Posts Tagged ‘What He Said’

Reader Review

Thursday, February 11th, 2010 by JEL

When we were designing What He Said, we often thought it would be great for Bible study groups or religious education classes. For young people, or those diving deep into the Gospels, the new layout should make their efforts a little easier. Which is why it was so nice to see this new review which just appeared on our Amazon page:

“I bought this book for my husband for Christmas. This was exactly the book that he had been asking for. He had said over and over how he wanted a book that highlighted the words of Jesus, and What He Said does an excellent job of emphasizing the words of our Savior in context with the remainder of the Gospel. My husband is using the book to lead a small group class at our church.” – sval59, Greensboro, NC

Sorry to get all commercial on you, but I don’t think we’ve ever explicitly said that What He Said is only available at Amazon or in our e-Store. It might be available someday in your local bookstore, but not yet.

“Jesus Junk”

Thursday, December 17th, 2009 by JEL

As consumers across the land are making their list and checking it twice (or is Santa the only one who does that?), I wonder how many Christian presents make the final cut. Christian products are sold to a tune of $4.6 billion each year, and it only stands to reason that a large percentage of that figure is derived during the Christmas season.

In reading this article, there is a fine line between respectable wares tied to a Christian theme and “Jesus Junk” that strains to find some connection to the latest fads and trends. I feel pretty comfortable that What He Said does not cross that line.

Joining Technorati

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 by JEL

As part of our marketing efforts, we are listing our What He Said blog with some directories. Technorati is one of the biggest, so we’re starting there. Hopefully, doing so will expand our reach and let users access updates in their feed readers of choice.

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Waiting for the Flood

Monday, December 7th, 2009 by JEL

No, we’re not building an ark, but we are waiting for the phone to ring. In an attempt to get spread the word about What He Said, last week we worked with a book publicity firm to send out a press release to almost 3,000 relevant media people. We envisioned our voicemail system filling up and overflowing email inboxes. So far, that has not been the case.

Now the publicity firm tells us that the best response will come from our following up with all these contacts. Truly, the world will not beat a path to your door.

WHS Gets Its First Review

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 by JEL

While What He Said has received some great early attention over at Amazon, we’ve been waiting for our first “official” feedback. Yesterday, it came from Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, environmentalist, author, educator, and active participant in the Methodist Church. Here’s what he had to say about the book:

What He Said is very well done and very useful. The Gospels are so deeply radical that we tend to encrust them in all kinds of tradition to avoid having to deal with those very deep commands to love your God and your neighbor. This reminds us powerfully of the centrality of that countercultural message.”

Reading the Bible in 90 Days

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 by JEL

A book club at Kirk in the Hills church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan is setting out to read the Bible in 90 days. The story has some good quotes from participants that touch on our motivations for creating What He Said. For instance:

“As a Christian, I thought [reading the Bible] was a good thing to do. But it’s a little intimidating to just crack it open and go cover to cover on your own.”
— Amy Maple

The founder of the Bible in 90 days program, Ted Cooper, added this:

But even though “so many people start reading the Bible, hardly anyone finishes.”

We would love to start having some Bible study groups and book clubs make What He Said their next selection.

What He Said Now on Amazon!

Monday, November 2nd, 2009 by JEL

Since the mid-90s when it first opened its virtual doors for business, I have done the vast majority of my shopping (personal and for others) at Amazon.com. The prices are great, the shipping is fast, and the customer service has been extremely solid.

Which makes seeing What He Said now available at Amazon so incredibly cool! And, if you throw in that CD you’ve been meaning to pick up, you can get free shipping to boot. You can purchase our book by clicking here.

Once you get your copy and have spent some time getting acquainted, we’d be grateful if you left a user review. Many thanks!

Interesting Shapes

Friday, October 30th, 2009 by JEL

To get the word out, we plan to send a bunch of review copies of the book to prominent, relevant figures. I ordered the books and then realized I needed boxes to send them in. I found some perfect book mailers online and they just arrived today.

Book Mailers for What He Said

Kind of a weird coincidence that the package is in the shape of a cross, no?

The Judas Story

Thursday, October 29th, 2009 by JEL

You ask four people to write an account of the same incident, you’re bound to get differences in the final narrative. The Judas betrayal is just one example:

  • Matthew – Judas goes to the priests and asks what they’ll give him in return for turning over Jesus. He gets paid 30 pieces of silver on the spot. The betrayal, itself, is done with the kiss.
  • Mark – Again, Judas proactively goes to the priests, but is only “promised” money. The kiss is repeated.
  • Luke – In this account, Satan enters into Judas and gets him to go to the priests who, this time, “agree to” give him money. This is the only gospel with Jesus’ quote, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (22:48)
  • John – Satan enters Judas’s heart during the Last Supper. There’s no mention of going to the priests beforehand; Judas just appears with a detachment of soldiers and officers. There’s no mention of a kiss or of any money changing hands.

A Big Reason for Creating What He Said

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by JEL

Pollster George Gallup Jr. had this to say about Bible usage:

“Americans revere the Bible—but, by and large, they don’t read it.”

Why? Tyndale House Publishers ran a survey and found that people in this country don’t read the Bible because: (1) they’re too busy – 64%; and (2) it’s too confusing and hard to understand – 80%.

Hopefully What He Said, in its size and page layout, will help addresses these two concerns.