The Amazon.com Book Bomb
OUR VISION FOR THIS BOOK
We’ve written a book called Do Hard Things. It’s a hardcover, non-fiction book for teens — a genre that is about as popular with young people as foreign language math textbooks. Conventional wisdom says we’d be lucky if more than a few dozen teens bought it — let alone read it.
But Do Hard Things is our hearts’ cry. It’s our humble attempt to put into words the message of a powerful work God is already doing in the hearts of young people around the world. Our prayer is that God would use it as a tool to remind a generation of timeless truth about the teen years — and life.
What we’ve found through our interaction with you here on the website — and through meetings with young people around the world at our conferences — is that teens are ready for a different and better way. Our hope is that this book would serve to show and equip them to live that different way.
THE ROLE YOU PLAY
The Rebelution itself is an unlikely movement. It wasn’t the result of a carefully laid out business or organizational plan — it was just two ordinary teen guys with a blog and a desire to glorify God.
And it has never relied on slick marketing or targeted ad campaigns — instead it has been driven by ordinary teens like you spreading the word in your circles of influence.
If Do Hard Things is to reach a generation, it will require that same motivation and determined action. That’s why we’re asking you to consider joining us in an exciting grassroots effort.
Here’s the question: Could we drive Do Hard Things to the top of Amazon.com? What a platform to spread the truth of God’s Word to a wider audience than ever before! Is it even possible? You can help.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I can not wait to read your book!
March 12th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
I tried to put the sidebar link in my blog, but it would not work. I ended up replacing the img src link with “http://www.therebelution.com/dohardthings/dht_book_ad.gif” (the full address), so now it does show up. I didn’t know if this was an accidental error in the original code, or if it was just me…so I wanted to post this in case someone else needs the same fix
March 12th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
This applies to amazon.co.uk too, right?
March 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
YAY!!!!!!!! I’ll do it! This makes me happy!
March 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Yeah, the sidebar add didn’t work for me either….
I’ll try again soon I guess. I can hardly wait to read your book! 
YAY!
March 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I already pre-ordered the book about a week ago…..
March 12th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Could someone help me? I just got a wordpress and I can’t figure out where to put in my own HTML. That includes the Book Bomb… so if someone could please be so kind as to help me figure this out, I’d be grateful. Please leave a comment on my site, or here: I think I’ll be back on the Rebelution soon enough to see it. Thanks so much!
March 12th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
At the very core of my spiritual being, I know that what you are doing and presenting is wrong. Why do you need a gimmick to attract people to Christianity and to your book? Did you write this book for the Glory of God? If so, present it to Him as a gift and don’t cheapen all that you have done by telling people to buy the book to get it to the top of the charts. I can’t even put into words my disgust at your proposal or the true betrayal of God’s promises to us by your cheap, salesmen tricks. If you were on your own and writing your own book to give yourselves credibility, I would agree that you use all the tricks you can to sell your book, but Christianity, and all that it entails is not to be cheapened by such acts. Please reconsider and think about what you are teaching us by your errant display of marketing. Who is your god? Is it that important to sell your books at the expense of your betrayal of God’s truth? I know you are going on tour soon and I believe that you earnestly want God to be glorified, but check your souls, look at your spirits. If you are doing tricks like this, I pray with all my heart that God stops your tour and the sale of your books. Don’t become like all the slick churches and ministries out there who sell and sell and sell, and yet, their heart doesn’t please God. You don’t have to sell God. It only cheapens Him, HIs message and how people view Him. If you truly knew God, I know that you would not be able to continue to sell, but offer all that you have learned freely for the children. Don’t become like the preceding generations. Look at their lives. They are not true rebelutionaries and you are following them, now and not Jesus who mulitiplied the bread and the fish to give out freely. I can’t bear to be a part of your hope and ministry until you offer Jesus Christ and nothing else. I am outraged. Oh my God, please help these boys see this exactly how You see it. Let them know Your Heart for Your people and show them a glimpse of the men you want them to be, forsaking the hypocrisy and greed and lust for fame of the present evangelicals out there. God, deliver these boys into Your Heart and let them passionately know You in such a way that they will never present Your words and Your truth again through gimmicks. May God’s grace be fully upon you during this time. I had such hopes for you and now you have become like all the others. Why?
March 12th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I hope to buy it. I’m just seeing if I can afford it
March 12th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Looking forward to it guys. I was planning on buying it in April…..maybe I will put in my order a little early
March 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Mary: Your comment got caught in moderation — probably because of its length. I let it through because it is good for us to hear what you’re saying, and for others to as well. Even so I hope to show you that you are mistaken. I’m in the process of writing out a response, but I wanted to let you (and others) know that I’ve read your comment and feel it deserves an answer.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Preordered it yesterday.
Mary I dont see this as the cheap trick of a snake-oil salesman. They arent doing this, or requesting help with this book bomb for their own personal profit, but are doing it so that the glory of Jesus might be seen and heard by more. They are doing this, not to sell God, but to further his glory, and let it shine into the darkness that much further. Im sorry you dont see that, and pray that God gives us all the wisdom to discern his will.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I’m definitely buying your guys’s book! I’m looking forward to reading it.
Your ministry has encouraged me and helped me see new things I had never thought of before. Your heart after God and His truth is evident to me.
Praying for you guys!
March 12th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Dear Mary,
First of all, thank you. Thank you for your honest concern for us and for the message we represent. While I hope to show that you are mistaken in your assessment, I can only feel a sense of gratitude for your motivation in writing out your thoughts. Here are my (lengthy) thoughts in response to your comment:
========================================
Our desire is to honor God. Our mission is to spread this message which He has placed on our hearts. Our intention is to do so with the utmost character and competence — meaning an uncompromising message and a professional delivery system for that message. If the message itself is changing — we want to immediately address that and remedy our error.
We would rather have the book taken off the shelves and burned than for its success to compromise the message God has given us or to endanger our own relationship with Him. But we would also be distraught if after all God has done in our lives to give us this platform we were unable to get this book and message into the hands of a generation that desperately needs it. Both results would be a tragedy.
With that in mind I’d like to share two reasons why we are doing this book bomb:
1) We want to share this message with our generation. That is the goal of this website, of the conferences, and this book. We want our peers to acknowledge the lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives so that they seek His glory — starting now. God doesn’t need us to share this message with people, just like He doesn’t need us to fulfill the Great Commission — but He chooses to use us to accomplish His purposes and our job is to be faithful.
2) We want to live out the message of the book through how it is promoted. Everything we do as a ministry is intended to demonstrate the truth of the message that young people can do incredible things for the glory of God. We wouldn’t want our book to sell because some marketers in a room somewhere knew how to “package us” just the right way. We want our book to sell because other young people were excited enough about the message that they want to share it with their generation. That is what this book bomb represents.
We’re not a huge organization with a bunch of secretaries. We’re just two teens running a website, putting on conferences, and writing a book. We designed the website. We wrote the book. Our conferences are coordinated by local teams of teens and their families. This book bomb wasn’t designed or planned by our publisher or some marketing agency. It was designed and planned by us. It was programmed by a teen friend of ours. It will only be successful if other teenagers get behind it and spread the word.
You mentioned Jesus feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. The fact is, our entire ministry has been an example of Jesus miraculously providing for and blessing the work of many young people’s hands. If this was all just the work of some five-year business plan it would have died a long time ago. We’ve never had a business plan. For that matter we never expected 1/100th of what God has done through a simple blog we started two years ago.
We like to think that our platform is 110% God-made — because we never could have envisioned this or planned for it. Our goal in the present is to be faithful. Right now that means making sure the book that He brought about gets to the people He wants to read it.
The truth is that if we just wanted to make money we wouldn’t be involved in ministry. The reason we charge anything at all for the conference, books, or t-shirts is because those things cost a lot of money to produce – and because for us and (in the future) others to sustain the work and be faithful in preparing for future seasons of life, we need an income.
We really look up to ministries like Desiring God, who make many of their materials available for free online. The articles here on the blog are intended to be like that. But the truth is that their generosity is made possible through the faithful donations of thousands of people. It still costs hundreds-of-thousands of dollars to do what they do.
In closing, I’d like to thank you again for your concern. It was obviously heart-felt and we recognize that there are real pitfalls to avoid. Fortunately God has surrounded us with a plethora of wise and godly counselors who have an open invitation to rebuke us at any time. We would like to extend that invitation to you and anyone else who took the time to read this entire comment. We need our friends to be louder than our fans. Thank you all again. Please keep us in your prayers.
In Christ Alone,
Brett Harris
P.S. I feel that much of your concern was sparked by the sloppy way with which I wrote the description of what the book bomb is and what we wanted people to do. As further proof that this is not some carefully planned marketing gimmick (:P), I wrote the content of the “How Does This Work?” page in less than 20 minutes before rushing out the door to a meeting. That was foolish, and I apologize. Since receiving your comment we have gone back and thoroughly reworked the language to make our intentions more clear.
