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Borne Back Ceaselessly

May 24, 2012 in Books with 4 Comments

My favorite book is being made into a movie for like the tenth time. This time by Baz Luhrmann, the guy that did Moulin Rouge, and the Romeo + Juliet with Leo and Claire Danes. The trailer released yesterday, and I’m pretty excited, although I’d always pictured Daisy with dark hair, and Jordan Baker as the blonde.

Have you read the Great Gatsby? Do you consider it a great book, or the greatest book?

Pirating Your Booty

May 23, 2012 in General, God and Football with 9 Comments

Last week I received a Google Alert for God & Football. These were very interesting when the book first released, not so much in recent months after Betty White’s show Hot in Cleveland had an episode with the same title. But this one did concern my book. In fact, it was a link to a website where I could download my own book…for free.

I read it, read it again, then finally realized what I was reading. Someone pirated my book, and was giving it away to the masses. So I did the natural thing: I tried to steal my own book. But the site required you to download some software first, and I figured it might be a flesh eating computer virus or something, so I stopped. Then I passed the email on to my publisher, Zondervan, and they sent their Storm Troopers to deal with the website. Two hours later God & Football was been removed.

Then later came the moral dilemna. I was furious that someone would read my book, a Christian book, then upload it to give away. But then I remembered all of CDs in my closet labeled Napster. And then I remembered why I write (obviously not because I want to make money), and wondered why I should care if people get my book for free, so long as they are getting the message. Then I had a headache from thinking too much.

E-books are easy to steal. Easier than music I’d think. You can probably download 100 best-sellers quicker than you can one song. But who would want to steal 100 books at once? I don’t like it when I have two or three books on my night stand that I haven’t read yet. 100 would panic me. But I guess I should just accept the fact that in the new age of books a few people are going to steal your work. In the end it’s more flattering that frustrating. Like when someone tells you they bought your book, then lent it to seven friends. As writers we just need to remember that we write because we have something to say, not because we want a $1.12 royalty. If people are reading our words, that’s a good thing. Read up me hearties yo ho.

Have you ever stolen a book? What about music?

5 Book Winners and a Picture of me with a Bear

May 22, 2012 in Books, General with 2 Comments

Here are the 5 winners of Jeff Goins new e-book, You Are A Writer…

Emily Broach, J. Chandler Webb, Ernie, Becky, and Adecurtis3.

Congrats! Jeff will send you your copy of the book soon.

And now, a picture of me and a bear at Lambeau Field.

Some (Actual) Big Book News

May 21, 2012 in Uncategorized with 22 Comments

A few weeks ago I announced that my first book, God & Football, was soon to be re-released in a variety of translations, from Kings James to The Message. That was a lie. But today I have some actual big book news. Here we go…

Love Thy Rival

My second book, Love Thy Rival, is set to release this September. It’s a look at sports greatest rivalries, and what they can teach us about loving our enemies. The book will be available in paperback or e-book, but no audio book this time. However if you pay me enough, I’ll come over and read the book to you. The most exciting thing about the book is a campaign I’m working on with Samaritan’s Purse, something you’ll hear a lot more about soon. Till then, here is a list of the rivalry games I went to for the book, and a quick video of my trips.

Auburn at Alabama (NCAA Football)
Kentucky at Louisville (NCAA Basketball)
Bears at Packers (NFL Football)
Celtics at Lakers (NBA Basketball)
UNC at Duke (NCAA Basketball)
Rangers at Celtic (Scottish Premier League Soccer)
Yankees at Red Sox (MLB Baseball)
Canadians at Maple Leafs (NHL Hockey)
Harvard vs. Yale (NCAA Rowing)
Sounders at Timbers (MLS Soccer)
Cardinals at Cubs (MLB Baseball)
Michigan at Ohio (NCAA Field Hockey)
Texas vs. Oklahoma (NCAA Football)
Glencoe at Hokes Bluff (High School Football)
Army vs. Navy (NCAA Football)
Alabama at Auburn (NCAA Football)

The Humblest of Beginnings

My third book, which was actually the first book I wrote, will release in the summer of 2013. It will be called, most likely, The Humblest of Beginnings, and it will feature my baby picture on the cover. The book is a collection of essays, some on pop culture, some embarrassing autobiographical yarns. Much more on this one in the coming months.

