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Leadership Journal (@Leadership_Jnl) has selected 10 books as the best of 2012 to nurture ministry leaders’ souls while equipping them for more effective ministry.

The Leader’s Inner Life category:

·         Pastoral Graces: Reflections on the Care of Souls by Lee Eclov (Moody)

·         Sifted: Pursuing Growth through Trials, Challenges, and Disappointments by Wayne Cordeiro (@waynecordeiro) (Zondervan)

·         The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg (@cduhigg) (Random House)

·         Adventures in Churchland: Finding Jesus in the Mess of Organized Religion by Dan Kimball (@DanKimball) (Zondervan)

·         Dangerous Calling: The Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry by Paul Tripp (@PaulTripp) (Crossway)

The Leader's Outer Life category:

·         Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Tim Keller (Zondervan)

·         Deep & Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend by Andy Stanley (@AndyStanley) (Zondervan)

·         Pursuing God's Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups by Ruth Haley Barton (@TransformingCnt) (IVP)

·         Your Church Is Too Safe: Why Following Christ Turns the World Upside-Down by Mark Buchanan (Zondervan)

·         Vision: Lost & Found: The Story of a Church That Got Stuck but Didn't Stay There by Tim Stevens (@timastevens) (Exponential)

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogpost: “The 2013 Christianity Today Book Awards.”

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From an initial crop of 455 titles submitted by 68 publishers, Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) magazine selected for its 2013 Book Awards 10 winners and 9 notables that offer insights into the people, events, and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought, and mission.

·         Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism by Alvin Plantinga (Oxford University Press)

·         A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G. K. Beale (Baker Academic)

·         Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics by Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) (Free Press)

·         Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good by Amy L. Sherman (InterVarsity Press)

·         Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Timothy Keller (Zondervan)

·         Evangellyfish: A Novel by Douglas Wilson (Canon Press)

·         Summoned from the Margin: Homecoming of an African by Lamin Sanneh (Eerdmans)

·         Just and Unjust Peace: An Ethic of Political Reconciliation by Daniel Philpott (Oxford University Press)

·         Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren F. Winner (HarperOne)

·         The Theology of Jonathan Edwards by Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott (Oxford University Press)

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogpost, "Christian Publishing's 2012 Best Book Covers."

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Worldwide, more than 8-in-10 people identify with a religious group. A comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life (@pewforum) estimates there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84% of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion.

The demographic study – based on an analysis of more than 2,500 censuses, surveys, and population registers – finds

·         2.2 billion Christians (32% of the world’s population)

·         1.6 billion Muslims (23%)

·         1 billion Hindus (15%)

·         nearly 500 million Buddhists (7%)

·         14 million Jews (0.2%) around the world as of 2010.

In addition, more than 400 million people (6%) practice various folk or traditional religions, including African traditional religions, Chinese folk religions, Native American religions, and Australian aboriginal religions. An estimated 58 million people – slightly less than 1% of the global population – belong to other religions, including the Baha’i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca, and Zoroastrianism, to mention just a few.

Read this in full.

Also see the Religion News Service (@ReligionNewsNow) article, “The ‘nones’ now form the world’s third-largest ‘religion’.”

And see our previous blogpost, "Religiosity Declines Worldwide; Atheism on the Rise."

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When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:15-20 (NIV)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:8-14 (NIV)

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (@ecpa), in conjunction with Dickinson Press as the sponsor, has announced the winners of the ECPA | dp Book Cover Awards. A total of 101 covers were submitted from 19 publishers for the 6th annual program.

Launched in 2007, the awards aim to educate, promote, and recognize superior cover design in Christian publishing. This year, the program presented two awards: one for design and one for research-based marketability.

Highlighting the art aspect of book covers, the ECPA Book Cover Design Award focuses on the design merits of a book cover, including the level of conceptual thinking, the quality of the execution, and appropriateness for the market. Design winners are:

·         The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung; designed by Josh Dennis (Crossway); in the Small Publisher category

·         Daddy, Is That Story True or Were You Just Preaching? by James W. Moore; designed by David Carlson (Abingdon Press); in the Mid-Sized Publisher category

·         Love Does by Bob Goff; designed by Connie Gabbert (Thomas Nelson); in the Large Publisher category.

Highlighting the science aspect of covers, the Research award is based on the consumer-buying research of the Research Institute for Social Change, which measures consumer motivations as it relates to cover design and book sales. Covers were judged and analyzed on how well their design elements match characteristics of their intended audience. Research winners are:

·         Spark by Jason Jaggard; designed by Kristopher Orr (WaterBrook Press); in the Small Publisher category.

·         What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him by Byron Forrest Yawn; designed by Koechel Peterson & Associates (Harvest House Publishers); in the Mid-Sized Publisher category

·         Soul Detox by Craig Groeschel; designed by Curt Diepenhorst (Zondervan); in the Large Publisher category.