March 12th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Brett: I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading your response to. Perhaps it wasn’t anything profound, but the attitude in which it was written is wonderful! I always tend to bristle up and get defensive if anyone sees something wrong with what I’m doing. Your calm reply goes to show that the Spirit of God is in you, and I admire that. Thank you so much - you and Alex - for what you do. It’s amazing to see how two teens who love God can impact so many other people. I hope that I can touch even a fourth as many lives as ya’ll have. Thank you so much for your ministry, it has blessed me incredibly.
March 12th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Sean and I’ve already ordered ours. I’ll be ordering another to give away on ModesTeen.com I plan to order more later, to give to friends. So you can count me in!
March 12th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Brett and Alex.
I want to say first of all that I admire you both. I think your ministry is a great one for our generation, and you have been blessed with resources and tools that most of us do not have at our disposal. ie, “connections”.
Having said that I have a real concern. I believe your ministry caters to a certain group of kids (mostly middle/upper class homeschooled youth). When I read your book bomb post I had the same reaction as Mary. I thought, “why don’t they go down to the poor youth and give out some books for free.
Please hear me out, I know from personal experience that you are not reaching the down trodden, broken, hopeless, youth of the inner cities. My heart aches for those kids, they need this message more than anyone and your ministry will never reach them. How many ghetto kids can afford to buy your book? These kids hurt, and you have so much to offer. I am blessed to be one of those kids who can afford your book and sit in the comfort of my home and hear this message but until the age of nine I was one of those “other” kids and my heart aches for them. The usual ministry for the inner city is as follows….”here is your free sandwich, your free mini Gideon Bible, sorry your moms a crack-head and I hope it gets better.” The Bibles ended up in the nearest puddle, the sandwich is split between you and your siblings and your mom is still a crack-head.
Once again I admire your ministry and I feel you have so much to offer but I can’t help but feel that you cater to a certain group of kids and the rest fade away and never have someone say, “Do hard things!” I am having a hard time explaining this, it just keeps coming up and I have wanted to say something for a long time without sounding disrespectful. For someone like me your ministry comes across as “upscale ministry for upscale kids.”
I felt that your book bomb further made you come across as just another organization, “making money for God”. I hope you can try to understand my point of view and not be harsh, this was really hard for me to write.
Amy
March 12th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I did take the time to read your entire comment and am accepting you invitation.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I was reading two books recently; one, a missionary book, and the second, a very widely known book on theology. As I was reading the book on theology, I found myself drawn to certain stories of suffering for professing or living Christianity, yet not drawn to others. I wasn’t sure why.
But then I came across a portion of a verse in the book about the missionary that seemed to lay it all out real plain:
“… Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…”
(1 Samuel 15:22)
Before I comment on the current discussion, I want you to know; my desire in all I say is to delight God and to obey Him, rather than seeking out additional sacrifices to be made for whatever reason.
We are all called, as Christians, to bring the Truth to the world.
“And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole [human race].”
Mark 16:15
And we are called to give freely.
“Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give.”
Matthew 10:8
And just as He has provided all we need, it seems clear that He is fully able and will continue to provide all that we need.
“The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.”
Haggai 2:8
“And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive.”
Matthew 21:22
“And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Phillippians 4:19
“He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?”
Romans 8:32
“And [Jerusalem] shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth that hear of all the good I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace, prosperity, security, and stability I provide for it.”
Jeremiah 33:9
But, called as we are to preach the Good News, how can we if we ourselves have not faith in the One we speak of? How can we tell others to rely fully and only on God, through Jesus Christ, for Life, when our lives testify that we are not willing to rely on Him fully and only for something as small (in His Eyes) as our monentary needs? I mean, do our lives, in all the ways they should, really bear witness of His Faithfulness and the Truth of His Promises and the reality that He can bear the weight of all our concerns or do they deny His Faithfulness by our trusting in and relying on other things to provide our needs, as if He is absent or does not care about the details? (I am saying this all to myself, as well, and my conviction is growing). What are we testifying of to the world: Our ability to Do Hard Things or God’s empowerment of us and willingness to do great things through us if we trust and rely on Him fully — in other words, His ability to Do Hard Things through us and with us? How does our message to the world compare to that of the disciples Jesus sent out written of in the Gospels or of the people written of in the book of Acts? If ours seems to lack power and providence directly from Him, as theirs definitely had, then it is only the result of our unwillingness to trust and rely on Him and obey Him in all things.
“And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole [human race].
He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned.
And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;
They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.
So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God.
And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it).”
Mark 16:15-20
Do we work alone for the Lord or does the Lord work with us?
Does it delight God if we buy books for ourselves and several people we know? Maybe some. But how would it delight Him if we were to give at His Bidding to provide for His Own without promise of receiving anything (of this world) in return?
“Not that I seek or am eager for [your] gift, but I do seek and am eager for the fruit which increases to your credit [the harvest of blessing that is accumulating to your account].
But I have [your full payment] and more; I have everything I need and am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. [They are the] fragrant odor of an offering and sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights.”
Phillippians 4:17-18
I would like to find out what it is to delight God in that way.
I am not sure that I will buy the book and God has not led me to sign up for the conference yet, I am sorry to say (because I have wanted to and would very much hope to — I’ve been struggling with it), but I know that if this becomes a movement solidly based on faith in God’s Faithfulness to provide for what He purposes then He will call me to give more than I, alone, am able — and I have a deep feeling of obligation to obey His Call, however impossible it may initially seem by the world’s standards.
Again, I am learning through all this, too. Brett, please consider what I’ve written, and this whole matter, in prayer and do as God leads you. Know that I am not asking that you merely sacrifice — for it would be required that you sacrifice security and trust in others to live by faith monentarly, of course — but rather I am encouraging you to obey. Now may be the time to move out in faith, and it may not be. That’s between you and God.
May God Bless you and may you constantly know His Guidance and obey.
Psalm 95 and John 10 (Relates to what I say next, but was quite long to include).
May we not harden our hearts as the generations before, but rather may we delight Him with our wholehearted obedience and with explicit attention to His every whisper.
Know that I am so glad that you both desire to honor God and to present all that He has given you to offer the world in a way that is, in every respect, wholly uncompromised and pleasing to Him. And most of all, I am glad that you put your relationship with Him first, even before what you do for Him, and want nothing to endanger it.
I will be praying for you and fighting the good fight beside you and Alex as you both follow Him and better learn to hear, even at its whisper, the sound of His Voice, and thus lead the “others” to do the same.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Dear Brett and those concerned,
Thank you for your response. It shows that your heart is welcoming all that others try to offer to your ministry. I have 3 points to address concerning your response:
1) Most of the kids that really need to read the book will never be able to afford it. You are planning your future by the proceeds and this, in itself, is not God authored. He longs for us to please Him and to offer all that we have to “feed” the hungry, not to provide for our futures. I believe, with all my heart, that you should offer the book, chapter by chapter, on the web for the millions that will not have the money for a hardcover book. It would cost you nothing and insure that many more read the words which you believe are given to you to share with this generation. If the focus was the content of the book, you would be willing to offer it at no cost.
2) I desire for you to be fully led by God and not simply listening to the counsel of wise and godly people. You won’t always have a “team” to support you like this, and to be honest, if they don’t hear from God either, you are simply doing what is best according to your beliefs. You know, like “What would Jesus do.” You need to be fully intuned with God and doing His direct Will with your ministry. For your advertisment to grieve my spirit so intensely, I know that you were not given these directions by God. I challenge you to truly find out God’s purpose for your ministry and follow His Voice without question. I certaintly don’t believe that you desire to grieve the Holy Spirit, from all that I have read of your blogs, etc., which leads me to # 3.
3) Oh my gosh, have you read “Desiring God”? If you are copying your ideas or marketing or focus or anything from them, you need to ask God to reveal to you the core of their teachings. “Desiring God” teaches to desire pleasure and to seek for God to please you. I have read and read and read John Piper’s words and they are filled with a form of worship which does not honor God. “It is unbiblical and arrogant to try to worship God for any other reason than the pleasure to be had in Him.” from Desiring God. Many people who worship God due to obedience because He asks us to in very, very hard situations do not do so for the purpose of pleasure. I find John Piper’s words extremely arrogant, against the heart of God and attempting to prove that God is here to serve us and meet our needs and that is the only time that we are to praise Him. What gospel is that? It is a gospel of self-seeking and an absolute abhorrance to the Love of God which calls us to Love as He loved us and to lay our lives down as a sacrifice to reach this generation. I have never read such words that grieve my spirit more than the words and books of John Piper. The people who I know who follow these words are all seminary students who also relish the words of philosphers over the words of Jesus Christ. Seriously again, what kind of gospel is it that preaches to seek pleasure from God instead of to love Him with all that we have? If you are following John Piper or the actions of his ministry, I need to be praying for you much more than I am. IN fact, I am in the mood to pray— God, please reveal to Brett and Alex and all who read these pages, and (what the heck) all the people who read the words of John Piper the error of his words, the fact that pleasure seeking is not God’s purpose for us and for this generation to rise up knowing and believing and honoring God’s Heart by submitting their lives to bring truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Read the Book of John. It is the exact opposite of John Piper’s words.
Thanks,
Mary H.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I am definately ordering it on March 25!!
Oh, and does ordering the audio book count as well, or it it only the book?
~Blessings!
