There was much interest in the office yesterday at a new survey ranking 200 jobs, from best to worst. The big question: which TGBC employee had the best (and worst) job?
IT guru Jonny Barker won the contest; software engineer came in at third on the US-produced list, which ranks jobs based on five criteria: physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook.
The editorial team lost, collectively; publication editor is down at 168, four below carpet installer and eight below refuse collector. It could be worse, though: newspaper reporter (which I used to be) is rock bottom, at 200. You can see the whole list here.... continue reading
Mirror, mirror on the wall ... Familiar words from a familiar tale. A woman, consumed with envy, repeatedly checking her magic mirror to see if she is beautiful enough. A caricature maybe. But she is not alone. Women, it seems, are particularly bad at seeing themselves as they truly are.
And that is something that has been borne out by a little experiment conducted by multinational company, Dove. They asked a series of women to describe themselves to a forensic artist - someone used to sketching faces from oral descriptions. Then, they asked someone else who had met the women to describe them to the same artist. Two sketches of each woman resulted - one as described by the woman herself; one described by an acquaintance. And what a difference there was!... continue reading
We're trying to grapple with the future at The Good Book Company. Are we heading towards the day when there will be few bookshops and all texts are read on an electronic device? Should we be heading towards that day with enthusiasm?
Many adults I speak to throw up their hands in horror at the thought. They have a love affair with tree books - the feel, the smell, the portability, the comfort all combine to make them staunch defenders of the traditional paperback.
But there are commercial pressures. The expense of printing, storing, transporting and handling all disappear when the "book" becomes information on a computer to be downloaded in a moment. And there are cultural pressures from the younger generation, that do everything on the device they carry round with them - talk, interact, read, write and explore.... continue reading
Please do join with us as we pray for our publishing friends, Crossway. Based in the Chicago area which has suffered severe flooding in recent weeks their offices are under a significant level of water.
Their work for the gospel is such an encouragement to many, do please be interceding for them this week.
Prominent people in the public eye tend to be reduced to caricatures. None more so than Baroness Thatcher, who is buried today in a state funeral attended by dignitaries from around the world. Such is the strength of feeling about her character, acts and legacy, that there are expected to be protests along the route of the procession.
Love her or hate her - no one divided opinion like "Maggie" - who was elected Prime Minister at a dark time in British political and economic history. Her influence as the first (and so far only) British Female Prime Minister is with us today in the shape of the UK's cultural landscape - both in political life and in economics. No one can deny her influence. I was travelling widely internationally as a journalist during Maggie's residency of No 10. Everywhere I went - even countries in the Middle East that had felt the full force of her "handbagging" - people had an enormous admiration for her, and respect for the Britain as a result, whereas previously we had been seen as a spent force, at least economically.... continue reading
Praying for our brothers and sisters in Boston.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46, ESV
The Gospel Coalition's outstanding National Conference took place this week in Orlando, Florida. As usual it featured a host of top speakers, superb music from Keith and Kristyn Getty and a plethora of breakout sessions. But this time, there was something brand new: a focus on youth work.
The Good Book Company sponsored two workshops, the first looking at Jesus' mission to the next generation led by Dave Wright and Tim Hawkins, and the second thinking about how to build a youth ministry based "on Jesus rather than jokes" with Nate Morgan Locke and Josh Cousineau. Several hundred youth workers attended the sessions which inspired a host of conversations, many delegates staying on afterwards to discuss their particular situations with the speakers.
On the final day, The Good Book Company put on a Youth work panel, moderated by Tim Challies and including all of the previous day's speakers. The session covered topics as varied as youth ministry philosophy, time management and the most important foundation of all work with young people: making- and keeping - the gospel central. Tim Hawkins said "Youth ministry is an area that is often overlooked and under-resourced, so it was fantastic to be able to encourage these guys and think together about keeping our youth ministries centered on Jesus."
Both Tim Hawkins and Nate Morgan Locke are staying in the US with speaking engagements and training events lined up across the country. As well as training, Nate is introducing the new look line up for Christianity Explored's youth range which launched at the conference. "It's great to be able to spend time with my counterparts in the US" said Nate, "and our prayer at Christianity Explored, is that these new-look youth resources will be a great blessing to the church as they reach out to a new generation."
It shouldn't be a surprise. It's the logical - if unusually extreme - end point of the argument. A group of ethicists have now come out and said it: if it's right to abort children before they are born, it can't be wrong to abort them immediately after their birth.
Their argument goes like this. A person only has value if they know they have value. A foetus doesn't have that awareness. Nor does a new-born. So neither have an inherent right to life. Parents - who do have value because of their self-awareness - may feel trapped into keeping a child who is unexpectedly disabled, or who is simply not what they want any more, and their rights should trump the baby's. The parents should have a right to end the child's life.... continue reading
After 5 excellent days, The Gospel Coalition conference in Florida has come to an end. Various members of The Good Book Company team are on planes either returning back to the UK or the Washington offices. And they are encouraged. They're very encouraged to have spent time talking with and serving so many gospel-hearted people. Here are just a few of their highlights:
Tim Thornborough (Managing Director): My highlight has been meeting humble, godly, passionate pastors from all across the US, who struggle with, pretty much, the same issues that most church pastors do in the UK. I've been so inspired by the desire of Christians here to do great, ambitious things for the Kingdom of God. One friend observed to me that he thought the US church was a "sleeping giant that gets distracted by irrelevant issues every time it starts to wake up." The movement embodied by The Gospel Coalition (TGC) and like-minded organisation Together for the Gospel (T4G) are doing brilliant work to change this around. I'm praying that they are successful.
Brad Byrd (US Ministry Director): My highlight? Definitely the youth panel discussion moderated by Tim Challies which included some Good Book Company and Christianity Explored guys. And the meetings we've had with potential authors have been great.
James Burstow (Commercial Director): So much to choose from. There was being part of the Gettys' live album recording. I was four rows from the front so was virtually a backing singer! Kevin DeYoung's talk on Jesus and the Lost which was brilliant. And hearing numerous reports from US Christians of how our resources are supporting gospel ministry in their churches - such an encouragement.
Carl Laferton (Senior Editor): It has been a huge encouragement to remember that the US evangelical church doesn't have something we're missing. They do Bible-centred Jesus glorifying teaching and evangelism. So do we. And it's exciting to be partners in this. It's been similarly inspiring (and challenging) to see the immense humility of men with huge congregations and massive influence. And on a less spiritual note ... it's been great being able to eat burgers and call it immersing myself in the culture. Nice!
A little over a year ago British sports fans, and many others as well, were captivated by the story of the footballer who “died” and came back to life. Fabrice Muamba, a professional footballer with Premier League Bolton Wanderers, had a heart attack on the pitch. The match was abandoned, but the TV cameras stayed on as thousands watched medics try to restart Muamba’s heart. By the time they succeeded, he had been technically “dead” for 78 minutes.
In time, Muamba made a good recovery, though he had to retire from football. So how does he see those events of last year? A recent interview with The Times newspaper gives a fascinating insight. Here are a few quotes from the article (sadly not available online unless you have a Times subscription, in which case you can find it here).... continue reading
