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“When i see a man leering at a woman, it makes me cringe. Anger can be ugly. When i see someone become enraged it is unsightly. Worry is unbecoming, and judging others is repulsive. When i hear someone saying terrible things about another, i feel ill. Pride and prejudice, deception and degradation – all are ugly. When i see these in others, its is clearly unattractive.

But when i see them in myself, i am quick to rationalise and minimise them. ”

from The Good & Beautiful Life by James Bryan Smith

If i published books i would love to have a team of people with blogs and a good online presence to send a few titles to & have them blog about them. If i produced multiple musicians, bands & artists, you know? Like a record label? It would be great to send out a few cds a month and then see the effects of people’s honest opinions……….actually, sending cds is so last year, they could just provide an online source where the music could be downloaded?

As much as i have ranted about Christian Books and CCM in the past, this is the industry i work in and i enjoy it hugely. Sure i am not likely to be involved with events for a long time, if ever, but behind my opinions and sometimes rash comments lies a passion about books and music.

I think there is potential to change opinions and make things happen within the UK trade but anyone who knows the ‘Christian retail sector’ will know that 2009 ended with events that shook the industry to its core, so perhaps the “new-fangled” online stuff will yet again take a back-seat for now!

The thing i wanted to say though, is that the UK trade needs to waken up! It really does!

And before some of you say, “but we have a blog and we are on facebook & twitter.”

That may well be, but is it a priority of your business? Is it taken seriously at Board Level where the dinosaurs rule? Is someone actually paid to take care of your online presence or is it a task thrown in at the end of their days work?

In 2008 & 2009 i ran some ads on my blog for a ‘Christian music label’ who are a BIG concern. In order to do so, i had to go through the USA! I would also get regular pre-release music from them, all the way from across the Atlantic. I have nothing against the UK wing of this label, in every other way they do a great job but it is kind of odd that nobody on this side of the Atlantic wants to have the conversation about blogging, social media etc etc ….

There is an awareness of social media within some areas of the industry BUT not in many of the UK offices…………….

And i need to say, i am not trying to push myself into the limelight as some kind of guru, i am not an expert and i am also not trying to blag free products. I work in the industry, i get that anyway!

In fact, within the industry there is already enough activity going on for you to see what you need to do without listening to me!

Pick up the phone, send an email and speak to your associates in the USA instead of employing the old and tired methods which are starting to fail you!

Sadly i feel like i have said this all before but with the massive changes in the UK trade, perhaps there is a chance that someone will now step up and lead the way?

Lets be clear on one thing which iv told you before….

“Im rubbish at book reviews” so don’t hold your breath for one here!

In fact, im rubbish at reading books! I read lots of parts of books and get bored of them, then i pick them up again and eventually i sometimes finish books! Usually i don’t though..

“Flickering pixels are the tiny dots of light that make up the screens of life – from TV’s to cell phones. They are invisible, but they change us. In this provocative book, author Shane Hipps takes readers beneath the surface of things to see how the technologies we use end up using us……..”

Cherith bought me this for Christmas, do you think she is trying to tell me something?

I guess if i manage to read it all in one sitting i may learn something. I managed 2 chapters last night and so far so good, i think im on track with what he is saying…….

Relevant Magazine rated it their ‘best book of 2009′ here

Some of the material in this book was previously published in ‘The hidden power of electronic culture’ and i think a few people i know have read it…

The Wesley Owen Edinburgh Facebook page posted this message last night;

“We are now in administration and will be closing shortly. As will almost all of the Wesley Owen shops. I thank you all so much for your support and can I ask you to pray for all of the staff that received the devastating news today at 5.35.”

Lots of other things have been, and continue to be said about what is actually happening within IBS-STL. Phil Groom has been up to speed with announcements, see his latest update here, which includes a link to “staff reactions” on his own personal blog.

No matter how many shops are actually in administration, i cannot help but feel sad about the timing of this. Even if it was just Edinburgh – indications are that it could be as many as 26 shops – its sad to hear this 6 days before Christmas!

