On Monday (November 30, 2009) at 3:00 p.m. (MST) I’m going to be a guest on The Bob Dutko Show. The Bob Dutko Show is heard on the Crawford Broadcasting Network nationwide. Bob and I are going to be talking about my newest book Eats With Sinners.
If you don’t get The Bob Dutko show in your area, you can listen online here: The Bob Dutko Show Online.
If you listen to the show, let me know your thoughts.
I’m thankful for….
What are you thankful for?
In the comments section of this post, share something you’re thankful for.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
My friend Shawn just posted a promotional video he made for my new book. Thanks Shawn. Great work!
My book comes out in 2 days and I can’t wait for you to read it.
The website for my new book Eats With Sinners is now live: www.EatsWithSinners.com.
On the website you can order copies of my book.
If you are looking for a good Christmas gift for the reader in your life, why not order a copy of my book?
I will sign any book ordered between now and December 16th and include a copy of one of my other books as a free gift for the first 10 people to order a book from my website. You can order copies of my book by clicking on this link: Order Arron’s Book Here
If you’d like me to include a special message to the recipient of the book, indicate that on the order form and I’ll make sure to personalize the book before we send it out to you.
Here are some of the endorsements that have come in for Eats With Sinners:
My latest book comes out this Friday and I need your help.
I believe my book–Eats With Sinners–can revolutionize how Christians look at evangelism and can reach countless people for Christ, but for that to happen people have to know about it, buy it, and read it.
Here’s the premise behind my latest book:
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
— Luke 15: 2
In Jesus’ day, eating with someone was a way to acknowledge that person as an equal. Religious leaders considered it unthinkable for a Jewish teacher to eat with people who were common, even unclean. But Jesus cared more about saving souls than saving face.
So who are you eating with? Eats with Sinners introduces a biblical model for evangelism—building relationships like Jesus did, one meal (or cup of coffee) at a time.
Each chapter concludes with a “Meal Plan,” which contains questions designed to give individual readers or small group members the opportunity for personal reflection and practical application of the principles outlined in each chapter. Fun sidebars scattered throughout the book feature recipes, meal traditions in Jesus’ day, and case studies.
Here’s what you can do to help me:
1) Order my book today from Standard Publishing’s site, or from Amazon.com, or from any of the major online bookstores. Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue (which also comes out this week) is a runaway best-seller based solely on online pre-orders.
2) Simply mention my book on your Facebook status, Twitter, Blog, MySpace, etc, and–if your technologically advanced–add a link to Standard Publishing’s website (above) so they can order a copy for themselves.
3) Order a copy of my book online or at your local bookstore, read it, and then write a review on Amazon.com, your blog, your Facebook, your Twitter, or on your MySpace page. Reviews on Amazon.com are important in generating online sales. My dream is for one of my books to become a best-seller. If only a fraction of the regular readers of this blog would go to Amazon today and order my book, it would become a best-seller by tomorrow and set this book up to be distributed to a much broader audience.
4) This is huge…..sometime in the next few days, go to your local bookstore (Christian or Non-Christian–my book will be available everywhere) and buy a copy of my book. If they don’t have it, ask them to order it for their store. You don’t know how important this is. People can’t buy my book at a bookstore if it’s not on the shelves in the bookstore and bookstores won’t order my book unless there is a demand for it. I would be so grateful if you would do this for me and help me to reintroduce people to Christ’s primary method for reaching lost people: eating with them.
5) Send an email to your friends and ask them to buy my book, read my book and then spread the word about my book. Help me to create an online buzz about Eats with Sinners. Word of mouth is the best advertising I could ever get for any of my books. I believe in this book and its power to reach countless people for Jesus, but I need your help to get the word out.
6) In a few days www.EatswithSinners.com will go live. When it’s live, please make sure to check it out and send people to the site. On the site I’ll have information about a church-wide program I’m creating to help teach people to eat with sinners, I’ll have a link so people can order Eats with Sinners t-shirts (and other merchandise), there’s a place on the site where people can order personalized books, and much, much more.
I write books because I want to help people and make a difference in this world for Jesus. I believe Eats with Sinners can revolutionize how Christians look at evangelism–and reach may people for Jesus–but for that to happen they have to know it exists, buy it, and read it.
Please help me spread the word about my book and–in so doing–help me reach people for Jesus.
