May 08, 2012 — More News

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Featured in this extra issue: Mike Berenstain, Darrell Bock, Mark Buchanan, Ben Carson, Francis Chan, Rachel Coker, Alton Gansky, Billy Graham, cliff graham, Bear Grylls, David Jeremiah, Scot McKnight, Shauna Niequist, Haddon Robinson, Tim Shoemaker, Shane Stanford, Lois Tverberg, Kay Warren, and Rick Warren.

1. Tyndale House leading Bible vendor for 2nd year at Deeper Calling Media Online Christian Books

   

   « Zondervan is holding onto the third spot in DCM’s top Bible vendors with a particularly strong performance in the last year in the Amplified Bibles category. Since its release in the 1950’s the Amplified Bible has been the Bible of choice for those seeking a better understanding of the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. Its system of amplifications—parentheses that enclose the extra or deeper nuances of the original Hebrew and Greek texts—allow readers to fully divine the original meaning of the authors without having to learn a foreign language. The NIV translation was another strong performer although demand has dropped since the release of the new NIV translation in 2011.… »

   

    Times Union

   

2. Cliff Graham: Two-fisted Bible stories

   

   « Struck by the realisation that many believe that the Bible is only filled with genealogies and Jesus petting lambs, Army vet-turned-author Cliff Graham commenced writing his epic Lion of War series—depicting the life and times of David and his Mighty Men. "The Bible is an exciting true story filled with the blood, sweat and tears of men and women whom God used in mighty ways to bring glory to Himself, and any notion of it being a dry and dull book is false," shares Cliff. "By reading and experiencing this take on God’s Word in a vivid way, people will hopefully be excited to read the real account."… »

   

    FamilyFiction.com

   

3. Billy Graham speaks out (says a good source)

   

   « Now, my point here is not to start a debate about Billy Graham‘s statement or even the wisdom of the world’s most famous Protestant making that statement. Don’t click "comment" to talk about that. The purpose of this post is to praise two specific journalism points in this ticklish, "nuclear" story. First of all, note the balancing act in the second half of the lede. It notes, accurately, two crucial points about Graham’s history in public life, especially in the second, post-Watergate part of his life. Graham rarely enters politics and, when it does so, it’s when he believes a Christian doctrine demands that he do so. His stance on nuclear weapons, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is a perfect example.… »

   

    GetReligion

   See Also:
   • Billy Graham backs North Carolina anti-gay marriage amendment via The Town Talk

   

4. May 2012 bestsellers list of Black Christian authors

   

   « America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great by Ben Carson (Zondervan) is #9 in May 2012 Top 50 Black Christian Bestsellers List (Non-fiction). • Gifted Hands and Think Big are listed #7 and #9, respectively, in the May 2012 Top 50 Black Christian Amazon.com Kindle Ebook Bestsellers List (Non-Fiction). • Finally, Think Big and Take the Risk by Ben Carson are listed #2 and #4 in May 2012 Top 50 Black Christian BarnesandNoble.com Nook ebook Bestsellers List (Non-Fiction).… »

   

    PRWeb

   

5. Survivor expert Bear Grylls shares meal of worms, maggots with Rick Warren

   

   « Extreme-survivor expert and "Man vs. Wild" star Bear Grylls made a special appearance at Saddleback Church Saturday—at one point receiving some audience participation from the church’s pastor, Rick Warren. "Who wants to see your pastor eat a maggot?" Warren calmly let Grylls place a few live maggots and worms in the palm of his hand. "Wait, we need to bless this!" said pastor Warren. "Lord, bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and our bodies to your service. Oh, and thank you for the protein." He then not only ate the maggots and worms in his palm, but grabbed an extra handful from Grylls and tossed them in his mouth.… »

   

    The Christian Post

   

6. Dr. Jeremiah: “When we pray, God goes into action”

   

   « This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. David Jeremiah, National Day of Prayer Task Force chairman and founder of Turning Point television and radio ministry in San Diego, California. Jeremiah used biblical references to demonstrate how God answered prayers in seemingly impossible situations. He also addressed what critics of the Obama administration describe as attacks on America’s religious liberty. "While the government, the enemy, whoever you may want to call them, while they stretch out their hand especially more so than ever before to try to harass the Church, when we pray, God goes into action and we have nothing to fear," he told the audience.… »

   

    The Christian Broadcasting Network

   See Also:
   • Day of Prayer may have been largest ever via Baptist Press

   

7. Rick and Kay Warren, Francis Chan urge Christians to end orphan crisis

   

   « Business as usual will not get the job done, Rick Warren told about 2,000 people in attendance and a live webcast audience. "Jesus said you can’t put new wine in old wineskins. The way we have been doing it for the last 100 years has not ended the crisis. We have to do a radical, revolutionary—may I say—biblical approach. The issue is to get these kids into families." The number of Christians in the world amounts to the "largest network of people on the planet," he said, amplifying the reason that he feels churches are the solution to the orphan crises.… »

   

    The Christian Post

   

8. Dallas/Forth Worth Metroplex atheists challenge the power of prayer

   