My thoughts are personal, as i cannot speak for my employer but i need to say that the communication of this whole situation has been terrible. The initial announcement re: the sale of IBS-STL and its other divisions leaked online early, the news of what is happening and who is or isn’t buying the various divisions has broken this weekend, yet again, before the company have managed to get a press release out! Unless of course, that was the intention?

Surely they know people will not keep quiet over the weekend? Facebook? Twitter? They are quite popular, you may have heard of them?

Lets not forget that 490 people are employed by the whole organisation and we now know that at least 10 ( i think that is right) in Edinburgh are facing a very difficult Christmas & New Year. The comments and ’staff reactions’ over at Phil’s blog suggest that communication has been awful and that concern for these 490 staff has been less than evident. Only those in the actual situation really know………….

My thoughts and prayers go out to those who look certain to be losing their jobs very soon

Surely this didn’t have to happen?

“A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar. The tragic results of this spirit are all about us. Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit; these and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.”

A.W. Tozer

Since i re-launched the new look ’supersimbo’ there have been less words and more images! We acquired a new “toy” over the weekend, which will not do anything to aid this problem……….

After some research and a bit of advice we got one of these

“Leading Christian book and Bible charity IBS-STL UK today announced that it has appointed Baker Tilly Corporate Finance LLP to pursue the sale of its operations.

The move has come after a succession of financial problems, in particular the failed implementation of a new SAP computer system in October 2008, the effects of which were exacerbated by the economic downturn. These have caused significant cash flow pressures, excess stock, and supply chain and service difficulties in its distribution and retail units. They have culminated in the decision to exit the business.

IBS-STL UK convened an emergency task force led by Global President of Biblica and former CEO of STL, Keith Danby, which has been in constant dialogue with its suppliers and bankers. It had also engaged restructuring and business process consultants in an attempt to resolve the systems and financial challenges.

Danby said: “Given the severe financial and operational strains we have experienced, the Board of Trustees and management team believe a sale or exit from all or parts of certain operations is a prudent and necessary step. Whilst a difficult decision, we are focused on finding a solution to continue the important work of IBS-STL UK, to secure the jobs of the 490 people employed in our ministry, and to fulfill our financial obligations to our suppliers and creditors. We are working diligently and praying vigilantly for a successful outcome.”

The corporate finance division of Baker Tilly is actively marketing the operations of the charity to a number of interested parties and is hopeful it will complete negotiations for the sales or potential closures within the next few weeks. IBS-STL UK was founded in 1962 and has grown to become a major UK charity.

IBS-STL UK has three trading divisions; Authentic Media, a book and music publisher; STL Distribution, a distributor of Christian resources and Wesley Owen Books and Music, a retailer with 40 shops in the UK. IBS-STL UK is part of Biblica, a global Bible translation, publishing, distribution and outreach ministry serving more than 100 countries with books, Bibles and other Christian resources. Biblica said the planned sale of the UK operations will not impact its other global operations and donor funds supporting Biblica’s worldwide outreach ministries will not be affected.

Michael Fitch, Chairman of the IBS-STL UK Board of Trustees, concluded: “We continue to believe strongly in the power of God’s Word and Christian resources to change peoples’ lives. We are praying that we can pass the torch on to other likeminded organisations so that our UK staff, suppliers and ministry partners can carry our work forward.”

“I don’t have any hard data on this, but I think that of all the major world religions, Christianity has the highest dork per capita ratio. Did I say that right? Is there a different metric we’re using to measure number of dorks that I should have referenced instead? Are we still rolling with the per capita ratio? It’s so hard to find good research on this topic.

But think about it, no one ever says, “You know who is cheesy? Muslims.” Rarely will you hear someone proclaim, “The Hindus are all uptight.” And when Buddhists are stereotyped they’re labeled as being “relaxed and peaceful.” Christianity though has a lockdown on dork status and you know what? I love it!”