March 12th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I would like to comment on what you said, Mary, regarding the John Piper ministry, but stuff has gotten really tough so I am unable to write right now.
Please pray for me. I so want to please God, but I feel like I am failing to rely on Him as I should. I’m not trustingn real well. I want to.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Out of curiosity, and not because it’s any of my business…(so don’t feel obligated to answer)-what will be done with the proceeds? Charity, more conferences, better equipment, a car, etc.?
Again, it’s not any of my business, so go ahead and delete this comment if you don’t wanna answer it, but I think if it is something ministry based, that might help the sales a bit.
Hmm…did I just miss where it says this?
March 12th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Mary and Amy,
I wanted to quickly point out something you both mentioned in your comments, that I found a bit odd. Both of you mentioned that this message is most needed to the ghetto kids, the kids on the street and most especially the kids who can’t afford to buy the book. I believe both of you also said that it should be given to these kids. To that I have to agree. While all of us can benefit from hearing these words, these kids would receive the most from it.
But I think one has to look at the situation from a step further. Those of us who have been blessed and can buy the book, definitely should. If this book does well and creates profit, that can be used towards donations to the kids who really need to hear this message. It’s unfair of us to suggest that Alex and Brett do all the donating. These boys have worked so hard and so many hours to see this work completed. They want this message to be heard.
I have preordered a number of copies and plan to buy more on the 25th. Why? I want to carry a copy with me wherever I go, so I can give them to kids I believe will benefit from them. Of course, all my friends are going to have a copy, but I also want the kid at the movie theater, the mall and the grocery store to have one as well. As Rebelutionaries, this is what we should be doing; keeping this great news to ourselves does not cut it. We have to share and keep giving and informing.
Alex and Brett have tried to make this book as easily accessible to the teens of this generation. Out of their pocket, they should not have to give anymore. We need to build up revenue enough to enable donation and we need to start donating ourselves. If “Do Hard Things” hits the top and does well, I am sure more kids will hear the message than if it simply floats on the market. That’s up to us. Let’s do hard things Rebelutionaries! It’s our turn now.
Your Sister in Christ,
Jordan Diann
March 12th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
There are folks who are slick. No doubt about it.
Then there are ministries that give everything away in the name of Jesus. I know of some.
And here you have two 19 year old young men who are entrepreneurial in heart, who are deeply committed to the authorities that God has placed over them (which is their God-ordained training ground) who have written a book to other young people, and are now marketing it. Please forgive my bluntness, but they don’t need to tell what they plan to do with the money they’re making. I am sure you asked your question in innocence, propjets, but it’s usually considered rude to ask about one’s income.
If you don’t mind me addressing one more thing…? Mary said:
“You are planning your future by the proceeds and this, in itself, is not God authored.”
I would question whether or not you would think then, Mary, that only a secular job would be God-authored? Could not a young man (or two?) write a book, yes, even about God, and put the proceeds towards his future family, ministry, or goals? Is only a secular job worthy of that? Maybe just something to throw into the pot of things.
Alex and Brett, we hope you make all decisions to the glory of God and ENJOY Him all of your days. What a life!
:-)
March 13th, 2008 at 3:17 am
Giving Books Away: I love this idea. I’m planning on buying a pile of them and giving them away to the more needy. You see, there’s no way Alex and Brett can afford to give the books to all the needy people on the street. There’s no way I can afford to do that, unless I have a few million dollars to donate. But what I can do - and this is what all of us can do - is buy as many copies as I can afford, and do my part in spreading them to the needy people in my life. This is the Rebelutionary way. Many small things, all together, make a big thing, a hard thing well done.
It is not impossible for us to reach all of those who need the book, with the book. But we’re not going to be able to do it alone. It’ll be the result of all of us doing our best.
Making the book available for free online. - The Rebelution started as an online ministry. The blog is what has brought the Rebelutionary message to hundreds of thousands of teens, and it will continue to do so. The conferences were meant to expand the focus, and so is the book. The book doesn’t deliver a new message. It delivers the same message in a different format. The thing I’m so excited about is that the book enables the Rebelution to reach people without the internet. And truly, putting the book online would not effectively reach the ghetto, street, or slums.
March 13th, 2008 at 5:23 am
How about having a conference free of charge in an inner city church. I mean a true “poor kids ” church! That would be exciting, and I would do whatever I could to help, as I am sure would many others. We would need free food, etc.. Most of us got excited about the book after attending a conference, so that would probably need to come first. I wasn’t meaning to put all the responsiblity on Brett and Alex but they are the ones with the brother who is a well known author, a huge article in Focus on the Family magazine, and other opportunies most of us don’t have. This could be a really “hard thing”. Let’s all pray about it!
Amy
March 13th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Wow! This has really opened up a can of worms!
All I was going to say was that I had already pre-ordered my book through Barnes and Noble, but that I would see who else needs one from Amazon. Now taht I’ve scanned this discussion, I just want to add that everyone has valid comments. There are many angles to take, and the problems come by holding onto one truth in exclusion or dilution of others. God blesses some with money and some with poverty. The kids who need this message range in age from 1 to 100. They are all over the world, at all different levels of ability and resources. Let’s take a relaity check (thanks David for starting on this): Who has money? Whose money is it? It’s God’s money, Alex and Brett don’t have the resources to make nice books and give them away to millions and billions of people, and the love of money is the root of all evil.
Either we send Alex and Brett money for their birthday, or we just buy the books. Both ways, God is providing for His people. If you opt out of letting God use you to bless these particular two people, maybe you will at least let Him use you to bless somebody else. But in the big picture, He’s not going to let Alex and Brett’s message die, because He gave it to them to share. As Alex and Brett obey this calling, God will bring the people along to help in the colaboration. Blessings on all of you who have helped and all who find their ministries elsewhere as well.
In Charity,
Adrienne
March 13th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Alex and Brett,
I have a quick question. Did you write this book to present the Gospel to the lost, or is it aimed more at the saved?
March 13th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Alex: Our hope is that the book will be read by both Christians and non-Christians. We’ve included a strong Gospel presentation at the end. Nevertheless, it is not primarily an evangelistic book (though it can definitely be used that way) — but would fall more under the category of discipleship.
In the same way the Rebelution is really a movement of Christian young people who are choosing to really live their faith now, as teenagers. While there are many incredible ministries that target unsaved young people, very few focus on challenging saved teens to really live in the reality of what Christ has done for them. We endeavor to be faithful in evangelism personally and we present the Gospel at our conferences and in our book, but our primary mission in this regard is to help raise you up (and others like you) to fulfill the Great Commission. We want to equip the saints for the work of the ministry — not do the ministry for the saints. =)
March 13th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Hey Guys–
First of all, Alex and Brett, I admire you and your work with all my heart.
I think that giving out this awesome book where it is most needed is a great idea. In fact, it is a splendid idea. But hear me out. Do you all realize the cost of giving away many, many of these wonderful books? This would cost large sums of money!
I propose that we, as the people of God, should together pray, meditate upon their work, and give as we are financially able! Either we can donate to their ministry so they can give out some books, or we can buy more books and give them away ourselves. As the family of God, and with God on our side, this is something that we should be able to do! Our power is in Jesus, and through Him we can do this.
With deepest admiration, and in HIS name,
–Josh H.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I like your “posed” Q. and A. it really put us in our places!
I obviously misunderstood the intent of your ministry, now I just feel ridiculous for suggesting a conference for “poor kids”. As you say, you encourage a parent to come with them and we all know that aint gonna happen.
Keep doing hard things for the “saved”,
Amy
March 13th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I understand everyone’s thinking here on the fact that Alex and Brett aren’t reaching ghetto kids or people that can not afford the book. But step back and look at a bigger picture.
1. Today a hard cover book cost $30-$40. Alex and Brett’s is about $10. This shows that the cost of the book is only covering the cost of the book.
2. We can use their book and everything we learn from their book, blog, and conference as tools to point others to Christ.
I hope this was the correct answer, please correct me if I’m wrong.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Malachi: Agreed wholeheartedly!
I also want to point out that Alex and Brett shouldn’t be the ones that have to take the whole load of getting these books to those who are not well off. If each of us endeavors to help a few people, that would be so much better than pounding into the Harrises. Also, is this book completely important to these people? Yes, it would be nice, but is there some better way to reach them? I don’t really know much about poverty in America today, etc… so please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there something even more important to these kids than the book?
March 13th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Amy: Now you’re confusing me!
The “Alex” who asked the question was not my twin brother Alex. Notice that he addressed his question to “Alex and Brett” . . .
But I shouldn’t point any fingers. It also appears that I wasn’t quite clear in my last comment! You see, we are reaching out the unsaved, but we can only do so much on our own. The point I was trying to make is that our greatest hope is to multiply our efforts by challenging and equipping thousands of other young people to take the Gospel to the streets. Does that make sense?
March 13th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
No, it doesn’t make any sense, and it’s not worth any further discussion. You and your ministry is something different than I thought it was, and I did attend your conference last year.
Emily: it’s you your exact comments about “these” people that wounds me on a personal level! I am speechless and offended and I need to just go try and pray and find some peace. I revealed some very difficult and heartfelt things on my original post. To correct you, yes a message like this to “these” people would be very hopeful. I also posted earlier that a conference would be a great idea, no one has commented on that.
