Monthly Archives: November 2005

Paul made tents and sold them at a fair price. My friend makes water heaters. I make books, Bibles, and other media. I am not independently wealthy and so I work. I could work as a farmer and make everything that my family needs on my own but there are hundreds of farmers and others who are willing to make the things I need and even some of the things I want. If I can make something someone else is willing to pay for, I can use that money buy what I need. This works out to everyone’s advantage because, when you are producing a lot of one thing, you can make more of them faster with less investment of time and resources per item made. This makes it possible for people to meet not only needs but also wants. That is the system that makes publishing among other things possible.

I have a great job, not only am I making money to put food on the table, I get to help produce books that will change lives. I am motivated to do my job by both money and ministry. I would probably help a little with a publishing project even if I was not getting paid and I do help at church without pay, but I do not spend nearly as much time doing volunteer work as I spend working for money. Is this because I am greedy and selfish? No! God has given me the responsibility of taking care of my family, if I did not do this I would be disobeying God (2 Thes 3:10).

Publishing could be done with an all volunteer workforce, or at least be run as a non-profit organization, but much more is being produced, and more people are being reached through the ministry of for-profit organizations than would be reached otherwise. Even churches, in most cases, pay preachers and missionaries. This does not mean that they are not ministering, or that they are not motivated by the opportunity to minister. No matter what we produce, or what service we provide, as Christians our motivation to work should be twofold. Work provides an opportunity to reach others for Christ and it provides food. For some their only ministry opportunity may be to talk with coworkers. For others, sermons and visitation may be their form of ministry. My at-work ministry is making Bibles and great books.

Note: This was originally posted on another blog so I am copying the comments below.

Comments:

Have you ever had a great idea for a new product but not the time, resources, or desire to do it yourself? I am constantly thinking of things I want that no one is making yet. I do not have the time to go after all my ideas, so I give them to other people. At the same time I am constantly looking for ideas for my company.

I get a lot of ideas from friends and other people I know, but I just know there is someone out there that has the idea I am looking for but does not know how to get my attention. So if you have a brilliant mind with thousands of good ideas or just one great idea that I need, here is how to get my, or anyone else who is looking for ideas, attention.

1. Blog about it. You can also devote a webpage to the idea. The main thing you want is a good description of the idea in the Title.

2. Mention Names. List any company you think might be able and interested in pursuing your idea. Also mention the names of people in the company. Most people do vanity searches and your idea may show up. I have an RSS feed of all mentions of my company and several of our employees.

3. Link to Blogs. If the companies you are trying to reach have a blog or employees that blog, link to them. Most of us bloggers are very interested in people who are interested in us.

4. Try to find other blogs that talk about the same type of ideas. Once I (as an idea hunter) find a blog on a topic of interest, I will check all the links to and from that blog in search of more ideas.

Now, I wonder if I can get this mentioned on Lifehacker. It is a really great idea. I wonder, will I be noticed.
Or maybe Merlin Mann of 43 Folders will take this idea and turn it into something useful. I just hope Scoble doesn’t see this here at the beginning of the month, I do not know if I have the bandwidth!

Wow! Google print is going to be awesome! I work at a publishing company and I still think it is a great idea. We have thousands of great books that we have done that are no longer in print.

It costs hundreds of dollars (thousands for higher page count books) just to set-up the press. Plus we have storage costs and overhead cost that are directly related to the number of titles we keep in print. We simply cannot afford to keep every title in stock. I would like to see Nelson make the full text available for any title that we drop out of print.

A second reason is that on titles we are still printing this is just another way to advertise. Free Advertisement. “Are you looking for a book on X? We have a book on X. You would never know from the title or cover, but X is mention 24 times in this book.” Oh, did I just admit that you cannot judge a book by its cover? Yes, I did. Google Print could very possibly save the publishing industry instead of hurting it.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/point-of-google-print.html http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-we-believe-in-google-print.html

From: http://adamjh.blogspot.com/2005/10/on-google-print.html

Wow! Google print is going to be awesome! I work at a publishing company and I still think it is a great idea. We have thousands of great books that we have done that are no longer in print.

It costs hundreds of dollars (thousands for higher page count books) just to set-up the press. Plus we have storage costs and overhead cost that are directly related to the number of titles we keep in print. We simply cannot afford to keep every title in stock. I would like to see Nelson make the full text available for any title that we drop out of print.

A second reason is that on titles we are still printing this is just another way to advertise. Free Advertisement. “Are you looking for a book on X? We have a book on X. You would never know from the title or cover, but X is mention 24 times in this book.” Oh, did I just admit that you cannot judge a book by its cover? Yes, I did. Google Print could very possibly save the publishing industry instead of hurting it.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/point-of-google-print.html http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/why-we-believe-in-google-print.html

From: http://adamjh.blogspot.com/2005/10/on-google-print.html

Actually this applies to shopping for anything, but I am talking about books because the Oddball Preacher started the conversation by talking about books.

Any time someone complained about something being unfair, my mom would say, “Life is not a fair.” I added, “It is a circus.” Now with the internet we have the opportunity to watch 5,000 rings instead of the traditional three. Does this mean more enjoyment? Maybe, but it usually just means more confusion.