   « Dr. Darrell Bock of the Dallas Theological Seminary finds the challenge amusing. "These promises about prayer are not carte blanche and you get anything you ask for. They’re much more complicated than that," explained Dr. Bock. "I think the whole thing is a wonderful publicity stunt and the fact that they do billboards and that kind of thing just shows they’re learning from us and that’s nice," he joked.… »

   

    CBS DFW

   

9. Mike Berenstain talks about the Berenstain Bears’ 50th anniversary

   

   « This year the Berenstain Bears celebrate 50 years in their country tree house home, and Mike Berenstain, writer and illustrator of the series, shares its beginnings and tells TheCelebrityCafe.com what the future holds. Mike recalled that his parents, Stan and Jan Berenstain, were successful magazine cartoonists in the 1940s and 1950s, and their work, featuring children, appeared in publications like Saturday Evening Post and Good Housekeeping. The Berenstains were influenced by Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, an editor at Random House Publishers. "My brother, Leo, and I were reading Dr. Seuss in the late 1950s and when he started a new brand with famous cartoonists like Phil Eastman (author of Sam and the Firefly), my parents said, ‘That’s a fine idea. Why don’t we do it?’"… »

   

    The Celebrity Cafe

   See Also:
   • Review: God Bless our Home latest Berenstain Bears offering via Celebrity Cafe
   • Review: God Bless our Home & Under the Baobab Tree via Our Out of Sync Life
   • Mike Berenstain debuts meaning of Home Sweet Home via Blog Talk Radio

   

10. Interview: Shane Stanford, author of Making Life Matter

    

    « Shane Stanford is a pastor, author and teacher. He is the Senior Pastor of Christ UMC in Memphis, TN, one of United Methodism’s largest and most influential congregations. Mr. Stanford is a former church planter as well as the Director/Host of the United Methodist Hour, a radio and television ministry airing in 30-million homes nationwide. Shane Stanford is the author of eleven books which include: A Positive Life (Zondervan).… »

    

     Seattle PI

    

11. Christian writers conference adds track for literary ministers

    

    « The May 20-24, 2012, conference at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center has added a workshop track for pastors and ministers, which will be led by Alton Gansky, director of the annual event. Gansky, a full-time writer, served as a pastor for 22 years and has authored 40 books.…"Writing has always been part of God’s plan to spread the gospel," Gansky said. "The apostle Paul was a writer. God used Paul to write half of the books in the New Testament. Writing remains a powerful and enduring way of touching lives and changing the world."… »

    

     Florida Baptist Witness

    

12. What’s needed to preach to a culture of skeptics?

    

    « Haddon Robinson, who currently serves as the distinguished professor of preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass., told The Christian Post Thursday that the media is much bolder in its criticisms of the church than it used to be, and in many ways it builds upon the skepticism already found in the culture. This dramatic shift in attitude toward the church and the Bible means, to some extent, preachers may have to adjust their approach to preaching.… »

    

     The Christian Post

    

13. Quadruplets, flash mob bring excitement to Azusa Pacific University graduation

    

    « Shauna Niequist, the New York Times best-selling author of Cold Tangerines, delivered the commencement address. Her message of holding on to relationships and friendships was on point, Student Government Association President Carter Posladek said.… »

    

     SGV Tribune

    

14. Review: A holy experience

    

    « A Canadian pastor, no one quite wields words like Mark Buchanan—a pastor’s heart, a poet’s pen, a storyteller’s wit, Mark’s words leap off the page, shake you awake, and startle you by Grace and Truth and Beauty and Christ • Scholarly yet in layman’s terms, what Lois Tverberg uncovers brings Scripture to light in contextual, astonishing ways. • Theologian and professor, Scot McKnight cuts to the quick and shakes you up and uprights you and this is one very thought-provoking, needful read.… »

    

     A Holy Experience

    

15. Review: Interrupted by Rachel Coker

    

    « I loved the emotions that leaped off the page. This book made me feel. Sorry for Allie. Sorrow for her loss. Hurt for how hurt she felt. Happy-but-almost-afraid-to-feel-happy when Sam made her laugh at the beach in that first sweet scene after they’re reunited and she figures out where she knows him from. I also loved that although, yes, author Rachel Coker is seventeen years old, her style is mature. Not just for her age, either. Mature, period, in a grab-my-heart-glue-my-hands-to-this-story way.… »

    

     Inspiring Daring

    

16. Review: Secrets weigh heavily in Code of Silence

    

    « Code of Silence—the debut middle grade novel from speaker and devotional author Timothy Shoemaker—has a familiar premise, most recently seen last summer in the blockbuster Super 8: friends forced to keep a traumatic event they witnessed a secret. In this case, the secret doesn’t involve a train car with a mysterious creature inside, but the consequences are nonetheless dramatic. In the novel’s first pages, middle school-aged friends Cooper, Hiro, and Gordy witness an armed robbery at their favorite burger joint and are appropriately scared out of their wits.… »

    

     Crosswalk

    See Also:
    • Review: Code of Silence—living a lie comes with a price via Book Reporter

    

Note: This is a collection of recent stories and news items mentioning authors who have published with Zondervan. This list is not comprehensive, it is not always ‘positive,’ and the order of the stories is arbitrary. The views and opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of Zondervan, its authors, agents, employees, or leadership.