoid using the language of Scripture (disparagingly called Christianese) because it does not reach people in their context.

I'm currently editing a book about the benedictions of the Bible by Dr. Warren Wiersbe, longtime pastor and Bible teacher. He makes an interesting point about what is termed Christianese: "Paul wrote this letter [1 Thessalonians] to young Christian believers and dared to use a theological word like 'sanctify.' It disturbs me when I'm confronted with teachers, preachers, and writers who try to 'dumb down' the Christian vocabulary and turn the Bible into a first-grade primer. If students of chemistry and physics can learn scientific vocabularies and if young children can understand the instructions for using computers and other electronic devices, why can't people learn the inspired Christian vocabulary that tells them how to live godly lives?"

At Publishing U, we editors were discouraged from using jargon like "baptism," "grace," and "redemption," concepts and terms frequently occurring in Scripture, because we can't assume that readers will understand. And yet as Dr. Wiersbe points out, we would expect those studying to be doctors to learn the language of medicine, those who want to become IT professionals should learn the language of IT, and a carpenter would certainly be expected to learn the language of the trade. Certainly we should expect no less of those who would be Christians, followers of Christ and His Word.

Assumption #2: The language of Scripture is no longer contemporary, relevant, or authentic. We need to use fresh new metaphors to attract people to the gospel.

There are so many things wrong with this sort of thinking that it is difficult to know where to begin. First, if we believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God, then we believe that God has created all things, including people. And since the point of His giving us His Word is that we can come to know Him, then it would seem that He would be the best determiner of how to convey His truth to us. When we start to talk about making Scripture relevant and fresher and more authentic, we forget that God Himself defines what is relevant. He does not need our help with fresh metaphors and authentic language (whatever that is). There is nothing more relevant or authentic than what He communicates to us in Scripture, and while I do believe that obviously we need to reach out to the lost with His Word in a way in a way that is understandable, I don't think we need to create new metaphors, such as comparing our spiritual life to the mating habits of penguins. Such an approach trivializes God's Word. God is out of touch with what we twenty-first-century people want to hear, so let's help Him out. And twenty-first-century humans are a different breed from the humans of the previous twenty centuries and require special means of communicating truth. God's truths are eternal, and they are just as relevant, authentic, and understandable to us today as they were to the recipients of the apostles' letters in the early years of the church.

Assumption #3: The gospel communicated as it is in Scripture is off-putting. We need to find a way to make it more appealing so that people will be drawn to it.

The first part of assumption #3 is actually true. To those who are disobedient, Peter tells us, Christ is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (1 Peter 2:8). Some of the initial things we need to understand about the gospel are not pretty--Paul begins the book of Romans by discussing God's wrath against sinners, His righteous judgment, and the fact that no one is righteous before he finally reaches the good news of 3:21: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law." And if we believe that Paul's approach was inspired by the Holy Spirit, we really can't criticize him for his harshness, for not taking a fresher, more seeker-sensitive approach. Paul tells God's truth in the way that God wants us to hear it. If we present something kinder and gentler, we present another gospel, one that is untrue. And so we sigh and think, "Alas, but no one wants to hear such a hard gospel, one that offends and accuses." And of course, no one does. But the good news for those of us whose task it is to communicate the gospel is that the Word is living and powerful, and it isn't up to us who will receive it and believe. We don't need to strategize, be more creative, and do market studies on how to make the gospel reach people. As our pastor pointed out so well in his morning sermon last Sunday, God's grace is irresistible, and the truth of the gospel will reach and convict those He has called, not because we have presented it in a clever, appealing way, but because the gospel is "the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

Effective, clear, and carefully crafted writing that explains the truths of Scripture should always be the goal. But we must never forget that the Author of truth has defined relevancy and has certain expectations for how we ought to understand His truth. To suggest that we can somehow improve upon His method is to become our own source of truth, which really is neither a fresh or new approach.

Publishing U

The second major event of November--but not as important as Jonathan's birthday, of course--was the ECPA Publishing University, held in Lombard (Chicago), Illinois, from November 4-6. This was the third Publishing University, offered by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, that I have had the opportunity of attending. Various tracks for the different aspects of publishing are led by leaders in the industry, and it's always a good time for professional development.