The problem of price and selection being different from city to city and store to store has always existed, but now it is more obvious. We can now compare hundreds of sites, and the aggregate selection is mind numbing, even if you are looking for a specific title. You can spend hours shopping and still not be sure you got the best deal. You have to compare new, used, and electronic options. Plus the best prices I have ever found were at thrift stores and yard sales (only works if you are not looking for a specific title, obviously). Froogle and a hundred other websites have tried to make things easier, but then you have to compare the results of the search tools. And it is not just price and quality you have to compare. Sites differ on shipping, returns, and bulk purchasing options.

So why are there so many options? Let’s start with publishers. These sites are there primarily to serve retailers and provide more (authoritative?) information on each book than can be found on most other sites. I think for most, selling online is a secondary purpose. Internet sales are still a very small part of overall sales volume. With more people becoming more comfortable shopping online that will probably change. Still selling directly to consumers is not part of most publishers’ skill set. They would have to hire new people to advertise the website, and make sure that it stayed competitive. Plus customers would still have to go to multiple publishers’ sites. So retailing is left to the professionals.

When you look at online retailers, there are a few that are serious about what they do. Amazon was one of the first and has been very successful, but there are several others. I am not sure why the biggest and most popular sites are secular (it is a bit counter-intuitive), but that is also true of brick and mortar book stores like Barnes & Noble and even Wal-Mart. There are a few Christian book retailers on-line, but they are not as big or do not have the selection. CBD works by purchasing a few titles in very large quantities at low prices but that means they cannot carry as much variety, but when they do have something they are usually able to sell it cheap. Although larger companies can still beat them. It is all a matter of who can buy the largest quantity and operate with the lowest overhead per book sold.

And then there is the rest. Many of the websites that are out there selling stuff are doing it simply because they can. Selling online is easy. They have loyal visitors who always go to that site, and buy stuff just because they are there. It is kind of like buying stuff from a gas station convenience store, a vending machine, or the kid that comes to your door selling cookies. To be fair there is value in the relationship and buying from someone you know. Food for thought: It would be cheaper for churches to buy a computer and let people read sermons off the internet instead of paying a preacher. You could even afford to give blackberries to everyone and have email automatically sent to any one who did not attend the weekly reading or went to the hospital.

Part of what makes capitalism work is that you are free to charge what ever the market will bare, but that same freedom means that if you do not shop wisely you will probably end up paying more than you have to.

Comments:

I learned in speech class that illustrations, visuals, and sound should be used to support the message of the speech. Distractions should not be included no matter how cool they are. Rebekah Bennetch of Resonate, talks about another of the BibleZines, Revolve. Thanks to DashHouse for the link. Rebekah says that the sidebars in Revolve get in the way of the real message of God’s Word. According to Rebekah, the sidebars interpret the scriptures in a certain way, to the exclusion of any other understanding, and leave the black and white text hidden in a world of color.

Nelson did take a big risk on this project. The format plus all the features has gotten the Bible into the hands of people who would not look at it otherwise, but at the same time the format could distract people the actual text. The measure of success for the BibleZines is how many people were changed, not into the editor’s ideal, but into the people God wants them to be.

Are the BibleZines better than the nothing that some would otherwise read? On the other side, could it keep people who would have otherwise bought a traditional Bible from reading the message God has for them?

I would like to hear your thoughts. I would also, really like to hear any suggestions on ways to improve. Is there an even better way to get people to read the Bible?

Note: I originally posted this on another blog so I am copying the comments below.

Comments:

Oddball Preacher, what are the “stereotypes and attitudes about sex and men” that you refer to? Does the headline imply that success with women means having sex? I did not see that at first, but I could see how it could be taken that way. Or am I missing it completely?

Note: This was originally post on another blog so I am copying the comments below.

Comments:

In the comments on my previous post, DashHouse, says the BibleZines seem like a bait and switch. Jesus calls on us to “take up your cross and follow Me.” Paul talks about dying to daily. And the BibleZines talk about making your life better. What are we missing here?

We are missing the big picture. The Bible is about both sacrifice and reward. There are many Christians that focus only on the promises in the Bible totally missing what is required in order to enjoy those blessings. They are often unwilling to sacrifice in the present to in order to receive the reward in the future.

But, other Christians forget about the prize. Why should anyone give up their old friends, their old habits, and the good time they think they are having? For eternal life? That is certainly part of it, but the Bible has a lot more to offer. Also, remember salvation is a free gift not of works lest anyone should boast. Heaven is a big enough reason, but many sinners plan to “get right” on their death bed. Why should someone accept Christ now and start living the life of the cross “before they have to”? The answer, for a Christian, is obvious. Life with Christ, is more enjoyable, more successful, and more rewarding. Even sex is better God’s way (or so I have read – I have no intention of comparing). But is that even a fair question?

Should we approach the Bible with an attitude of “What am I going to get out of this?” Or should we “ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” While the Bible requires us to give up everything, die daily, forget about ourselves, and take up the cross, we are not told to do this unselfishly for no reason. The beatitudes promise blessing, Philippians 3:14 talks about the prize, and many other verses talk about blessings in heaven, and here on earth. God has apparently created us with a natural concern for own well-being. It is this concern that motivates us to do what He wants, because it is good for us.

The selfishness condemned in the Bible is not merely self-interest. It is a short-term focus on immediate self-interest with little consideration for long-term self-interest. When you think about all the people and things around you and the long term impact of your actions, God’s way is the best way. It is the only way to experience true success, sexcess, prosperity, and the good life in general.

So, do the BibleZines adequately present this balanced view? Probably not… at least on the cover. There is no question that the goal of the cover was to get people to pick-up and read the Bible, but did the covers go too far? I have typed a lot. I will leave the answer to that, up to you.