I’m really sorry and extremely sad,
Amy
March 13th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I am surprised that this reaction was only expressed now, instead of when Alex and Brett announced the book. It was implied at the time that the book would be sold and under copyright, since there was no suggestion that they would be donating copies or liberating the copyright.
In fact, if you look at the comments of their announcement, there was only one person who mentionned the importance of keeping the online blogging up, and absolutely no one who disagread with the idea of a book.
So if publishing a copyrighted book is OK, why not this book bomb? If you’re going to buy the book anyway, why not do it in a way that draws attention to the Rebelution?
Also, for those who want to share the book with ghetto kids, no one is stopping you, buy the books and donate them!
If you find the book too expensive, I’d like to point out two things:
- This blog is released under a Creative Commons by-nc-nd license, which means you can legally copy it.
- Hopefully, you should be able to communicate the Rebelution’s call without relying on Alex and Brett anyway. Put it into action, and spread it in your own way. If Alex and Brett’s way seems too limited, do it your way!
March 13th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Mary Hendricks: I wanted to thank-you for voicing your concerns. I had some of the same thoughts, though I didn’t feel quite as strongly. So, thank-you for sharing.
Alex & Brett: Thanks for taking the time to clarify the issue - I really appreciate it!
And I also wanted to let you know that you and your book, and your conference tour, and your ministry and vision are being upheld in prayer at this end of sunny, slushy, muddy Manitoba!
May God richly bless you, Rory
March 13th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Amy: You’re absolutely right. We do hope that the book and message will get in the hands of all teens. If we thought it was only true for middle- to upper-class teens who live in the suburbs, we’d have no business in calling it truth.
To clarify, Brett and I have and will be donating much of any proceeds, as well as copies of the book to organizations and charities. We’re working with our conference teams this year to reach out to the inner-city churches and ministries. We hesitate to talk about this, because we’re not doing it to justify ourselves to other people or to boast in ourselves — but our goal is to make the message available to as many people as possible in a sustainable way. Otherwise we serve no one. =/
March 13th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Jordan Diann: On my part, I don’t think that Mary or Amy were suggesting that Alex and Brett pay for their ministry (or put free books online — which wouldn’t cost them anything) out of their own pockets — at least that’s not at all how I took it. I took it as a suggestion to trust God to provide the money for their message to be spread through the book and conferences, rather than marketing the message. I’ve been concerned about this issue for some time, as one needs money to do ministry of nearly any sort — or even just to live. I’ve read the writings of George Muller, Hudson Taylor, Isobel Kuhn, and Amy Carmichael regarding how God taught them to conduct, or run, their ministries. For all of them, the rule was faith in a great God. Nothing else of their ministry could amount to anything without faith for God to provide what was needed — whether it be the words to say, proof of their validity, or the opening of hearts to the truth. When you look at that we must trust God to provide any of those things — and especially Salvation for our souls and theirs’ — money seems a small matter. How could we trust God on the big matters and then trust in man for the small matters? But we all do it, most likely, every day. We have little worries that we don’t give to God, although we trust Him to redeem us from spending eternity in hell — kind of odd logic, don’t you think?
If the conferences, the books, the writings, everything that the boys do is of God, then He will provide. It’s just that simple. It’s a hard truth that I struggle with, though. I struggle with trusting Him to keep me safe each day. I struggle with trusting Him to provide the money for me to publish my books and those of others. I struggle with trusting Him to provide the money to pay our bills, to do what He’s called me to do, to buy the ministry house He told me to buy, etc. It’s hard. But that’s what it’s said we’re all about as rebelutionaries, isn’t it? Doing hard things for the glory of God? Why not live it to the fullest extent.
I’ve written over 30 books and I’m in the midst of working on close to 20 more. I don’t ask anybody to do anything I won’t do.
I am glad that you want to buy books to hand out throughout the normal part of the day. But are the books printed in a way that best facilitates giving them away? And is it still right to charge money for Christian events and publications when we have a God who will provide all we need if we ask Him? Is it right to prepare for a future in our own way that He has already set out and designated all the money we need for that He will give us if we but ask Him and wait?
I must ask myself these questions each day until I trust God fully. I have never lacked a thing I needed — even when all our money was stolen except for a bowl of coins and we had no income. Why would I expect anything but Faithfulness? He is so Faithful.
If it is really about spreading the word and not about buying a book to make it a top-seller (or seller, in any sense!) then consider this, please: How many more books would you give away if they were freely obtained? How many more people would give the books away than you who cannot now afford to buy extras?
Is it about success or about the Message?
We are just as responsible to decide as Alex and Brett are, in a sense, because regardless of if we receive the message through them or directly from God, God has called each and every one of us to give a message to our generation.
So, what’s important to us? I’ve noticed through this that success was, at times, more important to me than the message. And, in my heart, I’m so, so sorry for that now.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I’ve already pre-ordered the book through, I think, Christian Books, but I hope this helps anyway!
God Bless,
Carmen
March 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Karen: Christianity is not a business. I think the marketing just offended some people because they saw it as “selling” a message under God’s Name when God Himself gave His own Son to give us the Message of Salvation freely.
Regarding your response to what you quoted from Mary; I believe I must agree with Mary that it is wrong to “sell” something for profit in God’s Name. It sounds like Alex and Brett do have different intentions than were initially assumed, though. That’s great. It’s between them and God what they do with the proceeds and as far as giving away the book, of course, but I think some people were just concerned because a lot of us have been “bitten” by religious people who handle their profits in a way that doesn’t honor God — who don’t seek God’s Will as they should.
Have you been in a “Christian” bookstore recently? If you get a chance, check out the Bible section. Check out the covers, the versions, the prices . . . what part of that is Jesus speaking the Truth freely to the people? I think each Christian must ask themselves, especially as they move into ministry, are we trying to make money off of something that Jesus did not profit monetarily from, but rather gave His own Life, through great suffering, to bring us?
My gosh, Steven Speilberg would not even take any money for doing the movie “Schindler’s List” (about the holocaust — and not a recommended watch) because he called it “blood money” to make profit off of a story of such cruelty and death and loss. Do we respect Jesus as much as Speilberg respected the Jews who suffered? It doesn’t look like it. When “The Passion” movie came out necklaces of nails were being sold! And the proceeds of “The Passion” was mostly pocketed, put into a church of only approximately 50 attendees, or went to make a gruesome, unchristian movie about human sacrifice to idols. Seeing the way everything is sold in “Christian” bookstores, it’s more like we’re proud of the wrong things, the way we “sell” the Message, if you ask me.
But back to the Harrises’ book, do we need to store up for our future or to bring in money for ourselves or what we are called to do? Or do we leave it up to God and just offer all He gives us, trusting Him to keep giving us all we need to keep offering? If you asked your dad for lunch money, and you truly believed that he had it and would give it to you, would you, before he had the chance to give it to you, then go and ask your mother for it? Or would you only ask your mother for the money if you thought your dad wouldn’t come through in time for you to have what you needed?
And one more question; how is it different, in your opinion, if a disciple (in Bible times) sold fish, than if charged for people to hear the truth he spoke or to be healed and empowered by God? The latter is largely offensive to me, I know. How do you feel?
March 13th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Alex and Brett: All that I wrote regarding money and salesmanship is as much directed at myself as it is at you and your ministry. I know God will lead you as you seek Him and from what you wrote it really sounds like you both intend to seek Him with abandonment of all that would detract from your relationship with Him and His Call on your life and the Work He wants to do through you. Please take everything I wrote as that I am learning, too, and hope and pray that we ALL honor God without compromise in every aspect of His Work. Thanks for letting so many differing opinions through, and responding to them with respect, so that we ALL can learn what is right before God. I know it’s been helpful to me to read others’ opinions and to be as convicted as I was initially by Mary bringing up this whole issue. So, thanks. =)
Mary; I’ll get back to you about Piper’s ministry another time. God Bless!
March 13th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
I’m so very excited about the release of the book and will be buying lots for all my friends. Time for the Rebelution to spread through England now!
My question is: Does Amazon.co.uk count for the book bomb? I have always had technical problems when ordering from Amazon.com and, if bulk buying, get a hefty customs fee on top.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Alex- thankyou for acknowledging my feelings on this issue. I realize we come from very different places in life and will not feel the same passions for the same “types” of people. My siblings and I have been very hurt by some of the attitudes expressed on this post when this whole topic surfaced.
David, you are just being hurtful. My original point was that Brett and Alex have been blessed with resources and “connections” most of us don’t have. I work daily with underpriveleged children from difficult backgrounds and I will continue too. I am not a talented writer or from a family with best selling authors. You were very rude.
My mother doesn’t want me to participate in this blog anymore. so I will say best of luck to you and your ministry.
Amy
March 13th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Amy: If you get a chance to read this, then please know that there are those of us who greatly appreciate your input and perspective. I often find myself reading comments on here that surprise me in their compassion for people I had not compassion or heart to reach. I need that. I need it so much. It takes many different kinds of people with different hearts and different feelings to make an impact on all who need to be reached by God’s Heart and Compassion.
