One may receive fifteen minutes of fame but scandal gets you sixty minutes. The only people to pray for really bad news are those caught in the news cycle needing a worse story to upstage their own. Every profession from sports to clergy suffers from scandalous actions. Entertainers who fall prey to such issues never surprise me but others often catch me off guard. I still remember back in the early nineties the breaking news about basketball legend Magic Johnson being HIV positive from numerous encounters while on the road and everyone was shocked. That same decade proved that our president had a weakness in that same area. Recently, Tiger Woods, David Letterman, Governor Sanford, Jon & Kate have all been in the media.

One must ask, “Why is this news?” Simple–they have or had influence on a group of people. That makes them or made them a leader. Others wanted to hear what they had to say, do what they did, play to their level, and follow their advice. We as men are the greatest at compartmentalizing and we think that one area of our lives has little or no affect on another. Sadly I am sure Tiger would ask, “Why am I loosing sponsors? I am still a great golfer.” He quickly forgets what one phrase spoken in jest did to Fuzzy Zeller when Tiger won his first masters. Words do tarnish us, actions create damage, and our ability to be the right influence leaves people with a black hole. The wake of a boat creates larger hurdles than those crossed by the boat itself. When in the throes of such issues, most go through the typical self-justification by down playing the actions, excusing it away in light of past afflictions, and blaming others.

None of the people in a scandal want the camera during these “newsworthy” moments any more than a criminal wants the camera capturing the arrest. Before you think this blog is a pile on like so many others, I have to ask myself. What if I had paparazzi following me, capturing my every move on camera with lens that can see in through cracks in window shades? What if listening devices were always pointed at me? While I would like to think I would not embarrass myself, my organization, my family, or my Lord, I am reminded that I too am all too human.

I do not want to be a spectator with thumbs pointing down to kill the fallen ones. I am reminded of the choices we make has greater ripple effects than just on ourselves. Scripture and the Holy Spirit should scream louder in our ears than the spectators looking for blood.

No—the genre is oversaturated. The market goes through a band wagon twist of Simon says. Like television going through an overload of reality shows or courtroom dramas, when one success occurs everyone wants to follow the leader. In publishing you face overload in cycles such as devotionals, leadership, or apologetics. A recent example of having too many books on a topic was twenty books written and published as a rebuttal to the DaVinci Code. So you may have a great concept but too many others have already flooded the market.

No—the timing is wrong. Looking for a window of opportunity helps position a product. For example I would not have been interested in seeing any work on the history of the English Bible until recently. But now as we approach 2011, the 400^th anniversary of the King James Bible, this will be a great window of opportunity to promote all things Bible and how translations were and are used through history. So you may have a good concept but may have to wait for the timing or pitch the reason for the timing to a publisher.

No—try another publisher. Sometimes one publisher may say no because of the number of titles they can publish in a given period. Simon and Schuster’s “no” may rank fourth beneath their threshold of publishable material, but it might rank at the top of the list for another publisher.

No—this is not our genre. Not every publisher releases books in all genres. Publishers have niches and imprints that focus on certain markets. Purchase an annual writer’s guide. Study your topic of writing as well as who would be a good candidate to publish your book. You may want to pick several.

No—we don’t do poetry. Enough said about the subjective value of this material.

No—you are not the level of author we publish. Some publishers only accept proposals from proven authors. This reduces the risk and allows them to know from previous sales how to estimate the print quantity of the next book. Max Lucado is an easy bet on any topic he chooses to write because he has a following. Level may also be described as credibility. We do not need a marriage book written by someone divorced four times or a leadership book from someone without ethics or morals.

No—you do not have a significant venue to promote the book. Some publishers may risk taking on a new author but prefer that the author have a venue for self-promotion such as the speaking circuit, an audience of some magnitude, or other influence based on position. You will notice another major trend occurring in recent years of radio and TV personalities who are publishing. They have a sphere of influence built in based on ratings that translate into sales. Again the risk has been reduced for the publisher. This has become one of the three legs of the publishing tripod (The author, the venue, and the intellectual property or idea).