New Book Deal with Zondervan

Finally, I have a new deal with Zondervan for a sort of Christian travel book. In short, I’ll be visiting several countries over the next two years, spending time with believers at each stop, and writing about what it is like to be a Christian, everywhere else in the world. So far I’ve already been to Brazil, Spain, and England, with stops in Russia, Uganda, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Turkey, India, China, Japan, Australia, and perhaps another country or two to go. The manuscript is due March, 2014, which means the book will release late that year or early in 2015. Lots more on this one coming soon.

What are you reading now?

You Are A Writer

May 18, 2012 in Books, Writing with 30 Comments

You’ve probably heard of Jeff Goins.

His blog, GoinsWriter.com, has blown up in the last year. Actual famous people like Michael Hyatt and Seth Godin are saying nice things about him. He’s written one, two, three, four e-books. And he recently signed a book deal with Moody.

When I first took note of Jeff, and all the success he was having, I went through my normal cycle of jealousy, self-pity, jealousy, and more self-pity. Then I began to notice the photographs of Jeff online. He could easily be one of the Weasley kids from Harry Potter. That had to be the key to Jeff’s success. He is a wizard.

But then Jeff released his latest e-book called, You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One). In it, he gives away all his secrets. And much to my surprise, it didn’t involve the Imperius Curse.

Early in the book Jeff says, “I began to trust my calling before I had anything to show for it. Before anyone else called me one, I believed I was a writer. And I started acting like one.”

Jeff goes on to talk about how he built his platform, how he established his brand, and how he made the quidditch team his third year at Hogwarts.

Jeff’s book is easy to read, packed full of great advice, and relevant not only to aspiring writers, but anyone who aspires to be anything. Except of course you muggles aspiring to be wizards, that’s just not going to happen.

So now I’ve got some good news and some great news. Good news first.

Jeff’s book is available on Kindle, Nook, or in PDF for $4.99. You’ve probably got $4.99 in your couch cushions right now, so get to digging.

And now the great news. Jeff is giving the readers of ChadGibbsDotCom five free copies! Not each, that would be ridiculous. But five of you will win a copy, and to enter all you have to do is comment on this post and I’ll pick five of you at random on Monday. And if you tweet it or share it on Facebook you can enter your name a couple more times. Good luck, and don’t let the muggles get you down!

What do you want to be?