I plead, respectfully, with you and your mother that you may be allowed to continue contributing to all of our lives and ministry work and our need for compassion, through this blog. Please consider prayerfully.
Thank you,
Nicole
March 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Nicole: Thanks for your thoughts! I think that it’s important to point out that we can’t make the book available for free online. We don’t “own” the book entirely, it also belongs to our publisher. We provide the message and the platform and they print thousands of copies and get them into bookstores so that people can actually find our book and read it. We’ve made four chapters available online (out of a twelve chapter book) and that is the maximum our publisher allows.
I also feel that I need to address the whole idea of God’s provision. It reminds me of a joke I once read where a little boy named Billy is climbing high up in a tree, when suddenly the branch he’s standing on breaks and he goes falling towards the ground. He quickly cries, “God, save me!” . . . . There’s a pause . . . . Then, “Nevermind God. I’m OK. My suspenders just caught on a branch.”
The point of the joke is: GOD DID SAVE HIM! I feel like in this situation we’re looking past God’s provision. Alex and I both know that nothing we’ve done would have been possible without God’s blessing. Could it be that this website is God’s provision? That this movement is God’s provision? That having a major publisher being willing to publish our book was God’s provision? Isn’t the fact that our generation is hungry for this message miraculous? Isn’t the story of where God has led us miraculous?
When a man finds a good job that can support him and his family should he turn down the job so that he can learn to trust God more? Or should he praise God for providing for his needs? When a man finds a woman perfectly suited for him to marry, should he end the relationship in order to trust God to find him a wife? Or should he praise God for providing him a wife?
The point I’m getting at is that we can try to be more spiritual than God. The goal is not to constantly lack everything — it’s to constantly trust God and acknowledge His provision whether in abundance or in need. I can’t really say it any better than the Apostle Paul:
Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
March 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
As David Boskovic said I’m going to be buying some of these books and giving them away also. There is no way that Alex and Brett could afford to give the book away for free. We need to be logical here folks. How many of us could afford to give these books away? Books cost money. Maybe later when Alex and Brett make some money off of the book they could give some away, but right now I doubt if they can do anything like that.
Maybe we should start a group that buys the books and gives them away?
I also have a question: I’ve already purchased the book. I got it after the first announcement.Should I still say that I am buying it?
Eric Novak
March 13th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Eric: Thanks for commenting! In answer to your questions: It would be great to have a group that could give the books away. I’m not sure exactly how it would work, but we’re already planning to sell books at cost to groups that plan on giving them away.
In regards to you second question, I’m afraid your original order won’t count towards the book bomb. You would need to order an additional book on March 25th. The great thing is that if you are planning on giving some away all you need to do is order 3+ books on March 25th, you’ll be getting free shipping (orders over $30), nearly a 40% discount (Amazon has great prices), and the books will arrive at your home on April 15th (the release date). Books ordered after March 25th will be shipped on April 15th and arrive later.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Brett: Thank you for responding with your thoughts. My hope isn’t necessarily to prove you, or anybody else wrong, rather it’s more to be sure of the truth and to encourage others to know God’s Will on this matter to the fullest.
That said, the joke you said does remind me of several instances of talking to people who were like, “I’ll never make it through. I’m doomed! Pray for me!” Who, a week or less later, said, “Well, that worked out well. I still don’t need God’s help. Don’t tell me I need to pray through stuff.” Quirky creatures we are, aren’t we? It is almost amusing how intensely ignorant we can choose to be. But then it’s so sad, too.
I see your point of view on God’s Providence, too. But I don’t think the most important thing is how God provides our needs, but rather how we approach Him in our asking and if it is in obedience to Him and truly trusting in His Faithfulness or not.
For example, if a man is offered a better job, I believe that it could be from God’s Hand or it could be a distraction against God’s Will in the form of apparent success. Let’s say the man, who works in construction, is offered a job that pays better than the job he has presently, but the job he is being offered is to build a public school (government jobs pay better) and the job he presently has is to build an orphanage. He’s just barely making it, just barely scraping by to pay the bills. Should he take the new job as God’s Providence or should he continue with the present job and trust God to faithfully provide as he builds what really pleases God and would honestly benefit His Kingdom?
I believe that some providences are from God’s Hand, and some are not. I believe that sometimes we seek out, or take hold of when it’s offered, the easier form of providence that is not His.
Let’s say a young girl is called to be a missionary and she knows God’s Promise to provide all she needs to go where she is called if she but asks God and has faith in Him to complete the Promises. Would it make sense for her to ask God for all she needs and then to go send out 200 letters asking people she knows for money without waiting for His answer on how He wants to provide for her? Personally, I don’t think so. I think she should wait.
Isobel Kuhn wrote that while she was attending Bible college there was a mission conference in Washington, D.C. that the school wished to send delegates to. Eight were alloted, but only six had signed up. Isobel felt called to go, but she didn’t have the money — as she put it, “not a cent to put toward the expense” of the trip.
She said that all week long she imagined receiving a large sum of money, walking up, and announcing that she would go. But it came to the last day, and no money had come. Isobel thought that perhaps it had just been wishful thinking — the call she had felt.
That day, several students, including her, were asked to speak three minutes each, sharing why they felt called to the foreign field. At the end, another plea was made by the professor for one more student to sign up for the conference. They had seven, and still needed an eighth.
That noon, Isobel received a note in her mailbox to go see her professor in his office immediately. When she got there, he told her that an anonymous donor had paid her expenses in full if she would like to attend the conference. The donor had paid for her fare, hotel fees, meals, and had added $20 just for fun.
The donor wished to remain unknown, but Isobel found out later how it had come about. A well-to-do, recently widowed, Christian lady was in the city on business and when passing by the college, she found that she had a little time to spare to listen in on Dr. Glover’s Missions Hour (Isobel’s class). When Isobel shared for her three minutes, the lady was so touched that she asked a person next to her, “Who was that speaker?” Isobel didn’t know who the girl was who answered, but the girl not only gave Isobel’s name, but also shared (for some reason) that Isobel’s mother had recently died and that her father had nearly been killed in an accident. The widow’s heart went out to Isobel in that moment, because of her own recent loss, and she was inspired (when Dr. Glover gave the one last plea for an eighth delegate) to pay for Isobel to go to the conference so as she would have a nice vacation from everything.
I believe that if Isobel had asked for the money from people she knew, or didn’t know, then she probably would never have been provided for so well (God had even blessed her with extra money for the trip and meals paid, etc.). Why would God have led that lady to pay for her expenses if she had already taken it into her own hands, not believing He would do it a Higher way than she could?
I also believe that if Isobel had not left it in God’s Hands as she did, then it would have actually hindered God’s Work and subsequent blessing through and in the widow’s life.
Do you believe that Isobel was obedient to God to wait on Him to fulfill His Promises to provide all she needed in due time? Do you believe it was beneficial to let God handle it all His way instead of going ahead and pressing forward whatever way she could?
Do you think that it would have been a hinderance to God’s Will if she had taken the matter up to be dealt with in her own understanding? Do you believe that that approach would be not trusting God and not believing that He would come through for her in His perfect timing so that she would indeed be able to go (as she felt called to)?
I would like to hear your thoughts on this example (which is only one of many in her life and the lives and ministries of George Muller, Hudson Taylor, and Amy Carmichael — who were responsible, under God’s care, for up to thousands of people).
Thanks for your time.
—————————————————————–
Eric Novak: Wasn’t it impossible for Hudson Taylor to send out hundreds of missionaries when he had absolutely no income and never in his entire life made a plea for money?
And likewise, wasn’t it impossible for George Muller to care for hundreds of orphans (something that cost millions of dollars throughout his lifetime — in the 1800s) without ever asking for money or working a paying job?
Nothing is impossible when we rely on God and have even a little faith in Him who is thoroughly Faithful, Loving, and Compassionate even to the smallest detail.
And, just for a note, if Alex and Brett ever do decide to step out in faith as Taylor or Muller did, we would all have to follow suit with our ministry work if we wished to continue to call ourselves rebelutionaries. I do know that what I’m implying would be have to be carried out fully even down to me and you doing so.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Alex and Brett,
Thanks for what you guys are doing. And I love the idea of the book bomb. I don’t see anything contradictory about trying to get the book and the message into as many hands as possible, using a variety of creative strategies, as long as the message isn’t compromised, which it isn’t.
I have to concur with what Josh H. said. First of all, Alex and Brett don’t have the right to give the book away free online. It’s owned by Multnomah, and only Multnomah can give them that permission. Second, Alex and Brett would still have to purchase the books if they were going to give them away. Just because they wrote it doesn’t mean they get as many copies as they want for free.
So if we want to get the book into the hands of the poor, which is a great idea, it’s essential that WE buy the book and give it to the poor. To purchase that many books would be impossible for Alex and Brett. So let’s think about bombing amazon and getting lots of books to give to the kids that can’t afford them!
Thanks guys…
March 13th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Ok, thanks Brett!
Eric Novak
March 13th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I’m sorry that my comment about “these” people was found offensive. I just wasn’t sure how to refer to them. There are so many people in so many situations of life that I wasn’t sure how to cover them all in one word. “These” seemed okay to me, and I still don’t have any idea how else I could have expressed myself better. Perhaps I should read through my comment again.