No—your writing is not adequate. Writing is much harder than public speaking even though they are closely related. Writing must communicate without the visual cues of gestures, facial expression, and without audile clues of inflection. The use of properly placed active tense verbs creates a mental picture much better than passive tense verbs. To use the terms of one of our editors, a mistake she hates is “when the author gushes” or uses too many adjectives or adverbs and it is obvious.

No—the cost is greater than the return. We recently turned down two products we saw to be great products with excellent content but the cost to bring them to market would be more than we would get back in sales because they required significant video production to complement the printed material. At the end of the day it is about numbers, the amount of books sold versus how much money is needed to bring it to market. Costs can be greater than most authors imagine. You have editorial, design, printing, sales, and marketing and in addition to other items you sometimes have ghostwriting costs.

My pet peeves:

Understanding original thought. Writers should never consider block text quotes to be acceptable unless they are compiling other works. Plagiarism is never acceptable and is thievery.

What I find disheartening is when a potential author says, “There is nothing else in the market like this.” I often name four or five bestselling books in that genre and ask if he or she has read any of them. If you do not read and read most of what is in your genre or topic of choice, then how can you consider yourself an expert in what you are writing?

Do your research. Take time to work up a great proposal. Publishers get a ton of submissions and it is not our job to triage all the manuscripts—that is what proposals do. We can quickly make a determination of interest from the proposal and that will be the litmus test of whether any of your sample chapters are read.

There was one guy in front of us working up to a several hundred-dollar purchase. Val,the clerk behind the counter, peaked around the customer and said he would be right with us. I smiled and replied, “Take your time, our purchase is very small.” Quickly he shot back, “Selling a bag of picks today could result in tomorrow’s several thousand dollar purchase, therefore I treat all sales the same.” He went on to say that when my son goes on to play on stage and become famous he would have a part in helping him get there. Way to go Val! That is his true name and if everyone had his attitude, then businesses would not be suffering. While checking out, my son asked about a future purchase he is saving for and Val told him a way to save money on this item. On the way out, my son, who is about to be sixteen, told me that he was coming back here to buy that item even if he could find it online cheaper because this guy cares about customers.

My son may or may not have aspirations to be famous but that does not matter to a dedicated employee of a business who understands their customers. The lesson is clear. Become the consultant, the person people come to for advice and they will not mind paying a few dollars more for your product. Never over sell or take advantage of the customer; the bad taste of that kind of sell lasts longer than the sales commission you will earn. It is no wonder getting a parking place at The Guitar Center is difficult.

Chaos reigns on the gridiron as football players scramble, the clock ticking. A player picks a piece of turf out of his facemask as he gets up from the pile; one limps back to the huddle and others celebrate the pass completion. Referees are determining where to place the ball while the defensive line tries to intimidate anyone within four feet of them. Everyone seems mindless, moving wherever the pigskin is placed all the while chatter occurring everywhere.

One guy, the quarterback, never loses sight of the sidelines after the play is over. Even if sacked, once the play is over he is preparing for the next play. His reads the signal from the sidelines and then gets the attention of his players, informing them of the next play either in the huddle, by signals, or audible commands. The quarterback must focus the attention of every player, the ones who did their job as well as the ones who did not on the last play.

He must get the team to live in the moment and focus on what could be rather than on what just occurred. The other players sometimes over-celebrate the previous play, causing the team a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, wasting time and worse yet forgetting their current obligations. It is obvious the leader on the field, the quarterback, can high five, chest bump, or swat a guy to let them know they did a great job and then move on to the next play to be executed. Guys dream of being the high dollar quarter back, running back, or receiver who makes those big bucks, but the big bucks come as a result of the big plays becoming routine to the team. No one gets big bucks from one play or one game. Yes, you are right, the World Series or Super Bowl does yield a big bonus and sometimes big bucks in salary, but playing in that game is a result of a repeated positive pattern.