The Missionary Deposition: Hannah Gehman

May 15, 2012 in The Missionary Deposition with 5 Comments

Welcome to the fifth edition of the Missionary Deposition. So far we’ve heard from missionaries in Paraguay, China, Liberia, and St. Kitts. Today I want to introduce you to Hannah Gehman, who is suffering for the Lord in…Hawaii.
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Hawaii huh? What are you doing way over there?
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Well basically, because God called me here. But to give some background to my Hawaiian adventure, I’m with a organization called Youth With A Mission(YWAM) and our motto is “to know God and to make Him know”. I started with a 6 month training program called a Discipleship Training School (DTS), in Brisbane, Australia. For the first 3 month we get to know God, through teaching and training. Then the last 3 month of the school is an outreach where we get to make God known, I went to Queenstown, New Zealand and got to minister to the backpackers that travel there. God did so much in my life while I was over there, and then began to speak to me about coming here to Hawaii.
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Now I am staffing a DTS with a focus on sports. The first 3 month of the school are here in HI, getting training. I get to walk along side the students as the experience and learn more about God. I’m stoked for our outreach, in which I will be co-leading a team to Romania, teaching baseball to kids there, and then heading to London to do ministry during the Olympics this summer! Our team uses the natural connection that sports give us to share Jesus with people.
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Your from Pennsylvania, where they eat cheese steaks for every meal. What is the food like in Hawaii? Any particular dish you’ve fallen in love with.
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First off, cheesesteaks are a little overrated in my opinion. But basically Hawaiian food consist of coffee, macadamia nuts, and coconut. As you can tell my culinary experience in HI has been pretty limited. I live on a campus of 1000 people from 57 countries, so there’s lots of variety. But they do have a purple sweet potato pie like the apple pies at McDonalds!
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What are some differences you’ve noticed between the church in Hawaii and the church back in the northeast?
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One of the churches I go to is literally on the beach, so obviously that’s a little different then back home. But other then that, a lot of the churches have a very island-y feel, they make you feel really welcomed, and if feels like a big family. Hawaii is super multi-cultural, and so church here is like a fusion of Hawaiian, Asian, Pacific islands, and mainland culture. There’s ukuleles in worship, and everything’s a little more laid back.
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Have you surfed the north shore yet?
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I’m on the big island, so sadly, no north shore,(well not that north shore). But I have swim close to a shark, and saw 20+ ft waves.
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Do other missionaries give you a hard time for serving the Lord in a tropical paradise?
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I don’t know if I would say a hard time, but I do get the whole “wow, your really suffering for the Lord” comment often. I know Hawaii isn’t one of your first thoughts when you think of missions, but there’s people here that need Jesus, so missions is just as important here. I realize how blessed I really am that God called me to serve in such an amazing place.
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If I were going to visit Hawaii, what are a couple things that I would have to see or do?
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I live on the Big Island, so most of the typical touristy things I haven’t done cause their all on Oahu. But a couple of my favorites are: snorkeling at Captain Cook bay, Mile 88 beach and Pololu Valley. I hear Volcano’s National Park is a must as well, although I haven’t experienced it yet.
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Tell me something about Hawaii I did not know.
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The native Hawaiians pronounce it Ha-V-aii, with a V sound. There is also snow! On Mauna Kea, a 13000 ft mountain here, they get enough snow you can even snow board on it. It is also one of the best star gazing locations in the world.
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Is there anything my readers can do to help you guys out?
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Pray! Prayer is so super powerful, and is so important for any ministry!
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You can visit YWAM Kona’s website here.
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Blessings and War Eagle!

The Missionary Deposition: Sean Miller

May 8, 2012 in The Missionary Deposition with 9 Comments

1. St. Kitts and Nevis huh? What are you doing down there?

We are ~~sitting on the beach~~ serving Him with a international, interdenominational organization called Child Evangelism Fellowship (www.cefonline.com). In brief, we train and equip local churches to effectively reach children ages 5-12 in the community. We conduct teacher training for churches on effective, Gospel-centered children’s ministry and provide free, brand new, and high quality CEF children’s curriculum. We also facilitate ministry opportunities to intentionally reach all the children. My wife and I just started a Good News Club (1 1/2 hour Bible club once a week) with the children in a small village called Fig Tree where 29 children came out for the first club meeting!

2. Your from the south, where we like to fry things. What is the food like in St. Kitts and Nevis? Any particular dish you’ve fallen in love with?

We love fried foods. Your question reminded me of Chick-Fil-A which is in top five of 1000 Southern foods missed by our family! The food in St. Kitts and Nevis is wonderful, the majority of restaurants make all their food with fresh locally-grown ingredients. A big staple dish is rice and beans with a protein of choice (fried plantains, bbq chicken, fish). Some of the locals eat a dish called “cook-up” which is a dish filled with a bunch of different ingredients, many times including pig snout and pig tail. A personal favorite is going out on a Friday or Saturday afternoon and getting some locally grilled chicken or grilled ribs. It is very popular among both locals and expatriates to get this from people grilling on the side of the road all around the islands.

3. What are some differences you’ve noticed between the church in St. Kitts and Nevis and the church in the US?

Not to possibly cause controversy, but much of the church in St. Kitts and Nevis is knowingly or unknowingly liberal with their theology (depending on the person/church). The tv channel TBN has a huge presence down here, so much of TBN’s teachings (health and wealth/your best life now/works-righteousness/healing on demand) affect the theology of many pastors and church leaders. One thing that is prevalent here that is similar to the South is many people call themselves “Christian” but it is “all in the head and not in the heart, so to speak”. “Island time” is different in the churches, you say something starts at 10am and it starts really at 10:30 or 11am.