This is the kind of thing that makes me love Jonathan’s writing & thoughts. You can read the rest of this post here

The website says this; “Jonathan Acuff’s Stuff Christians Like is your field guide to all things Christian. Like a satirical grenade, Acuff brings us the humor and honesty that galvanized 730,000 online readers from 209 countries in a new portable version. Welcome to the funny side of faith.” Stuff Christians Like

Its being published by Zondervan so i am hopeful that it will get good UK exposure or i might have to whinge and moan about it! I know my whinging and moaning goes largely unnoticed but thats a whole other blog post…….

This looks very good, though many “interactive, electronic Bibles” have looked great in the past & failed to really capture people’s imagination. Will this one be any different? Its due on the shelves in November, we shall see…

Its been a very long time since i intentionally promoted my employers on my blog. I began working for Fm Bookshops in 2005 as the manager in our Ballymena branch, then moved sideways to take charge of the online shop. With that has came some responsibilities in design, p.r. and marketing which hopefully will continue to develop alongside all the other changes within the business.

We are an organisation in change with some things happening quicker than others but all in all it is a very exciting time for us. There are so may uncertainties within ‘Christian retailing’ right now so we do not take for granted how blessed we have been. A new premises in Portadown, a major facelift in our ballymena shop, a new accounts system and the online shop are just a few of the things we have been working through.

One of the most exciting things to arise over the last year has been the planning & discussions about ‘music’ and where the market was headed on cd sales. We take very seriously the fact that we are one of the UK’s largest Christian Booksellers and what that means across our 20 UK shops. At the beginning of Sept09 we changed all our music prices with the determination that we could begin to lead the way on music prices within Christian retailing. We know our customers love music, the sales have always reflected that but we LOVE music also, so we wanted to show that in the best way possible! Example; the new LEELAND album, Love is on the move is £7.93 in our shops, thats the best price you will find anywhere in the UK!

We admit that we have not gotten everything perfect so far but that is a difficulty with trying to maintain a large operation while making major changes at the same time. We really do appreciate our customers, they are what keeps us alive but we also appreciate the opportunity to sell & distribute ‘Christian product’ and especially Bibles. This is why we exist. This is why we are changing shape, trying to improve how we operate, so that we can continue to provide the Bibles, Books & music to you.

For Christian retail in the UK this is a huge deal, we watch nervously & wait to see what happens.
Here is the statement………..

“There have been a number of rumours circulating suggesting that IBS-STL U.K. is going into ‘liquidation’ or ‘administration’. I can confirm that the charity is neither in liquidation, nor in any form of administration.

A number of factors including the SAP implementation have caused STL Distribution serious Supply Chain difficulties, which have resulted in severe cash flow problems.

I met with a number of our key suppliers earlier this week in London to appraise them of the situation. In addition, the senior team have been seeking external help from our auditors to resolve the current problems.

Yesterday a meeting was held with the Charity’s bankers to discuss our ongoing cash requirements. We are facing significant challenges, but there is no immediate crisis within the Charity. We are working hard to overcome the current difficulties and return to a normal cash position as soon as possible. The Charity, its advisers, bankers and suppliers are working together towards a solution.

I reaffirm my commitment to support the UK Christian trade both in the retail and supply sectors. We continue to work hard as we want to give you the very highest possible levels of service. We remain committed to provide same day despatch, a wide range of resources to choose from, and a stock position that meets your needs. We highly value your on-going trade, support and trust, and pray that as we work together in the months ahead, our activities will continue to impact peoples lives for eternity.

Keith Danby
14.8.09″

In the previous post i tried to focus on the point that DeYoung made in Ch5; ‘The will of God for our lives is that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.’ He begins Ch6 by reiterating that point and adding that ‘the most important decision we face is the daily decision to live for Christ and die to self.’ Ch6 deals with how God speaks to us. To begin with, I am pretty much going to repeat the 5 main points DeYoung makes & copy what John has said in his post here.

1. God guides by His invisible providence at all times.
2. God can speak to His people in many different ways.
3. In these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son .
4. God continues to speak to us by His Son through His Spirit in the Scriptures.
5. Apart from the Spirit working through Scripture, God does not promise to use any other means to guide us, nor should we expect him to.