To achieve this level, one must watch the lessons of the quarterback and get his or her head in the game. Enjoy the moments. Celebrate the plays, but focus on the pattern of the play and never forget the strategy of where you are and why you are there. While others may drift, allowing chaos to rule, your levelheaded example will refocus the team.

I watched moms and dads get it this weekend. Conducting a D6 workshop this weekend just outside of St. Louis, I watched as leaders in several churches grasped the principles and methods of what being a D6 mom and dad looks like. They are now equipped to go back to their churches and show others how to live out the principles commanded in Deuteronomy six and Nehemiah eight. I figure if we work really hard for two generations , these principles and behaviors will become second nature.

People are still blogging and talking about the D6 Conference 2009. Numerous pastors have emailed, called, or personally talked to me and said they were bringing a large group next year. Many brought only their staff this year. Phrases like:

“It is like drinking from a fire hose.”

“The best and most practical conference I have ever attended”

“I could have left after the first day and felt I had gotten my money’s worth.”

“This is a significant day in the history of the church.”

Today is the deadline for the very best rate you can get for the D6 Conference 2010. Save half your registration per person against the walk-in rate. It is $299 at the door and today you can register as many as you desire for $149 per person. If you do not have all the names now, no problem; just hold their spots and fill in the names later. Set a goal and determine you want ten sets of parents with you or all your leading volunteers and staff. We already have announced several major speakers for next year and will finish the announcements in January of 2010. Mark Holmen, Ed Stetzer, Brian Haynes, and Rob Reinow, and yes, Tim Hawkins will be back! Thirty-seven speakers made the 2009 D6 Conference more than an event and started a major movement for many who were looking for family emphasis and ways to reconnect church and home.

If you know you are coming, register today and save big!

Register Here

Francis Chan

Tonight at Catalyst, Francis Chan stood before about 10,000 people in his unassuming manner, and talked about the cross and Christ. He read from several chapters of scripture and told us, “we are arrogant if we think we can change the world when that is Christ’s job.” He shared about when his daughter brought home an “f” on a test and was scared of what her dad would do. When she told him, Francis replied in a way that would show her God’s grace when he said, “I am taking you to dinner, a movie and ice cream – this time.” When she went back to school the next day, her friends all asked what her dad did to her. When she told them, they replied, “I want your dad.” He then asked us, do we show the world (unbelievers) in ways of love and grace actions that would make them say, “I want your dad” [God]? We mostly show them a judgmental, critical non-joyous spirit that makes the world say, “I don’t want your dad.”

He talked through the cross and the self-condemnation we so often beat ourselves up with or others do to us. Francis caught us by surprise by questioning why we seek affirmation from others when Christ has already affirmed us? He walked us through how undeserving we are of the grace God and how because of Christ He give sit to us anyway.

He then led us in communion, yes all 10,000. It was quite possibly one of the most quiet and powerful hours in catalyst history. I, like most around me, walked away reflecting on my relationship with my dad (God). Great session! Reminded me of my humanness and of God’s Godliness!

American Express slogans through the years have been “American Express. Do More,” and “Make Life Rewarding,” and more recently “Don’t Leave Home Without It.” I have been a big fan of the service with previous blogs praising their service.

American Express has offered our organization the freedom of spending without limits. With freedom comes responsibility; we have always paid our bills and maintained a detailed accounting of expenditures. Most of the year, it was spending as usual such as travel and dinners with clients or vendors.  But once a year we put on a convention hosting nearly 4,000 youth, children and their parents and youth pastors. This requires a bit more spending than the other eleven months and American Express makes it easy to deal with business as it comes.

Until recently! Earlier this year, American Express became an ordinary credit card. Worse than ordinary, they have become an overpriced hassle! I rarely take an organization to task in my blog, but they have ceased to be impressive. Their new slogan should be “Hope you don’t get left stranded.” On a more than one occasion, I have landed in another city, went to get my rental car only to find my card would not work. I have heard every excuse from them from security or fraud checks, to over the limits. Over the limit? This was the card without limits. Because they do not keep their history beyond six months, then they cannot see our years of experience with big events and solid payment records.