4. Do I have to keep calling it St. Kitts and Nevis, or can I just say St. Kitts?

Nah, you can call it St. Kitts, that is where we live and where the majority of our experiences come from. We often refer to it in brief as “SKN”, and many of the locals also shorten it that way.

5. Do you take a lot of grief from other missionaries for serving in a Caribbean paradise? Do they ask if you guys are staying at the Sandals Resort?

Somewhat, we have missionary friends in colder climates who mess with us about it, especially during the winter months. Anytime we post pictures from a beach trip or something we usually have somebody tease us about living it up at the beach. And when we were raising support it was, is, and will continue to be a constant point of conversation. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “ya’ll will be/are suffering for Jesus in the Caribbean, huh?”

6. What’s the internet/cable situation like where you live? Do you keep up with what’s going on back home?

We are thankful that SKN is very forward with telecommunications. We do have internet and cable, and it is different in that while back in America the cable is more expensive and the internet is cheap, here it is opposite, Funny part is that the company that is the cable and internet provider? The business is literally called “The Cable”. The internet does go out from time to time, which can be frustrating but it is just part of life so you don’t worry about it. We stay connected with online radio from Montgomery, Facebook & Twitter, email, Skype, and we have a local (334) VOIP number we can call people on. My wife and I look forward to watching the Texas A & M vs. Auburn game from SKN this year as she is an Aggie and I think “….its great. to be. an Auuuuu-burn Tiger.”

7. If I were going to visit St. Kitts, what are a couple things that I would have to see or do?

You have to see the views from Brimstone Hill, an OLD British fortress on a mountain absolutely loaded with British and French history. Google it, the pictures don’t do justice to the view though. Also, you have to go down to one of many possible beaches (you can pick touristy ones or the “hidden” ones we know about) and snorkel around the reefs. If you have time you should also hike the dormant volcano and look into the crater.

8. Tell me something about St. Kitts I did not know.

St. Kitts has the oldest church in the Caribbean, an Anglican church started hundreds of years ago.

9. Is there anything my readers can do to help you guys out?

Well, naturally financial support is appreciated and needed as missionaries! We need prayer support, you can “like” our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/amomentwiththemillers) to keep up with us and pray for us. I also can’t tell you how deeply meaningful it is to get surprise mail, whether simply a card of encouragement or a care package of Southern and/or American treats/items.

More info at www.amomentwiththemillers.com

Sean and Mandi Miller

PO Box 2357

Basseterre

St. Kitts and Nevis

Thanks Sean! So, have any of you been to St. Kitts and/or Nevis?

The Missionary Deposition: Miles Coggins

May 3, 2012 in The Missionary Deposition with 6 Comments

Liberia huh? What are you doing way over there?

I started coming over here in 2006 with my dad. Dad met a pastor from Liberia through another family at his church. Dad had been getting more involved in missions helping out around the gulf after the hurricanes and even in Romania. The pastor was building a church in Monrovia and dad offered his help if he wanted it. So, since I used to help wire houses growing up, my dad invited me to come along. We made two more trips after that one and after the second time, I knew God was calling me to come over for a longer period of time and work for Him. After that, I knew the life I was living, even though I’ve been a believer since I was 10, was more for me than Him. I was comfortable and bearing little spiritual fruit. God quickly took all my excuses away and left me with a simple choice to go or stay. In the few times I’d been to Liberia, I knew the same God that saved me was moving across this country, and I wanted to be a part of it and serve. I wasn’t running away from the US or working in the ministry back home, I was running to a different kind of ministry when God met me where I was. So for the last three years I have been working with a water ministry called Water of Life. Our office is in Greenville, SC, but we run this operation as a local NGO (non-government organization). We partner with other Christian organizations to install hand pumps for safe drinking water. We try to put the church in front so that the hand pump can be a tool to spread the Gospel through the local body of believers.

Your from the south, where we like to fry things. What is the food like in Liberia? Any particular dish you’ve fallen in love with?