Here are the last two entries from my study of Ernest Shackleton’s leadership style. These quotes–and the lists I’ve been posting–all come from the book, Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell.
Leadership, after all, is more than just reaching a goal. It is about spurring others to achieve big things, and giving them the tools and the confidence to continue achieving.—P. 210
“Shackleton never planted a flag at the South Pole, he never made many of his goals, and he never earned all the money he wanted. Yet he was doing what he wanted to do, and he did it well enough to earn a place in history. His workplace was creative, productive, and enjoyable. He accomplished big things because he encouraged the full participation of every member of his team.” p. 214.
Have you seen the video of Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years) playing an impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic?
The Cowans are the picture of the harmony that comes from a lifetime of love and commitment.
I pray that my wife and I are still making beautiful music together after 62 years of marriage, too.
God is big enough to handle our honesty.
I can tell when my kids are lying to me and every time they do it breaks my heart. One of the most important lessons they will learn is that honesty is always the best choice. With God’s help I can handle anything they confess to me.
I long for the same thing God longs for from his children: sincerity.
The word “sincerity” comes from two Latin words: “sin” which means“without” and “cera” which means “wax.” So, literally, sincerely means “without wax.” This word dates back to ancient Greece.
Unscrupulous marble sculptors in ancient Greece would cover up and fill in cracks in their statues with wax. This temporary fix would allow them to sell imperfect statues as full price. The only way the imperfections in the statue would be revealed would be if the statue were subjected to intense heat—like sunlight. The heat of the sun would cause the wax to melt and all of the flaws in imperfect statues and dishonest sculptors would be revealed for all to see.
Honest sculptors began to label their statues, “Sin Cera,” which meant, “Without Wax.” This is the origin of our word, “Sincerely.”
God wants our lives to be labeled, “Sin Cera.” He is not fooled by the wax we use to try to cover the imperfections we don’t want him, or anyone else, to see.
Note: Although I learned of the etymology of the word “sincere” from a reputable source, an astute reader of this blog brought this important information to my attention. I share it with you because I value the truth and want you to know that I may have been inadvertently mislead by a well-meaning teacher. It’s from an entry on Wikipedia:
An often repeated folk etymology proposes that sincere is derived from the Latin sine = without, cera = wax. According to one popular explanation, dishonest sculptors in Rome or Greece would cover flaws in their work with wax to deceive the viewer; therefore, a sculpture “without wax” would mean honesty in its perfection.[4] Another explanation is that without wax etymology “is derived from a Greeks-bearing-gifts story of deceit and betrayal. For the feat of victory, the Romans demanded the handing over of obligatory tributes. Following bad advice, the Greeks resorted to some faux-marble statues made of wax, which they offered up as tribute. These promptly melted in the warm Greek sun.”[7] The Oxford English Dictionary states, however, that “There is no probability in the old explanation from sine cera ‘without wax’”. Also note the entry on sincere in An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (p. 555) and Storied Words: The Writer’s Vocabulary and Its Origins By Jeff Jeske (p. 145). The without wax etymology is popular enough to be a minor sub-plot in Dan Brown’s Digital Fortress, though Brown attributes it to the Spanish language, not Latin. Reference to the same etymology, this time attributed to Latin, also appears in another of his books, The Lost Symbol.
Well, there goes another great illustration!
Shackleton’s Way of Finding the Determination to Move Forward:
1) Go-for-broke risks become more acceptable as options narrow. Sometimes the potential rewards at the end of a daring venture justify the risk of suffering a spectacular failure.
2) Seek inspiration in enduring wisdom that has comforted or motivated you or others in times of crisis. It will get you through the most physically and emotionally draining times and help you to keep your perspective.
3) Congratulate yourself and others for a job well done. A pat on the back or a sincere handshake is an expression of personal thanks and gratitude that has never gone out of fashion.
4) Motivate your staff to be independent. If you have been a good leader, they will have the determination to succeed on their own.
5) Let your staff inspire you. At times, an overwhelming workload may force you to consider lowering your standards. Remember that the final product must represent the best efforts of the entire group.
6) Even in the most stressful situations, don’t forget that you are part of a larger world that might benefit from your expertise. In turn, participating in community and family activities can give you skills useful on the job.
7) Make sure the whole job is done. Your staff may be able to call it quits after the heavy lifting is over, but you are responsible for seeing the work through to its successful completion.