Yes, it seems that after the collapse of the banking world that everyone has been affected including American Express and their clients. With businesses closing every month, I suppose they have had to change their policies to protect how much credit they have extended each month. Now their credit limits, expected twelve to fifteen day billing cycle instead of thirty and less than amicable customer service has made them ordinary. In fact, ordinary would mean they should reduce their annual fee and reduce the fees they charge merchants. I was taught than in business, when you charge more you deliver more. Now they have come full circle to the opposite of their slogan, American Express. Do Less.

American express was the “purple cow” of the credit card world, which is a high compliment. Now they have become just part of the heard blending in among the other priceless cards. I hope they recapture what once made them worth more.

Using graffiti to mark territory by sending messages to those who pass by has been around a lot longer than spray paint aerosol cans. Back during the Egyptian empire tombs were filled with graffiti called hieroglyphics that told the story of the pharaohs. During the same years of those pharaohs, the children of Israel were their slaves and were delivered from Egypt by God. The night before the morning they left, their doorposts or door casings were covered in the blood of the Passover lamb, which delivered their firstborn from a death sentence. The next morning the families walked through that blood stained doorway. Later in the New Testament, Jesus became the “door” and the “way.”

Today, doors are the gateway to our homes. We enter and exit. We lock and secure our family behind strong doors and locks. We do this to protect our family. We want to keep certain dangers away from our kids.

My wife and I watched our son the day he was old enough to walk out those same doors to catch the school bus that stopped right in front of our house. Was he prepared to leave us that day for his first day of kindergarten? More than his parents were ready for him to leave. Through those same doors our kids grew older coming and going and coming back again. From hours at school to overnighters with friends to a week away at camp or with grandparents, each of these prepared them for the day when the departure through those same doors will take them to college, marriage, and the establishing of their home.

So it is no wonder that God tells us to mark those doors as our kids come and go. Let them see the principles and values they should use when away from home whether for hours or years. The door is the place to pause long enough to reflect briefly on the lessons mom or dad must have taught. Routine leaving is done without thought, but when you leave a place for the last time to move on, you linger for reflection. So what is it that our kids will remember when they pause to reflect? God wants this time to remind them of the fact that their parents love God, love His Word, and have taught them to do the same. Deuteronomy 6 says to use the doorposts to send a message to your kids. Graffiti? Hieroglyphics? Whatever you call it, send your kids a message and let it be done by your life and your home.

In business, when you stretch your team to do a monumental task, the task you previously thought difficult becomes routine. I learned this principle in the Army as well. When they took us through grueling obstacle courses and other seemingly impossible challenges, it made us more confident and prepared for everyday stuff. So if you want your team to do the impossible, start raising the bar. If you have hired competent people they will jump over it with the right training. Make the hard stuff routine by doing something harder.

Policies, while a pain and sometimes more bureaucratic, are meant to serve the whole for the better of the whole. When this works well, catastrophes are less frequent. The best result of being prepared for a catastrophe is that when it comes it feels more like a problem or a bump in the road. Ask anyone from Florida and they will tell you to prepare for the hurricane and hope it arrives as a tropical storm or depression.

Business and ministry can learn from this mentality. Prepare for the storms and when they arrive you will not be caught off guard. The worst is to look back and say, “If only . . .” leaving you no confidence to move forward with a similar initiative. Last week, I got the chance to walk through Dealey Plaza, the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Texas Book Depository is where Lee Harvey Oswald, from the sixth floor, allegedly shot the President while his motorcade passed in the street below. The Sixth Floor Museum now occupies that space with time lines and exhibits about the events of that fatal day.

The weird thoughts I have often get me in trouble. As I approached the door to the Sixth Floor Museum, I read the signs on the door (pictured above) and said, “If only they had these signs on November 22, 1963, this all might have been prevented.” Then the following thoughts came to mind: “If we knew today what we will know tomorrow, how different our policies and plans might be.”