They pretty much fry everything here too. The main staple is rice, but almost everything else you put on the rice is fried. We eat a good bit of fried chicken mixed up in different soups to accompany the rice. One good thing about it is just about everything that goes in the soup is grown around here. Different kinds of greens, cabbage, beans, vegetables. My favorite soup is fried beans. The beans look like field peas to me from back home, but you boil them, mash ‘em, fry them with oil, seasoning, liberian pepper and tomato paste. The other is called jallof rice. I don’t know if it is natively liberian but it’s almost like jambalaya or the orange rice you get at a mexican restaurant with beans, chicken and sausage mixed up in it. Everything you eat has spicy peppers in it, which is good for me. I like it. And Lebanese food.

What are some differences you’ve noticed between the church in Liberia and the church in the US?

Most churches here have a lot of pentacostal baptist roots like a lot of african-american churches back home as for as Sunday service goes. A lot of waving, clapping, singing and emotional preaching. Most churches have mics and speakers turned up to 11. You get jaded just like back home at all the different denominations too. Every single one is here just like in the states. Even, catholic, ba’hai, jehovah’s witness, mormons. Mormons have planted a handful of churches just in the last year, but you take most of it with a grain of salt now. A few churches are strong, God-fearing, ministering churches, but they’re are a lot that sell bill of goods to a naive american church for the sake of funding. So many times a pastor here is more of a job than a ministry calling, and a lot of those “ministers” love titles like “apostle”, “reverend”, “bishop”, and “prophet”. A lot of prosperity gospel is coming in too. Usually via a “title above” comes over and solicits the poor to pay for blessings, healing, and what ever else for there money. It’s tricky too because in a relatively poor society, the root of all evil is definitely the love of money. In those ways, it’s not too different from some church back home. What is different is the underlying struggles Liberians have with witchcraft and real spiritual warfare. It is so far removed from us in the states because we have no reason to think witchcraft is serious. It died out there 200 years ago. Here it is still going on because so many people give it credit. You have to look at it from the perspective that the devil is going to attack with an army at your weakest point. In the States we may struggle with sins in a more intellectual way. Greed is advanced on a corporate level and kept hidden. Adultery is taboo, but goes on all the time. Nobody even remotely thinks the consequences of those actions are because sin leads to death. If people get caught, they are put in jailed or divorced and move on without repentance and suffer more. Here the cause of almost every serious effect in someone’s life is witchcraft. If you’re blessed, it’s God. If you’re cursed, somebody witched you. It’s not because you are reaping what you so, it’s somebody else fault. That’s a huge obstacle you have to break down when you witness to and/or disciple people here. The people allow it, so the devil takes advantage.

Your wife, Serwaah, is from Liberia. Is dating in Liberia similar to dating back home? Applebee’s and a Romantic Comedy?

Not really at all. There’s definitely a lot more activities to choose from back home when you’re courting your lady friend than what we have here. It made it a little bit easier on my part because I’m a bit of a home body, but we mainly went out to eat, hung out and spent time together after church on Sundays. The thing that really got me confused about this woman was that when I first met her, she was a certified electrician, in light of that our relationship was a romantic comedy set on the stage of cultural opposites, and lebanese take out. Her sisters/cousins named me “Dweh” which in their dialect (Grebo) mean elephant, so either i did something wrong or did something right. Time will tell i reckon.

What’s the internet/cable situation like where you live? Do you keep up with what’s going on back home?

My dad got a job with a contractor out of Birmingham that built the new US embassy over here over the last 2 1/2 years so we took advantage of his satellite TV. We saw all but 4 Auburn games in the 2009 and 2010 football between Slingbox and ESPN. At our place we have satellite internet so I can keep in touch pretty easily everyday. Day to day current events I get about a couple of weeks to a month behind. When AU won the national championship it was about 5 am here. I was at my dad’s, so I drove home, woke up my oblivious 8 year old Liberian stepdaughter and made her roll the shade tree in the back yard with me.

If I were going to visit Liberia, what are a couple things that I would have to see or do?

