My new book, Deacon Wives, is still scheduled for release at bookstores June 1st (preorders at Amazon.com), but I thought you might like seeing this promo for it.
This is the summer release catalogue for Broadman & Holman (B&H) Publishing. The book is on page 12. Doesn’t this look great!
Several of you have asked about my next book project, after the Deacon Wives book comes out this June.
I’ve got a great one! Just today I finalized the formal proposal for a book for “Pastors’ Wives.” It will go through the process of approval soon, so I’ll let you know if it’s accepted.
Of course, it’s not just your regular-old pastors’ wives book. It has a great twist. I’ll save the details for later, but please pray with me for God’s wisdom and guidance. This is going to be a fun one!
I’m looking forward to doing a teleconference with Marnie Swedberg (www.leadershipattitudes.com) where we’ll discuss women’s ministry. It’s on Tuesday, January 20th at 9pm Eastern time. Here’s the note about it from her site:
Q & A with Marnie and Special Guest, Diana Davis, author of Fresh Ideas for Your Women’s Ministry. Do not miss this opportunity to ask YOUR burning question! The full hour will be devoted to answering the questions that are bugging WM leaders around the world. Both Marnie & Diana are committed to 1) listening to God and 2) helping you find God’s best soulution for YOUR WM. Register today!
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NEW YEARS
With New Year’s Eve upon us, I thought you might enjoy this Fresh Ideas article with some simple suggestions for a church’s New Year’s party:
Fresh Ideas
Another New Year? Let ‘er Rip!
By Diana Davis
Need fresh ideas to spruce up your church or class New Year party?
Add Umph.Create anticipation from above by designing a gigantic ceiling net (we used bridal netting) with a pull-strip to break it at midnight.Fill it with hundreds of balloons and confetti.
Add Food. Serve a special menu, such as chili and tamales, a fancy mashed potato bar, or an eight foot sub sandwich. Offer fancy coffees and slushy fruit drinks. Make a memorable dessert, such as the “world’s largest” sundae, or gigantic molded 2008 numbers made with a rice krispie recipe.
Add Music. Use recorded music, or schedule a variety of musicians to play background music on a small stage. Teens could make a Christian music video during the party, and everyone could view it at midnight. An impromptu kids’ kazoo band could march through the party room hourly. Or not.
Add Fun. Keep the party moving with planned games and fellowship. Provide silly party hats. Plan special events for kids and teens, i.e. a treasure map, game tournament, or fun painting project. Gather hundreds of digital photos from last year’s church events for a continuous slide show.
Add Meditative Moments. Stage brief, unforgettable tidbits of inspiration. Cover a wall with paper for a mural titled “Our New Year Commitments to God.” Provide art supplies for partiers to draw or paint anytime during the evening. Designate an adjacent room for personal prayer. A short candlelight ceremony could include resolutions and prayer.
Add a New Year’s Resolution with Teeth.Ask partyers to make a significant New Year commitment. Perhaps your pastor has challenged the church to prayer-walk every street in your area or to invite twelve friends to church this year. Just before midnight, invite attenders to prayerfully write that personal commitment to God, specifying precise details, i.e. which streets they will prayer-walk or names of friends they will invite. They seal it inside an envelope, address it to themselves, and the church office mails it on March 1st as a reminder and encouragement.
Let ‘er Rip!
As midnight arrives, blow horns, drop the balloons, hug your Christian friends and celebrate a New Year to serve our great God.
Recommended. With 1,000 from which to choose, certainly you too can find a handful of creative ministry ideas within the pages of this lively book.
I have always enjoyed reading books of anecdotes, quotes, and illustrations. As a kid I remember titles like “500 Dynamic Sermon Illustrations” or “1,001 Stories for Bible Talks”. I also read through sermons by Moody and Spurgeon, Graham and Sunday, Wiersbe, Vines, and Rogers – each of whom used great illustrations in their otherwise different approach to homiletics.
At some point along the way in my development as a preacher I learned about exegesis and hermeneutics, the proper foundation for exposition and homiletics. I also remember the first time I heard a preacher say, with great condescension, that books of illustrations aren’t worth the paper they are printed on. The reason given was that truly powerful illustrations are either drawn from the Bible itself or from our own life experiences.