Alex and Brett: I’m praying for ya’ll and want you to know that you have my support! Sorry that you’ve been bombarded with all of this, but it comes with popularity.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Brett,
I do not believe that my focus has been to be “more spiritual” than God, for that would be quite time consuming and require more than I am. But, I believe that there are way too many “ministries” out there which “steal” money from the people by producing books, t-shirts, CD’s, etc. when what is of God and birthed in God should always be offered freely. Yes, “Desiring God ministries” and many others look so successful and you may believe that it is God’s Blessing on them, but I don’t. I believe they are good at marketing and have found a lot of gullible people who also do not know the heart of God and they are being swindled. Your platform is truly of God and I don’t want you to fall into the trap of believing that all that comes your way is a “bonus” from God. You could still market trinkets and trivets, car tire covers, dog sweaters with the name of your book on them and profit immensely, but it is not God blessing you. Don’t always attribute all that comes your way as being from God, just as Britany Spears would “Thank God” for her success. Does she also attribute her insanity to God? We need to be very careful and we also need to stop justifying all that we do by looking at other ministries or because there is money coming in. What does God really want? Does He want us to live this way? This is what you must find out, but as part of my prayer time, I ask God to cleanse the ministries that have His Name on them and if they will not be cleansed, I ask Him to reveal to them exactly why they will be shut down. I believe that things are going to change very quickly in this country and those who use God’s Name for business, but aren’t directed by Him or promote His Heart will have very hard times. Yes, it is a “hard” thing for God to do, but to continually rely on our own knowledge of business to promote Christianity which has always been FREE, is dangerous and I pray that God teaches you quickly so that you will carry the Heart of God, not just provide for your future, monetarily.
Good luck
Amy- don’t give up. We love you and want you to stay and make a difference. Ask God to censor the hardness of the people’s hearts and change them so that they, too, want what God wants and no longer try to stop the innocent and pure from presenting the very Heart of God to the readers.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Can I explain one more thing? The reason that I wrote “Good luck” to end my writing was because if you are not living by faith, you might as well try luck, ——- which, by the way, is not of God. Walk by faith, trust God to be able to give out what He gives you freely or find another religion. Why in the world should the conferences cost so much money? That’s simply incredible and way past my understanding of presenting Jesus Christ and His Revolution to this generation. All that God gives us is free. How can you sell your soul and charge people to hear truth? Shame on you.
March 13th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Mary Hendricks: I was just wondering what you believe a God glorifying ministry looks like. I’m a little confused as to how people can devote their entire lives to ministry without getting any money to be able to house, dress, and feed themselves. We know some things you do not believe are God honoring in ministries, could you give us an example of one that does fit the requirements as well as some scripture to support it? Not to be argumentative, I’m just confused.
God bless.
March 13th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
This conversation is not glorifying God! Stop arguing! God knows your hearts so ask him what is right and wrong!
To start a quarrel is to open a sluice; Before a dispute flares up drop it. proverbs 17:14
It is not evil to make a little money and how can you just assume they are doing it all for themselves!?
We are all christians here think WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
Alex and Brett I will be buying books on the 25th God bless y’all and your family I’m praying for y’all.
your sister in Christ,
Kirstin A. Jackson
March 13th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Hey everyone,
You have all given Alex & Brett (as well as others) your opinions and feedback and I would encourage you all to leave it at that and if there is something that the Harrises need to change that God will show it to them very clearly and leave it at that. I’m not really sure that continuing to rehash it is going to help. Let’s all try to take on the attitude of a beggar trying help a fellow beggar find bread. Sometimes it’s best to state your views and then let God do the directing in someone’s life.
I tried to word this comment very carefully. I really don’t want to offend anyone. I’m glad that there are so many people who want what’s best for the furthering of God’s kingdom.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
K.J. and Hillary: None of us, that I have read, have ever said that they were doing all of this for themselves. I believe that it does glorify God to seek His Truth wholeheartedly. I am not attempting to attack or argue, rather I am attempting, with all my heart, to find God’s Truth on this matter. Many of the comments on here have been helpful to me in turning my heart towards God and towards certain groups of people that need to be reached (whether by Brett and Alex or someone else) and towards Scripture and what it says regarding this issue. I have also begun to look through some old biographies I have that are about people who truly honored God in many ways and I have been reminded of some lessons on God’s Faithfulness that I really needed to be reminded of. I think the point of our conversation here is, in fact, What would Jesus do? What does God want? Is it better if one of us find it and keep it under wraps or if all of us find it together? I think it’s better if more people find Truth. I would appreciate your input if you’d like to research some of what we’ve been talking about and pray about God’s View on the matter. I don’t want to be a fellow beggar. I want to be a child of God who trusts Him so that I can not only be fed, but feed others. I pray that God directs this conversation. Thanks for reminding me to continue to pray that.
Alex and Brett: I know you haven’t responded again yet, and I’m not trying to rush you at all, but I just wanted to thank you both again for responding in such a respectful and kind manner and for taking the time to allow this discussion and to share your perspectives with us. It has been helpful to me to hear each person’s perspective and to again research what I’ve previously read regarding providing for a ministry’s monetary needs.
Also, I wanted to say that I understand that we’ve each had different resources in learning about this so far so I respect that both of you and I have come up with such differing views on the matter. If you want, I will send copies of the books I have to your ministry (or parents’ ministry) address and will purchase for myself any books you recommend that I read to get a broader perspective of your side.
I’m really interested in knowing the Truth — not in being right. If I am wrong in any way, let me be the first to extend an invitation to you and anybody else to by all means prove me wrong and pray that I be convicted and changed.
So regardless of still disagreeing with you, thank you both very much for the level of respect you’ve shown us readers in your responses.
God Bless.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Megan M.: May I answer your question? I don’t have an ipod or anything so I’m a little bored (just kidding). If you don’t mind buying another book or two, I’d like to advise you to read the books (listed in order of preference): Green Leaf in Drought, Hudson Taylor: The Growth of a Soul, Hudson Taylor: The Growth of a Work of God, By Searching, works on Amy Carmichael (I only have one on hand, so can’t really advise which is best), or any of the autobiographical works of of George Muller.
I would send you a copy, but I wouldn’t want to get you in the habit of giving your contact information out to strangers on the internet. Some of the books I listed will show up as out-of-print at Amazon.com so you may have to look them up at their publisher and buy them directly (omfbooks.com covers the first several). All of the books I listed should have Scripture within them to back up their monetary philosophies (that I agree with).
Another idea is to research by internet encylopedias, etc. the persons I mentioned in one of my earlier comments under this post as they are mostly who the books are about. I’m not sure of the quality of that information, though, or whether that would have Scripture references to back up the beliefs.
That’s my recommendations for getting a picture of MY idea of, at least monetarily, God-honoring ministries. Mary may respond differently.
Thanks for your interest in researching this more, by the way. God Bless!
March 13th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Well, I agree with Hillary and K.J. — this conversation is becoming a book in and of itself! I think we’ve all been able to share our opinions (some of us multiple times) and even directed others to resources that could shed more light on the subject. If Mary wants to answer Megan’s question (i.e. what a God-honoring ministry looks like) she is welcome to do so, after which I will wrap things up. After that I’d like us to refrain from further discussion on this topic.
Alex and I are carefully considering what has been shared — specifically those arguments clearly based on Scripture. I have also been reading Paul’s epistles to get more clarity on this topic. Thanks everyone for your time!
March 14th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Thank you, Brett! I was so glad for what I had learned through this that I hadn’t realized that we’d all gotten as far as we’ll go. I’ll be praying for you and Alex and for the readers (and myself) — that we will all know the Truth and seek God wholeheartedly for the Strength and Courage (from Him) that we need to obey — however He Leads.
God Bless you all!
March 14th, 2008 at 12:30 am
No, thank you Nicole! I’ve really learned a lot too. In fact, I’m really excited to share with you what I’ve been learning reading through several of Paul’s letters to the early church. I was really excited to find that Paul thoroughly addressed this very issue and I think I’m ready to share with all of you a completely bible-based position which shows that (guess what?) both sides are right! I don’t have time to write it all out tonight, but make sure you check back tomorrow. =)
March 14th, 2008 at 5:08 am
Dear Amy,
was this comment addressed to me? “David, you are just being hurtful. My original point was that Brett and Alex have been blessed with resources and “connections” most of us don’t have. I work daily with underpriveleged children from difficult backgrounds and I will continue too. I am not a talented writer or from a family with best selling authors. You were very rude.” was this comment addressed to me? I was unaware of any hurt I might have caused anyone, or that I was being rude. Just the thought that I might have hurt a brother or sister in Christ gives me anguish. If you are addressing me, could you help me realise how I was being rude? What areas did you find hurtful?
“My mother doesn’t want me to participate in this blog anymore. so I will say best of luck to you and your ministry.
Amy” I am so sorry. Looks like I’ll never get an answer to my questions, or realise why you had to leave. Could someone else help me realise where I’ve been hurtful? (If you don’t think I have been, you needn’t reply)
Concerned, David Daniel
March 14th, 2008 at 6:32 am
In my distress, I’ve been thinking this over, and read my comments and Amy’s again (and others’). (I realise you did mean me, the other David’s comments could not have been the ones that hurt you).