It's interesting to be in the same hallways and elevators with industry leaders like Mike Hyatt of Thomas Nelson and Dwight Baker of Baker Publishing Group, but attendees were given a special look at one of the giants of publishing with keynote speaker Jane Friedman, CEO of HarperCollins, owner of Zondervan.

The next two days were filled with sessions devoted to the different areas of book publishing. I primarily attended the sessions for editors, but I did attend one marketing session and one publicity session. Two of the editorial sessions had to do with working relationships between editors and authors and editors and literary agents. The authors want us editors to have a relationship with them, and honestly, even though I'm kind of new to this, I never imagined not being friends with my authors. So I was happy to learn that I have been taking the right approach.

One session had to do with editing books for readers beyond the church. The presenter explained to us that writing that reaches readers beyond the church must depict a Christ-saturated worldview, be authentic (I've never heard that before [sarcasm here]), and maintain that Christ is a mystery (i.e., we don't have all the answers). It shouldn't be bogged down with "Christianese," should offer up fresh metaphors (one example was a passage from Donald Miller comparing his spiritual journey to penguin mating habits, and I still don't quite get it), and have conversational diction peppered with four-letter words (if we REALLY want to reach the unchurched).

Having just celebrated Reformation Day by sharing an article on Luther's understanding of the power of the Word in team devotions, this session was less than inspirational to me. I'm a believer in presenting the gospel as the Scriptures present it, and I get a little nervous when people start talking about "making it relevant" so that it will be appealing to nonbelievers. The truth is that the gospel will always be an offense to those who don't believe; we are called to tell the truth, and then we need to trust the Holy Spirit to do His work. And this is the exciting potential for those working in Christian publishing: offering gospel truth in an understandable, yet uncompromising, way and watching to see how God, in His providence, will use it. His Word will not return void, and we must be faithful in presenting it, even if it means using Christianese.

ECPA Publishing University is an important tool and worthwhile experience. There is much to be gained by sharing in the knowledge and accomplishments of others in the Christian publishing industry. It's always exciting to hear about the trends and issues facing Christian book publishers, hopefully making us all more effective in our jobs.

Better Than Life Update

October is here--suddenly, warmly, and surprisingly! While most of you are thinking about getting out those sweaters, raking leaves, drinking apple cider, and that most important of October holidays (Reformation Day, of course), at our offices we are thinking about the exciting release of the Better Than Life CD and book and all of the events surrounding them.

The CD actually made its way to our offices last week, and it was greeted with great excitement. The first five hundred copies of the book should arrive in our offices next week (October 17), and while I'm sure everyone eagerly anticipates it, I'm especially excited to see this one come back home.

The Better Than Life project was created to celebrate the International Day of Prayer in November, which focuses on remembering Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith. The songs on the CD, written and performed by Shannon Wexelberg, Scott Krippayne, and Charles Billingsley, all deal with the themes of persecution and suffering, and several of them are based on actual stories of persecuted Christians. The book is its younger sibling, and it tells the stories, in words, of persecuted Christians.

We do have an excellent Web site (www.dhp.org/btl--click on the link under "Other Interesting Sites") that includes sample stories from the book, song samples, and interviews with the artists who wrote and performed the songs. Check it out! The artists are also taking the songs out on the road with a seven-city tour, and the opening night is here in Grand Rapids at Sunshine Community Church on Thursday, November 1. It should be an exciting evening. Ticket information is on the site, as well as information about how to get your own copy of the book and CD.

Dear readers out there who bump into me from time to time: I would be happy to pick up both the book and CD for you at our Discovery House bookstore and deliver them to you in person. I do understand that Parable bookstores will be carrying a (very) limited number of the books and CDs. They will also be available at the concert, of course.

We Americans who go to church each Sunday, sitting in our comfortable sanctuaries with plentiful Bibles surrounding us--air conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter--tend to forget that not everyone in the world enjoys these privileges. It's difficult for me to put into words what I've learned from working on this project about the price some of God's servants in other parts of the world pay for a life of faith. And yet they happily "count it all joy" because of what Christ has done for them. Everyone who has been involved in the creation of this project hopes that we have captured a little sense of what our brothers and sisters endure for the sake of Christ, and that as listeners and readers learn of their plight through story and song, they will be encouraged to pray, to rejoice in God's perfect providence, and to never take the freedom we enjoy in America for granted.