While I generally don’t disagree with that principle, I have come to realize the foolishness in a legalistic avoidance of “Sermon Illustration” books. I believe it was the gifted expositor Steve “Key Life” Brown who said something to the effect that he considers a book of illustrations to be money well spent if he only gets a handful of quips and quotes and stories to use out of a book of hundreds. Although the beauty and “fit” of an illustration is in the eye of the beholder, any book that puts 10-15 good ones in my hand is a friend indeed. So, I went back to the illustration-compilation books with a newfound sense of freedom to mine the gold out of the mountain of worthless (to me) rocks.
So, what does that have to do with the book we are looking at here? Diana Davis is the author of Fresh Ideas, a compilation of “1,000 Ideas for Growing a Thriving and Energetic Church”. This book is not theory and speculation. It is one page after another of practical tips and specific ideas for improving the outreach and fellowship of your church.
Her premise is simple. Even with a sound foundation of biblical theology and ecclesiology centered on the glory of God, we all could use some fresh ideas for outreach. This book assumes that the local church has the right theological and spiritual foundations, and seeks to help such churches be creative in how to build real Christian fellowship, evangelistic outreach, and disciple-making.
She writes, “There should be no such thing as a stale church. We serve a life-giving, vibrant, exciting Savior. Worship in his house should be no less! When you attend the same church for years- as you should! – you tend to think that every church does everything exactly like your church. To some extent that’s true. But I quickly observed that every church has its own way of doing things – its own personality, if you will. To be honest, it’s not usually big things that add freshness to a church. Small adjustments can make a world of difference.”
There are 75 chapters, each with 10-20 ideas organized around themes such as – benevolence, fall festivals, new Christians, prayer, church facilities, and sport evangelism – just to name a few. The themes are not the creative part. Rather, it is the ideas flowing from the themes where Davis showcases her imagination.
Davis gives the reader advance permission to dislike a boatload of her ideas and concepts. She says, “You may want to read it with a highlighter in hand, crossing off the ideas you already implement, scribbling the ones you don’t like, and circling some ideas you’d like to try. Not every idea will fit your church. Some will delight you. Some won’t. Some will make you laugh hysterically. But I’m praying at least a few ideas on these pages will reignite your fire for serving God, fit your church perfectly, and help freshen up how your church does church.”
I ran through this book quickly with a highlighter in hand just as she instructed. And what did I find? She is right, for some of the ideas would immediately fit into the church I pastor…and some of the ideas would never fit at all. It would be a disservice to you for me to copy down a few ideas as a sample for you because with my luck I’d pick the 2-3 that you’d think sounded ridiculous.
Therefore, this book is very similar to those 1,001 Sermon illustrations books in that you aren’t going to come away with nothing. You might just end up with a handful of good ideas that translate into more meaningful contact with non-Christians and more meaningful relationships between your members. That’s worth the price of a book.
1. Thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of my family!
That’s Justin and Tylor on my right and Steve on the left, and Autumn and her fiance, Yale, kneeling. Isn’t God so good to bless us with family!
2. Crossings.Com Book Club. I received a notice that my book, Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry, is featured in the Crossings Book Club “The Best Christian Books from A to Z” publication! Pretty cool, huh?
3. DEACON WIVES READ THIS: I just discovered that pre-reviews can be written for my upcoming book titled Deacon Wives.
If you’re a deacon wife who has attended one of my deacon wives classes, you know exactly what to expect.
Or if you’re a pastor where Steve and I have helped with a deacon/wives training…
Or if you wrote an endorsement for the book cover…
I’d love it if some of you would write a pre-release review for the book.
If you have a minute, click on one of the sites below. Thanks!
To write a pre-review of Deacon Wives book, click below:
It’s great to have lots of reviews on Amazon or Christianbook.com.
If you’ve read Fresh Ideas or Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry, would you take a minute to rate it or write a review on one of the sites below? Thanks!
Amazon - Simply click on one of the books below, scroll down to the bottom where it says “rate this item” or “Customer Review – write your own review” and write to your heart’s content.
“For a ministry project, purchase a twelve-piece nativity scene and do this version of the Twelve Days of Christmas for a homebound member or person who will be alone for the first time this Christmas. Deliver one piece of the nativity scene daily for twelve days, ending with the baby Jesus on Christmas day. If this is a church or class project, a different member could deliver each day. A friend of mine did this with “secret” deliveries, leaving daily notes and gift-wrapped nativity pieces on the front porch, by mail or other delivery methods. At a scheduled time, she and her family delivered the baby on Christmas day.”