Amy, I’m asking you, your siblings and anyone else who was hurt by my comments to forgive me. I realise that in my critisism of the response, I did not consider the kids who do need the books but can’t afford it. Unlike Alex Harris, for one, I did not acknowledge their need. I am sorry.
I think I also misunderstood how much you value Alex and Brett’s influence. I was wrong in assuming you were simply trying to get them to do everything for you. You were in fact spotting an oppurtinity to reach people you really care for, and whom I should care for as well. You saw that opportunity as much more important than getting the book displayed on Amazon.com. Had I cared as much as you did for the underpriveledged, I would have as well.
I still think this response was badly timed, but that shouldn’t have stopped me from catching the concern you have for those people, and expressing sympathy at least. Besides, you might not have started reading this blog until recently. Those of us who did receive the news of a book were responsible for pleading for the “ghetto kids” at the time, and I acknowledge that late is much better than my never. I read their announcement at the time, and did not think of the poor. I am guilty of what I accused people of.
I will be praying for the conferences you suggested. Thank for not hiding your hurt. I do hope you will read this, Amy. I hate the thought that I might be responsible for depriving you from this blog or causing you to avoid it.
Your brother in Christ, David Daniel.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Nicole: Thanks for your response. I don’t have the time currently to read up on those books due to college homework, but I will certainly tuck them away for future reference and enjoyment. I love biographies of Chrisitan heros of the faith.
God bless.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Woah! These comments sure have gotten crazy in a hurry! I don’t usually comment on blog posts, but I feel I must jump in, not to be argumentative, but to be an advocate of truth.
Mary Hendricks, I believe you are misrepresenting Desiring God Ministries, the ministry of John Piper. If you would take time to carefully consider their teachings, you will find that they are Biblical. That is the ultimate test of truth, after all. Now granted, some are “offended” by the concept of Christian Hedonism. That is unfortunate that people are so shallow, instead of getting mad about a title, they should examine the message. So all I am saying is that, you should not condemn John Piper unless you can show his teachings to be unbiblical. If he’s not your “favorite” pastor/teacher, there’s no problem with that. You may not like his style or personality. To each his own. But please, don’t make unfounded accusations against Piper and his ministry.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:58 am
My dad said that he would read this and then we will try to do whatever it is we are supposed to do. I am still confuzzled on what this is exactly.
Your Sister In Christ, Hannah
March 14th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Malcom: Thanks for your comment. I just want to warn everyone, though, that I do not want us to start debating the merits of John Piper or Desiring God. That is another issue for another time. =)
March 14th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Hannah: All you need to do is enter your email address and the number of books you want to purchase… and then on March 25th you’ll get an email reminder and can buy those books along with everyone else who has pledged. Does that make sense?
March 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Right on Brett. Sorry that my comment got off topic
Malcolm
March 14th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Malcolm: I’ll catch up with you sometime, somewhere and we’ll have a good John Piper’s theology discussion based on Scripture. I bought his book last week and I’m now reading it through a second time, underlining and taking notes like crazy on everything I don’t agree with. I look forward to discussing its message in depth with someone. You and I and Mary will have to chat (when and where its subject is appropriate). =)
March 14th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I would love to buy a few copies of the book. Does anyone know the exact price of it? Even though I’d like to buy at least one copy I need to know if it’s in my budget.
Thanks and God Bless!
March 14th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Amanda: The price on Amazon is currently $11.35 (32% off) with an additional 5% off for pre-orders. If you order three or more you get free shipping as well.
March 14th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Brett: I’m honestly intrigued. I spent a little time reading Paul’s letters last night and just now, but I have no idea what you’ll say. I’m intrigued, though.
March 14th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Alex and Brett are very Godly men. They are looking to help others to know God. I was offended to read negative false material posted about them, and withhold my comments only in respect to Alex and Brett as I believe they do not want to see this conversation get side-tracked.
Michelle
March 14th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Thanks, Brett, for giving me one last chance to conclude. I’m sorry if you have had to wait for this, but my internet time is limited.
I believe that a God-honoring ministry:
1) Only seeks the Father for the finances needed and then obeys His instructions as to how to spend it. I do not believe that it is right or Biblical to ask people for money. All that God ordains and births, He will finance. Of course, this will most likely happen through the gifts of others, but God will instruct them to give, so it is unnecessary for us to beg.
“And my God will liberally supply your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19
2) Abides and is obedient to God’s Word and to His Voice. This requires waiting on God, many times, when there is a desire to move ahead or move forward. God must author the work and He also specifies the timing. Sometimes when I’m waiting to do what God has told me, God simply speaks, “HOLD, HOLD..” like in the Braveheart movie. We can be perfectly directed by God and I believe that when we are, the Harvest will be exactly as He desires and ordains. I want nothing less.
“I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My Eye upon you.” Psalm 32:8
3)Desires to please the Heart of God. This is why I am in opposition to the writings of John Piper, who states freely and unashamedly in his book, “Desiring God”: “We should never try to deny or resist our desire to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead, we should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.” VERSE, PLEASE! This is the opposite of what we should be like, as Christians and as a Christian ministry. We do not seek our happiness, but we seek to obey and please God. John goes on to call those who praise God, without receiving pleasure from Him, hypocrites. I cannot state this any clearer, but a true child of God would surely grieve with the false doctrine. It does not line up with
Deut. 6:5 “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” This is actually a command and it does not mention that we are to seek our own happiness here or anywhere in the Bible.
Michelle: I, too, believe that Alex and Brett are godly men and I do not believe that there was anything written that was false or negative. There were questions asked and the format of this blog and response is to grow and learn from each other. Brett and Alex, are actually, extremely rare in their hunger for truth and their absolute desire to abide in God and in His Teachings. I would not waste my time with people who are not hungry and do not desire to know truth. For those who want truth, they listen and they do not count it as criticism, but pearls.
Malcolm: I was not angry about the title of John Piper’s book, but the content. I believe that his teachings are not backed up by Scripture and to that point, I toss a rock in a shallow pool. Check the waves and see where this new form of Hedonism has afforded the church today. I do not believe that most churches meet to worship God in the way that God desires. I do not believe that most people who attend churches in the United States are Christian and I do not believe that most Christians understand that we are to be a people who follow Jesus Christ to the Cross and offer ourselves as He offered Himself and we seek to honor and praise Him despite the persecution which comes. Our churches are full of those seeking blessing, seeking cures, seeking pleasure, but there is no sacrifice, no true honoring of the Sacrifice which Jesus Christ made. I could go on and on, but I do believe this is falling on many deaf ears. The ones who aren’t deaf to truth, I offer this challenge. Ask the Holy One of Israel to reveal to you His Heart and to cause you to have full capacity to know Truth and His Heart and the empowering to live out His Truth and His Heart to this generation.
Thank you very much for giving me a chance to write all of this. My prayers are with you and your ministry.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Hey, we’ll pre-order a copy! This discussion going on here is interesting, by the way. But the “Mary Hendricks” person isn’t making any sense. And it’s wrong for one to pray with all their heart in vain that God would shut a ministry down, out of your own judgements. The whole reason they’re doing the “book bomb” is not money for themselves, it’s to reach out to other people with their book. It’s actually rather obvious. Anyway, I’ll let someone else do the talking now. (If Mary Hendricks is still around, that is.)
March 14th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Since this has not been quite wrapped up yet, may I comment one more thing? I’ve been reading through the comments again and found one that I missed that I would like to respond to.
Josh H.: I’m not sure if your comment got caught in moderation or not, but I initially completely missed it. I went back through the comments this evening, specifically the ones that weren’t particularly in conjunction with my own opinion, and yours stuck out to me in a really good way.
I believe that you and I, in spite of our differences in opinion in how to provide resources so that we might feed God’s flock, share the same heart in many ways for them and for God.
I do not question being able to do what God causes my heart to cry out to do, but rather I question whether I am doing it by faith in His Strength or by faith in my own. If it is by faith in my own strength or abilities, then I believe I will fail miserably. I have, many times in the past, seen people fail and thus many innocent lives were lost that were under their care.
I don’t want to miss out on what God has for me in any way. And I admire so much the hearts that seek after truth that I seek within Alex and Brett and other young people that write into this site that I instinctively cry out that they would not miss out either. And I’m not talking about missing out on doing “great” or “big” things appearance-wise, I’m talking about knowing God’s Heart and surrendering to Him in a great way.
So few do that.
Our power is in and from Jesus and let it remain in Him alone. My pursuit is His Heart, to love Him, to delight Him, to know Him, and to never stray but to always seek Him wholeheartedly. I hope that I was not too forward in stepping into this discussion and adding my concerns about my walk with God and my ministry work in hopes that we could all learn together what I have been struggling over, to fully glorify God with, and have struggled to understand my part in in the past — in connection with what I am unsure of when I see or want to help other ministries, like this.