Also see our previous blogposts:

·         “The 2013 Christianity Today Book Awards”

·         “The 2012 Leadership Book Awards”

·         “ECPA Announces 2012 Christian Book Award Finalists”

·         “Christian Book Award Winners for 2012”

·         “2012 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award Winners Announced”

·         “ECPA Announces 2011’s Best Book Covers.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically design your book covers.

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In her Op-Ed article in The New York Times (@nytopinion), Stanford (@Stanford) anthropology professor and author of When God Talks Back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship With God, T. M. Luhrmann raises some interesting points that apply to biblical fiction, Bible-based movies, and creative storytelling in sermons. She says:

Most evangelicals describe the Bible as literally true. Yet for many, “literally” often means “keep what’s there and add details to make it vivid.”

I am an anthropologist, and in recent years I have been exploring a kind of American evangelical Christianity that seeks to enable its followers to know God intimately. These evangelicals talk about the Bible as if it is literally true, but they also use their imagination to experience the Bible as personally as possible. They talk about getting to know God by having coffee with God, or asking God what shirt they should wear in the morning. A man from Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego told me that “the Bible is a love story, and it is written to me.” It is a style of evangelical Christianity with many followers: perhaps a quarter of all Americans....

I am no theologian and I do not think that social science can weigh in on the question of who God is or whether God is real. But I think that anthropology offers some insight into why imaginatively enriching a text taken as literally true helps some Christians to hang on to God when they are surrounded by a secular world.

First, this way of knowing God involves what social scientists would call “active learning.”.... Second, these practices make the experience of God personally specific....

Read this in full.

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Christian Retailing (@ChristianRetail) reports that ACM Digital, Inc., has launched "Myeebo" (@MYeebo) tablet and apps, described as the first digital device and service to provide "all categories of downloadable Christian entertainment," including ebooks, music, audiobooks, and movies.

David Amster, chief innovation officer of ACM, says, "Our objective is threefold: provide independent Christian retailers with a solid digital service to give them a competitive edge with Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple; significantly improve the online browsing and discovery experience for ebooks and music; and create a way for retailers to partner with churches."

Amster says, so far, 125 retailers have signed up to offer Myeebo, including Berean Christian Stores (@BereanChristian), Lighthouse Christian Supply, Logos Christian Bookstore, and Bible Gift Shop. In the first quarter of 2013, ACM Digital plans to add another 75 stores.

The name Myeebo is a derivative of the words “my,” “electronic,” and “books.” The tablet’s suggested retail price is $179. It includes an 8-inch touch screen with features not available on the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet.

Read this in full.

In November, Family Christian (@FCstores) announced it was discontinuing its own ebook tablet, edifi, which had just launched in June. FCS is now selling Kobo (@kobo) e-readers.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your ebooks and pbooks.

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Because today is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, we’re featuring the Santa papers: an unauthorized autobiography (Softcover edition, Kindle edition) by Wallis C. Metts Jr, (@wmetts) PhD, director of Graduate Studies in Communication at Spring Arbor University (@springarboru).

This "unauthorized autobiography" of Nicholas of Myra is a first person account of how a 4th century bishop became Santa Claus. Written, or translated if you prefer, by a college professor who raises barn cats and Christmas trees on a farm in south Michigan, this book sets the record straight about how this ancient saint became both a religious as well as a commercial icon. Brief, easily read by the fireside in an evening — even out loud — this book is fun and informative.

The St. Nicholas Center (@StNicholasCente), one of the largest Web-based resources on Nicholas, says this “breezy look introduces St. Nicholas, especially for evangelicals who may not know very much, if anything, about him. Told in contemporary vernacular in the saint's first-person voice.”

The book begins:

They got it wrong, mostly.

I realize nobody wrote it down until 400 years later. And, well, my own diaries and sermons were burned during the persecution under Diocletian. But I’d like to set the record straight, after so many centuries of distortion and exaggeration.

Buy it in time to share with your family for Christmas.

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Lynn Garrett (@LynniGarrett), editor of Publishers Weekly Religion Bookline (@PublishersWkly), reports that “Random House’s (@randomhouse) Crown Publishing Group (@CrownPublishing) is launching a new religion imprint, Convergent Books (@ConvergentBooks).”

According to a Crown statement, “Convergent will explore the contemporary faith experience for a broad range of Christians who are drawn to an open, inclusive, and culturally engaged exploration of faith.” The imprint will be based in Colorado Springs, Colo., and headed by Stephen W. Cobb, who has been president and publisher of the WaterBrook (@WaterBrookPress) imprint since 2001.

...Stated Cobb, “The audience for Convergent Books represents a growing movement of consumers. These readers typically don’t see themselves as either liberal or conservative, evangelical or mainline. Yet they frame their spiritual journey in Christian terms, and they’re absolutely passionate about what theologian Brian McLaren has called, ‘the sacred endeavor of loving God and neighbor, stranger, alien, outsider, outcast and enemy.’"

Convergent’s debut title list will appear in fall 2013.

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogposts, “Random House, Penguin Agree to Merge” and “HarperCollins in Early Merger Talks with Simon & Schuster.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you navigate the fast-changing world of book publishing.

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