I received a note today from a lady who read the book, saying that she was purchasing a nativity scene and planning to do this with an elderly neighbor this Christmas. Her husband’s Bible class was doing this as a mission project, with a different class member making a delivery each day. (I’m not sure if it’s a person in a nursing home, someone with an extended sickness, or a homebound member.) Each gentleman in the class is assigned a specific day, and makes a visit to deliver one nativity scene piece. You don’t actually have to do exactly twelve–it could be more or less. The gift is your reflection of God’s love as you show his care to one who needs it this season.
My friend who did this with her young children made it an annual tradition. Each year, they would ask the pastor for an idea of a person who needed Christian encouragement, and they carefully made their plan. Each day was an adventure for the children as they planned how to deliver their surprise. As Christmas neared, they sent word through their pastor or a common friend to specify a time on Christmas Day they would like to stop by for the last delivery. The recipient each year became a dear Christian friend of that family, and they began planning for next year’s Nativity-A-Day.
Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are such a wonderful time to shine for Jesus…
Steve and I led a deacons and wives retreat last weekend for two southern Indiana churches, and it was such fun. One lady shared this gift exchange game, and I thought you might enjoy using it over the Christmas holidays. (I know! I know! It’s still not Thanksgiving yet. But if I file it away, you may never see it.) We’d used it years ago, and I’d lost the script. It’s easy, quick and fun for any age.
NOTE: See other posts on this site for great ideas for your church Christmas party, too.
Keep on shining!
PASS-AROUND GIFT EXCHANGE
If you have a gift-exchange at your Sunday School class party, here’s a fun way to distribute the gifts.
The group sits in a circle, and each holds a gift. As the poem is being read (with deliberate emphasis on the words “right” and “left), each person passes his gift to the person on his right or left when the words “right” or “left” are read. At the end of the story, everyone opens the gift they are holding.
‘TWAS THE NIGHT RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
‘Twas the night RIGHT before Christmas when RIGHT through the house
Not a creature was LEFT stirring, not even a mouse–
The stockings were hung RIGHT by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be RIGHT there.
The children were nestled RIGHT snug in their beds,
while visions of sugarplums danced RIGHT in their heads,
And mama in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
had just settled RIGHT down for a long winter’s nap,
When RIGHT out on the LEFT lawn there rose such a clatter,
I sprang RIGHT from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the RIGHT window I LEFT like a flash;
tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow LEFT a luster of midday to objects RIGHT below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleight and eight tiny reindeer.
With a little old driver RIGHT lively and quick;
I knew RIGHT in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came;
and he whistled and shouted, and called them RIGHT by name:
“Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet, on Cupid, on Donder and Blitzen!
To the RIGHT top of the porch! To the LEFT top of the wall!
Now dash away, dash away, dash RIGHT away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly
when they meet RIGHT with an obstacle, mount RIGHT up to the sky,
So up to the housetop the coursers they LEFT flew,
with a sleighful of toys and St. Nicholas, too.
And then in a twinkling, I heard RIGHT on the roof,
the prancing and pawing of each little RIGHT and LEFT hoof.
As I drew in my head and was turning LEFT around
down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, RIGHT from his head to his LEFT foot,
and his clothes were all LEFT tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung RIGHT on his back,
and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His RIGHT and LEFT eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples were RIGHTmerry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was LEFT drawn up like a bow,
and the beard LEFT on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held RIGHT in his teeth,
and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a round little belly,
that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was RIGHT chubby and plump, a RIGHT, RIGHT jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.
A wink of his LEFT eye and a LEFT twist of his head,
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went RIGHT straight to his work,
and filled all the stockings; then turned LEFT with a jerk
And laying his finger to the LEFT of his nose,
and giving a nod, he LEFTup the chimney he rose.
He sprang RIGHT to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
and away they all LEFT like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he LEFT–out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to alland to all a good night!”
Book Notes: I finally submitted the proposal for a next book–one for pastor wives. I’ll pick up working on that manuscript after Christmas, so if you have any great ideas or topics you’d like to suggest for it, let me know (click “add comment” below or email me.) This is going to be a really great one!! I really enjoy encouraging pastors’ wives, and since I’ve spent most of my life in that role, it will be really fun to share tips and encouragements for that very important group of leaders. I’ll keep you up as this project progresses.
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Personal notes: I’m buried in books for five more weeks as I complete classes for my seminary degree. One class is a masters level Old Testament class. I’m constantly amazed to discover how much I don’t know, but I’ve really enjoyed learning about the archeological finds and verifying manuscripts found over the years that keep on confirming biblical history. Pray for my poor brain!