In most cases we will all agree on the first 4 points but its when we get to 5 that there will be some discussion amongst Christians! As DeYoung goes on to quickly explain the ‘ongoing debate’ about spiritual gifts i chuckled at one point made and could not help but think that it defined the whole debate about God’s will and how God speaks etc etc. After giving examples from both sides of the debate about spiritual gifts DeYoung quotes a ‘mature’ cessationist who, like many is quick to add that ‘God surprises us nonetheless.’

This kind of statement, in some ways defines my ‘religious heritage’ in so many ways. Men hold to beliefs and take a stand on certain issues. Issues that will divide congregations, ruin friendships and wreak havoc but yet often they need to admit that ‘God surprises us nonetheless.’ We sometimes need to admit that we do not really have all the answers & that we could be wrong. But then lets go back to the fifth point; “Apart from the Spirit working through Scripture, God does not promise to use any other means to guide us, nor should we expect him to.”

Hebrews says this;
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

John’s Post & Gary’s Post

I am not usually ‘into’ children’s books, probably because i haven’t been a child for a long time! Since coming into the book selling trade i have heard lots of similarities drawn between new ‘Christian’ childrens books and stuff like Harry Potter, this ALWAYS bugs me! So it is cool to see & have read something that stands alone as a great book, by a great author without those comparisons being made.

G. P. TAYLOR is the author of the best-selling novels Shadowmancer and Wormwood, which to my shame i have not read! tut tut! Before taking up writing full-time, he was an Anglican minister in the village of Cloughton, North Yorkshire. His books have sold over three million copies worldwide. Thats the author, what about this book?

Firstly, i love how it looks, the artwork is superb and the novel/graphic novel combination works really well. In a nutshell the book is about three children: mischievous identical twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple, who live in an orphanage, and Erik Morrissey Ganger, a boy who works in the orphanage.  The twins are separated when Saskia is adopted by Muzz Elliot, a wealthy woman who is at the center of a murderous plot, and long-lost family treasure. Sadie and Erik run away from the orphanage on a quest to find Saskia, who has discovered the murder plot and is trying to stop it. “Faced with madmen, wild dogs, treasure seekers, and an otherworldly  visitor with a secret message, the trio must decide who to trust—and what to believe—if they are to survive long enough to find each other again.”

All in all this is a great book, and while its aimed at the juvenile market ie: 10-14 ish, i would say it will appeal to a much wider audience. Check out the official website here.
The UK publisher & distributor for the book is Authentic media who i have mentioned on my blog before. From time to time i will mention or review products and not tell you where to buy them, so as not to cause any conflict of interest with my employer. The purpose here is to let you know about a great product within the ‘Christian’ market and make you aware that there are publishers out there like Authentic who are working hard to get the best books, music & resources for the ‘Church’ into our hands.

Stay tuned for more of this kind of thing, i genuinely am excited about some of the stuff i have to tell you about soon!

“Is there a better way to walk in the will of God?” DeYoung tells us there is, its called ‘The Jesus way.”

‘Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is it’s own trouble.’ Matthhew 6

This opening section of the chapter helped to center my thoughts on the book so far and on some of the discussions i have had with others (offline) about the topic of God’s will. The truth is we could argue, discuss and disagree about how God speaks and what he speaks to us about all day long but where is the verse quoted above in our thoughts? All the things we get anxious about are important in our minds, to each of us, given all of our different circumstances but, are we seeking first the Kingdom of God?

The Chapter ends with a point that does not need any explanation. ‘Be Holy like Jesus, by the power of the spirit, for the glory of God.’

I guess that final point is why i have kept this post brief. The command to seek first the Kingdom so often gets lost behind debates about the hows and whys so i’ll leave it there for now………

Garys thoughts on Chapter 5

I have gotten way behind in these posts! Eeeeek! In truth i had read the chapters but got a little lazy with the blog posts over the ‘holiday’s.’ I read chapters 3 & 4 a couple of weeks ago and jumped back in to refresh my mind just now. The whole train of thought i had has changed though. In Chapter 3, titled ‘Directionally Challenged,’ the opening line asks ‘Why are so many Christians desperate to find out God’s plan for their lives?’

