In the spirit of posting about books and cool videos about books, here is a very cool video about a book we wish every rebelutionary would read — our brother Josh’s latest book, Dug Down Deep. A lot of you have read and been impacted by his other books — but there is something even more life-changing about this one.

Here is what we wrote about Dug Down Deep after we first read it:

“As two young guys who have been deeply blessed and influenced by Josh’s books and example, we couldn’t be more excited about Dug Down Deep and how God is going to use it to transform a generation. It’s a gripping and honest read. In it we learned things about our older brother that we had never, in twenty-one years, been told before! More importantly, we learned things about our Savior that caused us to fall more deeply in love with him and his Word. Get this book. Read it. And join us on a journey to rediscover what has always been true.” — Alex and Brett Harris

+ Get the Book on Amazon.com +

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a year since we first let all of you know we were writing a new book — a practical handbook for putting the ideas of Do Hard Things into action. You prayed and supported us. You asked the questions and shared the stories that make up the heart of the book.

We know you’re excited with us to see this resource reach the hands, hearts, and minds of our generation. You helped take that vision a giant step closer to reality when you pushed Start Here to #17 on Amazon.com. Even more than the first, this book is the product of the movement — a true community effort.

Today — March 16th — is the official release of Start Here. Pre-ordered copies should start arriving. More importantly, the book is available in stores across the nation. Even as our second book, that is humbling, mind-blowing, and praise-inspiring!

When Do Hard Things came out, we posted “Five Things You Can Do Now That the Book Is Out” — we share it again as a guide for all of you:

1.) Read the book. We’ve been waiting over a year to share this book with you — and we’re so excited to finally get it in your hands. May it encourage, inspire, and equip you to truly do hard things for the glory of God.

2.) Write a review. We want to hear what you think — good (hopefully) or bad (hopefully not)! Even better, share your review with others on your blog. Or best of all, share your review with prospective readers on websites where the book is sold — like Amazon.

3.) Check your local bookstore. If a bookstore doesn’t carry a particular book, one of the best ways to get them to do so is to… Ask. Visit your favorite local book haunts and check for Start Here. If they don’t have it, tell them about it and encourage them to order some copies.

4.) Check your local library. A single book in a library can reach literally hundreds of people. Visit your library (online or in person) and see if they have any copies of Start Here. If they don’t, you can usually fill out a suggestion form or talk to the librarian about it.

5.) Do hard things! We wrote this book because we know a lot of you want to do hard things for God, but you don’t know where to start. We wanted a book we could hand to any teen who is ready to tackle some hard things — whether it’s a big project, a fundraiser, or struggling to balance everything God has already given you. Read this book, then go out and do hard things!

Soli deo gloria!

We are excited to announce that The Rebelution will be teaming up with Alyssa, Lauren, and Becca Barlow of BarlowGirl to bring a joint conference/concert to the Greater Chicago Area. We’d love to have you join us for a day of teaching, music, and prayer designed to help you find the life and destiny God has for you. The day experience will include worship, sessions with Alex and me, sessions with the Barlow sisters, and a BarlowGirl concert. You don’t want to miss it! Details below:

Lifechangers Church, Hoffman Estates (Directions)
2500 Beverly Road, Hoffman Estates, IL 60192-3302
Saturday, May 1, 2010 - Noon till 9:30PM

Registration is now open (handled through iTickets.com) and space is limited. Save your spot at this one-of-a-kind event and then help spread the word to your family and friends. If you’re reading this on the blog, start by using the share tool below.

Visit iTickets.com for Tickets and More Information

We live in a rapidly changing world. Fortunately, we trust in a good God who holds the future in His hands. From that position of strength we can discuss what it looks like to prepare for this new world our generation gets to live in. We don’t normally recommend families watch YouTube videos during dinner, but this short video would be an excellent conversation starter.

John Shea graduated from college with high honors, accepted a job at a major company in New York, earning $60,000 a year, was offered admission to numerous prestigious law schools, and full-ride scholarships from several – all by the age of 17.

+ Read John’s Story at CollegePlus.org +

Once you’ve finished the article over at CollegePlus!, come back here to share your thoughts. We were excited to see the language of rebelling against low expectations throughout the article — as well as from John himself. Moreover, even as students at Patrick Henry, we are stoked to see the rise of alternative approaches to higher education for those who can’t afford to pay for (or spend) four years in college.

Some questions for discussion:

• Have you (or anyone you know) pursued accelerated distance learning, whether through CollegePlus! or by some other means?
• What do you think are the advantages of accelerated distance learning?
• What are the advantages of the traditional four year approach?

