Oct 29, 2008
October Snow and Book Events
I have something in common with my poor Philadelphia Phillies. We have both had major events in our lives affected by weather. The Phillies had rain drench their almost certain world series title, and I had rain, sleet, and snow falling last night during my debut event for the Coffeehouse Theology at the Northshire Bookstore.
I had invited a lot of people. It was supposed to be, you know, kind of a big event. However, with snow in the forecast many of the people up in the mountains couldn’t make it, and several others at the event, those who lived in town, shared how several folks didn’t want to venture out for fear of ice. So we ended up with just shy of 20, which was still a good-sized crowd.
Perhaps it was all for the best, as I haven’t done a ton of public speaking. It’s the irony of writing a book: you write a book because you’re good at writing, not speaking. However, once you write it, you need to do public speaking in order to sell it! I came prepared, but in retrospect, it’s a good thing that I started with a small, manageable crowd. It felt like training wheels.
As I walked up the steps to the event area, I asked God to use me to be a blessing for those present. “You were made for this,” popped into my head. It was the briefest of confirmations that made all of the difference in the world. As I’ve struggled with that “What to do with my life” matter, I keep coming back to writing. It all clicked one day when my agent wished me well with my “writing ministry.” I thought to myself, “So, that’s what I’m supposed to do.” As I walked into the event area, I had sense that God wants me to write books, so he’s not going to abandon me in it.
From what I can tell, the event went very well. I rolled right through my talk on the book and then loosened up quite a bit for the Q and A part. We had a lively discussion, and I found myself surprisingly at ease. The Q and A started with a question about Islam that didn’t have much to do with my book, which is, for me, the nightmare scenario. However I shared what I knew and things quickly moved back to Christian theology, which was a relief!
My favorite question was, “What has it been like working in the Christian publishing world?” Oh, the stories I could have told! However, I shared my favorite thus far: the fine line for using swear words.
The book signing part went smoothly, and while at the table I had some great discussions about theology. One person shared that she didn’t know there were Evangelicals like me out there, specifically, willing to dialogue with other denominations and such. It was a refreshing evening for me, and that’s what ministry is supposed to be: refreshing, not draining. So far, so good.
I was at the book fair the other night (after braving the snow through the mountain pass, but such is life in Vermont). As I listened to your most excellent talk unfold and heard the many questions asked at the end, I was reminded of something I heard in the morning during my quiet time. I heard, “Jesus didn’t come for a cloister, He came for a world.” I looked up the word for “cloister” which is a place of religious seclusion. Then I looked up “seclude” and it means … “remove from social contact and activity.” I found your book addresses this quite well as even Jesus didn’t remove himself from social contact and activity. He was very active in the world and actually gave his life for the world. By the questions that were asked at the book fair it was obvious many were not believers. What an opportunity to introduce people to the gospel in a non-threatening way, meeting them right where they are. May God bless you in your ministry of reconciliation to the world. “Jesus didn’t come for a cloister. He came for a world.”