Kevin DeYoung offers a few suggestions. We want to please God, Some of us are timid, We want perfect fulfillment, We have too many choices and We are cowards. All of these apply to different people i guess but as i pondered this and that opening question this morning i can only answer it for myself. My reasons for joining the maze that is a search for God’s will in the past were wrapped in wanting to please God. Wanting to please God, not just for his pleasure, but so that he would give me a break! It is preached from pulpits, taught in books and sang in Christian music that good things will happen to you and your life will be AWESOME if you please God. If you want to please God because you genuinely want to please God then that is fine but if you have a twisted agenda, then something is up with that! As DeYoung rightly points out, “Faith in Jesus does not guarantee that everything will go our way.”

Listen to what Grandpa DeYoung says, a ‘lifelong Christian, now in his eighties.’ “God’s will was never a question presented to me, or i ever thought about. I always felt that my salvation …..depended on my accepting by faith, the things that we believe. After that, i don’t think i ever had a problem thinking ‘is this the right thing for me?’”

Which leads DeYoung to conclude that we have too many choices! Last night Cherith and i were talking about people we know who seem to have very little or no direction in their lives. They are professing Christians but jobs, relationships and stability just seem to elude them. Too many choices have lead to a complete uncertainty about what they actually want. In the vast amount of choices, they have gotten lost. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having choices about where we eat, how we dress or whether we are a Mac or a P.C. but when the inability to decide upon the big issues in life consumes us as a result, it is disgusting to blame God for not showing us His will. This is what some of us do!

Chapter 4
It made me shiver a little when i read the opening lines of chapter 4, to think that DeYoung is confident enough in our lack of understanding of God’s will to say ‘The conventional approach to the will of God…..” and then describe something like a Magic 8-ball. Is this really how we all think? That was the over-riding thought as i read this chapter. Is our grasp of this really that bad? I started to think again about conversations i had heard, been a part of and about sermons i had heard, books i had read. It dawned on me just how widespread this horoscope voodoo attitude to God is!

I got pretty angry as i read this chapter. To think that in the past i have and millions of other people have believed the lie that God is sneaking around knowing what he wants us to do but not telling us. Playing hide and seek with us as we try to please him. The ‘need’ to know our future section got me angrier because i admit this has often been a big issue for me. I seem to have seasons of this, when i need to know what is around the corner, forgetting that ‘We walk by faith, not by sight.’

‘God told me’ is a common phrase around Christians these days, it gets us off the hook doesn’t it? It puts ALL the responsbility on God, if the decision is a terrible one, no matter the consequences, well “God told me.” I can honestly say i have never used this phrase and when i hear it, forgive me folks, but i usually think “no, HE didn’t” Why, i hear you ask? Well, i have seen it abused so so badly that i know no other response. This is the stuff that shipwrecks people, manipulates the lives of new Christians and destroys confidence in what God really is saying & directing us toward.

God has told me that this post is too long & i should quit while i am ahead, Chapter 5 soon!

Gary’s thoughts s far
John’s thoughts so far
Buy the Book here

‘The Will of God in Christianese.” If God has a wonderful plan for my life, why doesn’t He tell me what it is? DeYoung lists the questions that are commonly a part of adult life regarding education, careers and relationships etc etc and then says this “I’d like us to consider that maybe we have difficulty discovering God’s wonderful plan for our lives because if the truth be told, He doesn’t really intend to tell us what it is. And maybe we’re wrong to expect Him to.” John highlights this point in his post here

I had gotten to this point when i had to set the book down and really think about what i had just read. In part this is why my blog post has been a little late but this statement went against a lot of what i have been routinely fed for much of my adult life, so it was a lot to consider. DeYoung goes on to explain which has obviously been helpful.