With just over a week to go before the Amazon.com Book Bomb, over 250 people have pledged to order 375 books on February 23rd. This is a good start! But it’s less than half the number of pledges we had at this point for Do Hard Things.

To make this a success, we all need to push hard over the next week to spread the word, build excitement — and most importantly, get people to sign up and pledge.

A lot of you have already been doing an amazing job. A special shout out to…

Camden M. — who redesigned his blog for the Book Bomb.

Matthew R. — who created a Facebook App for spreading the word.

Tabitha H. — who is using her next paycheck to order 5 copies.

Seth W. — who got his whole youth group (of 20) to sign up.

If others will follow their lead — there’s no way the Book Bomb won’t take off.

To do our part, we’ve decided that on top of giving away free copies of Start Here for every copy ordered on February 23rd — we want to give away prizes to our top Book Bomb participants and promoters. Here’s what we’ve come up with…

All orders of 5 or more copies will receive…

- One autographed copy of Start Here OR
- One “Do Hard Things” t-shirt.

All orders of 10 or more copies will receive…

- One autographed copy of Start Here AND
- One “Do Hard Things” t-shirt AND
- One ticket to a 2010 Rebelution Conference

The largest order placed on February 23rd will receive…

- One autographed copy of Start Here AND
- Two “Do Hard Things” t-shirts AND
- Three tickets to a 2010 Rebelution Conference AND
- We want to meet you backstage and say thanks!

We will also have corresponding prizes for our Top Three Promoters. These are people who have enthusiastically and creatively helped spread the word about the book bomb. We understand not everyone can afford to purchase 5+ books (and if you can’t afford it, don’t feel bad about not participating). But everyone can help spread the word — and if you do a good job, we want to reward you.

We hope these prizes encourage and equip you to spread the word. We offer them because we truly believe that an effective Book Bomb next Tuesday is one of the best (and practical) ways to reach our culture and generation with message that will point them to Christ and make them more effective in His service. Soli Deo gloria!

+ The Book Bomb / Prize Rules +

In five weeks, our new book Start Here will finally be released. After working on it all last summer and fall, we couldn’t be more excited to get this very practical — and we hope, very inspiring — new resource into the hands of rebelutionaries.

In anticipation of the launch, we’ve revamped the Book area of the site. We’ve added a brand-new section for Start Here — where you can download and read the first two chapters of the new book, as well watch the official promo video.

We also want to announce two exciting pre-release promotions: A partnership with BooksChristian.com to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti and the return of the Amazon.com Book Bomb — a chance for rebelutionaries to shock the world again.

Autographs + BooksChristian.com = Help for Haiti

Over the next few weeks (between exams, papers, and homework) we’ll be signing almost 2,000 bookplates — many of which will go to BooksChristian.com. They’re the exclusive source for pre-ordering autographed copies of Start Here.

We did a similar promotion for Do Hard Things — but unlike last time, when you pre-order your autographed copy of Start Here, $2 (almost 20 percent) of your purchase will be donated to the Haiti relief efforts of Samaritan’s Purse.

This is a great opportunity to get an autographed copy of the new book and support the efforts of those responding to one of the greatest tragedies of our time. To learn more about the disaster — and to lend a hand — visit Samaritan’s Purse.

The Amazon.com Book Bomb

On March 25th, 2008, rebelutionaries stunned the publishing world by propelling Do Hard Things — a hardcover, challenging, non-fiction book for teens — to the Top 5 on the Amazon.com Bestseller List. In 2010, we’re going to do it again.

The Amazon.com Book Bomb will coordinate hundreds of people all ordering Start Here on the same day — Tuesday, February 23rd — raising the book to a place where thousands of new eyes (and hearts) will be exposed to its message.

Like last time, this is about spreading the message, not selling a lot of books. That’s why we commit to give away as many copies as are purchased on February 23rd — to teens, families, or ministries who can’t afford them.

To learn more about the Book Bomb, sign up to participate, and help spread the word (we need your help!) check out the Book Bomb page.

Promotions… But A Whole Lot More

The reason we are so excited about these promotions is that, while they include buying books — they’re actually about a whole lot more.

When you pre-order a copy of Start Here from BooksChristian.com, you’re not only getting an autographed copy, you’re also giving to relief efforts in Haiti.

When you order copies to give away to family and friends on February 23rd, you’re not only helping reach a whole new audience with the “do hard things” message, you’re also providing free copies of Start Here to teens who can’t afford them.

We hope you’re as excited as we are, not just about the release of Start Here, but about a chance to make a difference in the lives of others — soli Deo gloria!

+ Visit BooksChristian.com / Join the Book Bomb +