sustain:if:able kiwi

Original Out of Bounds church

Surrounded by a 10ft chain fence, a locked gate and “out of bounds” notices the church opens for just one service a year. The vicar is fed up with the time it involves and the local parishes want rid of the burden of maintaining it.

The Church of St. Giles is the parish church for the ghost town of Imber, an isolated village on Salisbury plain was requisitioned by the War Office a week before Christmas 1943, and the area made permanently out of bounds to the public.

For more

The unveiling of a new book

(My book, the out of bounds church? learning to create communities of faith in a culture of change goes from the printer to Zondervan HQ for the start of distribution today.)

Today feels like the first time I was naked with my wife; very exciting, but a high level of performance anxiety.

free downloads of out of bounds book

The internet rumours are true. Due to an administrative error, the entire text of my book was available as a free download on the internet over last weekend. Frantic emailing state-side and the error was corrected.

Which, when I paused for breath, left me pondering the question – if a person was to download it, would they still buy a hard copy?

OK, let me make that personal. If you downloaded a book, would you still want to read/own/possess the hard copy?

Is free downloads good marketing, or bad selling?

Booked to San Diego

My tickets for USA arrived today. Zondervan and emergent/Youth Specialties are flying me to the US as part of the launch of my book – out of bounds church? learning to create communities of faith in a culture of change.

I am due into LA on Monday 31 January. (Any bloggers in Pasadena keen to keep me awake Monday?)

I am spending Tuesday at Fuller Theological Seminary, with Doug McConnell, Dean of School of Intercultural Studies. We are brainstorming around globalisation and emergent church and training. I am also doing a seminar for staff and students at Fuller – where I will try and present some sort of overview of the emergent tribes and suggest a range of metaphors that might stimulate mission in a postmodern world.

Wednesday, 2 February I fly to San Diego for the emergent convention. I am doing 2 seminars;

Out of Bounds: Mission in the Emerging Church
and
Text in a TXT World: Postmodern Communication

As a result, people are meant to buy copies of my books and spread the word that it’s hot! I’m looking forward to getting a close up view of emergentUSA and meeting some people that have until now only been blog names; and three cheers for zondervan and emergent.

mono-cultural philistine

I feel such a mono-cultural philistine. I need permission to use a contemporary art image in my book. The email trail lead to Germany.

So I ring Germany.

“Do you speak English”, I have to ask.

Click. New voice.

“Do you speak English”, I have to ask again.

Click. New voice.

I mean, how would I feel if someone rang me in New Zealand, asking me if I spoke their language. I was so embarrassing.

HOW WIERD IS THAT

if you type in “out of bounds church” on amazon.com – you get my book, and a chance to pre-order! that is so totally wierd … and totally like, vulnerable and scarey.

for more info on the book…

moving the out of bounds church?

out-of-bounds church? learning to create communities of faith in a culture of change, is the editor-ordained title for my book. due out feb 05.

Zondervan sent me a fancy “author care” pack recently, in pastels, complete with flowers. And a “book form” to fill out. And a question: who do you know who could write reviews for magazines and newspaper?

If you have this sort of access – to publications, to magazines, to Christian news, that do book reviews – and want a review copy, drop me a line and I’ll flick your name to Zondervan