See the city and see the bush. From a missions perspective, you’d need to see how to meet the people where they are, and that’s hard because it is so different from what we are used to in middle class America. You’d mostly see people in poverty by our standards, but economically it’s getting better every year. What I would want you to see is how people process values, beliefs and their faith in this culture. In that way you don’t pity Liberia, you gain compassion, and in compassion there is a willingness to help. There is no love in pity, you just kinda observe and pass on by. You’ll see a major need for discipleship where Christianity is popular, a mile wide but only a foot deep. See how people survive on a daily basis, and then be encouraged in how some can be content in what we would call a state of need.

You would have to try at least four different dishes of rice, Liberian style. You would have to drink an ice cold glass bottle coca-cola. You would have to ride on a rotten dirt road for no less than 300km. You would have to go to Sunday worship service. And, finally, you would need to sweat through a premier league (either Man U or Chelsea) match is a ramshackle video club.

Liberian Flag. Very Original.

Tell me something about Liberia I did not know.

Liberia is the oldest republic in west africa, maybe all of africa. It was never colonized although kept closest relations to the US after a large number of freed slaves were transported here. The set up almost everything in government and administration right after the US. Liberia also has the richest deposits of iron ore, arguably, in the world. There’s enough on the northern border with Guinea to dramatically affect the worldwide demand if it was mined fast enough. Harvey Firestone cut a deal with Liberia to lease about a million acres of land to develop and harvest latex from rubber trees back in the 1920′s to even out the global competition with Michelin, who was developing rubber in South America. Firestone is still running strong but only using about half the original acreage. Liberia elected the first woman president in Africa’s history back in 2005 (Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf). Liberia went through a civil war after a violent change of power in 1989 and finally settled in 2003.

Is there anything my readers can do to help you guys out?

Get involved in missions. “The body of Christ has many parts” is said so often but what it means to me is there are millions of Christian, and if we wake up in the morning as a sinner saved by grace through faith in Christ, and actually seek God’s will, then he has a calling for us to serve Him. He doesn’t need us to fulfill His will because He is God, the God. But the amazing thing about having a relationship with our Creator is that He wants us to be a part of what He is doing. He wants us to trust & obey, to seek and find, so that He may be glorified and we understand why He should be praised. For some that is moving 2000 miles away and sweating our sanity off. Others it’s supporting the missionaries far off, and being a faithful witness to a co-worker or encouragement to a friend in need. It sounds corny but it is that simple. We can’t tell God we want to be missionaries on our terms. Many Christians thinks it’s too mundane just to give money to foreign and domestic ministries. God blesses some with money so because God created them to glorify Him by giving freely. God blesses some with strength and humility so they can work for Him. God blesses some with awesome gifts of word-smithery to write books and delicious satire to encourage other Christians. If people want to get involved with water ministry like what we do, there is plenty of opportunities and amazing results. To meet a simple, basic and crucial need such as having access to clean water, then using that as a tool to show and share the love of Christ is a huge open door all over the world. We have an operation here, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, and India. Talk to other Christians at church, work or neighbors and sponsor a well or get a team together to come over and work for a week or so. Or send money to support those who are on the ground working for God. Born again Christians have no excuse, we must get involved in the Kingdom’s work.

Thanks Miles! Click here to learn more about Water of Life’s work, and please consider a donation, or maybe a trip to Liberia.

Three Things

April 30, 2012 in General with 7 Comments

1. The American Airlines deal I posted about two weeks ago ends today. If you’d like to go to Europe, or South America, or Asia, or just about anywhere, for free, these cards could do it for you. Email me if you have any questions.

2. The Manchester Derby is today. A Man City win over Man United will give the Blues control of their own destiny going in to the last two matches of the season. City have won England twice, the last time in 1968. United have won 19 times, 12 of those coming in the last 20 seasons. C’mon City!

3. The blog is going to be a little slow this week. I’ll have a Missionary Deposition on Thursday, but that will probably be it. I’ve wrapping up work on my rivalry book, tentatively called Love Thy Rival, and will have much more to tell you about that soon.