I do know how much it would cost to give the Harrises book away freely to the many, many people who need it (I face the same exact questions with the books I am writing right now that are not yet published) — and that is exactly why I am trying and seeking my best to find out the best way in God’s Eyes to do so — because I want to do it in the way that is best and will reach the most people. I have seen in the lives of missionaries from the past much “success” come about where they did the most illogical things (by this world’s standards), in obedience to what they strongly felt God called them to do. Is that way best? It has always hit me that way. What way looks best to the Harrises? They saw Desiring God Ministries as doing good for many people. We both need to find out from God His Will for each of us. And I think all of us who have expressed these concerns, or who have listened in and also sought answers wholeheartedly and openly before God, clearly have hearts willing to.
Regardless of my disagreement with you or the Harrises on the methods of reaching people, providing for a ministry, etc., I am joyed that we share a heart unto the same purpose. I pray that God will show us — each reader on this blog and each person who is part of the true Church — how we can encourage each other, challenge each other, and strengthen each other in our common goal. May God show both of us how and the areas of our lives in which we lack in faith and how we can share the abundance faith He has given us in the areas He has made us strong in Him with those who want. And may we always seek to learn the fullness of His compassion and the truth of His ways and may we never, ever compromise but always press on to be uncompromisingly Righteous in every way that Jesus calls us to be.
God Bless! And thank you for expressing your heart to reach those you are able to reach to the fullest way He has thus shown you. May you ever keep growing, in faith and in His compassion for those in need, by His Grace.
March 15th, 2008 at 2:30 am
pp, “Mary Hendricks person” here. I’m still around and don’t mind explaining that when God tells me to call for a ministry to be cleansed and then led and directed by Him, I obey. When God tells me that a ministry is not willing to be under His Reign and present Him as He is, He tells me to call for them to be closed down. Now, I’m not the one with the Power. I assume you know that. So, if I was praying outside of God’s Will, He would not answer, but whatever He tells me to pray, I do pray wholeheartedly. If you don’t understand this, maybe someone else can explain it simpler. I’m sorry if it confuses you, but just as Jesus called for the fig tree to dry up and die, because it ceased to bear fruit, we as God’s Kingdom people on this earth, are to also bring forth His Reign here.
One more point: the boys did write, initially that the selling of the books was for their future. All we know of the ministry, is what they tell us. I don’t understand your complaint with what I have written, and I, too, hope this discussion is closed and I would prefer to have young Amy’s covering, a mom with the sense to tell someone when to dismiss themselves from people who do not write with compassion and discretion. MOM, Help!
March 15th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Thanks Brett! Lord willing I’ll be one of the many to order on March 25th.
God Bless!
March 15th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Acts 2:45
‘Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.’
The writer was talking about all the believers, not just Paul and Peter, or just Stephen, but all the believers. It is not up to just Alex and Brett, but all of us to show Christ, just as it was not up to only the leaders to help the ones most in need.
The end of the chapter (2:47) says:
[The apostles were praising] God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
That’s my two cents worth.
P.S. Alex and Brett: I am getting a book on the 25th. God bless you!
March 15th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I have committed to buy 3 copies! The girls and I will be reading it together. Also, we will be seeing you guys in Dallas this summer! Can’t wait!!!!
May God Bless you and thank you so much!!!
Kim
March 15th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Thanks everyone! I think we’re ready to wrap this up. I was waiting for Mary to share her final thoughts and she did an excellent job. I’ll be posting sometime this afternoon, but I have a few chores to do first. =)
March 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Alex and Brett, my mom thought of a great idea that we’ll be doing– buying your book as a graduation gift for all my close friends! We can’t wait.
I have some things to say in regards to the heated discussion regarding finances and spreading the gospel. I’m all for freely discussing these things among Christians, as long as we all support our positions with the Word of God. Even the people who listened to Paul while he was preaching in Berea didn’t believe Him until they were able to see for themselves that what Paul taught was in accordance with God’s word.
The Bible gives those who preach the gospel the right to “live of the gospel.” Read 1 Corinthians 9, specifically verses 11-14. Paul does not use this right for himself as a minister of the gospel, but he says:
(v11) If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal [or, material] things? (v12) If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we have not used this power, but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. (v13) Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? (v14) Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
We, all the teens that benefit from the Harris’s teaching through books, conferences, articles, etc. are advised to support them financially: “Let him that is taught in the word communicate [also, share with] unto him that teacheth in all good things.” (Galatians 6:6) This means that we have the duty to support—materially, financially— those who teach us.
Alex and Brett Harris teach us— through their conferences, their posts and articles, and now through their book. They have made it clear that they desire to glorify God in their ministry. I think we can all rest assured in knowing that they will use their profit well. There is nothing wrong with them making a profit off of their hours of hard work, studying, researching, and writing. This is their work, and they should reap from it. All this to say, I do not endorse the abuse of profit (i.e. having mansions, luxury cars, etc.) from ministry work.
Mary, to say that we must “trust God to be able to give out what He gives you freely” is flawed. Yes, by all means, let us put our faith in God; but faith must spur us to action and good works in Christ. But everything that God chooses to give us is not “free.” It is true that we cannot earn blessing from God, but it is also true that God rewards His obedient children. We must work diligently and do what God commands of us. God will provide for our needs, but that doesn’t mean that a father shouldn’t go to work to make money for his family to eat.
Where did God say that if something is from Him, it will cost nothing?
I don’t believe it is biblical to say that “all that God gives us is free.” Mary, the greatest gift God gave us—our salvation— was not free. It came at a cost, the life of His Son, Jesus Christ. Eternal Life in Christ even comes at a cost: we must be willing to surrender our lives for Christ.
You also said “I do not believe that it is right or Biblical to ask people for money. All that God ordains and births, He will finance.” If a missionary needed money, would it be really be unbiblical of him to ask for financial help from his church or other believers? Money doesn’t fall from the sky—God works through people to provide for His children. Part of humbling yourself is admitting that you cannot do it alone and that you need help. We must ask if we wish to receive. God provides, but He works through people to accomplish things. Asking for help is not begging, and asking for help is not a lack of faith in God.
March 15th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Brett: Thank you! This is quite the test for me to stay quiet.
Mary: Thank you! You expressed many of my thoughts and feelings much better than I could. I will definitely take to heart what you have said and apply it to whatever ministry I do. May God richly bless you and all work He calls you to do! And may He bless your life abundantly for your unwavering witness to us of His Faithfulness beyond this world’s standards.
Thank you, sister!
March 15th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Doris, Even though all that I have written has been backed up with Scripture, you prefer to use your mindset and then find Scripture to back it up. I prefer to know God’s Heart, to listen to His desires and to work from a position of what would please Him, not what I can get away with and still appear to be doing Christian service. We can, in ministry, certainly fool most the people, most the time, but we are fully accountable to God and with Him, I do rest my case, because, in fact, He gave me the words to write to describe a ministry that honors Him. You can argue with Him in your private time, but to continue to draw out this discussion, especially with points that have already been covered and surrounded by Scripture seems as a desperate attempt to prove your point. Our hearts are accountable to God and to Him, will He prove or disprove our words. To say that “to trust God to be able to give out what He gives to us freely” is flawed is an absolute abhorrance to God’s teaching. All throughout the Bible, the true disciples of God offered all that they had to serve and teach the people. If they received money from the people, if was God providing for them, but they did not ask. Your heart needs to be in alignment with the very Heart of God and until it is, you will have much diffiiculty with how God presents a God honoring ministry. Words will not suffice to convince you, Doris, as has been proven, You need God’s Heart and it’s simple to ask for such, Don’t stay in ignorance about ministry or pleasing God, since now you have been told how to remedy such a fault. Be brave. Ask God to teach you personally what honors Him. He will, but 1st, as in most ministries, you must be cleansed of all religion and the pride which causes you to condemn those who do represent God’s Heart. Your points only make sense to you and others who have not been changed by God’s FREE gift of Himself to us. Yes, His Gift was free to us, but cost Him His life. Should we not offer ourselves FREELY to show the world the heart of God. Oh, by the way, I have used quite a few words to teach you here, so I will send you a bill in the morning. No, dear, when you become a Christian, you count it all loss to give freely all that He has given to us. As Ted Turner says, “Christians are the biggest losers!.” Well, yes, and thank you for such frankness, but we are to lose it all to give FREELY all that we have been given without cost to us. It’s never right to twist Scripture, and I believe, as you humble yourself before God and repent and offer yourself unto God to be cleansed of your own mindset, a whole new world will open before you, which will be the Heart and Will of the Father. Come, all are welcome…..Isaiah 55! HO!
Don’t mess with us Chicago girls!
March 15th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I just read what had been released before my response. Thank you, NIcole. We all need each other’s prayers to battle through the lies which the opposition pushes forth. The good thing is that we’re not alone in this struggle, but we are to fight until the truth is presented and then pray that the words - the “seeds” bear fruit according to God’s desire. I have read your responses and I totally agree. I even borrowed a verse from one of your earlier responses, because it was right there and available. Thank you. The end result will please God, I believe, but something or Someone within me will not allow God to be misrepresented or for His death and resurrection to be made cheap or without cause. We are new creatures and we need to have the Mind of Christ and the Heart of God. Nothing else is true Christianity. Thank you for your blessings and I ask God to uphold you as a “teacher” of truth and grant to you, as I have already seen evidenced in the wo