DeYoung then explains God’s will of decree first. To understand it better i love the line he ’steals’ from Augustine, “The Will of God is the necessity of all things.” This can get confusing for some who rightly question why God allows certain things to happen to certain people. When DeYoung says “God knows all things and sovereignly superintends all things” i can’t help but think that most Christians would say ‘amen, we agree’ but in difficult times may not be able to say it with such assurance. So, if the will of decree is how things are, then God’s will of desire is how things ought to be.

God clearly has desires for our actions to be pleasing in his sight, DeYoung quotes Matthew 7:21 which is a helpful passage here but with a sobering message; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” As i pondered this i saw clearly a picture of us fumbling around crying out to the Lord for his will & direction and yet never having carried out anything that was ‘pleasing in his sight.’

DeYoung closes the chapter by referring to a book by Gerald Sittser a few years ago. I won’t type out the full text on this but he basically quotes a section of the book. The Sittser quote explains ‘Our responsibility’ to discover ‘God’s plan for our lives.’ It then says that ‘if we make the right choice we will receive his favor, fulfill our divine destiny and succeed in life.’ I am glad that DeYoung clarifies this and whilst he is nicer than me i will call this way of thinking something that borders on insanity!

“Trusting in God’s will of decree is good. Following His will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God’s will of direction is a mess.”

Thats probably a good place to leave this post, i get quite frustrated & angry having been around people who have and are messing their lives up with ‘waiting for God’s will of direction.’ So, i will shush will the going is good…….

Gary’s thoughts
John’s thoughts
Buy the Book here

As Gary has rightly said, Chapter 1 is short and straight to the point, no bad thing i reckon! The terms ‘adultolescence’ and ‘Tinkerers’ get used from the outset to describe young Christians who put of the responsibility off adulthood until their 30’s or 40’s! I got married in my 30th year, we have no kids and i do tend to jump about with my commitment to ‘things’ with some questioning of what God wants. I say ’some’ because i am all too familiar with those people who ‘tinker’ an awful lot more than i do or could, i get irritated by this but i have done it & i relate to it. But, is it true for some of us that ‘our search for God’s will has become an accomplice in the postponement of growing up’? I totally agree that this is true for many and feel like i drifted dangerously towards this in my twenties. In chapter 1, i was most struck by one line. ‘As Christian young people, we are less fruitful and less faithful than we ought to be.’ Less fruitful as we chase after the wind and less faithful as a consequence of chasing it! Could it be that the ‘plan for our lives’ that many chase after is a detour that satan takes us on, in the hope we will get lost? In Gary’s post he asks this, “Are we putting off adulthood? And are we covering up our laziness, indecisiveness & unreliability etc by claiming that we are searching for God’s will?” Just because i am married, have a house, a job etc etc does not mean i am exempt from letting this challenge me. We can still be lazy, indecisive & unreliable after having made some adult decisions in life. I guess this is the challenge i see from the first Chapter, for me anyway.

So, if you are reading the book you can also read and interact with Gary’s thoughts here. He is ‘our leader’ in this little book reading experiment. If you blog about it, leave some of use a comment & link so we can try and include everyone in the conversation. You can also buy the book here

update: John Fitzsimmons has joined in the conversation about the book, read his first post here

On old supersimbo i had just mentioned this book and starting tomorrow a few of us are going to be reading through and then discussing what we discover and learn if anything, from the book. Thanks to Gary for this great idea, i am quite excited to see if we can all agree. As yet i am not that sure how many are joining in but this is open to all so if you want to read a ’straight up, no nonsense’ view of God’s will perhaps you should jump in? Its a short book, only £6.99 here! Gary has helpfully given a timetable/schedule for us to keep things on track, which is as follows

Timetable

June
12 – Ch 1
19 – Ch 2
26 – Break**
July
3 – Ch 3
10 – Ch 4
17 – Ch 5
24 – Ch 6
31 – Ch 7
August
7 – Ch 8
14 – Ch9
21 – Ch 10

More soon………..